Golden couple mark 50 years of marriage

Carol Molineaux 72, of Langton Gardens, Worthing, marked 50 years of happy marriage to husband Tony, with a dinner with friends.

The couple married at Holy Trinity Church, in Shelley Road, after meeting when Carol was just 15, at Worthing Swimming Club at the old Heene Road baths.

She said: “He was gorgeous. He is quite quiet and I am quite noisy.

“He is just a gentleman and a lovely man. He is very handsome. He had thick black hair and was a diver, too.”

Carol started her working life as a mobile hairdresser, after she completed an apprenticeship.

Her career led her to meet some celebrities while cutting hair in Surrey, among the most notable being footballer George Best.

She said: “I used to be a hairdresser and after my apprenticeship I became the first mobile hairdresser in Worthing in 1967.

“I did that for 40 years and I met George Best several times.

“I cut his hair for three or four years. He had thick, black, gorgeous hair. He only had a trim.”

Carol gave up hairdressing for health reasons, devoting much of her time to charitable causes.

She is actively involved in Worthing Rotary fundraising and helping children learn their times tables through Worthing Homes.

She heads up a Worthing bi-polar support group and spent eight years as a borough councillor, standing down last year.

Among her proudest achievements was swimming 50 lengths of the old Aquarena pool for the British Heart Foundation in 1968,

Talking about her husband’s life, Carol said: “He played for Worthing FC and Brighton and Hove juniors before he had an accident heading the ball and had to give it up.

“He was a printer all his life and started as an apprentice.

“He was a works manager until he was made redundant and then he worked for the Inland Revenue for ten years.”

Tony retired at 70, 18 months ago and celebrates his 72nd birthday in June.

They celebrated their anniversary with a meal at Food, with close friends Paul Yallop, former leader of the council, and Wendy Knight, ex-communications officer.

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