Lockdown scuppers party plans

Warkworth couple Terry and Margaret Norris were all set to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in style last month until level 4 lockdown threw a spanner in the works.

Planned celebrations included a gathering of friends and neighbours at their home on their wedding date of August 19. There was also to be a family function at the Sandspit Yacht Club a few days later, plus another gathering with Margaret’s friends from hospice and her aqua aerobics class.

Unfortunately, lockdown was declared two days before the first event, leaving the couple’s plans in tatters.

“Three parties were planned and none of them could take place,” Terry says.

But rather than mope, the couple decided to crack open a “bottle of bubbly” and celebrate by themselves, tucking into the food they had prepared for an expected 20 guests.

“We ate very well that night, and it was good,” Terry says.

Although there were no other people to share their 60th anniversary with, the couple did receive plenty of cards, including one from the Queen.

Terry says he met Margaret on a blind date in London when he was working as a mechanical engineer and she was a teacher.

He can’t now remember any details of the date or how it was arranged, but the couple quickly discovered a mutual attraction and were later married in a Welsh chapel in 1961.

“Everything back then was done very properly,” Terry says.

Terry and Margaret emigrated to New Zealand in 1973. Terry went to work at the New Plymouth Power Station and Margaret continued to teach.

The couple moved to Snells Beach about 22 years ago and then on to Warkworth.

“It’s a very friendly, small town. People know each other and they care about each other. It’s also got a river running through, it which makes it something special,” Terry says.

Terry says the secret of a successful marriage involves keeping a sense of humour, knowing the importance of family and friends, and ensuring there’s some give and take.

The couple plan to revisit all their anniversary plans once Auckland reaches Alert Level 1.