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22:51:00 o'clock BST
Wedding anniversary.
I thought I’d better write an entry today if only to mention the fact that it’s our wedding anniversary. Twenty nine years for goodness sake. Where has the time gone? And, more to the point, when does the license expire? I have no idea how we’ve survived so long together. We’ve certainly had some rocky times but I guess the fact that we’re still hanging in there must mean something.
We’ve never really celebrated our anniversaries, except our 25th when we treated ourselves to a holiday in a five star hotel overlooking Lake Maggiore in Italy. (And if you’ve never been I can thoroughly recommend it.) We had intended to go for a meal tonight but Reet has her exam tomorrow and wanted to get in some practice on the computer, so we stayed in and had Chinese. A friend of mine gave me some tickets (two meals for the price of one) at a plush Italian restaurant, just a short drive away, but you have to book weeks in advance to get a table. So we thought we’d save it for now and maybe share the evening with our friends Andy and Liz.
I remember our wedding quite well. I know we paid a little over a grand for the whole shebang. Doesn’t sound much now but back in ’79 it was a fortune. We hired a huge hall and my brother in law’s band played in the evening, interspersed with a disco. Reet’s aunt made the wedding cake, a three tier extravaganza that tasted as beautiful as it looked. I also remember I was much skinnier back then. I had a twenty eight inch waste – and thirty inch flairs on my suit trousers!
The honeymoon was spent on the Isle of Wight. We got lost going through London on the outward journey and had to be guided through by a policeman who took us all round the back streets at a squillion miles an hour. Reet was panicking that once they’d got us to the other side of London they’d stop and nick us for speeding. The most memorable thing about the honeymoon was the horse riding. Reet enjoyed the experience as she hadn’t ridden since her early schooldays. Me? That was my first time and most definitely my last. As experiences go I think I’d sooner stick pins in my eyes.
On the way home the car broke down and we had to join the AA right there and then to get them to fix it. They had trouble finding the parts though and by the time they got it sorted we had no less than five AA men from all over the Guildford area working on the car. They did us proud though and we got home safely, if a little later than expected.
Our first fifteen years of marriage were spent in a high rise flat where we never really settled. The flat itself was huge and we really liked it. I even had a darkroom set up in one of the cupboards, that’s how big it was. But the area wasn’t so great and it wasn’t a place we ever thought of as home. Although we had very little money, we always felt that something would turn up and we wouldn’t live there forever. We went to the pub most nights and had parties frequently but we never decorated after that first time when we first moved in. It just didn’t seem permanent, even after fourteen of those years.
Our escape came in the form of a council scheme that allowed tenants to part rent and part buy a house. We decided to go for it but when we went for a financial check we discovered that house prices had dropped so much that, with a few hours a week overtime on my part, we could actually afford to buy on the open market. And that’s how we came to buy the place we’re living in now.
We moved here in ’94 and have never looked back. I knew when I first viewed the place that I wanted it and we were lucky enough that the lady who was selling it liked us enough to wait for us to sort the finances. Fourteen years on and we still love the place. It’s probably the only reason we’re still together. None of us is prepared to give it up. ;O}
I had hoped to add a wedding photo to this entry but it turns out I don’t have one on my computer. Guess I’ll have to scan some in a bit sharpish. Or maybe I’ll leave it till our thirtieth next year.
Right, time for bed methinks.
Tata. x
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Well congratulations on your Anniversary and many many more to come! We're going on 39 years this past May and I'm asking the same thing, When do I get with serving good time? hahahaha Good,bad or different we're still hanging after all these years too. Its something to be said for that in itself! Besides, who else is gonna put up with us now at our age? hahaha
Nancy -
Well, then, Happy Anniversary to you, Barry and Reet! I enjoyed reading your honeymoon story. Get that wedding photo up soon! That's something I haven't done for my anniversary entry... I suppose I could at least find a good one and scan it for my entry. Oh well, it's past... maybe I can do it for next year's entry! May you have another twenty nine happy years (is that possible?)... <grin> bea
http://journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/ -
I have clocked up 28 years Barry! Just right behind you in 1980. . .and we started off in a high rise flat too.Ours was huge too but glad we are not still in it.Congratulations to you both
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Awww Barry, that was a lovely entry you old softie ;o) the late 70's eh, i remember those days well as i was married in 1977 - feels like a lifetime ago !
All jokes aside your wedding anniversary is something to be proud of - Congratulations.
Luv Jaynee X
28/06/08 00:08
Jenny
http://jounals.aol.co.uk/jmoq