There was an extra sparkle from the Sinatra Quartet playing at Laurie’s in King Street in July.

As Frank Holden crooned ‘Come Fly With Me’ all the angels were cheering because he and his lost childhood love – Elisabeth Jaklitsch – were together again after 28 years.

At the age of 22, Gorbals boy Frank was living with his Aunt Jean Igoe in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe). He met Elisabeth Jaklitsch whose parents had lived in that country for many years.

‘We really hit it off together,’ said Frank who takes his ‘Sinatra Experience’ to castles and cottages.
‘I had to leave the country as it was being torn apart by war. Elisabeth and I promised to keep in touch – and we did for a while. But eventually she was shipped off to Austria where her parents originated from – to complete her education. Her parents, not being too keen on me, made it impossible for me to find her.

The short version is that after 28 years of trying to find her, I did! She was living in Vienna and working for the United Nations.’

The couple are now engaged and Elisabeth flew into Glasgow to catch Frank’s gig at the Merchant City venue. Said Elisabeth, ‘It’s as if the years between had never been. We picked up from where we left off. It is so romantic.’

To complete the happy picture, Aunt Jean, who recently moved to Glasgow after a lifetime in Zimbabwe, was also at the Sinatra Quartet evening which is the live show on the last Thursday of every month at Laurie’s.

‘I was born at 99 Gorbals Street and lived for 50 years in Zimbabwe.I miss the country very much because it gets under your skin. But I’m glad to be in Glasgow and I’m very happy to see Frank and Elisabeth together again.’