Well-known Saundersfoot couple, Ronnie and Rosemary Hayes, will be toasting a glass or two tomorrow (Saturday) when they celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. The couple, who live at 1 Belle Vue, The Ridgeway, celebrate 50 years of marriage, having tied the knot at St. Issell's Church - where Clr. Mrs. Hayes is now a church warden - back on October 16, 1954. And what's more, it has been a case of double celebrations in recent times for Kilgetty-born Clr. Mrs. Hayes, who last year made the trip to Buckingham Palace as she was awarded an MBE for services to the community in Pembrokeshire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. "The trip to Buckingham Palace was out of this world; some of the paintings in the ballroom where the awards ceremony was held were magnificent, and the whole place had to be seen to be believed," said Clr. Mrs. Hayes, who was accompanied by her son, Roger. A long-serving member and past chairman of both Saundersfoot Community Council and Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. Mrs. Hayes is also a member of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. Mr. Hayes, who was born in Neath, grew up in the farming community of Martletwy, and spent a number of years running 'Rosemary's Shoe Shop' in Saundersfoot, as well as being a postman before his retirement. "We met each other at a dance in what was then the 'Drill Hall' in Saundersfoot, while Rosemary was a worker at the local post office," explained Mr. Hayes, "and since then we have made sure we've supported each other equally through everything, which seems to have been the perfect recipe for a long marriage." "For our 40th wedding anniversary celebrations, we went on a cruise to the Caribbean, which was lovely, but for these celebrations, we're just going to enjoy a small party at the Chemist Inn," added Clr. Mrs. Hayes.
