Real Lives: Making time for a drink with each other every day kept us together

Published on Monday 8 September 2008 10:14

Godfrey and Lydia Smith are celebrating 70 years of happy marriage.

Godfrey and Lydia Smith from Leith say the secret of their long and happy relationship is making the time to have a drink together every day.

Mrs Smith explained: "We are always together.

"Every afternoon, we always have a refreshment together."

Godfrey, 96, and Lydia, 91, met at a dance 75 years ago and never looked back, celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary on Friday.

Mrs Smith said: "It's nice that we're still together.

"We have had a very happy 70 years.

"I met Godfrey when I was 16 and he was 21. It was at a dance in Leith Town Hall."

Three years later the couple got engaged, and they married on September 5, 1938, at St Ninian's, Ferry Road, with a reception in the Maybury Roadhouse, which is now the Maybury Casino.

Mrs Smith added: "St Ninian's was knocked down during the war, so then we went to North Leith. The minister still visits us."

Mr Smith, who turns 97 on Tuesday, grew up in Trafalgar Street, while his wife lived at nearby Ashley Place.

They moved to Gosford Place, just a few streets away from where they both spent their childhoods, after they married.

They have two sons, Godfrey, 64, and David, 61.

When they were born, the couple decided they needed a bigger home, but liked the area so much they moved just five doors along the same street and have been there ever since.

Mrs Smith said they had no desire to move, as the neighbours are "very nice".

Mrs Smith was a clerkess before the couple were married, and during the war she helped out at her local church, feeding servicemen.

During the war, Mr Smith worked as a firefighter at Lauriston Place, continuing in the role for seven years before turning his hand to bar work.

After working at his brother Curly's pub at The Bowling Green, Mr Smith bought a pub called the Red Lion on Leith Walk. It was renamed The Shrub Bar and the family ran it successfully for many years, with the couple's eldest son, Godfrey, taking over when Mr Smith retired.

Their younger son, David, also decided to go into the family trade and became a publican, running a bar, the Stone Pier Inn, in Newhaven.

The couple now have five grandchildren, Godfrey, 40, Simon, 38, Emma, 29, Nicola, 32, and David, 23, as well as a two-year-old great-grandson, Jamie, who all live nearby.

Mrs Smith said: "I have five grandchildren. They are all very loving and kind, and come to see us often."

After big celebrations for their 50th and 60th anniversaries, their platinum anniversary was a quieter affair, with family popping in and out of their Leith home to wish them well.

Among those to congratulate the couple was the Queen, who sent them a card.