Laughter is key to the heart for Collingham couple after 60 years of marriage

A couple who built their marriage on laughter are celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

It was at 12pm, September 12, 1964, that Richard and Valerie Harvey tied the knot in a small ceremony at St Leonard’s Church on Northgate, Newark.

In the decades since the couple raised two loving daughters, Sarah and Susannah, and now delight in spending time with their four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

To mark the milestone moment, Richard and Valerie are going back to the beginning and will be celebrating their anniversary in the same Scarborough hotel they spent their honeymoon in 60 years ago.

The pair went to the same school in Newark and knew of each other, but didn’t properly meet until they crossed paths in 1960 at The Elite dancehall on Stodman Street, above where Holland and Barrett is located today.

But it wasn’t a entirely drama free experience. Valerie said: “Well, he went to the dance with another young lady and came home with me.

“There weren’t enough seats for everyone and this other woman didn’t want to sit on his knee, so I sat down instead.

“Then at the end of the night he asked her for the final dance but she wouldn’t, then he asked me and I would. That was that.”

It quickly became clear that laughter was an essential part of their relationship, with a smile always worn and a joke seemingly at hand for every question.

When asked what had drawn them to each other and kept them together for so long, Valerie joked “he’ll do!”, followed by an “I do as I’m told” from Richard.

He added: “We always got on well and we’ve been very happy together.

“Importantly, you have to be there for one another, we give and we receive.”

Their daughter, Sarah Mills, said: “I couldn’t ask for better parents.

“60 years is amazing. You don’t get many these days and so it is really worth celebrating.”

Living in Collingham their entire married lives, Richard spent 32 years as a firefighter, rising to become sub-officer at Collingham Fire Station, and Valerie helped raise thousands of children as a dinner lady for 27 years.

Since retirement, they have embraced their love of travel, with caravan holidays in every corner of the UK.

As well as reliving their honeymoon with a three-night hotel stay in Scarborough, the whole family are planning a get together meal to celebrate.