AFTER nearly four decades together and at the ages of 83 and 87, John and Joan Gifford got married last week.

The ceremony took place at Chepstow Methodist Church on Monday, April 24, followed by a reception with friends at the Palmer Centre in Place de Cormeilles where the couple are regular visitors.

They enjoyed a meal and had a wedding cake specially made by Zoe Crockett.

Mr and Mrs Gifford moved to Chepstow in September 1986 after meeting in Bristol, where he then worked as an inspector at British Aerospace.

Mrs Gifford said: “I had a friend in Bristol who used to let me do her cleaning.

“He came one day and sat one end of the settee and I sat on the other and we were chatting.

“Then he kept phoning her trying to get my phone number.”

The couple decided to get married now as Mrs Gifford is in the early stages of dementia.

Mr Gifford said: “We decided to get married and we wanted to do it while she could still remember it.”

The big day was supposed to have been last May but sadly Mrs Gifford had an accident and the wedding had to be postponed.

Mr Gifford revealed: “We posted the banns on May 20 last year and the following Monday she had a fall and we had to cancel.

“We had a year to do it or we would have to go through all the rigmarole of applying again.”

The couple are well-known at the Palmer Centre which is a community centre open to all between Monday and Saturday.

Mr Gifford said: “This is a wonderful place and a lot of people in Chepstow don’t realise what we have here.

“It is very friendly and everyone is so helpful.”

Centre manager Margaret Gore said: “John and Joan are a lovely couple and everyone at the centre is delighted for them.

“It’s our first ‘Palmer Centre’ wedding, so it is really special.”