After assembly at The Royal Edinburgh Navy Tattoo it was love at first sight for 2 performers who have been married simply six weeks later. Now the couple share their secrets and techniques to married bliss as they strategy their fiftieth marriage ceremony anniversary.
Piper, Andrew Gilmour, 69, and his spouse Sue, 71, who was a dancer have been each performing on the 1971 Tattoo, with The first Battalion The Royal Scots Pipes and Drums.
An additional dancer was wanted for a dance set within the present. Enter Sue. When she was chosen to participate the 2 have been coupled up and it was love at first sight throughout the long-lasting Edinburgh Fort Esplanade.
After a whirlwind romance, the pair marched and danced their method down the aisle, in a small ceremony in South Queensferry on 9 September 1971. A shock reception was then laid on by the Military at Craigiehall Barracks after they had a Guard of Honour from the Gordon Highlanders kitted out in conventional gown.
The couple, who now reside in East Calder, West Lothian, had no time for a honeymoon as they returned to carry out on the Tattoo the subsequent day. However, throughout one efficiency after the marriage they have been introduced to the viewers as newlyweds. This was a part of a efficiency by the Royal Artillery Motorbike Show Workforce and Sue made her method down the Esplanade on the again of a bike.
The couple have three youngsters and 6 grandchildren, all of whom reside domestically.
They are saying that laughter, compromise, a willingness to debate every thing and sort out tough conditions as a pair are the important thing to an extended and profitable marriage.
Talking in regards to the 1971 Tattoo efficiency after they first met, Sue stated: “It was destiny after they wanted an additional dancer, I truly had no Scottish nation dancing expertise, however I put my hand up and learnt the entire routine inside per week.
“It was backstage after the Present once I ultimately bought to talk to Andrew, and I knew inside half an hour that he was the one. I informed my pals, that’s the person I’m going to spend the remainder of my life with.”
Andrew additionally recalled that immediate connection the couple felt. He stated: “Everybody round us was saying it was too fast and it’d by no means final, however 50 years later, right here we’re. We began courting and inside six weeks we have been married. The military laid on a shock reception again on the Barracks, crammed with fellow Tattoo performers and unimaginable meals made by the military chef, it was simply excellent.
“Sue is initially from Plymouth so wasn’t capable of have any household on the marriage ceremony and we had no honeymoon as a result of I used to be instantly off on tour to Eire afterwards.
“I can nonetheless bear in mind coming back from that tour and visiting my spouse’s mother and father for the primary time – six months after we’d married!”
Andrew ultimately left the military as a consequence of damage. He grew to become a bus driver, however his connection to the Tattoo didn’t finish, as he took a job transporting performers at future Tattoo performances.
The Tattoo holds a particular place within the hearts of the couple they usually’ve since been again to see the present 5 instances, celebrating their fortieth anniversary with tickets to The Royal Gallery.
Whereas their love story is indebted to the Tattoo, the pair have some recommendation for younger {couples} hoping to comply with an analogous path to married bliss.
Sue stated: “The Tattoo is so necessary to us. We’re so fortunate to have met the way in which we did and so proud that our lives have such a powerful hyperlink to the superb present however regardless of the way in which we met, there’s no massive secrets and techniques to an extended marriage.
“By way of recommendation to others, I believe a key factor needs to be attraction. Once I first noticed Andrew, I believed he was essentially the most good-looking man ever.
“Laughter can be one of the best drugs. Andrew makes me snicker daily. And I’d inform folks to pay attention and make selections as a crew. We at all times focus on issues and neither of us would go off and make an enormous determination with out talking to the opposite first.
“A bit little bit of romance additionally goes a great distance. He’s at all times been very romantic and when he offers me his cheeky wink, I simply fall in love once more.”
The couple are already enthusiastic about making a return to look at this 12 months’s Tattoo efficiency and plan to take their two eldest grandchildren, Holly, 18, and Lewis, 14, with them, to point out them how they first met.
Buster Howes, CEO of The Royal Edinburgh Navy Tattoo, stated: “The Tattoo holds particular reminiscences for many individuals, and it’s fantastic to listen to such heart-warming tales from our audiences and performers.
“We’re delighted that the Tattoo has performed such an instrumental function in Andrew and Sue’s lives, in addition to many others.
“For anybody who doesn’t imagine in love at first sight, they simply want to listen to this story to know that it does exist. I’m thrilled they’re celebrating their fiftieth marriage ceremony anniversary this 12 months with us.
“We sit up for welcoming them to the Present this 12 months and sharing it with their household. We’ll ensure it’s a very particular expertise.”
