A NORTH BERWICK couple were cheered up by a message from the Queen when they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, writes Alasdair Northrop.

The message came as a very pleasant surprise for Lyn and Alan Vaughan, who are living in self-isolation on the town’s Williamstone Court.

Lyn said that, unknown to her, her daughter Julie had made contact with the relevant officials.

“The letter from Her Majesty was as a huge surprise when it arrived,” said a delighted Lyn.

It was also thanks to Julie – though inadvertently – that the couple were able to celebrate with 24 members of their family and friends at a pre-anniversary dinner in La Potiniere restaurant in Gullane a few days before the coronavirus lockdown was imposed.

“Julie was going on be on a ski holiday on the actual date of our anniversary, so we had a family lunch at La Potiniere,” said Lyn.

“Due to the lockdown we can’t see them now, so it was very fortunate that we got together that day.”

On the evening of their anniversary, they joined the applause for the NHS in their road.

Lyn, 80, and Alan, 81, were both born and brought up in Birmingham.

The couple met at a ballroom dancing class and got married three years later on March 26, 1960.

The couple moved to Scotland in the 1960s when Alan was working as a chartered surveyor on the St James Centre in Edinburgh.

They moved to Gullane in 1969 and lived there for 41 years before moving to North Berwick so they could be closer to the railway station as Alan had become partially sighted.

As well as Julie and Andrew, the couple had another son Chris, who sadly died in 2019 from a brain tumour. They have six grandchildren and one great grandson.

So what has been the secret of a happy marriage over 60 years?

Lyn says: “Family, friends, a sense of humour, and shared priorities (including doing the dishes).”

Alan says: “Patience, and do as your wife tells you!”

“We feel very lucky to live in a beautiful area and have good friends and neighbours and be part of such a caring community,” said Lyn.