We clickety clicked at bingo hall
Me and you number two – Lucky couple are still together 23 years on, writes Dave Masters
WHEN Claire Whelan first spotted her future husband in the workplace 23 years ago, she knew her luck was in.
Jim was the caller at Gala Bingo, in Wythenshawe, and had ‘all the charm and patter’ you would expect.
It was the late 90s and back then a blossoming office romance needed a more direct approach.
“I sent him a handwritten note,” she laughs bashfully.
“I said I liked him and would he like to come round for a coffee at mine sometime.”
Amazingly the pair – both aged 58 – still work together, for Buzz Bingo in Stockport, and even catch the bus in sync whenever their shifts match up.
Jim teases: “She took a bit of a shine to me and I think it was good because we saw a lot of each other, with working in the same place.
“We met in the May and then I proposed to her the following year.”
It was Valentine’s Day when the father-of-one from Wythenshawe got down on one knee at the Indian restaurant across the road.
“There was always something a bit different about Claire,” he explains. “I think it was her mannerisms and likeability that drew me to her.”
Claire and Jim married in 2003 in Sale at the register office and have never looked back. Asked what the best thing is about working together team assistant Claire says: “We can have some good laughs with the customers.
“He seems like a bit of a womaniser but it’s just his banter.” Jim has spent 41 years as a bingo caller and says he still loves it as much today as when he first started aged 18. “It is an easier role now because you call the numbers out without using the old-fashioned ‘bingo lingo.’
“You still have to enjoy interacting with people to do my job though because it is very sociable. “Bingo is like a big family so many of the customers who come in we have seen them grow up.
“That’s really nice because they then bring their kids in and you get to know the next generation.”
Buzz Bingo manager for Stockport Kevin Carrigan adds: “There are quite a few couples who meet at bingo.
“In fact I also met my wife there at another Greater Manchester club. “I think the friendly atmosphere and the thrill of trying to win brings out the best in people and you come across quite similar personalities.”
He seems like a bit of a womaniser but it’s just his banter
Claire Whelan