Love and Marriage....

....Amanda Wakeley....

.....I read the story of Ralph and Phyllis Tarrant last week.....Britain's longest married couple.

107 and 101 respectively, they have been married for 77 years - and known each other for 85.

Quite astonishing. And to me, quite wonderful.

"I don't know where time has gone,' says Ralph. 'It's just flown by"....

And what do they put the secret of their successful marriage down to?

'I always enjoy myself as much as I can,' says Ralph, 'Whatever the object or opposition. I like life and I've always looked after myself.'

Phyllis is less sure: 'I have no idea,' she says, 'but it's certainly a great achievement.'

Ralph credits their longevity to being healthy and active and having lots of cheese and onion sandwiches!

Their full interview can be read here ....

I have to confess that I love reading stories like this, they fill me with hope - even if we are talking about a generation where divorce didn't happen nearly as much and people worked through their lives, working through any "problems" they might have....you got through things.

My grandparents were all married until their deaths and my in-laws too, being married almost 50 years.

My own parents were only married for 8 years and probably should never have married.

My in-laws survived the kind of issues that these days might split people up - long distance relationships, the death of a child, times of unemployment, emigration....but divorce was unthinkable....

....my in-laws, 1960....(we married at exactly the same church)

I will have been married 12 years this year.....I have heard it said that if you love someone, then marriage isn't a challenge....but I disagree. Anything is a challenge if you want to do it to the best of your ability and to really achieve at it...

....almost 12 years and counting!