Haddenham couple Peter and Janet Handley celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary last Thursday.

Ely Standard: At their home in Haddenham is Janet and Peter Handley, who are celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.At their home in Haddenham is Janet and Peter Handley, who are celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary. (Image: Archant)

Peter, 82, met Janet, 80, at a dance held in Central Hall, Market Street, Ely, back in the early 1950s, having both arrived to the event alone.

Peter attended Soham Grammar School at the time while Janet was at Ely High School and the couple admit that before that night “they didn’t like each other very much”.

They went on to marry at St Mary’s Church, Ely, in 1954, before heading off for a tour of the south coast of England for their honeymoon.

Unfortunately, the weather proved so bad that they scarcely made it to Reading before they turned back for home.

After marriage, Janet moved from Ely to join Peter and the couple made their home in Haddenham, where they started up a pig farm business. They briefly opened a chrysanthemum nursery in Aldreth Road before retiring and moving into their High Street bungalow.

They have four children, four grandchildren and one great grandchild, with another due later this year.

Janet said: “As the years go by you grow together as a couple. We like all the some things and share the same thoughts.”

The couple celebrated their landmark occasion with a family party.