Golden Gelders celebrate 50 years of marriage

The couple, both aged 70, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Friday, December 28 with their close family.

Glenys said: “This time I didn’t want a big do, so my youngest daughter did a little buffet, just for our family.”

The couple will also mark their anniversary with a weekend away in Blackpool.

Colin and Glenys first met at Balne Lane Youth Club in 1963, when they were just 15 years old.

Glenys said: “I think it was love at first sight for my husband, but at first I didn’t even like him.

“It was his persistence that eventually won me over, he was very persistent.”

Colin and Glenys were engaged in 1968. They married in December of that same year, at St George’s Church, Lupset, in a ceremony attended by family members, and hosted a reception in a nearby social club.

The following year, they welcomed their first daughter, Michelle, followed by another girl, Donna, in 1973.

Colin worked as a settler at Bradley’s and Craven’s, a manufacturing company which specialised in brickmaking machinery, while Glenys worked at Sirdar, a wool spinning business famous for their high quality yarns and knitting designs.

Now retired, the couple spend their time walking and travelling.

They are also doting grandparents to Kenya, 20, Deacan, 16, and 14-year-old twins Paris and Autumn.

As for the secret to their many happy years together, Glenys believes it’s simply a matter of taking everything in stride. She said: “We just laugh at things and we enjoy life, really.”

Family are important to the pair, who said that some of their favourite memories are the arrivals of her children and grandchildren.

And the respect must be mutual, because in 2005, she was nominated for Wakefield Express Mum of the Year. Speaking at the time, Michelle said: “Everyone else comes first with my mum.

“She’s always busy helping others but when I see that smile on her face, I am so proud to think that’s my mum.”