Rutland diamond wedding couple's married bliss foretold by stranger

A Rutland couple whose marriage was predicted before they had even met are set to mark 60 years of wedded life.

Leslie and Ann Cusdin will spend their diamond wedding quietly together at their Whissendine home today (January 7), but a bigger family celebration is planned for later in the year when Covid-19 restrictions are behind us all.

The couple were born and raised in North London and met in November 1959 through the wedding of Leslie's brother Ken who was marrying a friend of Ann's.

A hairdresser by trade, Ann did the bride's hair the evening before the wedding where she made an immediate impression on the bride's auntie.

"Her aunt introduced us," said Ann, who turned 83 this month.

"I went to the wedding celebration after I had finished work and his aunt took us both up to Les' father and said to him 'you have one new daughter-in law today, and this one is the next!

"I just walked away and thought 'funny woman'!"

But the bold prediction was grounded in truth and after courting for 14 months they were married at St James' Church in Muswell Hill on January 7, 1961.

"We were in our early 20s and had had partners in teenage years so we knew when we had found the right person," said Ann.

"You learn to live with one another - that's what marriage is all about.

"When you start you are two different people, but you just have to settle down and merge together which happens over time."

The proudest legacy of their 60 years together are their four children - Penelope, 59, Alan, 57, Keith, 52, and Andrew, 50 - and nine grandchildren.

Ann stopped full-time work to bring up her children, while Leslie (87) worked as a wages clerk for a patents company in London.

He continued to commute there briefly after the couple moved to Whissendine in 1997, 'the best move we ever made'.

They have been active members of Market Overton Bowls Club, as well as village life, for many years, while Leslie used to run line dancing classes in Oakham.

"We have had a fantastic life," Anne added.

"We just thank the lord because we have been so blessed. We have four wonderful children and many grandchildren so what more could we ask for?"