When the Austin 7 was a babe magnet!
NOWADAYS when people think of the best cars to attract young ladies they would probably think of a Ferrari or Mercedes Convertible.But for Gorleston man Brian Scruby his trusty Austin 7 was the “babe magnet” of the day and he wooed the target of his objections, Barbara Leggett, when he picked her up from her Pier Plain home to take her to the cinema in 1956.
NOWADAYS when people think of the best cars to attract young ladies they would probably think of a Ferrari or Mercedes Convertible.
But for Gorleston man Brian Scruby his trusty Austin 7 was the “babe magnet” of the day and he wooed the target of his objections, Barbara Leggett, when he picked her up from her Pier Plain home to take her to the cinema in 1956.
The couple had known each other from their younger days when they both attended Stradbroke Primary School in Gorleston, but did not become an item until Mr Scruby, then 19, asked 17-year-old Barbara if she fancied a trip in his motor to the Coliseum cinema in the High Street.
And his offer fuelled a romance that has lasted with today when the couple will be celebrating their golden wedding anniversary at their Bately Avenue home in Gorleston with a meal with 15 relatives.
“During the week he asked me if I wanted to go to the cinema and I said what time shall we meet outside and he said he would pick me up. He had this little Austin 7 which you used to have to wind up to start,” Barbara, 69, revealed.
Her husband joked: “Most of the boys had motorbikes in those days so I brought this one out of the cupboard. It was a good vehicle for pulling the girls.”
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They married at St Andrew's Church in Gorleston on April 16, 1960 while Brian, 71, was enjoying a break during his national service as a private with the Suffolk regiment, serving in Cyprus and Germany.
Following his military service, he worked as a driver of diggers and other heavy transport before going into the offshore oil industry.
Barbara worked for Johnson's clothing factory before leaving to raise the couple's four children, including Marie Bento, 48, Karl, 46, Rikky, 43 and Angela Ryan, 40. They also have eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Barbara said: “Marriage is a partnership. It is give and take and plenty of trust and loyalty, and I would not change it for the world.”
The couple will be having a big knees-up at the Pier Hotel in Gorleston tomorrow to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, with 95 guests.
