“Hold your tongue!” – Salisbury care home residents give advice to young couples this Valentine’s Day

Hearts were melted at a care home in Salisbury Manor when couples celebrated Valentine’s Day.

The team at Care UK’s Salisbury Manor, on Shapland Close, decorated the home with heart-shaped balloons, roses and banners ahead of the very special celebration.

The home’s head chef prepared a special menu for the heart-warming occasion, which included, cumin-roasted cauliflower and chickpea soup to start, followed by homemade fish and chips and the meal was finished off with homemade cheesecake for dessert.

One of the loved-up couples at the dinner party was Barbara and Ray, both aged 91 who have been married for 68 years.

When asked what advice they’d give to younger couples, Barbara said: “Hold your tongue, marry the right chap and think everything through first.”

Ray added: “Be kind and always listen.”

The couple met through a friend of a friend, but it wasn’t until Ray’s cousin's wedding that Barbara thought Ray was “alright”. They had their first date in 1954, when they went to a beautiful park and chatted for hours. They married on 23^rd June 1956 at St Martin’s Church in Hereford. Together, they have three have three children, Richard, Venetia and Lucy.

Skye Williams, General Manager at Salisbury Manor, said: “It was wonderful to celebrate Barbara and Ray’s 68 years of marriage as well as all the other couples at Salisbury Manor this Valentine’s Day. We could all learn a thing or two from their happy marriages.

“Love is truly in the air and many of the other residents have shared stories about their own wedding day as well as their words of relationship wisdom. It was lovely to hear everyone’s happy memories and celebrate long and happy marriages.

“We’d like to thank Barbara and Ray for sharing their story – happy Valentine’s Day to the incredible couple!”

Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, Salisbury Manor incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities. The home provides full-time residential care, nursing care, dementia care and respite care. The layout of the building is configured into a series of individual suites, each having a dedicated lounge/dining room to help facilitate the creation of close-knit communities.