ROMANCE was often in the air at the Newbridge Memo as young men and women met at the cinema and dance hall.

And for one couple, Neil and Christine Bowdich, their first kiss under the Memo roof heralded the start of a long and happy relationship.

Now they are hoping the Memo can win the £3 million on offer in the BBC Restoration programme in a campaign being backed by the Argus.

Christine was only 15 when she met future husband Neil in the back row of the cinema at the Memo. She had gone to see a film with a friend, and Neil was sitting in the back row with his friend.

"I went to get some sweets and when I got back he called me," she says. "I went over and he kissed me straight away, which I thought was a bit forward."

Christine met Neil again a week later and their relationship blossomed from there - although they didn't kiss again for another two weeks!.

They married four years later in 1970 and had two daughters and they still live in Cwmdows Terrace in the town.

"We spent a lot of time at the Memo when we were young - he used to take me to see a lot of thrillers, I think it was his excuse to put his arm round me," says Christine. "We both have very fond memories of the Memo.

"We went to the open day on Saturday and saw the cinema for the first time in years. We wanted to see if our special place was there.

"It is a shame that it has got that way - but hopefully the restoration will get done and it will be somewhere for the kids in Newbridge to go."