A Fife couple have begun their golden wedding celebrations on the right track with a bit of help from their colleagues at the ScotRail Alliance.
Linda and John Mullen, who married 50 years ago on Saturday, work in station booking offices on the Fife coast. John, who works mornings at Kinghorn station, arrived with wife Linda at her work in Inverkeithing yesterday afternoon (6 July) to find a picture from their wedding day on the station notice board.
The surprises didn’t end there, with friends presenting them with champagne and flowers, and Linda’s manager giving her the day off, allowing her to start the celebrations early.
The couple are a familiar sight to commuters on the Fife circle, and have 44 years of experience on the railway between them. Linda began her railway career at Kinghorn in 1989 before moving to Inverkeithing station, while John covered a number of stations in the area before accepting a position at Kinghorn. When they’re not at their respective booking offices, they can often be seen tending gardens at Kinghorn station.
To mark 50 years of marriage, the pair enjoyed a Mediterranean cruise earlier in the year, but will be relaxing in the somewhat cooler climes of the Borders this weekend.
Linda said: "It's such a wonderful surprise, we're really lucky to work with such lovely people."
John added: "I'm looking forward to our trip to the Borders this weekend. They said we were too young to get married, but we proved them wrong!"
ScotRail Alliance communications director Rob Shorthouse said: “Linda and John are well-known across Fife for the fabulous work that they do, both in our ticket offices and in the station gardens.
“Fifty years together is amazing achievement, and we all send them our heartiest congratulations.”