A BARRHEAD woman has shared her excitement at finally tracking down a photograph from the day she and her husband first met at The Foundry more than seven years ago.
Brittany Ritell, who is originally from the US state of Connecticut, first crossed paths with future spouse Daniel Cohen in September 2016, during her first week living in Scotland.
Although the American was not due to start her new job as a youth programme coordinator for the Jewish community until the following week, she was asked to attend one event early.
It was a good thing she said yes as Daniel happened to be volunteering at the event as well.
On a quest to find a snap of the occasion, but continually met with a series of dead ends, Brittany contacted the Barrhead News to ask us to delve into our archive and see if we had any coverage from the day.
As luck would have it, a group photo featuring the pair was published in our edition on September 7, 2016, a find that the 30-year-old described as “amazing."
It was part of a two-page spread covering the event, called Diversity Day, which allowed primary children to learn about different religions and cultures.
"The first time I stepped into the UK was for a job interview for that role, and then I moved to Glasgow five months later," explained Brittany, who previously lived in Copenhagen for a year after finishing her undergraduate degree in Massachusetts.
"I didn't know anyone when I came here and literally the first event I went to for work, I ended up meeting Daniel and it was in The Foundry.
“I knew there were photographers there that day and Daniel and I were on the same group rotation so there was a good chance there would be a picture of us.
“I’d tried a few times to track down photos with the organisers and no one had them anymore.
“I hit a dead end with that a while ago and then I was like I'm just going to post it in the Barrhead Divas’ Facebook group and see if anyone has any ideas and they suggested I reach out to the Barrhead News, which ended up working out."
“I can’t begin to tell you how long I’ve been trying to find one, so it’s very exciting," added Brittany.
“It’s so cool because how many people get to say they’ve got a photo from the day they met their spouse?”
"I definitely want to make sure we print it out and keep it somewhere.
"I've gotten big on making photo albums because the way phones work we have such a volume of photos and you get to the point where you need to go back to making photo albums so you have a place to look at them.
"It'll probably end up in an album at some point."
The event at the Foundry, which was in its sixth year, saw kids tour round an exhibition on different religions and participate in a diversity-themed art contest, had a lasting impact on Brittany in more ways than one.
"I really liked the event. I was really impressed by a lot of the P7 students who were there from the community and trying to explain their religion to other students," she added.
"I thought that was really great to see young kids taking interest in doing that and it was a really cool way to expose people to different cultures."
Following their initial meeting, Brittany and Daniel, 26, however, did not see one another again for two months.
That all changed one day when they ran into each other and discussed the possibility of Daniel getting involved in one of the youth programmes Brittany led, which had been really impactful for him as a teenager.
The programme was a heritage trip sponsored by the Jewish community to Poland for pupils in their last two years of secondary school.
Following this, the two started to talk more frequently, Daniel ended up getting involved with the youth programme and a few months later they began dating.
Fast forward to August 2020 and the pair got engaged after deciding to visit the nearby islands of Mull, Staffa and Iona, during a trip to Oban to celebrate completing their masters degrees.
With an engagement ring burning a hole in his pocket, Daniel proposed in Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa, a sea cave on the uninhabited island which is known for its incredible columns of basalt lava.
The couple married in South Salem, New York, in June 2022 at Le Chateau near Brittany's hometown, and later enjoyed a celebration with family and friends on this side of the pond in Paisley.
Keen to be able to travel easily to the city centre and have the countryside on their doorstep as Brittany had grown up in a rural part of the US, the couple, who previously lived in Battlefield, moved to the edge of Barrhead just over a year ago.
They are enjoying life in the town with their one-year-old dog Arlo and love the fact that their story has come "full circle" with their move to Barrhead.
“I'm from the US and Daniel’s from Clarkston so it's kind of wild to have met in The Foundry and now have a home that's about five minutes away from it,” added Brittany.
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