Pinetown couple remain committed to their vows

“FOR a marriage to work, you have to make sure you are committed right from the very beginning. Never get into marriage with hope that your partner will change once you are married,” said Doone Village resident and former Pinetown Girls’ teacher, Diana Budd.

Diana and her husband, Pat, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Friday, 10 May surrounded by friends and family.

They started their morning with a thanksgiving service, renewed their vows and received a blessing from their pastor. Pat said he met his future wife when he and Diana were both members of the cast for the musical Show Boat.

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“My wife is a Bulawayo girl who at the time was teaching Geography at Townsend Girls’ High School.

I was a fire insurance specialist based in Bulawayo. I was on the overseas staff of a British insurance company having started my career in Birmingham in the English Midlands and was then transferred to the firm’s city of London office.

Half way through his time in Bulawayo, Pat joined the cast of ‘show boat’ as a member of the male chorus and met Diana who was in the ladies chorus.

“After the show was over, I decided to find out more about this very pretty girl and I went round to her flat. We discovered we had a great deal in common including a sharp sense of humour,” said Pat.

Diana and Pat were engaged for about a year after the visit to the flat and got married in St Mary’s Cathedral, Bulawayo on 10 May, 1969. The couple moved to South Africa in 1975 with their three children after Pat was transferred to Durban.

Diana advised young couples to honour their wedding vows, “Marriage is not always perfect as there will always be minor things that you will disagree on, but work on it, take the smooth with the rough.

“Companionship is very important, do not be in a marriage just for children, what happens when they grow up and they live home?” Diana said.

The Doone Village residents said their recipe for a happy marriage is a total commitment to each other and a strong religious faith. “Get married in your late 20s or early 30s when you have the maturity to handle the ups and downs which are inevitable in married life,” added Pat.

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