12:00pm Thursday 9th September 2010
By Helen Morton
THE SECRET to a happy marriage? Well, of course, it’s give and take.
Jean and Len Rolfe are the latest couple to come up with the popular answer to the familiar question – but, like many before them, they know what they are talking about.
Jean and Len have just celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. The couple met when Jean was just 17 and Len was 21. They married two years later, had seven children and now have 15 grandchildren.
Jean, 79, and Len, 83, met at Basingstoke train station where they were both working in 1948 – Len on the railway and Jean in the buffet.
Len was Jean’s first boyfriend – and six decades after they married in St Michael’s Church, Basingstoke, the couple are still very much in love.
The diamond pair, from Kempshott Lane, Basingstoke, celebrated their big day with around 60 of their family and friends.
Jean said: “There is no magic formula for making a marriage last. But it’s important to enjoy each other’s company and to give each other space. It’s all about give and take.
“Everybody argues from time to time but it’s how you deal with the arguments which really makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful marriage.
“We’ve got a very close family and that’s something in life which you can’t take for granted.
“Our children still live in Basingstoke and we spend a lot of time with them and our grandchildren. We also go on trips away as often as we can, which is very enjoyable.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/trade_directory/