Wishaw couple set for a golden celebration
A golden couple from Wishaw are looking forward to celebrating 50 years of marriage this weekend.
Ian Kilpatrick and Margaret Park met when they were teenagers on a night out at the Splendid, a hotel in Hamilton.
Ian, now 72, from Craigneuk, and Margaret, 71, from Netherton, quickly realised they lived just a couple of miles from each other.
Romance blossomed and two years later they decided to get engaged and were then married in Belhaven Church on September 5, 1970.
A reception was held at The Belmont in the town’s Hill Street.
The newlywed Mr and Mrs Kilpatrick then travelled south to Devon where they enjoyed their honeymoon in the seaside town of Torquay.
Just over a year later their daughter Sharon was born.
“After getting married they stayed in Forgewood initially and then when I was about six months old we moved to Carbarns in Netherton”, said daughter Sharon.
“I’m an only child, I think they broke the mould when they made me.
“They are sociable and love going out on a Saturday night down to the United Services in Motherwell for a drink and seeing their friends.”
Margaret worked as a home help until Sharon was around 11 years old before she had to give it up because of ill-health.
Ian was a joiner and worked on building sites all over the country.
“My dad served his time with the council and then moved from job to job wherever it would take him,” Sharon recalls.
“He worked in the Shetlands and I used to sit and break my heart when I was a wee girl and he was going away.
“I remember he was bitten on the bum by a Shetland Pony.”
The couple still live in Netherton where they share their home with Felix the cat – a stray that used to come around and they ended up giving a home to.
They are animal lovers and previously had two dogs.
Sharon puts the success and longevity of her parents’ marriage down to her dad being unable to say no to her mum.
“He absolutely adores her,” she admitted. “They are both brilliant and I think that’s probably why I’m still single.
”I’m still hanging on waiting for a guy like my daddy. It’s never going to happen.”
The family will celebrate the Golden Wedding Anniversary by getting together for a meal at Da Claudio restaurant in Motherwell.