COURTSHIP.

I do not think I have written about the courtship of hubby and I and apologise for it. I am repeating myself. I “think” I became aware of him about 1970…he lived down the road from us at the bottom of the street. I had to walk past his front window to get to where I lived with my parents. I had also seen him on one of my many wanderings about the area where we lived in. Became aware that he was working in the parks in Sunderland not that far from where I worked and I saw him on the bus back home from Sunderland to Peterlee Co Durham.

I can not remember how long that went on. I was coming up to 18 years old. One day he asked me if I would like to go to the cinema, which I agreed to and we went to the cinema in Sunderland where we saw Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. It was my first date and I was so nervous. I cannot even remember the trip into Sunderland…..or even if he held my hand…..I have just asked hubby and he cannot remember either. Next memory…..he asked me if I wanted ice cream and he bought me a tub of Neopolitan ice cream. Next memory is getting off the bus and walking home…we should pass him to get to mine…but instead of taking me home he stopped outside his house said to me “when can I see you again?” and I gave no answer. I just “I will see you about”

And I am so ashamed to say…and I totally regret it that I  made sure I didn’t. I used to make sure I never passed his house…getting off the bus 2/3stops before I should soI did not have to pass.

One day when I came home from working a Saturday in Sunderland my mum said to me “Guess who got married today?”…that poor lad you ignored. That could have been you!!!!

About two years later while I was standing at the bus stop when I saw him going along the road and he came over to speak to me. I said “Belated congratulations” and he said……”That didn’t work….we are separated. I think I remembered that I told him I was going to see my grandad and I would see him about it.

I think I sort of knew that he ask me out again so I decided that if he did I would say yes…..anyway a little while ….not in the distant future I was at the Senate nightclub(the place to be in Peterlee at that time) with my Mum and Dad and my brother and his wife(my brother was about to be sent to Northern Ireland). Hubby to be asked me to dance which I agreed to and he asked me if I would agree to go to the Senate with him the Thursday which I agreed to found out later they were freebies. And that was the beginning of our  courtship as it was called way back in the ’70s

At the start, hubby was very truthful. He told me that yes he was separated but he was still married…but he wanted to see again and  “go out” sometimes so that’s what we did. My mother was worried about him being still married and I took no notice. So we got closed and our feelings grew. As we lived so close to each other we soon met each other’s parents. As we realized we were getting serious we went to hubbys’ solicitor and asked how it would be if we got engaged. He said it was OK. So we did. Meanwhile, wife no 1 tried to cite me for adultery. Which we were told she could not and Hubby was able to get his divorce on the grounds that the marriage had broken down.

So when his divorce finally came through we organized our wedding and we got married by special license approx 3/4 days after he became free.

48 years later we are still happy to be together.