Rasen couple stay on the right track after 60 years

Brian Oxborrow and his wife Joy celebrated 60 years of marriage this month and they were guests of honour at a tea party in the station’s heritage centre.

They were joined by friends from both the station adoption group (MRSAG) and Methodist Church, two organisations very close to their hearts.

Brian has been instrumental in providing many of the pieces of art that adorn the station walls, as well as as helping towards its award-winning status.

Fellow MRSAG member, Martin Barnard said: “Given Brian’s long standing connection with the Station as a volunteer, the Heritage Rooms and Cafe proved to be the ideal venue for Brian, Joy and friends to celebrate this very special occasion”.

It was on October 10, 1959 that Joyce (Joy) Mendham and Brain Oxborrow tied the knot.

They were married in the village church at Swanton Morley in Norfolk.

Brian and Joy first met when a young Brian visited his eldest sister, Joan, at her village home in Norfolk. Joy really was the girl next door, as her family lived in the cottage adjoining Joan’s.

Joy had become a friend and babysitter to Brian’s nieces and nephew, and so the story began.

After ‘courting’ for two years, the couple married and moved to Market Rasen, closer to Brian’s family, who had themselves moved from Suffolk to Louth, and then Normanby le Wold, several years earlier.

The move was a long way from home for Joy, then aged just 19, but Market Rasen was welcoming and the couple’s new neighbours helped them to settle in, set up home and were even more helpful when Graham and then Lynn were born.

This early experience proved invaluable, as Joy and Brian have spent the last 60 years immersing themselves in Market Rasen life.

Brian became well known as both a painter and decorator and beekeeper, while many locals will remember Joy from roles at various shops along Market Rasen’s high street, most notably the Posy Bowl.

Over the years they have been active members of the community, attending Market Rasen Methodist Church, participating in the Ladies and Men’s Groups, and supporting The Lincolnshire Trust for Nature Conservation.

Brian has also been an active volunteer for The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust at Linwood Warren, as well as the Station Adoption Group.

The couple have gained many friends old and new, some of whom helped them to celebrate their special anniversary.

Joy and Brian’s son and daughter, Graham and Lynn, thank everyone who made their parents’ day so special.