Brian Scott, 94, doesn't think he is much of a talker.
But yesterday he had plenty to say about how he met the love of his life, June, 91, as the Rotorua pair prepared to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary today.
"The boys I used to knock about with, we weren't the rough gangs you have got today. We used to have a run around the netball courts where the girls were to see what was available."
It was Brian's sister who introduced the pair on the court, although June said they had set eyes on each other before then.
"Brian used to go past on his bike. I thought, 'He's not too bad, I'll keep my eye on him'."
Brian was 21 years old at the time and already had a girlfriend. But June said it wasn't long before she stole his heart.
Four years his junior, bookshop keeper June made "a little lie" and told Brian she was 18.
June said she used to take the tram to work, but when her future husband entered her life, she opted to ride on the back of his bike.
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Advertise with NZME.The relationship soon got serious, and June found herself telling just one more fib.
June was on the back of Brian's Triumph one frosty Wellington day when the bike slipped and she flew metres from her partner, landing in the middle of the cobbled Basin Reserve.
"I flew in the air, he was still riding the bike. I told my mum I fell off the tram car, I daren't tell her where I was. She was all for suing Tramway."
Her mother found out about a week later.
Travelling around by bike and boat became a staple of their relationship. Their love began with motorcycle rides to dances, and with time, the pair undertook 18 cruises, mostly in Asia.
They were "going together" for about four years before they married in 1952, 70 years ago today, on a fair evening in Wellington.
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The couple honeymooned in Rotorua's Prince's Gate Hotel and permanently moved to the city in 1968.
June and Brian set up a book shop in Hinemoa St called Scotts' Books, which became a big part of their married life for the next 20 years.
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Advertise with NZME."As far as we're concerned, it's been a happy time, because it's just been the two of us.
"We've had our bad days and we've had our good days. But I think we've been very lucky."
She couldn't complain, she said with a chuckle.
"I think I've been more the managing one, and Brian's gone along with it. So in that way, I've been lucky."
Brian said it had been an interesting life and a busy one.
"We've done it all."
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The couple supported each other, sometimes with help from connections they built over the years, from friends that became family.
"We've been lucky like that. We've got a good homecare team that come and look after me," Brian said.
But June was adamant the pair would stay together in their home until the very end.
Brian's health had deteriorated in the last couple of years, but they did not want to move into a nursing home as had been suggested by his doctor.
"As long as there is breath in my body, I will be his carer," June said.
"He will always be with me. It doesn't matter what happens, he is my husband.
"That's all I want from life, it's him. His company."
The couple would be spending their special day together at home.
