Bob reeled in his love Joyce

GETTING hitched didn't turn out to be hitch-free for Bob and Joyce Moore - for their special day was made even more memorable when the best man dropped to the floor in a heap of nerves as he was about to hand over the rings.

GETTING hitched didn't turn out to be hitch-free for Bob and Joyce Moore - for their special day was made even more memorable when the best man dropped to the floor in a heap of nerves as he was about to hand over the rings.

And 50 years on the Gorleston couple still look back on their wedding day with a smile - and a chuckle for best man Maurice Weekley, who found the occasion rather overwhelming.

Joyce, 70, said: “My brother Maurice fell flat on the floor. We had to stop the proceedings and it took us a few minutes to get him back on his feet. He hadn't eaten that day and the nerves just got too much for him.”

The couple met at The Empire in April 1957 where Joyce worked as an usherette.

Bob, 73, said: “I noticed this girl and I just kept going back to the cinema.”

Eventually he plucked up the courage to ask Joyce out on a date and favouring familiar ground he took Joyce to the pictures for their first date; “Just as well I enjoyed going to the pictures,” chuckled Joyce.

After four months, the couple became engaged and on September 27, 1958, just over a year later, they married at St Peter's Church in Yarmouth.

“The whole day was eventful,” explained Joyce. “My brother fainted, the photos didn't reproduce that well and the car was late getting me to the church.”

Joyce, who still has her wedding dress, veil, and cake decorations tucked away in the loft, went on to work at the Windmill Theatre only finishing to have a family. She then worked at a canning factory and was also a dinner lady at Herman First School in Gorleston before retiring at 65.

Bob worked at a tailors in King Street, Yarmouth, before going to work as a fork lift driver for Yarmouth Warehousing where he stayed until he retired at the age of 64. The couple have three children, David, Dennis and Shona, and two grandsons.

They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with about 80 family and friends on Saturday at the Hazelhurst Hotel in Yarmouth.

Joyce added: “It certainly doesn't feel like 50 years but it hasn't been all smooth running. You have to work at a marriage - it's about give and take. My mother said it would never last, but it has.”

Bob added: “I don't believe these people who say they have never had an argument. All couples argue - that's the best thing, and making up.”