A COUPLE in Alveston are celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary.


Richard and Eileen Osmond, who live in Davids Close, celebrated 70 years of marriage together on Tuesday, September 15.


They married at St Peter’s Church, in Pilning, in 1945, and say the secret of their long marriage is down to never going to bed on an argument and remembering “it’s all about give and take”.


The now-retired couple first met when they were about 10-years-old while they were at school in Northwick, near Pilning.


Eileen, 89, said she liked her husband Richard, 90, when they first met all those years ago.


“We met when we were very young, and when we left school, aged 14-years-old, it wasn’t long until we first started seeing each other,” she said.


“Richard worked at his father’s farm in Northwick, and I worked at a cigarette and tobacco shop.


“Our first date was at a carnival in the area, and we were engaged just over a year later.”


The couple went on to move to Alveston in the 1980s, with Richard taking over his father’s farm when his father retired, and Eileen working at Pilning Post Office for some time.


They had three children over the years, Nigel, 68, Janice 66, and Cheryl, who passed away aged 35-years-old in 1996, after suffering from cancer.


“We now have six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren,” Richard said.


“We do like having a big family, but didn’t want a big fuss for our anniversary this year.


“We went to our local pub to celebrate for a quick lunch.”