Love is in the air at retirement living village
A retirement living village in the centre of Lichfield has celebrated its first wedding after two lovebirds proved you are never too old to find ‘the one’.
Melva Perry-Franks, 75, and David Franks, 73, tied the knot recently at Lichfield Registration Office and will continue the celebrations next week by jetting off to the Caribbean for a two-week honeymoon cruise. The pair are both residents at Beacon Park Village, on Lower Sandford Street, which is owned and managed by Bromford. It marks the first time two residents have walked down the aisle together since the 135-bed retirement living village opened in 2005.
Both of them lost previous long-term partners through ill health and their romance blossomed after David supported Melva through her battle with skin cancer last year which resulted in reconstructive surgery on her nose. And the pair never looked back once they discovered a shared passion for singing and dancing as well as a number of strange coincidences such as growing up in the same part of Birmingham and even working for the same Lichfield engineering firm years before knowing each other.
“We’ll always love and cherish our memories from our previous marriages but I see this as a new chapter starting now and Melva and I often just sit and talk for hours and I haven’t laughed this much in years,” said former toolmaker David. “I forget what age I am with Melva and it’s very special having the companionship that we both lost for a while.”
Melva, who has lived at Beacon Park for three years, added: “Tying the knot has definitely brought us closer together and people now describe us as ‘recycled teenagers’. Beacon Park Village is the best place I could have moved to and through highs and lows the community aspect has definitely ended up bringing us together.”
Village manager Pat Jobson said: “We’ve all seen David and Melva’s relationship blossom and it is so great to see a happy ending and the first wedding here at Beacon Park – hopefully the first of many. Bromford see retirement living a little differently and without the strong sense of community here, the pair may never have found happiness all over again.”
Situated just a stone’s throw from the town centre, Beacon Park Village offers a range of one, two and three bedroom apartments alongside on-site facilities such as a restaurant, coffee bar, hairdressers, gymnasium and library with computer access. Anyone interested in a place at Beacon Park Village should call 01543 261300.
School Gardens is Bromford's latest retirement living development after opening in Stourport-on-Severn last summer whilst Park Gardens in Banbury is nearing the final phase of construction. Visit this page to find out more about either scheme and how it could work for you!