A nonagenarian couple who have been married for 70 years have shared what kept their relationship harmonious: the husband does what he’s told.
Syd and Enid Reid, both 92, played a lot of sports together in their younger days and later took up Scottish country dancing, and line dancing.
They met during a church service at St Mary’s in Liverpool, England, at the age of 20 and got married in the same building not long after.
Speaking of their special day, the two of them joked that there was no expectation of romantic proposals and getting married was the done thing in the post-war era.
“After we met at church nobody really proposed to anybody, we just took it for granted we would get married,” Enid said.
Enid wore a suit, hat, and string of pearls on their big day on March 31, 1951, rather than a gown, and they had no desire for a white wedding.
“We didn’t think about things like that back in those days,” Enid said. She also recalled that although it was a rainy day, they were surrounded by a lot of family and friends.
Syd added that the couple ditched the idea of a massive wedding as things were very different after the war; “there was still rationing.”
“If you went on a honeymoon you had to show the landlady your ration book,” he said.
After living in Liverpool, they moved to Cumbria for work, and then on to Grangemouth, near Falkirk.
Syd worked for industrial relations at BP Chemicals and they have lived in Scotland for 50 years. They have four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Over the years, shared hobbies gave them a sense of togetherness, but they also made sure to holiday separately with their friends.
“Enid would go on holiday with friends from Scottish country dancing and I would go skiing for a week in France or Italy,” shared Syd.
They played badminton, tennis, and enjoyed skiing—a sport the couple learned in their 60s. Syd said that when Enid began skiing, she couldn’t stop. The loving husband also played baseball against American Air Force servicemen, who always won.
As to their harmonious relationship over the years, Enid said they “don’t have many arguments,” but “just a few nibbles.”
Syd, echoing the same feeling as his wife, said, “You just have to accept things and get on with it, fortunately, it happens very rarely. I just do as I’m told, it’s always easier than to disagree.”
Just like any other relationship, Syd said the couple have had their ups and downs, but they’ve still always managed to get on “very well together.”
“We have been very lucky, in our case the secret to a happy marriage is we have similar interests in life and we do things together, being friends as well as being married,” Syd shared.
