A FLIXTON couple will celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary at the weekend with a meal out with family and friends.

John and Margaret O’Brien, 82 and 83 respectively, both moved to Manchester from Ireland in the 1940s, and met at a dance in Chorlton-on-Medlock in ‘49.

“I asked her the usual question of: ‘do you come here often’, and then asked her to dance,” said John. “I thought she was alright and then later walked her home,” he said.

The pair never looked back and after a brief spell back in Ireland the courting couple tied the knot on October 6, 1951, at St Alfonso Church in Old Trafford. Later that day they enjoyed a reception at Stretford Road Hotel, but did not take a honeymoon.

“We didn’t have a honeymoon,” said Margaret. “Not many people did in those days. It was a case of married on Saturday, back to work on Monday.”

The pair moved to a small house on Bishop Street, Moss Side, after their nuptials, and then to Stamford Street in Old Trafford in 1954. Two years previously the couple welcomed the first of three sons, Terence, followed by John in 1957, and Paul in 1960.

Then in 1979, John, a retired cable joiner, and Margaret, who was a home help for the elderly, moved to Derbyshire Road, Stretford, where they stayed until 1983 when they relocated the family for the last time and moved into a house on Flixton’s Kingston Drive where they remain today.

On the how their marriage has lasted the test of time, John said: “I think trust and being able to give and take.” Margaret added: “If you fall out, you’ve got to fall back in again.”

The pair, who also have five grandchildren and one great grandchild, celebrate their milestone anniversary with a family meal at Flixton Golf Club.