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They are already nicknamed the ‘Warkworth lovers’ by shopkeepers and carers in the community who know them. The married couple, 87-year-old Alan and 84-year-old June Dalton, have been walking around town hand-in-hand for the past 10 years since they moved to Warkworth from the UK. They say the secret to their 58 years of marriage is happiness and humour. “We always have little jokes between us,” Alan says. “It’s very depressing if you’re not happy,” June adds. She says it’s also about give and take, and taking time out when you need to.
Climb every mountain
When looking for romantic stories, never under-estimate a group of guys having a few beers. It turns out we hit the jackpot. The best men were helping groom-to-be Warkworth builder Zach Forsyth calm his nerves before his wedding the following day.
Zach was the first to speak up when asked for a romantic story. “I’m getting married tomorrow.” He proposed to his wife to be, Phillicia Murray, at Russell. They had invited friends to a bach, he took her to the beach and, “popped a knee and proposed”.
However, his friend and wedding MC, Conor Lawson, spilled the beans on the most romantic, or at least legendary, thing Zach had done for Phillicia. Not long after first getting together, on Valentine’s Day two years ago, Zach climbed Mt Tamahunga, and hid some cider, flowers and a necklace. The next day he took her for a walk to the top to surprise her. “We nearly didn’t make it. We got half way up and she wanted to turn around.”
Pedal power
Chloe Chun had her eyes on a retro style bike but didn’t expect her boyfriend to ride into her Sydney office in his suit on a red bike, holding a red rose for Valentine’s Day. It nearly backfired as she was out at lunch when he pulled up. After waiting for her return, he eventually had to leave but the bike and rose were waiting for her when she got back, along with admiring colleagues.
Romantic views and scroggin
Tim Thatcher proposed to Sonja Bohn at Great Barrier Island. They walked out to a peninsula, sat down to eat some scroggin and when he handed her a handful it had a ring in it. “I got a bit of a fright,” says Sonja. For their recent sixth wedding anniversary Tim kept up the romance by getting up at 6am purportedly to go for a run. At 7am he sent Sonja text telling her to go to the kitchen. There was a note with GPS coordinates saying, ‘look this up and meet me there’. It led her to Bluff Hill where he was waiting with a romantic picnic. “You need a bit of romance to get out of a rut,” Sonja says.
