A Hatfield couple reflected on 70 years of marriage after celebrating their anniversary last week.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Laurence and Kathleen on their wedding day.Laurence and Kathleen on their wedding day. (Image: Archant)

Laurence and Kathleen Pyle, 95 and 89 respectively, enjoyed the platinum jubilee with neighbours and family, and Laurence told the Welwyn Hatfield Times that he does not know where the years have gone.

The pair met for the first time in 1944 on a double date in Stevenage, where a “shy” and “good looking” Kathleen, aged 18, worked at the time. They married two years later at The Parish Church in Stevenage.

“Kath is a very contented woman,” Laurence said. “She is quite happy relaxing in her own home.

“We do not put a lot of demands on life, we are quite content with enjoying the simple things in life.

“I don’t know where the years have gone to be quite frank. I can’t believe that I have been married for 70 years and I can’t believe I’m 95.”

The pair have two children and five grandchildren, and Laurence described Kathleen as “an old-fashioned housewife, just like her mother”, and a “very fussy eater”.

Kathleen, who was a secretary for most of her working life, now suffers from dementia, and energetic ex-engineer Laurence looks after her, which he said keeps him fit.

“She has had good health all her life except when she had her stroke eight years ago, and I have been looking after her since then with the help of carers.”

The 95-year-old likes gardening and has a passion for music, owns an organ and enjoys attending musicals, which he said Kathleen “obliges”.

“If I go to the proms she would prefer to sit at home,” he added. “She is not a great music lover.”