Burnley couple who are 'familiar faces' at Buzz Bingo thrilled to receive card from King Charles as they celebrated Diamond wedding

Alan and Ann Birkett are both originally from Cumbria but moved to Burnley in 1966 when Alan changed jobs, from being a farmer, to working at the former Michelin factory where he remained until his retirement in 1993. The couple met at the Crown Inn in Pooley Bridge, where Alan played for the darts team. Ann popped in for a drink with friends to round off a night out in Penrith. They got talking and the rest is history.

The Birketts, who were delighted to receive a card from King Charles and Queen Camilla, married at St Patrick’s Church in Patterdale, Cumbria, on St Swithin’s Day in 1964. After the move to Burnley Alan was also a retained firefighter at Padiham Fire Station for a while and Ann worked at Burnley Cricket Club before and later as a cook for a residential home until her retirement. Ann enjoyed painting and drawing and was a member of the now closed Padiham Painting At Leisure.

Keen sequence dancers, the couple, who have two daughters, Diane and Pauline, were members of a number of dance groups in the area and often holidayed, both at home and abroad, with the friends they met through their shared love of dance. The Birketts also love a game of bingo and are familiar faces at Buzz Bingo in Burnley. A get together with family, including their sons in law Chris and Wilf and their twin grandsons Luke and Joshua, was held to celebrate and they asked for people to make donations to Parkinsons UK and a men’s cancer charity instead of gifts.