Their eyes met across a crowded day centre for elderly people. She told him she was lonely, he invited her for a drive to the beach and three days later he popped the question, though not on bended knee because of his creaky joints.
That was a month ago. Next week James Mason and Peggy Clark are to become Britain's oldest newly-weds with a combined age of 177 years. Mason, a former lord mayor of Torbay, is 93 while his intended is a mere 84.
The couple will marry in front of 20 guests, including Mason's grown-up children, at the Palace hotel in Paignton, Devon, both agreeing there really was no point in a long engagement at their age. Clark said: "When you get a bit older you can read people a bit more. It's all in the eyes. His eyes really twinkle and I knew it was love."I was really sad before but now I'm always laughing. I was a bit worried in case anyone thought I was a gold digger - but I really love him. I'm glad because I've been on my own for 25 years and I didn't want to spend another Christmas alone. Winter is very cold and lonely at our age."
Mason, a former hotel manager and a great-grandfather, joked: "She was after my body and I was after her money, so it's perfect. The day we met I took her on a drive to the beach and it was the best day's work I've ever done. We're very happy."
Mason has been a widower since his wife Dorothy died 10 years ago. Clark, a retired driver, has been alone since the death of her husband, Ivan, an architect, in 1982.
Romance blossomed during Clark's first visit to Paignton day centre four weeks ago. She said: "I was feeling really low and someone at Age Concern recommended a day centre.
"James had been to the centre lots of times - you get a lovely meal for £3. The first time I walked up to the door I went back to my car twice because I was so scared. But I eventually went in and introduced myself to a few people.
"Then all of a sudden James was there and he asked me why I had started coming. I said I was lonely and he held my hand. He said, 'there's no need to be alone' and asked me to go to the seaside with him. We were all gooey-eyed."
Mason began to call at Clark's house where she insisted on a chaperone. She said: "He said he'd like to spend some time without being with company but I said people would start talking. He said the only way to stop people gossiping was to get married. I couldn't believe it - he was proposing."
The British record for oldest new-weds was held by Raymond Robson, 96, who married Faye Webber, 90, in Goring, Berks, in 2005. She died three months ago.
By Steven Morris
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
