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"On our 50th wedding anniversary in 2018 we returned to Rosslyn Chapel, wearing the same kilt and sari with which we had been married in 1968."
When kilt met sari
Our first alumni love story began in 1965, when Kenneth and Pravina met through friends at a public seminar early in the term.
“Pravina was an officer in the students’ United Nations Association, and she invited me to talk about Ethiopia, where I had been teaching before I was attracted back to Edinburgh by the new Centre of African Studies (CAS). We went to a number of lectures together. Luckily for me, Pravina didn’t pass her Sanskrit in her final term, so she stayed on, and we got engaged in October 1967.
We were married in Rosslyn Chapel and had a second wedding in New Delhi. We then started teaching in Kenya in September 1968, Pravina in her old school, and me at the University of Nairobi. We came back to Edinburgh in 1972, for me to take up a new position in the CAS. I eventually directed the Centre for 20 years, and Pravina became the CAS administrator in 1991. She organised Scotland-Africa ’97, the largest celebration of Scotland’s cultural connections with Africa ever held.
We retired in 2005, and we were invited to the University of Hong Kong for a year. We both got involved in researching China’s role in Africa, which resulted in a book, 'China's aid and soft power in Africa: the case of education and training'.
On our 50th wedding anniversary in 2018 we returned to Rosslyn Chapel, wearing the same kilt and sari with which we had been married in 1968, to give thanks for our time together. The University has been central to our lives together, even if Pravina had not expected to be in Scotland’s cold climate 50+ years after arriving!”
- Kenneth (PhD African History, 1968)
- Pravina (MA Arts, 1968)
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"It was easy to fall in love when you can just drop by with a pastry and a coffee!"
The One next door
Next up, Allie and Cait who realised on their first date they were actually neighbours.
“I met my wife, Cait, when she was 20 and I was 21. It’s hard to date as a sapphic so we met on Tinder! We were both studying at the University of Edinburgh at the time and after our first date, we realised that we lived right next door to each other! It was easy to fall in love when you can just drop by with a pastry and a coffee!
I had a wee book club where I introduced Cait to my friends. We ended up talking in French and she confessed she loved me, I obviously felt the same way, so that was when we became official.
Since then, we’ve been travelling the world and discovering new things. We got married right in the middle of Covid in front of two best friends, and then because we had gotten married in lockdown with only two witnesses, we had a second wedding the year after. This time with our family and friends. It was particularly special because Cait wore her family tartan and I wore a qipao to show our respect to our Scottish - Chinese cultures. We have just celebrated our six-year anniversary, and third wedding anniversary - how time flies! We have a naughty cat called Benji and we have just bought our first home in beautiful Edinburgh.
Far too many beautiful moments come to mind when thinking about the time we’ve been together. One that stands out is the moment we realised that all of the dreams we’d held before were leading us to meeting each other. And that she would forever be my new dream, and I, hers. And we begin each day, choosing each other and choosing that dream.”
- Allie (BA Arts, Humanities and Social Science, 2019)
- Cait (MA Linguistics, 2020)
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"We had our first kiss on the street outside when the fire alarm went off and the venue was evacuated!"
Hearts on fire
Fiona and Matthew met at a student birthday party 30 years ago and they've just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary!
“We had a dance together and I thought he was cute but we didn’t swap telephone numbers or anything. Bearing in mind this was in the dark ages - way before mobile phones or social media so I just thought I would never see him again in all the thousands of students at Edinburgh University!
We officially became a couple when a few weeks later our mutual friend set us up as she knew we both liked each other. This time we were going to a University Ball in the Assembly Rooms in George Street. We had our first kiss on the street outside when the fire alarm went off and the venue was evacuated! That was November 1993.
After graduation, we moved south to live in Hampshire for work and we have four daughters together, now aged 21-15 years old. We moved back to Edinburgh in August 2020 and we are delighted to be living back in the city again.
Every weekend we walk to the top of Blackford Hill by the University Observatory to walk our dog. We love the view of the city skyline from this point, looking out at Arthurs Seat, the Crags, Old College and the Castle. We have always been grateful that we met at Edinburgh University and had the opportunity to study and live in this brilliant city.”
- Fiona (MA Sociology, 1996)
- Matthew (MA Social Policy, 1996)
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"Aaron was intrigued by the fact that I was photographing the Highland Coos rather than following the tour… and there began our first conversation!."
The rest is history
Graduates of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology - Phedra and Aaron - met 10 years ago visiting the Ardoch Roman Fort with the Edinburgh University Archaeology Society.
“Aaron was intrigued by the fact that I was photographing the Highland Coos rather than following the tour… and there began our first conversation!
Prior to becoming a couple, we were the best of friends, hanging out at the Southern Pub on Nicholson Street weekly, and watching Charly Chaplin movies every Friday. As I did not have a kitchen in my catered hall, I often would spend Saturday mornings at Aaron’s place cooking delicious Cypriot breakfast.
It was only after Aaron had completed his MSc and was back in the US that we realised we wanted to be more than friends. There began our long-distance relationship until my 3rd year when I went to the University of Connecticut for an academic exchange.
In 2016, we moved back to Edinburgh. Throughout the years we lived in Malta, Wales, Greece and are now settled in Cyprus where we recently adopted our cat Bobo!
The most memorable moment for us was our wedding. We had a traditional Greek wedding that lasted the entire day and comprised a 10-piece band. We had guests from the US, all over Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Many Edinburgh University alumni attended our wedding. It was beautiful to see so many cultures come together to celebrate us and have a blast while dancing traditional Greek dances till sunrise!”
- Phedra (MA Classical Studies, 2018)
- Aaron (MSc Late Antique, Byzantine and Islamic Studies, 2015)
The Edinburgh alumni community is active on social media, with stories like these, nostalgia, conversation and opportunities being shared on a daily basis.
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