Couple celebrate Golden Wedding at St Clements

A couple who have celebrated their Golden Wedding at St Clements Nursing Home, in Norwich, put down their long, happy relationship “to a lot of hard work”.
 
Norman Ashford, 78, who has lived at the home in St Clements Hill since August 2017, and his wife Marian, 74, celebrated with a recreation of the lemon cake from their wedding day, made by support worker Roselle Thorpe.
 
Norman was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, and Marian grew up in Hednesford, Staffordshire, but they both moved to East Anglia and were working at the old Pye television factory in Oulton Broad when they met.
 
Marian, who still lives at the couple’s home in Norwich, said: “I was on the repair line and met Norman who worked on pre-production.

“We got talking while working together on Saturdays when I was doing overtime; it was a few weeks before Norman asked to take me out to dinner.”
 
Their first date had been to the Flying Dutchman pub in Oulton Broad.
 
Marian had two children, aged three and five, and Norman took them on as his own.
 
It was 18 months before the couple got married, Marian moving to Lowestoft.
 
The couple travelled a lot and they both enjoyed motor racing; they cycled together and joined cycling clubs in Lowestoft & Norwich.
 
Norman was interested in aeroplane modelling, building planes and flying them; they also loved to listen to music together.
 
Marian said: “I believe the secret to a long happy relationship is a lot of hard work from the start – to support one another through everything and every decision.
 
“It’s a lot of give and take but the good outweighs the bad and there are more happy days than bad ones.”

Find out more about St. Clements nursing home