Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Ballindalloch couple celebrate diamond day

Meg and Joe Milne, who celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary
Meg and Joe Milne, who celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary

PEOPLE’S PAGE

A couple who have spent most of their six decades of wedded bliss on the Ballindalloch estate recently marked their diamond wedding anniversary.
Joe and Meg Milne, both 80, tied the knot in Aberdeen on August 3, 1955, and moved to Ballindalloch in the 1960s when Mr Milne was offered work as a joiner at the historic site.
The couple met by chance during a Saturday evening dance at Smithfield School in Aberdeen, when both were just 15 years old.
Mr Milne explained: “Meg went to the High School for Girls, which is now known as Harlaw Academy, and I attended Hilton.
“It was just chance that we met, and I asked her for a dance.”
Mrs Milne took ill in the coming years and spent ten months in hospital being treated for tuberculosis.
While recovering in 1954, Mr Milne asked her to become his wife.
He explained: “We actually became engaged at the hospital, I just realised she was the girl for me and that was it.”
After her recovery Mr and Mrs Milne were one of the first couples to wed at the Granite City’s Middlefield Church, in the early 1950s.
The couple spent their first years of married life in a converted flat above the Harper’s drapery and hardware shop on Queen’s Street, which was owned by Mrs Milne’s parents.
The pair went on to have four children; Ashley in 1960, Paul in 1962, Scott in 1966 and Debbie in 1969.
The family bond was strengthened by tragedy in 1983 when eldest son Paul died of Wilson’s disease, which causes copper to build up in the body.
In 1961 Mr Milne found employment as a joiner and builder on the Ballindalloch Estate and the couple moved from Aberdeen to the scenic Speyside site.
Mr Milne would spend the next 40 years working at the site, while his wife made a career for herself in the laboratory at the Tamdhu whisky distillery.
Ballindalloch estate owners the Russell family have grown to regard Mr and Mrs Milne so highly that they gifted them their house on the land upon Mr Milne’s retirement.
Mr Milne said: “When I first started working at the estate it was for Sir Ewan Macpherson Grant, Lady Russell’s father.
“I’ve known Lady Russell for many years and we are on very good terms with her – we were gifted our house at Ballindalloch for as long as we want it.”
On the secret to marital success Mr Milne said: “I think it comes down to being honest with each other – and always letting your partner think they are the boss.”
Mrs Milne added: “We are still very happy after all these years.”
Lady Laird of Ballindalloch Castle, and Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire, Lady Claire Russell led tributes to the diamond duo.
She said: “Mr Milne was a treasured member of staff, he and his wife will always be a part of our family.
“His workmanship as a joiner was perfection, and many marvelous examples of his craft are still being enjoyed by my family and our visitors.
“The Milnes are very much a part of the history of Ballindalloch.”