A COUPLE from Pilning are celebrating a landmark day today surrounded by family and friends for their diamond wedding anniversary.

Pat and Roy Edwardes tied the knot on this very day 60 years ago, having met through the church, with Horfield-born Roy having responded to an advertisement put out by Pat’s father for a  new church organist to play during services in St Peter’s Church in Pilning.

Having cycled all the way for the audition, Roy, who also worked on the railroads, said he “wowed the ladies of the choir when he turned up in his shorts – a group which he later discovered included his future bride-to-be Pat.

She said that after he got the role, “Roy was always cycling back and forth to Pilning as he would be playing for the day and evening services. So one day I invited him to our home for lunch.”

It was not long until the couple began to show their affection for each other and spent more and more time at each other’s side.

“During the afternoons we would go out for long walks together,” said Roy, 82. “We would listen to the birds and the passing trains. It was a really traditional courtship.”

A year later the couple were engaged, but their marriage was pushed back while Roy was called up for national service.

Pat, 80, a former clerical worker, has always been heavily involved in the church, spending 25 years as the Parish Council’s cemetery clerk, and regularly lending her skills as a talented flower arranger while organising a range of fundraising events.

“Being part of the church has always been a big part of who we are,” said Pat. “It is a fantastic way to be part of the community and we get as much enjoyment in helping others as we do in taking part.”

Exactly 60 years after tying the knot, the couple live happily together in Pilning and have three sons, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The couple answered the age old question of the secret behind a successful marriage by saying that it was simple give and take and to never go to sleep without saying "I love you."

Having retired from the organ and handing it over to their daughter-in-law Sharon, Roy now sings in the choir alongside Pat.

He also spends his time as the editor of the In View magazine that covers Pilning, Easter Compton and Severn Beach, putting his past experiences as a Gazette columnist to good use, having for years reported as “Our man in Pilning” with all the latest news from the village.

He joked: “There was always something happening in Pilning, event when there wasn’t. I made sure of that because it was 10p a line!”

To celebrate their special day, the couple are set to enjoy afternoon tea with their family, before being joined by the village for plenty of punch and cake at a big party in the scout hall.