A DIAMOND couple from Mary Tavy have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary surrounded by friends and family.

John and Barbara Weeks marked their special day last Thursday (November 3) with a lunch with loved-ones.

The couple first met at a mutual friend’s 21st birthday party near Cheltenham in the summer of 1955.

At this time, John was studying at the University of Bangor in Wales and Barbara was working for the Ministry of Agriculture in London.

They were married the following year on November 3, 1956, at Sarisbury Green, Farnham.

John finished his studies and became a teacher, working at schools in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. However, the adventurous pair decided they wanted to work abroad.

After a job in Argentina fell through, John accepted a post at the Prince of Wales School (renamed Nairobi School) in Kenya.

The whole family, including two cats and a dog, accompanied John to Kenya and they spent ‘seven wonderful years’ there.

On returning to the UK in 1973, the family moved to Devon where John taught at Mount House School until he retired from teaching in 1985.

Barbara has had many voluntary roles over the years, including churchwarden at St Petroc’s Church at Lydford, which she retired from in 2016 after 26 years.

Together John and Barbara have six children — Patrick, Shona, Joanna, Jeremy, Diana and Ian. The couple also have 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

When asked what the key to a long and happy marriage was, Barbara joked: ‘tolerance... and a good sense of humour.’