SCEPTICS may say that romance is dead, but Ted and Ivy Poole are proof that it is alive and well in Swindon.

The couple from Penhill are celebrating 50 years of married life today and they say they are as happy as the day they met.

"I used to work with Ivy's brother in the RAF," said Ted, 77. "One day, I spotted her at a dance in Moredon Community Centre, we chatted, and took to one another."

They married at St Mary's Church at Rodbourne Cheney.

Ted and Ivy, 73, are known by many in the town as the dynamic duo who have run the Swindon Folk Singers Club for the last 42 years. Ivy said: "Our busy life has been the key to our happiness working together on things we deeply believe in has kept us going strong."

The couple were being joined by friends from the folk singers club for a party today in Pinehurst, and will celebrate with their family tomorrow.