FLANKED by friends on all sides, a Liverton couple celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary with a bountiful buffet lunch at one of Teignbridge’s much frequented golf clubs.

Married in February of 1953, Donald and Shirley Trevallion marked their seventy year milestone at Bovey Tracey Golf Centre by sharing lunch with beloved friends.

Donald was out cycling with a friend when he first saw Shirely, who also happened to be atop a bicycle with a friend in tow.

‘I was out cycling with my friend and he said “there are two girls on push bikes over there, shall we follow them?”

‘And that’s what we did’ Donald said.

‘Then it came time to light up, and they got off to put their lights on and so did we but Shirley couldn’t got her rear light working so I bravely walked over and offred my help,’ he added.

‘Don’t forget I was sixteen at the time!’

‘I thought she was lovely,’ Donald said.

Originally hailing from London, Walthamstow to be extact, the couple, after living in Kent for a time, relocated to Devon in the late 1980s in want of a more agreeable climate to enjoy their retirement.

Born in 1931, Donald, or Don to his friends, who was an avid bowls player in his day, trained as a scientific instrument maker’s apprentice before moving on to special purpose machine building and then landing a position as a commissioning engineer.

From Taiwan to Algeria, Donald went here, there and everywhere in his role as commissioning engineer, with several visits to the Continent.

Shirely, who was born in 1932, spent many a year as a sewing machinst, with similar time spent in retail – her most enjoyable stint was as record buyer in a Co-op.

The all important question next; what is the secret, if there can be such a thing, to a happy and long-lasting marriage?

When asked the question, Donald said: ‘Enjoying life and really getting on well together, seeing one another’s point of view, that’s about it really!’