A widow from East Lothian has been reunited with her late husband's wedding ring, and believes this is now an "affirmation" from beyond the grave to move on with her life.
Just two weeks on from his death, Janet thought she had lost Jim's wedding ring for good on October 22 as she was organising an order of services fro his funeral in North Berwick - after one firm messed up the print job - and arrived home to realise the ring was no longer in her possession.
As also reported by the Daily Record, the 59-year-old had visited a local jeweller on the same day to resize the ring for herself, but had decided to keep the ring on her middle finger as she wanted to be wearing it to his cremation in three days time.
However, Janet realised the ring was missing later on that evening, and thought it could have slipped off as she took a break from running errands at the beach to take a few photos, while walking back from another printing shop in town who were fixing the order of services.
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But on Thursday, December 16, she was delighted when the ring appeared in a box in her garage that she was using to take items to a charity shop, as she packed up ahead of a move down to Yorkshire next week.
Janet said: "I noticed the ring straight away but it took a while to register what it was. I was not looking for it and thought I'd never see it again.
"I was obviously delighted to find it and I think Jim would approve of me getting on with my life and clearing out and moving on. It felt like an affirmation that this was the right thing to do.
“The only reason I picked up these boxes is because I was moving. Had I not been I don’t know how long it would have been there for.
“During that day in October I remember coming back from scurrying around town and I had a friend coming to stay.
"I needed to clear out space in the bedroom for her to stay and was quickly tidying up some bits and bobs and was putting some things in the garage and I must have put them in that box.
“Some people have said to put the ring on a necklace but I have got it tucked behind my own wedding ring where it’s not going to go anywhere."
Acupuncturist and East Lothian resident Janet is moving from her home near the Leuchie estate in East Lothian to Yorkshire on Wednesday.
She plans to teach college students at the Wirral, near Liverpool, at weekends and work up in Glasgow and Edinburgh during the week.
She decided to make the move following the death of her husband Jim - who was 83, had Type 2 diabetes and died as a result of complications from his condition. Pneumonia was also listed as a cause of death.
Mr Darby was admitted to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh in early August with a bladder infection and stayed there for seven weeks before moving home to be with Janet.
The couple were married for 34 years and lived in North Berwick’s Melbourne Street in the 1990s where they ran a joint practice offering massage physiotherapy and acupuncture.
They then spent 20 years in Australia and Singapore before returning to East Lothian.
The lost wedding ring itself was specially made in the jewellery quarter in Birmingham and Janet has one the same.
Mrs Darby says she will look into getting her husband’s wedding ring resized once she moves down to Yorkshire.
