John and Barbara Keeling got married at St Andrew's Church in Skegby and celebrated their anniversary by inviting more than 40 guests to their home.

John (83) grew up at Brown Lane in Stanton Hill and was the eldest of six brothers and sisters, while Barbara (78) spent her childhood on Crompton Street, close to where she now lives in Teversal, and has a sister.

The pair met in Sutton when Barbara was 16 years old and John was 21.

John was educated at various schools in Stanton Hill and Huthwaite and left just before the outbreak of the Second World War at the age of 14.

He worked at New Hucknall Colliery before entering the plumbing trade and then going on to become a builder, first working for a number of local companies and then setting up his own firm.

Throughout his working life, John has also been a property developer and owned a kitchen design shop. In 1984, the couple bought Fackley Farm and Molyneux Farm at Teversal, where they keep horses.

They have two children, Michael (57), who lives in Mansfield, and Maureen (54), who lives in Teversal and helps run the stables, as well as five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

John said: "We are a skiing family. I started when I was 40 years old in Scotland and then we went abroad to Austria, Switzerland and Italy."

Before they bought the farms, the couple had a yacht, which was moored in Great Yarmouth, and they made trips to Holland, France and Ostend. John also ran his own band called Jay Gees for 25 years and has played the piano and organ since the age of 12.