Friday, February 5, 2016

I Give You Joy....and Henry!




Hello, my friends! Do you love the title of this post?  I like a play on words, don't you?
Joy and Henry are our friends in England who celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in July of 2015.   And when you have been married that long in England, you get a card from the Queen!
(Providing someone has sent along the correct paperwork, that is! And luckily for J & H, someone did so!)  
We visited them in October and they posed for the photo above with their card.  The following photos are from framed photos in their living room, but I liked them so much, I wanted to share with you!
  


Just look at that cake with the 65 on top!  Isn't it lovely and don't they look so happy on their anniversary?


 Here is a photo of a very happy memory for Joy and Henry...it is the wedding photo of their daughter, Anne.  Joy and Henry also have a son, Henry, he is pictured at the far left. (If anyone remembers from my previous posts, Henry is one of Richard's oldest friends.)
Now... I will show you a photo that might surprise you....

This is John, the groom pictured above when he was one of the Queen's Guards!  Okay, I am not certain of the correct term to use here, but hey, give me a break, I am American, you know! HA!
I was tickled to find out that I know someone whose son-in-law had this as a job! (And they are really military men, make no mistake about it.)



We had a beautiful tea with Joy and Henry (and their son, Henry too!) and then, Henry, Sr. drove us to The De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill and we enjoyed a most pleasant day overlooking the sea..  And this was on October 21st!










Now, I hope Joy and Henry will see this post and remember this beautiful sunny day that we visited with them.  And as a special treat, I have a clip from "Paddington Bear" and I think you will see why I chose this for this post!  I give you Joy... and Henry!   Thank you Joy and Henry, we loved your gracious hospitality while we were there and we hope to see you again soon!










29 comments:

  1. What a wonderful cause for celebration! Were they married in 1952? That was the wedding year of my parents, though they were far older. They were widow and widower, ages 41 and 37 at the time. I was the daughter of my mother but her new husband adopted me also. Long ago, really.In human life, 65 years is a long time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's see, they would have been married in July of 1950 I think, Their 65th anniversary photos were from the summer of 2015. I love your story of your parents getting married at 41 and 37! Richard's parents married in 1970, when he was 13. I think they were about the same age as your parents! Richard was very happy to have Peter as his Dad. (Still is!) Richard lost his Dad to cancer when Richard was just a very little boy. There needs to be a better word than step-Dad!

      Delete
  2. This is truly impressive, and wonderful! My parents had their Golden Anniversary (50 years) last year, and that was great, too. It is something I know I'll never make - even if I married today (which I won't!), I'd have to live to a biblical age of nearly 98 to achieve 50 years of marriage, and 113 for 65 years :-)

    The palace guards' regiment's name is Scotch Guards, if I am not mistaken. They are the only ones to have the (real) bear fur hats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With all your dancing and running, I think you should make it to 113!! Go for it! :-)
      Wish I could have been at the Golden Anniversary party with the good company and good food!

      Delete
  3. Kay, Such an adorable couple. I loved all your photos. Blessings to you, xoxo,Susie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Susie! They look like models, don't they? You can see how perfectly they pose, in their wedding photo AND the one where they pose for me! :-)

      Delete
  4. How wonderful, 65 years! I remember that scene in Paddington.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! And I thought it fit perfectly with this post!!

      Delete
  5. Congratulations to your friends. 65 years is a blessing !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It IS a blessing! (And Joy and Henry, when you look at this post, be sure and click on above where it says "I'm mostly known as 'MA' and it will take you to her blog and you can see her wonderful quotes and positive way of viewing life "On The Bright Side"!!)

      Delete
  6. Congrats to them! Wishing them many more years of happiness together!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy anniversary!
    Aloha from Hawaii.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!
      (Look Joy & Henry, you have well wishes all the way from Hawaii!!)

      Delete
  8. A non sequitor...Did you know this? http://weaverofgrass.blogspot.com/2016/02/what-if.html
    About Debussy and Eastbourne?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, Kristi! I did know this (but thanks for sending me to weaver of grass blog, she is a very good writer!)
      Debussy finished "La Mer" in Eastbourne, while staying at The Grand Hotel...and Suite 200 is where he stayed and it is called the Dubussy Suite! Wish I could afford to stay there, although I have had tea in the lounge and I like to think that he might have sat in the same exact spot! :-)

      Delete
  9. The buttons are wrong for the Scots guards and it's unlikely many from England would enlist there. Judging by the buttons and bearskin I reckon this is a Grenadeir Guardsman.
    They like to think they are the best...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, you are correct, Ad-Man! (See note from Lord Snuffy (Henry) below!

      Delete
  10. Hello Kay G. and thanks for dropping by today.
    Your friends are a lovely couple.....65 years married! And a card from the Queen, no less.
    The Pavillion looks to be a grand spot.....what a glorious view!
    Cute video too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 65 years is a long time. I know my parents received a card from Bush when they passed their 50th anniversary--I am not sure which one of my siblings filled out the paperwork but it wasn't me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, paperwork is involved in just about everything these days. I didn't mention it, but in England, these cards are HAND DELIVERED, not by just the mailman!

      Delete
  12. Congratulations to them, and thank you for sharing the beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mimi! You can see what a JOY it was to see them!

      Delete
  13. It was a nice thing to have a remembrance from the Queen. I wish them many more happy years together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can see how thrilled they are to receive a card from the Queen, I am happy that this is done in the UK!!!

      Delete
  14. Hi Kay

    Many, many thanks for doing this wonderful blog on my parents. And many thanks to all your followers who have commented above.

    My parents married so long ago that it was before the Queen's reign had even begun. And food was still rationed after the Second World War and would be for another 4 years!

    Joy and Henry will be delighted to see this when they next visit ( not only do they not have a computer but they wouldn't have a clue on how to turn one on). But the old boy still drives and they come over here every 2-3 weeks.

    My brother in law, John, was a sergeant major in the Grenadier Guards and saw action in many places. His father was also in the services and so John has lived in/visited more than a hundred countries. The locals were not always pleased to see him.

    Many thanks again Kay: this will be a tonic for the oldies during what has been a warm, wet and windy winter.

    Take care

    H

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Henry!
      I truly hope your parents will like this post! Your brother-in-law in more than 100 countries? I bet he has some interesting stories from his childhood!
      My little blog as a tonic? That is a very nice thought! Warm wishes to you all! (And you know I would say "y'all"!!) xxx

      Delete
  15. 65 years? That is just so awesome! Art and I have been married for 43 years. We've got a long way to go in order to catch up. I feel so happy for them.

    ReplyDelete