Brian Scott, 94, doesn't think he is much of a talker.
But yesterday he had plenty to say about how he met the love of his life, June, 91, as the Rotorua pair prepared to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary today.
"The boys I used to knock about with, weweren't the rough gangs you have got today. We used to have a run around the netball courts where the girls were to see what was available."
It was Brian's sister who introduced the pair on the court, although June said they had set eyes on each other before then.
"Brian used to go past on his bike. I thought, 'He's not too bad, I'll keep my eye on him'."
The relationship soon got serious, and June found herself telling just one more fib.
June was on the back of Brian's Triumph one frosty Wellington day when the bike slipped and she flew metres from her partner, landing in the middle of the cobbled Basin Reserve.
"I flew in the air, he was still riding the bike. I told my mum I fell off the tram car, I daren't tell her where I was. She was all for suing Tramway."
Her mother found out about a week later.
Travelling around by bike and boat became a staple of their relationship. Their love began with motorcycle rides to dances, and with time, the pair undertook 18 cruises, mostly in Asia.
They were "going together" for about four years before they married in 1952, 70 years ago today, on a fair evening in Wellington.
The couple honeymooned in Rotorua's Prince's Gate Hotel and permanently moved to the city in 1968.
June and Brian set up a book shop in Hinemoa St called Scotts' Books, which became a big part of their married life for the next 20 years.