Couple celebrate 70 years of marriage – after a blind date!
A couple from the Market Rasen area are celebrating 70 years of happy marriage – after first meeting on a blind date!
George and Brenda Rogers, of Spridlington, near Market Rasen, recalled the first time they met having received a signed card with best wishes on their Platinum anniversary from King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Brenda remembers she had moved to the area aged just 16, from Peckham, London, after securing agricultural work through the youth employment scheme.
"I signed up to come and work on a farm and the housemaid there lived on the farm where George came from,” said Brenda.
"She asked me if I would go on a blind date with George and his friend, but I said, not really, as I was only 16.”
However, Brenda was persuaded as a favour to her friend who was apparently keen on George!
But things didn’t go according to plan on the date in the autumn of 1955, as George took a liking to Brenda and bought her ticket into the cinema instead – and the rest was history!
Their relationship grew and George took her to meet his parents on the farm where he grew up and his father was farm manager. They were soon married on March 31, 1956 at Dunholme Church.
Christmas day baby Brenda says: “I was just 17 at the time. My parents and family came up from London. It was very nice and the weather was really good.
"We had a reception next door at the Lord Nelson – which is now a Co-op.”
Both George and Brenda were agricultural workers and they went to live in Metheringham. Brenda said: “It was lovely. George had a motorbike and we would go out at weekends and spend time at Boston with his cousin.”
They had two children – Jane and Paul and also have a grandson, Arthur, who was born on their 51st wedding anniversary.
The couple done their share of travelling around the world too, visiting China and New Zealand. Brenda, 87, enjoys quilting and cross stitch, while George, now 93 used to go shooting and fishing.
To celebrate their milestone, the couple enjoyed family meals at the Pyewipe Inn, near Lincoln, and The King’s Head at Tealby.
Looking back at their long-lasting marriage, Brenda explained: “It’s about knowing your own faults and recognising them.”