Bus stop romance couple get memento of place they met

Aly Hussein, 41, admired future wife Michala, 40, each day as she waited for a bus home at the stop in Gloucester Road, Bristol.

He eventually plucked up the courage to say hello and the pair chatted daily, before Mr Hussein asked her out.

The couple married three years ago and always remember the spot where they fell in love, close to Mr Hussein’s business, the Blue Lagoon bar.

Their friend, Tat Mersy, contacted Bristol City Council after hearing that the bus stop, Zetland Road Junction, was to be replaced.

The council agreed to her request for a part of the stop to be handed over to the couple because of its significance to them.

Yesterday, representatives from the council and bus shelter supplier Clear Channel UK presented the pair with the bus stop flag and seat.

“Every day I used to see her at the same time in the same place and really wanted to get to know her so one day I took the opportunity to say hello,” Mr Hussein said.

“Our daily chats led to me asking her out properly. We’ve now been married 
for three years but I’ll never forget how we met and it’s wonderful that we can keep a little bit of our history forever.”

Mr Hussein first spotted her eight years ago as she waited for her bus after leaving her job in a nearby flower shop.

When Ms Mersy heard that the bus stop in Gloucester Road, Bristol was being replaced as part of a £30,000 improvement scheme she wrote to the council asking if Mr and Mrs Hussein could be given a piece of it as a memento.

Deputy mayor Geoffrey Gallop, who handed the couple part of the shelter, said he was delighted to grant the request. “Amazing and wonderful things can happen at bus stops,” Mr Gallop said.