An elderly care home resident proved his love has stood the test of time by recreating the first date he and his wife shared nearly 68 years ago.
David Pratt, who has dementia, is a resident at Jesmond Care Home in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
The 85-year-old’s wife, Sheila, is one year younger than him and lives at home.
Mr Pratt recently tried to arrange for he and Mrs Pratt to pay a visit to the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen, where they used to meet every Saturday during the early stages of their relationship.
The couple eventually made their dream come true on Friday for Valentine’s Day, dancing to “Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra, their favourite song.
“Meeting Sheila was one of the most special moments of my life so to finally get the chance to recreate this moment in a place that holds so many special memories for us both means a lot,” Mr Pratt said.
“Without each other there’s nothing. I wouldn’t be without her for five minutes.”
Although Mrs Pratt does not live at the care home with her husband, she frequently joins her spouse for meals, social gatherings and events.
The couple first met in 1952, when Mr Praatt was 17 and Mrs Pratt was 16.
Mr Pratt was working as a printing press printer at the time, and wore a shiny union lapel badge that caught the eye of his future wife.
The couple went on to wed and start a family, having two children and three grandchildren.
“We didn’t know what a badge was going to do for us that day,” Mrs Pratt said of the union lapel badge her husband wore as a teenager.
“And here we are, 68 years later, getting to do it all again. We can’t really dance but we can shuffle about.”
