Age is no barrier when it comes to love, and for those of us who work at Borough Care, it is a heartwarming part of our jobs to meet the ‘other halves’ of our residents and to hear about their ongoing love for each other, which in many cases has lasted for decades. For Valentine’s Day, we sat down with some of the loved-up couples in our homes to discuss how they met, their lives together and their advice for a happy, long-lasting relationship.
James and Enid
James and Enid met when they were both 16, in 1953 at the Astor Cinema in Stockport. Enid was there with James’ cousin Ann. They courted for two years and at age 18, James went into the army as a tank driver stationed in Germany.
They wrote to each other every day, and eventually married at 22 years old. Thirteen months later daughter Helen came along, followed by Christine twelve months later. They had a son, Philip in 1968 but sadly he passed away when he was just two years old. In 1972, son Mathew was born.
James and Enid have such happy memories as a family going abroad, as they all loved the sun. James and Enid were keen dancers and would get noticed when they were out and about. James said ‘We have been married for almost 63 years. We have never argued, we have always been content just being with each other.’
Enid and James will have been married for 63 years this March and are still very much in love with each other. James comes to visit Enid twice a day where they like to chat and watch TV together. They are both looking forward to summer so they can sit in the garden at Reinbek and enjoy the sun together.
Rita and Peter
Peter and Rita have been married for 60 years, having met properly for the first time at Bell Vue in Manchester. Belle Vue was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium that opened in 1836. Peter and Rita loved going there for a dance.
Peter had always known Rita as they went to the same school, however as she was in the year below him, there was not much opportunity for them to meet until they had left school. Peter thought Rita was beautiful and his family were very fond of her. Peter says it was much simpler to keep in contact and meet up back then, as before phones, emails and texts they simply knocked on each other’s doors!
Peter soon knew that Rita was the one for him, but there was no big surprise engagement, as Rita felt the same. ‘It was more of a conversation, as we both knew it was the right thing to do.’ They were married in an amazing joint wedding ceremony with their friends, and all four went off on honeymoon, documenting their travels with a new camera Peter had bought specially for the trip! They went on to have a daughter and are now proud grandparents too.
Peter is now a regular visitor to Cawood House to spend the evening with his love Rita, and gets involved in the family meetings and the various activities at the home. Peter’s advice to young couples today is ‘Be good to each other, don’t let each other down, and love each other. Work together and be a team.”
Freda and Norman
Cawood House’ lovely resident couple Freda and Norman celebrated 60 years of marriage back in September 2022. After six decades, Freda and Norman are still joined at the hip – where one is, the other is always by their side. Freda and Norman even worked together in the same hospital back in the day!
The team at Cawood decorated their lovely summer house while Chef Stephen created a beautiful cake and arranged afternoon tea for Freda, Norman and their family. Freda, Norman and their family were very grateful for all the effort to make the day extra special for them and passed on a huge thanks to team Cawood for helping create such special memories.
There was lots of excitement in Cawood House when Freda and Norman received a very special card to congratulate them both on an amazing 60 years of marriage. They were delighted that King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla took the time to write to them.
On their advice for a happy marriage, Freda said ‘Look after each other. If Norman isn’t feeling 100% I make sure he eats his meals, even down to giving him my last bite of pudding! Norman said, “If Freda is happy, I’m happy. It’s important to spend time together, even if you’re sitting reading. Just be, together.”
