Golden date for Bill and Liz Turnbull

A short time later they bumped into each other in Wishaw “and it just sort of blossomed from there,” said Bill.

On February 10 1961, just months after meeting, they married in Abington Church.

It was Bill’s 22nd birthday and Liz was just 19, but this month they celebrated 50 years of marriage.

Bill was from Ferniegair and Liz from Abington. They initially set up home in Strathaven then moved to Ravenstruther, but for the past four decades they have been living in Green Avenue, Carstairs, raising three daughters and now watching their four grandchildren grow up.

Liz was a home help until she retired and Bill continued his work as a long-distance lorry driver. At 65 he had to retire from DHL but within weeks he was back working again, driving lorries and buses for local firms. And even now, at the age of 72, he is still a long distance driver, although only part-time.

Asked the secret of staying happily together for 50 years, Bill laughed: “Being away. I was away all week and sometimes longer. Absence makes the heart grow fonder – that would be it!

“I was away most of my life and my wife would bring up the children on her own. It was a tough life for her.”

He and Liz are both healthy and Bill is grateful for the fact that they have been able to see their grandchildren growing up. The family celebrated their golden wedding with a dinner at the Cornhill Hotel.