IT is all thanks to a good old fashioned ?cuppa? that a couple from Bere Alston celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last Tuesday. John, 74, and Iris Snell, 73, well-known residents within the village community, commemorated 50 years of marriage with an open-house party together with friends and family. John used to work at Bere Alston station and first met Iris when she used to come to visit the station master?s wife, Mrs Skinner. One day when Iris was visiting, Mrs Skinner noticed that John had dropped his cup of tea on the train line and broken his cup, so she asked Iris to bring him a fresh cup of tea. Two weeks later John asked Iris on a date to the pictures in Tavistock. Six months after first meeting, John was called into the army for National Service in August 1951. When he returned two years later John went back onto the railway and was stationed at Calstock, then went back to Bere Alston for six years and was then transferred to Plymouth until he retired in 1994. Iris, who is well-known for her flower arrangements and for judging at local shows, used to help out at her parents? farm in Bere Alston after she left school. They married on September 4, 1957 at Mount Zion Chapel in Bere Alston, which is now a residential property. The couple had a daughter called Heather in 1960 and now have three granddaughters, Sarah, 26, and Kirsty, 24 who both live in Bristol, and Samantha. 22, who lives in Lancashire with Heather. John had a simple answer to the secret of a long and happy marriage; ?Do as your told!? he joked. ?A woman once told me contentment is worth a king?s ransom which is true in life and marriage,? he added.
