'I've been holding her hand for 60 years': Couple celebrate diamond event

Christopher How thought the woman was "rather wonderful" and asked the groom for her story.

Christine Ranasinghe had arrived in the UK from Colombo, in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), some two years earlier.

Her brother, a Ceylon Army serviceman also named Christopher, had seen an ad in the paper for work in England and sent it home to Christine and their mother.

Christine applied for the job, mainly to appease her mum, but she landed it and three weeks later was flown to England on a military charter plane organised by her brother.

It was a freezing winter's day in January 1960 when she arrived at Heathrow Airport in a sari and sandals.

Christine's body went numb as soon as she stepped on to the frosted tarmac.

Despite the cold she quickly came to like it in England and soon made friends with the couple who would later wed in 1962.

Christopher, aged 23 at the time, and Christine, 26, shared a number of glances across the room at that wedding.

The groom, Stephen Liao, taught Christopher how to pronounce Christine's last name and after six weeks he finally built up the courage to ask her out.

She said yes and their first date was a trip to Canterbury Cathedral on Christopher's scooter.

"It was quite a romantic feeling really," Christopher, a retired engineer who now lives in Warrnambool, told The Standard.

He said Christine was "a delight" with a lovely sense of humour.

"That's how we came to get together and I've been holding her hand for 60 years," he said.

The pair married in St Thomas Church in Essex at 12pm on April 4, 1964.

Their extended family joined them at Warrnambool's Lady Bay for a celebratory lunch on April 6, 2024.

The Hows had three children, Michael, Nicholas and Margaret.

They moved to Australia six years after they married, first living in Sydney and then Coffs Harbour before moving to Melbourne.

But they grew tired of the busy city so looked to the western district.

Warrnambool reminded them of the rugged coastline of Cornwall, where they'd previously resided as a family, and they made the move without hesitation.

The city has been their home for 50 years.

Christopher was employed as a design engineer for Warrnambool City Council before joining another practice.

He said it was a difficult time but his wife, who worked at St John of Gods Hospital as a nurse, carried them through.

She had started her local nursing career caring for iconic clothing manufacturer Fletcher Jones at his home before he was moved to the Warrnambool hospital.

"She was quickly absorbed by the nuns because of her connection with Sir Fletcher and they were very, very kind," Christopher said.

He said it was "quite impossible" to find a more loyal partner.

"She kept us going through thick and thin," he said.

Christopher said 60 years of marriage was easy, mainly because of his wife's excellent sense of humour.

"She can see the funny side in nearly everything," he said.

"Being naturally outgoing and friendly, she catches people's attention. Even old grumps have come to like her as she is never down in the dumps."

In 2016 Christine started to develop memory loss and was later diagnosed with a form of dementia.

After a few bad falls she moved into the Warrnambool Riverside Care Community while Christopher remained in the family home.

He visits his wife most days and so do their children, including Nicholas, a local music identity who recently performed for the Riverside staff and residents.

Christopher said while their latter years were "not exactly what we wanted", his wife was now in a safe environment.

"(The diagnosis) has not changed her personality and she still has that great sense of humour," he said.

"We've had a long and interesting life and I wouldn't have changed anything. Some people look back with regrets but I don't have any. It's been a fun existence, especially with Christine."