By Sarah Robinson

Published at 11:11, Thursday, 30 August 2012

HONESTY is the best policy for a successful marriage, says a Whitehaven couple who have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

family celebrations: Bob and Mary Shaw, of Hensingham, who recently celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary

Bob and Mary Shaw marked their 60 years of marriage last Thursday joined by their family. They were treated to an overnight stay, organised by family members, at the New House Farm in Lorton.

The couple say that they believe the success of their marriage is down to not keeping secrets from each other.

Bob, 83, said: “We don’t have any secrets, we never have.”

While Mary, 82, says that a happy marriage is about give-and-take. “A marriage can’t be one-sided,” she added.

The pair met as teenagers, as Mary Wilson as she was then known, aged 16, worked in her auntie’s newsagents on The Square, while Bob, aged 17, travelled to Hensingham from Bransty to work on a nearby farm.

Mary said: “I worked in my auntie’s shop and Bob would come in to buy his cigarettes.”

Bob said: “In those days I got to know the local kids at Hensingham and we would all congregate on The Square. We all hung round in a group together and Mary was part of that group. We were friends at first and our relationship just grew.”

The couple married on August 23, 1952, at St John’s Church, Hensingham, and honeymooned in Morecambe for a week.

They went to live with Mary’s mother, Susan, for two years before buying their first home, the cottage below the Distressed Sailor, on Egremont Road, in 1954.

“The house was £310 and we put £70 down on it. It was a lot of money in those days!” said Bob.

The couple later moved to a house on Bedford Street before settling at Rosebank where they have been for more than 40 years. They have one daughter, Susan, and two grandchildren, Kathryn and Andrew.

Following Bob’s work as a farmer, he began working at Sellafield, building his way up from a process worker to charge-hand to foreman.

He added: “I took a night class for two years at Whitehaven College and gained a City and Guilds qualification in chemical plant processing and continued my work at Sellafield.”

In 1989, Bob retired and took up several hobbies. He is well-known in the community for exhibiting chrysanthemums and leeks. He is also a keen golfer, although in recent years has taken up playing bowls.

For many years, Mary worked as a midday supervisor at Hensingham Infants School and later worked in the kitchen at the school. Following her retirement, Mary enjoys swimming and is involved in a handicrafts group at St John’s Church.

She said: “There are about 20 of us making different things. I make blankets and little jackets for the premature baby unit and hats and mitts for the shoebox appeal. I always have something on the go.”

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk