At HC-One’s
Meadow Bank care home, in Bamber Bridge, Preston, colleagues have been chatting to residents and relatives ahead of Valentine’s Day, to hear all the stories of love over the last century.
Pam Spencer lives at Meadow Bank residential, nursing and dementia care home, and her husband Joe regularly visits her and has lots to tell everyone about their life story and adventures. Pam and Joe’s son Ian often gives his free time up to help out at Meadow Bank’s monthly dementia café too and they are very much a part of the Meadow Bank family.
The couple have been all around the world but have ended up in the place where it all started, Bamber Bridge, having both fallen in love and achieved their dreams and ambitions together.
Joe was born and bred in Bamber Bridge and Pam was from the New Hall Lane area of Preston, they met when they were 17 and 15 and have been together for 62 years. They married on 7th December 1963 at Brownedge St Mary’s Church in Bamber Bridge and had their honeymoon in Blackpool.
Pam followed her dreams and became Head of Business Studies and Accounting at Preston College, and Joe went into partnership with his brothers, buying plots of land and building houses on them.
Joe and Pam both attended the youth club in Bamber Bridge and were introduced by friend Val. A day out to Blackpool had been arranged at the club, to do some sightseeing and go dancing at the Tower Ballroom.
Joe recalls that he asked Pam if she was going and she said,
“Oh yes!”
He asked Val how Pam would get home, and it was uncovered that Pam would have to sneak some clothes out and tell her parents that she was staying at Val’s house.
Everyone went their different ways on the trip and arranged to meet at central pier to go into the tower. Most of the lads were in the bar, even though they were underage, but nobody stopped them. Joe looked through the window and saw Pam, he said to his mate “Look at that girl, that’s who I was telling you about!”
Joe said:
“Pam was sat with her friends outside and I went over and asked if she would like a lemonade or something, she said ‘Yes! That's what I came for, I came to meet you’. I couldn't believe my luck.”
Joe and Pam then went dancing and talking, she told him she wanted to be a teacher and he told her that his ambition was to hold a house building business, which were only dreams for Joe, little did they know that their dreams were going to come true.
The pair were engrossed in each other's company and lost track of time, having missed their train (The Bamber Bridge Passion Wagon as they called it!)
Joe explained ‘The Bamber Bridge Passion Wagon:
“There were no lights in some of the carriages so young couples would go in there and I will leave the rest to your imagination, but I treated Pam with respect and avoided those carriages whilst on the train. Unknown to us the train didn’t stop at Bamber Bridge, and somebody had to pull the emergency stop cord and we all had to run away.”
Joe and Pam met up at the youth club a few days later and the staff were trying to find out who pulled the cord but everyone that was on that train agreed to not talk about it again.
Joe added:
“In all our 62 years together, we have never fell out, we’ve had disagreements, but Pam’s always won.
The key to a happy relationship is trust, honesty, listening to each other and respecting each other, and more importantly having fun. We travelled the world and made a lifetime of amazing memories and even though Pam has Alzheimer’s the love is still the same, she tells the staff get off my man if they get too close.
I want to thank all the staff at Meadow Bank for how good they are (to us).”
Dawn Ward, Meadow Bank’s Wellbeing Coordinator, commented:
“Hearing of Pam and Joe’s love story is wonderful; they really have had an amazing life, and they continue to be very much in love 62 years later. It’s an inspiring story which I think is lovely to hear at this time of year, when love is in the air.”