It was the summer of 1960 and Mr Allo was a cash-strapped 26-year-old who had had to take a second job.
‘I was working at the Airport as an air traffic control assistant and the wages were not good, so I took a part-time job at Airport Garages, cleaning cars. The boss’s sister said she had a friend, a dance teacher, and suggested I take her out. So I went to her house to pick her up; she was a very attractive lady. She was very nice and I’m glad I went,’ said Mr Allo, who remembered some unforeseen trouble on that first date.
‘In those days girls wore swirly skirts with lots of petticoats underneath. I had a small Fiat and the petticoats went so high I couldn’t see out of the windscreen. I had to ask June to move them out of the way. But I thought she was a good catch and 18 months later we were married. We’re still together after all these
years – but she hasn’t got those skirts anymore.’
When they met, June was a 23-year-old London-trained dance teacher who had already had a sneak preview of her blind date. She said: ‘His picture was in the window of Senett and Spears [a former camera shop and department store]. He’d been in the Navy and I thought he was quite a handsome man. He didn’t look too bad, so I decided to go.’
The couple soon became engaged and were married on Monday 18 September 1961 in St Mark’s Church. The newlyweds went to Annecy on the French-Swiss border for their honeymoon and returned to Jersey to start their married life, with Mr Allo qualifying as an air traffic controller, which led to a career that lasted 34 years. Mrs Allo, who had just opened her dance school in St Aubin, stopped teaching two years after the birth of their daughter, Suzanne, in 1963, who was followed by Jonathan in 1967. They now have three grandchildren – Richard, who works for a local law firm and is a musician; Rebekah, who works for an energy company in the UK; and Sarah, who is about to go to university to study music.
In later life the couple continued to be active, with Mr Allo following his passion for powerboating, which he taught, and Mrs Allo joining the Jersey Amateur Dramatic Club and continuing to dance. They also enjoyed travelling, including a return to their honeymoon destination in Annecy. Mr Allo eventually had to retire from his hobby through injury and since the pandemic struck, the couple have been walking at least three miles every day – weather permitting.
The still happily married couple offered some advice: ‘Don’t rush into it and think carefully before you get married,’ said Mr Allo. ‘And learn to give and take.’
Mrs Allo agreed and added: ‘Don’t be in each other’s pockets too much and have your own hobbies; it will give you something to share. We’ve had ups and downs like everybody does, and yes, it is about give and take.’
The couple are celebrating this weekend with family and friends, including a special Sunday lunch at La Place tomorrow.
