A Workington couple are celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary.
Alan and Sheila Paisley have been residents at the Fairways Care Home, Branthwaite Road since January and have been enjoying special attention with friends and family.
After 70 years they both agree on the secret of their long marriage – doing as you are told!
Alan, now 91, and Sheila (nee Gartland) 90, were married on April 2, 1956 at Our Lady and St Michael’s Church, Banklands and have lived in the town ever since.
Their first home was on Thompson Street, then Corporation Road for many years and finally Frances Croft before moving into Fairways in January.
Alan was born on the Marsh at Southey Street and was one of a family of 10 – seven sisters and two brothers – attending Lawrence Street School.
He had an opportunity to go to the town’s grammar school but with such a large family commitment his mother said she could not afford the cost of a uniform.
Alan recalls: “I went out and got a job delivering newspapers locally and got 15 shillings a week, and I gave half to my mother. I think I used the rest to save up and buy a Raleigh bike.
“I eventually did get to the grammar school but it wasn’t for me academically and I left when I was 15 to be a miner.
“I was on the pit top to start with but at 16 I went underground and did that until I took early retirement at 50 instead of moving south.”
He had started at Clifton pit and worked at Solway before ending his working career at Haig when lots of Cumbrian miners moved to Mansfield or the Liverpool area.
Sheila was born in Derwent Street and had a sister Pat and brother Barry, attending St Patrick’s School before St Joseph’s.
She worked at a chemist shop for 15 years before son Michael was born, followed by daughter Gillian and latterly helped out in the town’s Oxfam charity shop.
“I remember going to work in the morning and I would often pass Bill Shankly, who was Workington Reds manager at the time. He was always smartly dressed and would lift his hat and say ‘Good morning Mrs Paisley’ every time we met,” she recalls.
The couple met on Workington cricket field when both were watching St Joseph’s School Sports and started talking.
“Eventually I asked her out and we went to the pictures – and there were five in the town at the time so we had plenty of choice. I think the Ritz was our favourite on Murray Road even though it was the most expensive,” says Alan.
It’s perhaps relevant that in 70 years of marriage they shared the same hobby – DIY, particularly on home improvements,
“We even papered the loft,” says Alan. “I had an 8ft ladder and went up it while Sheila passed me the paper on a brush. We spent many an hour decorating.”
Son Michael, retired now after working for the Metropolitan Police and his wife Kathleen, had travelled from Scotland for the family get-together but daughter Gillian and husband Martin were unable to make it from Leeds.
Alan and Sheila have two grandchildren – Nathan, 17 and Isla 12.
The platinum couple have settled in well at Fairways and have been treated like royalty with special cakes and tea to celebrate – in keeping with the congratulatory card they received from King Charles and Queen Camilla.
