Diamond couple recall wedding day drama
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THE blue skies and sunshine on the diamond anniversary of a Huntly couple were a far cry from the weather 60 years ago on their wedding day.
Bob and Hilda Bagrie were married in Strathbogie Church in Huntly, but it was only because the bride’s father was employed by the county council and was able to ensure the road was cleared that she made it to Huntly from the family’s home in Gartly.
The reception was held in the Huntly Hotel and the owner had contacted Hilda and her family the day before the wedding offering them a room in the hotel because of the weather but the bride to be was determined to leave for her wedding from home.
Sixty years on, Hilda recalled as she travelled to Huntly the road was only single track and snow stood three-foot deep at either side.
“It had been a hard winter in the run up to our wedding and certainly the days before were stormy but we made it,” said Hilda.
Bob, originally from Glass, stayed at the Battlehill so had less problem getting to the church.
The couple’s first home was at the Battlehill but in the mid-1960s they moved to Duke Street and by the early 1970s had bought adjacent premises where they established a successful business.
Bob, who had served his apprenticeship with Rosier’s electricians set up on his own and Hilda, now 82, ran their shop selling electrical and fancy goods. It closed in 2003 when Hilda took semi-retirement but Bob, 83, continued as an electrician until early 2014.
Ahead of the shop closing they moved to a new house on the site of the former brewery on Gladstone Road where Bob has workshops to potter in and a garden which keeps him busy.
In his youth, Bob was an enthusiastic and prize-winning member of the Strathbogie Wheelers. In later years he was also a member of the Huntly Curling Club.
To mark 60 years of marriage, the couple enjoyed a Sunday lunch with their daughter Joan, son-in-law Gordon and granddaughter Jennifer.
