Bulls couple’s love shines on
When Aileen and Brian Scadden first met, the pair simply clicked . They knew pretty quickly they’d found a partner for life and got married less than two years later.
They’ve recently celebrated their diamond anniversary, marking 60 years of marriage. They were surrounded by a few friends, their daughter Bev Pratt and her family, including their two grandchildren Joel Pratt, 22, and Kelsie Pratt, at the Bulls Returned and Services’ Association.
Brian said there weren’t many marriages that lasted this long but, this major milestone almost took them by surprise. They were too wrapped up in their life together to notice the passage of time. ‘‘It’s just whizzed past. You take each day as it comes, and see it on its way,’’ he said.
The Scaddens said they’ve built a beautiful life in Bulls, and are still living in the same house.
Brian moved to the town after he and a friend returned from their OE and decided to open a Four Square together.
Aileen worked in the shop next door, and quickly found they saw the world in much the same way .
‘‘[Although] he’d come from Auckland, and he had their ways, which weren’t our ways,’’ Aileen said.
Brian playfully countered Bulls was once a bit of an old-fashioned small town, stuck in its ways.
Both are big believers in the importance of community and, over the years, they’ve volunteered for everything from youth sports to Meals on Wheels .
The couple divided up different organisations between them, so neither got spread too thin.
Aileen said although it had been great, it was not all bliss.
‘‘And we’ve had our ups and downs,’’ Brian finished.
The couple said the secret to getting past bad patches was to feel mad, sad or hurt in the moment, and deal with it and let it pass.
Aileen said it was a hard-won piece of wisdom.
‘‘It was not like that when we first got married, [we] used to sulk for weeks after an argument.’’
The couple also learned a little strategic time apart was the best way to keep things fresh.
‘‘We do our own thing a lot, that way when we come home we’ve got something new to talk about,’’ Aileen said.