diamond
ONE love, blood, life
MESSAGE IN BOTTLE LED ME TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE Jan 11 2005
By Paula Murray
A LITTLE Scots girl chucked a message in a bottle into the English Channel - and ended up marrying the 10-year-old Dutch boy who found it.
Annie and Niels Elffers have now been wed for 27 years.
And last night, they told their amazing story - which began because Annie Rivet dreamed of meeting real-life pirates.
Annie was 10 when she went to France with her family in 1963.
She said: 'I liked stories about pirates and that's how I knew about messages in bottles.
'So when my parents took me to France, I had my Tizer bottle ready and threw it in the sea. I thought it would end up in France.'
Her brief letter, which she still has, gave her address and asked: 'Anyone finding this message please reply to A C Rivet.'
Just weeks later, the excited little girl got a letter back from 10-year-old Dutch boy Niels.
The mum-of-two, 51, said: 'It was addressed to A Rivet, which was also my mother's initial. She opened it then passed it to me. We all shrieked when we realised it was a reply.'
Niels had found several messages washed up on Noordwijk beach near his home in Utrecht.
But to him, the Scottish Tizer bottle was magical.
He said: 'I found about 10 or 12 bottles with messages, but most of them were from ships, so this one was special from the beginning.'
The pair met for the first time two years later, when Annie's family went on holiday in the Netherlands and popped by Niels's home.
They met again in their 20s, when Annie settled in Holland to teach languages.
But a trip to France together sealed their relationship.
Niels, a mechanical engineer, said: 'She put her rucksack in my car and it never left. It just happened.'
And Annie admitted: 'I didn't fancy him at first - I just thought he was a nice guy.'
The couple eventually moved in together and married in 1978. Son Daniel, 25, was born two years later and they adopted Rebecca, now 20.
The couple now live in Wymondham, Norfolk.
Annie said: 'We are still very happy.
'It has always been a special relationship. How could you marry someone else after that
By Paula Murray
A LITTLE Scots girl chucked a message in a bottle into the English Channel - and ended up marrying the 10-year-old Dutch boy who found it.
Annie and Niels Elffers have now been wed for 27 years.
And last night, they told their amazing story - which began because Annie Rivet dreamed of meeting real-life pirates.
Annie was 10 when she went to France with her family in 1963.
She said: 'I liked stories about pirates and that's how I knew about messages in bottles.
'So when my parents took me to France, I had my Tizer bottle ready and threw it in the sea. I thought it would end up in France.'
Her brief letter, which she still has, gave her address and asked: 'Anyone finding this message please reply to A C Rivet.'
Just weeks later, the excited little girl got a letter back from 10-year-old Dutch boy Niels.
The mum-of-two, 51, said: 'It was addressed to A Rivet, which was also my mother's initial. She opened it then passed it to me. We all shrieked when we realised it was a reply.'
Niels had found several messages washed up on Noordwijk beach near his home in Utrecht.
But to him, the Scottish Tizer bottle was magical.
He said: 'I found about 10 or 12 bottles with messages, but most of them were from ships, so this one was special from the beginning.'
The pair met for the first time two years later, when Annie's family went on holiday in the Netherlands and popped by Niels's home.
They met again in their 20s, when Annie settled in Holland to teach languages.
But a trip to France together sealed their relationship.
Niels, a mechanical engineer, said: 'She put her rucksack in my car and it never left. It just happened.'
And Annie admitted: 'I didn't fancy him at first - I just thought he was a nice guy.'
The couple eventually moved in together and married in 1978. Son Daniel, 25, was born two years later and they adopted Rebecca, now 20.
The couple now live in Wymondham, Norfolk.
Annie said: 'We are still very happy.
'It has always been a special relationship. How could you marry someone else after that
