Childhood sweethearts separated aged 10 tie the knot 55 years later
ByJanet Boyle
Brenda and Brian in their home village of Avoch
A pair of primary school sweethearts will tie the knot today – 55 years after being separated as 10-year-olds.
Brenda Ritchie and Brian Patience sat beside each other in class and passed notes during lessons.
They were so close that they were often teased about their friendship by schoolmates and their parents and, at their home village gala day in 1962, they were an obvious choice to be bridesmaid and page boy.
But their young hearts were broken when Brenda’s father took a job as a baker in England and her family moved south from Avoch on the Black Isle.
Brian, 65, still remembers watching the car drive over the bridge and out of the village for the last time.
