Touching moment elderly couple are reunited to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary after spending 15 weeks of lockdown apart
- Wendy Andrews used to visit her husband Colin every day at his Banbury care home before the UK went into lockdown
- Former nurse Wendy had to stay at a safe social distance away from Colin, who suffers from dementia, but said it was ‘wonderful’ to see him
- Staff at Glebefields Care Home made the occasion special by baking a cake and organising balloons for their diamond anniversary
An elderly couple have been reunited in time to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary after spending almost 15 weeks apart.
Wendy Andrews visited her husband Colin nearly every day for the past seven years.
But as coronavirus swept the UK and the nation went into lockdown her visits were forced to stop and the pair were separated.
Colin suffers from dementia and lives at the Glebefields Care Home in Drayton, Banbury.
Colin and Wendy Andrews were reunited for the first time in almost 15 weeks to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary. But the pair met at a social distance as Colin, who suffers from dementia, lives in a care home
The care home helped to bring the pair together for their diamond wedding anniversary, baking them a cake and organising a socially distanced party with balloons.
‘It was wonderful. It couldn’t have been any better,’ Wendy said.
‘They brought him outside, and we had to keep our distance.
‘We couldn’t touch him or hold him or anything like that, but it was really good. I think he recognised us’.
Staff at the Banbury care home came along to celebrate with the couple at the outdoor celebration.
Staff at Glebefields Care Home in Drayton, Banbury, came together to organise the socially distanced celebration for Colin and Wendy’s wedding anniversary, baking them a cake and decorating the home with balloons
Colin and Wendy met at a dance when Colin was serving with the RAF. Wendy would visit him every day for almost seven years at his care home before the coronavirus lockdown hit
Wendy added: ‘The chef made a cake, and all the nurses came outside. There was a big 60 balloon. They made a big effort so that was really lovely.
‘They even wrote me a card from Colin, and I had some red roses. It was just lovely.’
The couple’s daughter Sanchia Andrews was also there to make their anniversary a memorable one.
She said: ‘It was nice for mum. It was quite an emotional time because mum hadn’t seen him for such a long time.
‘It was amazing. I’m so glad it happened. It was just so lovely for mum to see him on their anniversary.’
Wendy met Colin at a local dance while he was serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Nottinghamshire.
The pair have been married for 60 years after Colin proposed to nurse Wendy when he returned to Banbury from Cyprus, where he had been posted with the RAF
He left for Cyprus with the RAF shortly after their first meeting.
She said: ‘When he was in Cyprus, I started my nurse’s training.
‘He only did his National Service for two years and came back to Banbury. I was still living in Worksop. It wasn’t as easy back then.
‘Colin said “let’s get married.” I transferred to Banbury, and finished my nurse’s training at the Horton in Banbury.’
Their diamond anniversary celebrations had to take place outside because of social distancing rules as Colin lives in a care home where Wendy regularly visits him
Nisha Shaji, General Manager at Glebefields Care Home said: ‘We have had such a lovely day celebrating Colin Andrews and Wendy’s 60th wedding anniversary.
‘It’s so wonderful to see two people still very much in love after all these years!
‘The staff at Glebefields were able to facilitate a safe visit for the couple to celebrate this occasion, which is a welcome development in what has been very strange times.
‘The visits at our home are well organised, and a lot of safety measures have been put in place to keep everyone safe.
‘It was wonderful to see how happy it made both of them.’