Wishaw charity king Les Hoey is used to springing surprises thanks to the work of his DreamMaker Foundation.
However, Les’s long-term partner Mandy Cunningham had a surprise of her own on February 29 by proposing to him at their home in Coltness.
Les said: “Mandy came in from the night shift with a What’s On TV mag which has the words ‘Marry Me’ on the cover.
“It was in relation to a shock proposal from Corrie.
“Mandy waved the magazine in my face and said ‘Marry Me’ and I burst out laughing.
“It was a lovely surprise and we are already planning on a winter wedding probably in November or December.
“We have already had an offer from a local photographer to do the wedding photos and someone from Mandy’s work has offered to make the cake.
“We usually go away on holiday at that time of year so that has been put on the back burner but I’m sure it’ll be worth it.”
It has been a tough year for Les following the death of son Darren last year at the tragically young age of 34.
But the heartache has made the DreamMaker boss focus his mind on the important things in life.
He added: “We’ve always thought about getting married and with Darren dying you realise life is too short.
“I’ve either been working or busy being involved with the charity, but after what happened with Darren you have to get your priorities in the right order.
“I know he would have wanted this and would have been delighted for both of us.
“We also got a lovely surprise with my grand-daughter Jay coming home after a year of working away in Chile.
“She was there for a year to teach English to underprivileged children so the whole weekend could not have gone any better.
“I’m really happy and can’t wait to celebrate with all of our friends and family.”
