MANGOTSFIELD couple Kay and Roger Netting are celebrating a remarkable 70 years of marriage.
They first met at a dance at the Vic Rooms in Bristol after coming to the city as students.
Roger, who was born near Looe in Cornwall, was studying geography at Bristol University, while Kay, who was born in Tredegar in South Wales, was training in physiotherapy at Bristol Royal Infirmary.
They had to bring their wedding plans forward in a hurry after Roger was offered a job on graduation that involved a three-year posting to Uganda – then a British colony – to work as a surveyor making maps.
They married in Rhymney in Wales on March 30 1955, and combined their honeymoon in London with a shopping expedition to buy tropical clothes and a safari bed for Africa.
Kay and Roger stayed on in Uganda, where their children David and Claire were born, until 1963. They spent much of their time in the bush and small remote settlements.
When they returned to the UK they decided to settle in Bristol, as they both knew the city well, moving to a house on Westerleigh Road, Downend.
Roger taught maths and geography at Rodway School in 1964.
He switched to Bristol Technical College after spotting an advert in the Evening Post, which said the college needed a lecturer to teach land surveying.
The college soon became part of Bristol Polytechnic and Roger helped to develop its degree courses for surveyors, while Kay managed a branch of George’s university bookshop in Unity Street.
The couple moved to Mangotsfield nearly 50 years ago and still live near Charnhill Drive.
Roger retired as the Poly became the University of the West of England in 1992.
He joined Page Park Bowls Club, where he is the oldest competitive player at the age of 92, has been club president and was recently made a life member.
Kay, who is 90, volunteered for Cossham Hospital League of Friends and was a member of the Badminton Road Ladies Club. She is now a member of Ladies’ Enterprise in Downend.
As well as their two children they have four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
They were planning to celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary with a meal at the Forge & Fern in Staple Hill, and a family holiday.
Roger says the key to a long-lasting marriage is: “There’s always got to be give and take.”