Platinum couple celebrate 70 years together

Having a cup of cold coffee poured over your head may not be everyone's idea of the perfect start to a relationship.

But seven decades later, Jack, 93, and Christine Hopkins, 89, still laugh about the way they first met during the Second World War.

The couple are celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary at home in Hanover Mead in Bray today with members from three generations of their family.

They met in 1941 when 18-year-old Christine was volunteering at a soldiers' mess when Jack, a Sergeant, walked in and rudely complained about his cold cup of coffee.

"So I just poured it all over him and that was the start of it," she said.

"We've been laughing about it ever since."

A year later the couple married in a small corrugated iron church in North London. They lived in the capital throughout the war, surviving a bomb blast near Trafalgar Square and witnessing the 'second great fire of London'.

But Jack said 'things didn't get any quieter' when they moved to Norfolk after he left his job working in classified information at the War Office.

In 1953 Christine was pregnant with their fourth child when their bungalow was destroyed in a flood and the family had to be rescued by boat from the roof.

Christine said they have been through some challenging times together, especially coping with the death of their 34-year-old grandson James Beagley who died in a plane crash in August 2008.

The couple, who are members of the Holyport Darby and Joan Club, have moved 14 times since getting married but finally settled in Bray to be closer to their family.

Jack said the secret to a long relationship is being able to laugh.

"Despite our ups and downs, we’ve always been on the winning side," he added.

The couple have four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.