Happy couple find their place in the sun

12:17pm Thursday 10th January 2008

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FOR many couples after 50 years of marriage the biggest adventure you can handle is a trip to the shops.

But Alan and Mary Dunbobbin will be celebrating their golden wedding anniversary tmorrow, Friday by spending three months voyaging the high seas on a round the world cruise.

Yet the couple, who live in Lower Walton, are no strangers to travel and have flown all around the world.

Mr Dunbobbin said: "We spend a lot of time in Spain because we have a place there. We have also done quite a few cruises in the Caribbean. We tend to want to follow the sun."

It was through their love of dance though that the couple first met. They were both at the same dance hall when they took to the floor for the first time together.

"I was a big dancer," added Mr Dunbobbin; "I used to go around the dance halls and Mary used to live in Newton and used to get the bus to Wigan. I was with my mate and I was at the Wigan Empress and I said that I am going to dance with that girl and when I came back I said that I am going to marry her."

Alan, aged 77, and 72-year-old Mary married at Emmanuel Parish Church in Wargrave 18 months later and spent their honeymoon in London.

They have two children, Sandra and Clive, and also have four grandchildren. Mary used to run Vogue Hairdressing Fashions and Alan worked at Thames Board Mills and later Greenalls Distillery as a stock control manager.

The couple believe that the secret to their long lasting marriage is not arguing and sharing everything.

Mr Dunbobbin continued: "I am a laid back type of person and I do not argue. We always seem to be happy. We don't have his and hers, everything is ours. She cooks things and I eat them; we have a bank account, I put cash in and she takes it all."