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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

U.K. Couple Marks 80th Wedding Anniversary

Wed Jun 1,10:13 AM ET

LONDON - A British husband and wife revealed the secrets of the longest 
marriage of any living couple on Wednesday as they celebrated their 80th 
wedding anniversary — don't sleep on an argument, always share a kiss and 
hold hands before going to bed.

Percy Arrowsmith, 105, and his 100-year-old wife Florence, were married on 
June 1, 1925, after meeting at their local church in Hereford, western 
England, where he sang in the choir and she was a Sunday school teacher.

Queen Elizabeth II sent her congratulations to the Arrowsmiths, who 
celebrated their anniversary Wednesday with coffee and nibbles at home with 
family and friends.

"What a splendid achievement. I send you my warm congratulations and best 
wishes for your 80th wedding anniversary," the Queen wrote in a card to the 
couple.

The Arrowsmiths, who have three children, six grandchildren and nine 
great-grandchildren, claim the key to their long marriage is not to go to 
sleep on an argument. They say they always kiss each other and hold hands 
each night before going to bed.

"He can't settle down if I'm not holding his hand," Mrs. Arrowsmith was 
quoted as saying last month.

The couple's daughter Jane Woolley said her parents were both "very perky."

"She (Mrs. Arrowsmith) says she can't dance any longer but it feels good to 
have been married for 80 years. She says she can still have a drink," 
Woolley said.

Guinness World Records said the pair held records for the longest marriage 
for a living couple and the oldest aggregate age of a married couple.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050601/ap_on_fe_st/britain_record_marriage_1