Celebrating golden greats
Provosts welcome couples marking 50th year
Eleven Rutherglen and Cambuslang couples celebrated their golden weddings in style.
They were among more than 150 couples from across Lanarkshire who have had a ball at the annual golden wedding anniversary celebrations.
Jointly run by North and South Lanarkshire Council every year and hosted by South Lanarkshire this year, the couples were treated to a nostalgic trip back to 1964, the year they tied the knot.
Couples invited were Joe and Isabel McKernan from Cambuslang, John and Anne Flannigan from Cambuslang, Alistair and Nancy Hay from Burnside, George and Elizabeth McWhinnie from Rutherglen, Ronald and Laura Maxwell of Burnside, John and Anna Inglis from Cambuslang, Andrew and Elizabeth Kean of Springhall, John and Elizabeth McAlister of Rutherglen, Hugh and Patricia McNulty from Rutherglen, Patrick and Josephine Gallagher from Cambuslang, and John and Mary Paton of Rutherglen.
Images of each couple’s wedding photo flashed up on a screen during the bash in the Banqueting Hall at Council HQ in Hamilton.
South Lanarkshire’s Provost Eileen Logan told them: “Half a century has passed since you made your wedding vows and I bet you can remember some of the major events that took place in 1964.
“Of course it was the 60s so music was at its most exciting with The Beatles arriving in the US, giving birth to Beatlemania, and the Rolling Stones release their debut album.
“On the TV we were now seeing BBC2 for the first time, the Forth Road Bridge opened to traffic, and Roald Dahl writes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“In the cinema the choices were epic with 633 Squadron, Dr Strangelove, Goldfinger, the Carry on Films, Zorba the Greek and Zulu just some of the soon-to-be classics.
“The Italian government asked for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from falling and Jack Ruby is found guilty of killing John F Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
“And back on the marriage front you share 1964 with Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland, Muhammad Ali and cocktail waitress Sonja Roi, Bruce Lee and Linda Lee Caldwell, Sonny and Cher and Elizabeth Taylor divorced fourth husband Eddie Fisher and marries Richard Burton.
“But although your marriages may not have hit the headlines they are no less remarkable.”
And North Lanarkshire’s Provost Jim Robertson, who jointly hosted the event added: “I hope today provides an opportunity for you to share with some of the other couples your own memories from what was quite a momentous year.
“Fifty years together is a huge accomplishment and deserves to be celebrated and I hope you all enjoy many more happy years together.”
The couples then danced the afternoon away to the sounds of the 60s then went home with a goody bag.