'Give and take' is the key for Telford couple celebrating 50 years of marriage
Having completely different interests is one of the secrets to 50 years of married life according to devoted couple Ron and Liz Mullinder.
The couple from Trench had two good reasons to celebrate last Saturday - it was Mr Mullinder's 73rd birthday and the day, half a century earlier, that they tied the knot at Holy Trinity Church, Wrockwardine Wood.
"He has no excuse not to forget our wedding day," said Mrs Mullinder, 70, who remembers the day they started going out as October 10, 1969.
"We were at the Miner's Club in St Georges, with a Beatles-style band called The Guild," she said.
"As soon as I started going out with him I knew."
Mr Mullinder proposed in traditional style around Easter 1970, and two years later they tied the knot. Liz is keen on sewing and made her own and her bridesmaids' dresses.
"Ron loves fishing, so we have completely different interests," she added.
But she has been known to go on fishing trips, while he helps her with her sewing, and they enjoy shopping trips too.
The couple have two daughters, Rachel, 45, and Donna, 42.
While Mrs Mullinder worked in office jobs and for 18 years at the Preston Innovation factory in Stafford Park, Mr Mulliner joined the RAF from school, worked for 29 years with the Midlands Electricity Board and for 17 years at a fishing tackle shop in Dawley.
As for the secret of married life, Mrs Mullinder said: "As a couple we do bicker a lot over small things. But if it gets tough we get out of the road and let things calm down.
"I think it is about give and take really, and never going to bed on being not nice to one another."
To celebrate their milestone, the couple will be heading off to Tenerife on holiday, as well as making another fishing trip to Ireland.
