Rileys love won’t be derailed

DO you believe in soul mates or love-at-first-sight? Many people don’t, but the remarkable and romantic tale of Somerset Park residents, Estelle and Bert Riley, will convince even the hardiest of pessimists.

The couple, who celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on 27 October, almost did not meet, let alone spend a lifetime together, but an interview with the Riley’s revealed that fate had intervened.

Bert, who grew up in Cape Town, first laid his eyes on Estelle in 1956, while working as a train conductor in Johannesburg. “I spotted this beautiful lady catching my train the one day, and I was immediately smitten. She use to take the same route home from work every day, and would sit and stare out of the window, but I could never build up the courage to talk to her,” he said.

The love struck 24-year-old worked different shifts at different locations, but he regularly requested to cover Estelle’s (18) route so that he could catch a glimpse of her.

One day he noticed Estelle greeting a young man with a kiss on the cheek, and rushed to the boy and inquired about her. “He was a young boy that use to help me with the trams. I learned that he was her brother, what her name was and where she lived. I was also extremely happy when he told me that she did not have a boyfriend,” laughed Bert.

Months past before fate intervened. “My ex-girlfriend phoned me one day and invited me to join her and my best friend, who she was now dating, to a dance, as she wanted to set me up with a blind date, but I immediately declined,” said Bert.

His ex, however, kept badgering him to join them, and eventually Bert began to inquire about the blind date. To his astonishment he learned that his blind date was in fact the beautiful young woman he had been eyeing on the trains. Without a second thought he agreed to go to the dance. “That night we danced the night away and as we came out of the building I turned to my friends and said, ‘Meet my future wife’. We met that fateful night in August, got engaged in September and shared our vows in October. After all these years we are still very much in love,” said Bert.

Estelle also admitted it was love at first sight. “I just knew that he was the one. We have had our ups and downs, but we have always supported each other,” she said. Over the years the couple was blessed with six children, 11 grand-children and seven great-grand children.

As family is an important aspect to the Rileys, they celebrated the auspicious occasion with an intimate lunch with their loved ones.