AN ALVA couple are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary next week.

Andrew, 81, and Jenny, 83, McLean tied the knot 60 years ago on August 14 1956 after meeting at a dance in the village's Cochrane Hall.

Jenny had worked in a paper mill and Andrew, an electrician by trade, was in the 1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders when they met.

Following basic training in 1955, he decided with his mates to go to the dance after their passing out parade at Stirling Castle.

He was stationed in Berlin for a year and the pair got engaged when Andrew was still in the Army.

After the wedding, the pair went off to Edinburgh for their honeymoon, which was cut very short by the Suez Canal Crisis.

On the first day of their trip, Andrew received a telegram saying he was to ship out with his comrades to help deal with the conflict, landing in Port Said.

His battalion was first moved to near Suffolk, where they got ready to go to the docks at Southampton. They got a weekend's leave to London ahead of shipping out, but Andrew went AWOL with Jenny for a week.

He explained: “I've asked my wife to come down, but I didn't say to her it was only the weekend I had and I stayed over my leave for a week. I went AWOL (absent without official leave) for a week in London with her.”

They have two sons and a daughter-in-law and are going on a trip to Blackpool for a week to celebrate.

According to the couple, the secret to a long marriage is sticking together and supporting each other along the way. Andrew added: “We have always been there for each other through happiness, sickness, strife and sorrow.”