Couple celebrate 40 wed St Patrick’s Days
Timaru couple John and Carol Brickle had plenty of reason to celebrate yesterday – but unlike many others their annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations mark another special date.
Forty years ago yesterday, the couple tied the knot – but for many years they were unaware they had done so on St Patrick’s Day.
It was a date they just picked out of nowhere and it wasn’t until 1989, when they settled in Timaru, that friends told them they shared their anniversary with the Feast of Saint Patrick, Carol Brickle said.
‘‘There’s no Irish ancestry, it was just by accident, a day we picked out of the moon,’’ she said.
The couple were married in Christchurch in 1979 and, since coming to Timaru, have been regulars at St Patrick’s celebrations in town, she said.
However, this year they were nursing sore legs after a night of celebrations at the family home in Timaru with 40 friends and family on Saturday.
The couple said they would skip Sunday drinks this year.
She said she remembered going to the Old Bank bar for a combined wedding anniversary and St Patrick’s drinks with friends on the couple’s 25th and some were also at the 40th.
‘‘The secret to a good marriage is don’t fight, get on well with each other, and do everything together as a team.’’