MANILVA TODAY 40 GLOURIOUS YEARS.

TUESDAY 29^th NOVEMBER 2011.

On Monday the 29^TH November 1971 we were married in Christ Church, Port Sunlight; it is our ‘Ruby Wedding Anniversary’ today! The picture above shows a very young and different looking couple to today. It was a fine, crisp, sunny day for November and the church was looking at its best as we entered to the sound of ‘ Handel’s ‘ wedding march; Brenda’s mum and her dad, who gave her away, along with my mum were there and our dear friend Carol’s husband Fred was my Best man, Christ Church is twenty yards away from the ‘ Bridge Inn ’ where I met Brenda when she came to work as a part time barmaid in the cocktail bar, I was the live in Assistant Manager and our dear friend over in Chester Jane’s father Bert was the manager ! Fred and Carol also met in the bar and later sadly Fred was buried there when he died tragically so young, one of his daughters was married there and Carol was also buried there when she also died too young.

It was a “ Helluva ” day as our family and friends joined us at our hastily arranged wedding; we had to make the arrangements in four weeks after we found our first job together as Managers, I was contracted to be single and we had only been engaged for a short while when we found a job and went for the interview at the ‘ Chester Grosvenor Hotel ’ It turned out to be the famous mountaineers hotel at the foot of Snowdon, the ‘ Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel ’ where Hillary and Tensing trained for the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 ! We were married on a Monday so as we could have the reception at the Bridge Inn in the Bolton Room as it was booked on the Saturday for a wedding ! We had a guard of honor up the steps formed by the waitress’s holding wooden spoons above our heads !After the reception we headed off on our honeymoon in Berts,wife Nan’s new Mini which she lent us as a wedding present ! God bless you Nan, she still lives just up the road in Bebington. On the way to our honeymoon destination hotel, the ‘ White Lion Royal’ in Bala for five days, it was the first hotel that I worked in as a student and the manager at the time, Ron Astle, gave me a full time job when I left college in Liverpool. On the way we stopped off at the ‘ Owain Glyndwr Hotel ’in Corwen for dinner; it had a very good restaurant and was run by a Mrs Tinniswood who used to be Ted Roberts right hand lady at his famous restaurant in Liverpool,half way up Bold Street, ‘ The Rembrandt Club ’ We arrived at the White Lion Royal rather late and very happy, the manager and his wife, Stuart Reed, who later went on to be the Chairman of De Vere Hotels for Greenall Whitley, was sat up waiting for us and we ended up going to bed at 6-30 in the morning after a very hospitable champagne night ! I can remember getting into bed with a Deerstalker hat on, with the flaps down, and nothing else !! We moved into Pen-y Gwryd at the end of the week with the help of Fred and his van and that’s where it all started for us; Brenda was dropped in at the deep end for her first Xmas away from her home and family as we learnt the hard way, the beer was taken from the barrel into jugs and then poured into the glass ! On Xmas day after breakfast all the residents, by tradition, went out and climbed the ‘ Chimney ’at the foot of Snowdon,dinner was announced by ringing a large gong at the foot of the stairs at 8-00pm prompt, I was shown how to do it by the then owner Chris Briggs ! His family still run it. The tradition was also for the meal to be Roast Goose – an acquired taste ! Just after Xmas we became snowed in for 3/4 days and so a very famous climber at that time Joe Brown took us out to climb Snowdon,when we got to the top it was the only mountain above the clouds on a fine blue sky day ! We always remember as we set off to go down Brenda was first over the edge, roped up, I followed and Joe Brown was last !!

Six months later we were approached by the son of one of the owners of ‘ The Royal Goat Hotel ’ in Beddgelert to go and work for them; it was owned by a group of Midlands business men who also at the time owned West Bromwich Albion Football Club ! And so the saga begins ! Watch out for the book !!

Thought for the Day;

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.

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