BRYON and Ida Bunce have to wait patiently for a party at the weekend before they can celebrate their golden wedding which falls today .

Bryon, 72, and Ida, 74, will be joined by their four children, seven grandchildren and one great grandson for a big family get-together in a marquee in the garden of their home in Penhill at the weekend.

The couple first met in 1951 in Bryon's mother's home. Within two years they were married at Christchurch Parish Church in Old Town in a service that Ida described as "rather run of the mill."

Shortly before getting married Bryon had been called up for his National Service and was sent to Korea where the United Nations were fighting the Chinese.

He served with the British 29th Brigade, transporting ordnance and munitions, and travelled throughout the country, going up as far north as the Chinese border.

He returned home and married Ida and then went back to work supplying car parts for the auto industry, a job he did until his retirement.

He said: "We got married a few days after the Queen's coronation. It was a lovely day and we like to think that Her Majesty got rain and we had the sunshine."

Ida spent many of her working years on the production line of record player producer Garrard. Now both retired, the couple remain active.

Bryon added: "I still do a bit of work as a builder. It helps keep the grey matter going, but I suspect I will have to slow down soon."

"I think the secret of a happy marriage is having a bit of give and take and having your family around you. I am very proud we have been married for so long."