Couple celebrate wedding in their eighties

It it is never too late to get married according to a romantic couple from Tavistock who got married in their eighties.

Better late than never is the motto of Roy, 83, and Rotha, 82, who got hitched in late August, having been together for nearly 40 years.

After their wedding they celebrated with a post-wedding party at the Tavistock residential home where they volunteer.

The newly-weds are long-standing volunteers at Drake Lodge, Abbeyfield on Plymouth Road, and after they were married at Exeter register office, the lodge residents, staff and other volunteers laid on a celebration party.

Rotha, a former teaching assistant at Callington College, said: “It was a lovely ceremony, very traditional, which I wasn’t expecting as it wasn’t a church. It will take some getting used to the feeling of being married. I do feel different, even after 37 years of living together. I was thrilled to bits to be proposed to by Roy and it felt the right time to do it. It’s going to take some time to get used to be called Mrs and a wife. But a nice thing to cope with.

“I’ve volunteered at Abbeyfield for nine years. I take the breakfast trolley round every morning and chat to the residents and at the same time I’m checking they’re ok in their rooms and if they need anything, apart from breakfast. I have tried to retire three times, but they still ask me to stay on.

“Of course I still see Roy at work and at home, which is nice. I couldn’t be without him.”

A wedding celebration honey cake was made by Drake Lodge Ukrainian cleaner Alina and the in-house kitchen laid on party food. The jollities included a toast to the happy couple and a hilarious game of Mr and Mrs (asking light hearted questions about each other’s domestic and personal habits) to win a box of chocolates.

An emotional highlight was a speech about the couple by former lodge trustee Graham Osborne who made his way from Surrey as a surprise, especially for the occasion to see his friends. They hadn't seen each other for a couple of years which made the visit extra special.

Roy, a Drake Lodge handyman, and ex-Devonport Dockyard welder, said: “It started with a cuddle when we were both going through emotional divorces and we both needed comfort. We first agreed to meet at the Bedford Hotel and it was lucky she got there at all because she couldn’t understand my strong local accent. Now we understand each other very well.”

Salema Dennis, Abbeyfield house manager, said: “Roy and Rotha are a fantastic addition to life at Abbeyfield, with Roy wielding our Hoover every week, and Rotha taking the breakfast trolley around to the rooms to have a chat with the residents and make sure they are okay. The couple also run our weekly Thursday coffee morning which runs from 10.30am-12.30pm and is open to our community for anyone that wants to join in.”