Closer than ever after 70 years

A 70th wedding anniversary is so rare there isn't even a greeting card made for the occasion as the family of Napier's Bill and Lucy Field found out.
The couple, married in 1940, celebrated their platinum wedding yesterday and said the years had been "long and happy".
Mrs Field, 89, said the family had had "all the usual ups and downs" but the love between her and Mr Field, 93, had remained strong.
"Hard work really has kept us together, I think we're doing all right for our age," she said.
"As you grow older, you grow closer together."
The Fields celebrated the day with daughter Alice Tantrum, son-in-law Kevin Tantrum and grand-daughter Wendy Bateman with a morning tea.
A larger celebration with many of their three children, 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren is planned for the weekend.
It is also the first of a number of milestone anniversaries the family will celebrate in coming years.
Mr and Mrs Tantrum celebrate their 50th next year and, in 2012, Mrs Bateman and husband Bryan will reach 30 years of marriage.
Sparks flew early in their relationship for Mr and Mrs Field and continued when they married after  about a six-month courtship.
The pair met in Pahiatua where they continued to live and work up until about eight years ago when they moved to Napier.
Not ones to waste time, the pair had their first child Alice, 69, just 11 months after getting married but waited for their other two - Heather, 60, and Willie, 55.
The pair were "strict" parents, according to Mrs Tantrum, but always created a welcoming environment for those who entered their home.
"People who come in, they stay, they always feel like family very quickly," Mrs Tantrum said.
Mr Field said the pair had been fortunate throughout their lives, collecting many friends around Pahiatua and a loving family.
"They grew up very good kids, we were very lucky," he said.
Mr Field first approached his wife-to-be one evening, having heard of her from a friend.
"I asked my father if I could have a boyfriend and he said, 'can I fight him?'," Mrs Field said.
"But my father and Bill got on so well - as a family we've never really had fights and arguments, we all just get along."
Mr Field did things the traditional way, asking his girlfriend's father for her hand in marriage - while she was in the room.
"My father turned to me and asked if I wanted to marry Bill and I said, 'I guess so'," Mrs Field said.
They never looked back from there.
"It was a bit of a rushed wedding as it was lambing season," Mrs Field said. "We went to Palmerston North for our honeymoon, but were only there a couple of days as we had to be back on the farm." Working as a shepherd initially, Mr Field was also employed in a dairy factory, drove a taxi and, before retiring in 1986, worked at the Pahiatua Borough Council (now Tararua District).