A COUPLE from Darwen were given a blessing yesterday at the church that they got married in, to help them mark their diamond wedding anniversary.

Rita and Richard Maynard celebrated 60 years of marriage by renewing their vows at St Joseph’s Church.

Rita, 83, said that the blessing was extremely important to her and she was happy that the priest made everyone feel so welcome.

She said: “It represents continuity and that’s important to me and my religion.

“Everyone was made to feel welcome and we had a lovely time.

“We also received a card off the Queen which was exciting.”

The two met at Brushworks, which was in Darwen at the time, where they both worked and 60 years on, Richard, 84, still believes he could not have found anyone else better than Rita.

He said: “We have had a lot of good times and we have shared everything.

“ We have been lucky that we’ve been able to do the things we wanted to and I’ve really got no complaints.

“From my point of view I couldn’t have found a better partner.”

Rita and Richard have shared a lot of fond memories such as annual family holidays to St Ives – their favourite place to visit, a trip to Egypt for their golden wedding anniversary and walks together in Scotland.

Rita was 16 when she first met Richard, and throughout their marriage she said has gained a lot of wisdom about love – and she thinks that fixing arguments quickly is the key to making things last.

She said: “Never ever go to sleep on a quarrel, you’ve got to talk things through.

“You’ve always got to think about the other person and Richard and I are never selfish with each other.

“If you don’t talk about things they don’t get better and get out of proportion.”

Rita and Richard have four children,Steven, Philip, Susan and Tracey and two grandchildren, Mark and Thomas.

Philip said: “It’s a huge milestone for them. People don’t often stay together for that long. It’s very admirable and I’m glad they enjoyed their celebrations with a blessing.”