Diamond day marks a 60-year run
AMATEUR dramatists Ann and Clifford Surch will be taking centre stage tomorrow (Thursday February 2) when they celebrate 60 years of marriage.
The couple, who live in Gopsall Road, Hinckley, were key members of the town’s Trinity Players back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Both took leading roles in productions including The Happiest Days of Your Life back in 1996 and in Blithe Spirit in 2003, with Mr Surch also producing and directing some of the twice-yearly shows during their 20-year involvement with the group.
They met while pupils at the former Hinckley Grammar School on Butt Lane in 1951.
Mr Surch went on to study at Nottingham University while Miss Collins, as she was then, moved with her family to Hertfordshire.
But their relationship stayed strong and the couple tied the knot in Kimpton, Herts, on February 2 1957, returning to Hinckley 30 years later, in 1987.
Although having taken early retirement, Mrs Surch, now 81, went on to work as a supply teacher at St Mary’s CE Primary School and says she still recognises some of her former pupils when she walks round the town.
Mr Surch, now 83, and an accountant by profession, volunteered his time with the town’s community transport service Dial A Ride, served as treasurer for Trinity Players and was actively involved in the Gramophone Society, of which both he and his wife remain members.
The couple now enjoy listening to classical music, reading and doing crossword puzzles, with Mr Surch having a special interest in the First World War.
They have three children, Lesley, Tim and Kate, and two grown-up grandchildren, Matthew and Sophie, who will be among family members celebrating their special occasion with a meal at The Dog and Hedgehog in Dadlington.
A telegram of good wishes from the Queen is also expected to mark their milestone anniversary.