She said yes – the only problem is, I never proposed
A CADET trainer enlisted a choir to help him make a surprise proposal – but then didn’t pop the question.
Romantic Andrew Grant spent months planning how to ask partner Aileen Gardiner to be his wife.
Eventually, he enlisted the help of The Singing Children of Africa, a group formed through the Educate the Kids charity where he and Aileen are volunteers.
His touching plan went off without a hitch as Aileen was asked to go on stage, just after her favourite song had been dedicated to her.
As she was presented with flowers by the children, Andrew appeared from the wings, went down on one knee and offered her a ring.
However, the pair were so overcome with emotion that neither actually managed to say anything.
The audience erupted into celebrations meaning that even if they had said anything, they wouldn’t have heard each other.
It wasn’t until the couple, from Edinburgh, got home that Aileen realised Andrew hadn’ t actually asked her to marry him.
She then told him to pop the question and she immediately agreed to be his wife.
Andrew said: “I don’t remember saying anything or being able to say anything but my position at the time gave away my intention. “Even if I had said anything she wouldn’t have heard as the place erupted as soon as I got down on one knee.”
Aileen, 33, s miled: “There was no mistaking the moment.”
Andrew, 36, said: “It wasn’t till we got home that she said, ‘You never asked me’.
“So I had to ask her again.”
Aileen, who also works as an Army Cadet trainer, said the proposal came as a complete shock.
She didn’t even twig when Andrew’s family, including his daughter Emma, 11, accompanied them to the concert at Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline.
At the start of the second half the choir’s teacher, Simon Munga, said the next song, Love Can Turn The World, was dedicated to Aileen who he thanked for helping the charity.
At the end of the song she was invited on stage and given bouquets of flowers by two young girls from Africa who had stayed with her and Andrew during a previous visit.
Aileen said: “When I looked up Andrew was on the stage.
“I thought, ‘ What are you doing?’ and he got down on one knee.
“Everyone went mad. I was crying and the kids were all jumping up and down, banging drums, and everyone was cheering. “There was such a roar.” For more details on the charity, go to educatethekids.com