AS whirlwind romances go theirs was one of the more rapid.

Just one week after they set eyes on one another for the first time they were engaged - and three months later they were married.

Betty and Davie Allan have no reason to regret their hasty decision - as this month they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

The initial tryst came at a farm in Glenormiston, near Innerleithen.

"Davie's mother was working at the farm and I met him there. He'd just been demobbed and we clicked immediately," said 82-year-old Betty, who was born in Manor.

The couple were wed in Traquair Church on October 1, 1955 and lived the first 23 years of their marriage in Innerleithen before moving to Horsburgh Ford where they have been ever since.

"I still remember my wedding day well. It was cold, frosty and sunny but a great day," said Mrs Allan. "We spent our honeymoon at my husband's sister's in Dundee."

Davie, 80, originally from Fife, worked as a lorry driver while his wife was employed for 19 years in the hosiery shop of an Innerleithen mill company.

The couple marked 60 years of marriage with a party at the Unionist Club in Innerleithen where they were joined by friend and family, including three daughters, one son, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

"We've had a very happy life together and have always got along," said Mrs Allan. "There have been ups and downs but we've hardly ever argued and when we have had disagreements we'd go away to cool off and everything would be fine again.

"We spend our time quietly now. We like to see our family and occasionally go to Galashiels to play bingo."