24/10/81

24/10/81 or as those crazy Americans would record it - 10/24/81. Yes my friends, on this very day exactly forty five years ago, I married my sweetheart Shirley in St Martin's Church, Owston Ferry, Lincolnshire. It was the happiest day of my life.

On that day, we could have never imagined that we would still be together forty five years later. Two children. Two ectopic pregnancies. Three grandchildren. Memorable holidays, thousands of meals and the comforting rhythm of ordinary days passing by. Ups and downs. Together.

Today, to celebrate, we went out to a local restaurant for a three course prix fixe lunch with glasses of New Zealand sauvignon blanc. The french onion soup they served as a starter was the best I have ever had - savoury and thick with slow-cooked onion slices and crispy onions on top with a slice of toasted rye bread with cheddar cheese beside the bowl.

Back home, to mark our anniversary in a special way, I continued pulling up the old carpeting from our staircase, the hallway and the landing. For the first time in our married life we have hired professionals to decorate the area next week and afterwards there'll be new carpeting and hopefully a much happier appearance. It had been looking quite tired for a few years.

That day in 1981, during my school's October half term holiday, the weather was blustery but dry. After our budget reception in a local pub, we drove down to Lincoln for our budget wedding night and two days later, I carried Shirley over the threshold of the terraced house we had just bought in the Crookesmoor area of Sheffield.

It was time to set to with decoration and carpet laying, as we embarked on our married life together. Forty five years... and for my Lincolnshire lass, here are forty five kisses: 

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