Marriage keeps golden couple on their toes

Last week, Agnes and Ronald King returned with family and friends to the same Roslin hotel where they celebrated their wedding day half a century ago. The pair met when Agnes began work at the Valleyfield Paper Mill in Penicuik in 1955. She was 15 and Ronald, who had been working at the plant for a year, was 16. They met on her second day in the job and have been together ever since. Agnes, now 70, said that straight away she thought Ronald, 72, was handsome - but admitted he clearly had some dancing practice to do if the couple were to be together. "He was handsome but he was terrible at dancing," she said. "He had two left feet. We used to go along to the dances in Penicuik, but I could never get him on the floor. "I finally managed to persuade him to at our wedding, but that took some doing. That was the first and last time." The couple were married in Loanhead East Parish Church and set up home in a mill house in Beech Place, Penicuik, until Ronald's work took him to the Dalmore paper mill, when the family moved to Auchendinny. They moved again, to Loanhead, in 1967, when Ronald began working as a train driver with the coal board at Bilston Glen. He had a bad accident in the early 1980s but remained working at the same firm until the colliery closed. By then, the couple had daughters Elizabeth and Jennifer - now both in their 40s - but they were to have an unexpected addition to the family with the arrival of Michelle. Agnes, who was in her 40s when Michelle was born, said: "It was quite a shock when she arrived, but we all used to take it in turns looking after her and it was an unexpected delight for the family." Agnes, who regularly attends Loanhead's Chatterbox group, held various jobs before retiring, including working in the linen department at Southfield Hospital and at the MacTaggart Scott canteen for 12 years. The couple own a holiday cottage in Peebles, and although Ronald has not been able to make the trip for four years due to ill health, they are hoping to visit it with their family soon. Agnes said: "There's no electricity so we might wait until it's a bit warmer. It's difficult for us to make it, but it's there for the family to enjoy." Agnes, who visited the Original Hotel in Roslin, where the couple married on March 1961, for their anniversary, added: "We had a lovely time with the family. Although it's changed a bit since that day in March all those years ago, it brought back a lot of happy memories."