After a year's delay due to the pandemic, Janet and John Mitchell, who met at Nottingham University in 1959, are finally able to meet up with family from across the UK this weekend to mark the occasion. They were also delighted to receive a congratulations message from King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Known to many locals, from years of involvement in community life in Nidderdale, they moved to Birstwith after physics teacher John was offered a job at Harrogate Grammar School in 1964. John retired as Head of Science and Technology 30 years later, and he and Janet, now in their 80s, remember the moment they came to Birstwith as newlyweds.

John said: "When we first arrived in the village, we stood in the field where our bungalow was going to be built looking over the Harrogate to Pateley railway line to the view beyond; we thought we'd arrived in paradise. Birstwith life has kept us out of mischief."

In fact, John and Janet have been very busy during their life together in the village. Janet is a former chair of governors at Birstwith School, was the secretary of Birstwith Church for many years and, until recently, a member of the village bell-ringing team! John, a former Chair of Birstwith Show Committee and Parish Councillor, is also one of the longest-serving players in the Harrogate Symphony Orchestra.

Janet and John's daughters, Julia Sharpley and Stephanie Waite, paid tribute to the couple. "Mum and Dad are typical of the generation of adults in their 80s around here, who have been the quiet unsung heroes of our lives, working hard for others in the background of community life," they said. "We all know someone like Mum, Dad and their friends, a number of whom have been really impacted by the pandemic.

"We feel very fortunate that we can celebrate their long and happy marriage, together with our extended family, and say thank you for everything they have done."

To mark the occasion, Janet and John have set themselves a target of raising £600 for the charity Carers' Resource, which supports unpaid carers in the Harrogate district.