Burnley diamond wedding couple still sparkling

A sparkling couple are celebrating their Diamond wedding anniversary.
Geoff and DorisGeoff and Doris
Geoff and Doris

Geoff and Doris Barras, who live in Lydgate, Harle Syke, marked 60 years of marriage yesterday, six decades after meeting at Nelson’s Imperial Ballroom.

However, it very nearly didn’t happen for the lifelong lovebiords as Doris explained.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We met at the Imperial Ballroom in Nelson, which was the place to be in those days. Geoff was actually being thrown out because they said his teddy boy trousers were too narrow!

Geoff and Doris on their wedding dayGeoff and Doris on their wedding day
Geoff and Doris on their wedding day

“I was on my way in to the ballroom with my friend, and we were asked if we considered his trousers to be too narrow - and the rest is history.

“We went on to another venue with them and had a great night, and have been pretty much inseparable ever since.”

Indeed, the pair even shared the same workplace for most of their working lives – Burnley General Hospital, where Doris worked in the X-Ray department, and Geoff was a foreman painter and decorator.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Doris added: “We met when I was 18 and married a year later when I was 19 and Geoff was 25. We had our honeymoon in Morecambe and the Lake District – people didn’t really go abroad in those days.

“We are best friends and I think that’s a great recipe for a successful marriage. We try to never go to bed on an argument, and I think tolerance is really important.

“Geoff is always joking around around and we keep laughing which is great for any marriage.”

In their early days, the couple travelled extensively, and visited the country music festival in Nashville several times. Sadly, failing health means they can’t travel abroad now but they still have mini adventures in the UK.

They celebrating with a family meal at Bertram’s this week.

Related topics: