Portchester golden wedding couple celebrate 50 years of marriage after recovering from Covid-19

Brian and Gwen Tame marked 50 years of marriage yesterday, with flowers and cards flooding in from family and friends.

The happy couple met while working for clothing company C&A, and married at Fareham Registry Office on January 15, 1971, which was Brian’s 21st birthday.

Now 71, Brian said: ‘We’re happy and we’re still as happy as we were all those years ago. She was my 21st birthday present.

‘We get on, we do share the problems and try to resolve them together. We have a good friendship, we get along really well together.’

The pair, who have lived in Portchester all their lives, now have four children and nine grandchildren.

They spend plenty of time at the local bingo club, and are both members of darts teams so usually get out a few times a week to socialise.

Brian added: ‘We have seen Portchester get to where it is today from being a little village. We know everybody, they know us and we get on with everybody.’

Gwen, 68, said: ‘I think it’s give and take. We do a lot of things together. It doesn’t seem like 50 years, it’s ridiculous.’

Brian and Gwen recently tested positive for Covid-19, with Gwen bedridden for days with her flu-like symptoms.

Gwen said: ‘I didn’t realise I had the virus, I was taken ill with terrific stomach pains on the Saturday night. It was really bad, I was being sick.’

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A trip to the walk-in centre led to the pair being tested for the virus, and both had positive results.

Gwen, who was ill for about a week, added: ‘I was really quite poorly with it, I couldn’t get out of bed, I was being sick and had really bad headaches.

‘Brian lost his appetite which is bad for him and felt not with it for a few days. It’s a bit frightening because it’s like a really bad bout of the flu when you can’t do anything.

‘We had good service from the NHS, they rang every single day. I feel 100 per cent better now.’

The cruise-loving pair were due to be celebrating in Australia but sadly couldn’t.

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Daughter Michelle said: ‘They have always been there when I’ve needed them. I couldn’t let it pass without doing something because it’s such a nice achievement and they have both been really unwell.

‘I’m so proud to be their daughter, I want them to realise how much I love them.’

As thousands of people have joined The News’s Shot In The Arm campaign, demanding pharmacies are recruited to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine, Brian and Gwen have expressed support.

Brian said: ‘We think it’s a very good idea because the situation seems to just go on and on and we need help.’

Gwen added: ‘It’s a way of getting more people vaccinated quicker as well and every village has a chemist with a pharmacy which could provide this service.

‘They’re all willing to do it so we think it’s a very good idea to get that injection out there quicker.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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