EILEEN and Lloyd Burgess have been living in Ross for 12 years and feel very much at home in their apartment in Wallace Court. So when they celebrated

their Diamond Wedding they had a party for all their family and friends in the

residents' lounge on Wednesday, February 18th.

Eileen said: "Coming to Wallace Court was definitely the right thing to do.

We've been here for two years and have a very good social life with all our new

friends. We had a wonderful anniversary party in the lounge.

Eileen and Lloyd met in Weymouth in 1948 when Lloyd was in the Navy and

were married six months later on February 12th, 1949 in Eileen's home town

of Merritt in Somerset. She was 19 and he was 21. They say the secret of a long

and happy marriage is "give and take".

It was a double celebration for the couple as Eileen was also celebrating her

79th birthday on the same day and her husband was 81 the week before.

Eileen said: "Our daughter, granddaughter and great grandchildren all live

nearby and all our friends who visit comment on what a happy atmosphere

there is at Wallace Court.

"Our one-bedroom apartment on the ground floor is easy to look after and

we've got our own patio where we can do a spot of gardening. We even won a

prize in the Ross in Bloom Awards!"