When 87-year-old John French and two mates went to a pipe band concert in Timaru about 70 years ago, John never expected among the pipers to find the love of his life, but he did.
Bev was a piper in the Timaru Ladies Pipe Band performing that day.
Today John and 86-year old Bev (nee Rogers) are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.
The couple courted for three years before marrying at St Peter’s church in Timaru complete with a guard of honour provided by the ladies pipe band.
The Tinwald couple are looking forward to gathering with friends and family this weekend for a special afternoon tea.
In his courting days, John made many trips to Timaru and on the one the day before the wedding his car blew up, so he had to borrow his brother’s car.
The couple believe the secret to their long marriage has been that nothing they have disagreed on couldn’t be resolved.
‘‘We have worked together to raise our family and we have had disagreements, but I wouldn’t say we have ever really fought,’’ Bev said.
For John, perseverance has been a key factor in being married for a long time.
The first night of John and Bev’s honeymoon was spent at a hotel in Papanui Rd in Christchurch.
Before they got there, they had their first meal alone together as a married couple.
‘‘It was about midnight, we were going through Ashburton heading for Christchurch, we were hungry as we hadn’t eaten much at the wedding breakfast,’’ John said.
‘‘We stopped for a feed of fish and chips.’’
Their married life had humble beginnings.
‘‘When we returned from our honeymoon, between us we had ten pounds,’’ Bev said.
But they were able to save, and after borrowing 2000 pounds were able to buy a two-bedroom house in Tinwald costing 2200 pounds.
They didn’t have chairs, so sat on apple boxes.
Unable to afford a fridge, John dug a hole in dirt, which he concreted, for butter and milk. Other perishable items were hung in a safe on the outside wall of their house.
‘‘My boss at C E Bailey learnt we didn’t have a fridge, and offered me the one on the showroom floor, telling me just to pay it off as I could afford to, ’’ John said
By the time they left the home 30 years later, they had been able to add on to it, making it twostorey.
The couple have three daughters and a son, two in Perth and two in Ashburton. They also have 11 eleven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
While many couples have shared interests, the Frenches have different hobbies.
Neither are sporty, but John was one of the founders of The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum and gave decades of service to the organisation. Bev sews, knits and has a love of music.
The latter has brought pleasure to many in the community as she visited resthomes to provide entertainment.
One interest they have shared over the years is entering the Ashburton A&P Show, John with homemade wine and Bev with baking and knitting.
The couple were thankful to be able to celebrate their sapphire wedding anniversary, particularly as John had suffered a serious accident in 1993.
While working at Mead Motors, John was pinned against a wall by a vehicle in the pit where he had been carrying out a vehicle inspection.
He received a broken pelvis and other injuries, and ambulance officers attending the accident had said it was a miracle he was alive.
