Yahoo News From teens at youth club to celebrating diamond wedding: Couple say laughter is key to marriage
Childhood sweethearts Ann and Eric Barker say laughter is the key to their happy marriage as they celebrate 60 years of wedded bliss.
The Acklam couple, who were just teenagers when they met, are still very active and are planning a garden party for their Diamond Wedding in a couple of weeks. The pair, who have two children, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, have just returned from a family holiday in Cyprus and are looking forward to their anniversary celebrations.
Ann said neither of them have ever had another partner after having got together at such a young age.
She said: "I was 14 and Eric was 16 and we were at a youth club, that is how we met. It just went from there and we have been together ever since."
Ann, 79, said she and 81-year-old Eric, were married at Linthorpe Road Methodist Church and it was a small event. So, for their Golden Wedding they pushed the boat out and had a huge celebration.
However, she said for their 60th anniversary they are having a smaller event in the form of a garden party for close family and friends. During their working life, Ann said she used to work at a Teesside clothing factory making good for Marks and Spencer and Eric worked at the steelworks and then ICI.
She said: "We do laugh a lot together, we always have plenty to say to one another." She said the pair keep active and are still babysitting great-grandchildren.
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