THEN AND NOW!

Today is our 54th Wedding Anniversary - and we both wonder where those years have gone but we are still smiling so we must be doing something right!

I wanted to do a collage and was just planning to use two photographs - one of our wedding and then one of us taken today before Church, but things changed somewhat after we had been out.

We had booked to go to the local Miller & Carter Steakhouse for lunch and what a wonderful time we had, so after taking quite a few photographs, I decided to make a collage using some of those photographs.  No prizes for guessing which were taken when!

The top three were taken after our wedding at Immanuel Church, Swindon, on a very windy day on 6th March 1968 and includes Mr. HCB's brother, Derek, who was best man, both sets of parents, our bridesmaid, Margaret, standing next to me, and our other bridesmaid, my sister, Karen with my little brother, Paul, standing in front, who was our pageboy.  This was the day of black and white photography and as far as I remember, there weren’t many colour photographs taken at all.

In the second row, I took the left one in the garden earlier this morning and Annabel, our lovely waitress took the middle one as we were about to eat our steaks.  I know it’s not a traditional Sunday lunch, but it was wonderful and I didn’t have to cook it, which made it taste even better!  The last photograph in that row is me sampling my first mouthful of the amazing tiramisu - and I was assured by Annabel that there are no calories in dessert eaten on a Sunday!

In the bottom row of the collage, you can see the wonderful tulips that Mr. HCB bought me without even leaving his chair  - courtesy of Aldi when I went shopping on Friday morning.  Next is a shot of Gareth, who was “learning the ropes” before becoming a Manager for M & C, from Annabel, standing next to him.  They were both lovely - and were so attentive.  We were both thrilled, just after our desserts arrived, when Annabel brought out a decorated plate, done by one of the ladies in the kitchen, which had “Happy Anniversary” written on it.  Of course, we sent our thanks to her via Annabel.

So a wonderful day so far - just a little aside - just as we were about to leave, Annabel was speaking to us and said “Enjoy the rest of your anniversary” so the young couple who had just arrived at the next table asked us how many years we had been married.  When Mr. HCB said 54, the young man leaned over and said “Wow - that’s a long time - that deserves a handshake”!  They said they had been married for two years so had a way to go to catch us up.  They asked what our secret was and we said “As well as give and take, always remember to have fun and laugh together and that will get you through anything!”  

Neither of us had anything alcoholic to drink - so I think, once Mr. HCB wakes up, we might open a bottle of wine and have a glass or two!

“The greatest marriages
     are built on teamwork...
a mutual respect,
     a healthy dose of admiration
          and a never-ending portion
               of love and grace.”
Fawn Weaver