A FORMER Lord Mayor of Oxford and his wife said a little bit of give and take was the key to 60 years of marriage.

Joseph and Beryl Blewitt toasted their diamond wedding at home in Littlemore, last week and remembered the day they met under a sprig of mistletoe.

Mrs Blewitt, 79, said: "We met at a 21st birthday party on Christmas Eve, 1945. It was in a little hut just off the Cowley Road, opposite Circus Street.

"It was the birthday of a friend of mine who worked with me in the offices at Morris Motors. Joe was lodging with her and I think it was the mistletoe that brought us together."

The couple were married on March 27, 1948, and lived in Florence Park Road, Cowley, for three years before settling in Littlemore.

Mr Blewitt, who was the Lord Mayor of Oxford between 1995 and 1996, had just left the Navy in 1945 after serving for seven years.

During the Second World War he was rescued off the coast of South Africa after his boat was sunk by enemy fire.

Mr Blewitt went on to serve as a councillor on Bullingdon Rural District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxford City Council for a total of 40 years, retiring from public life after a stroke 12 years ago.

Mrs Blewitt, who still swims regularly at Peers School, said: "Being a councillor has been his life and I stayed at home and raised the children.

"We had a lot of good times when Joe was mayor and met a lot of people and saw a lot of sights."

Mr Blewitt, 88, said: "We understand each other and love each other very much. We have always got on. It is about give and take - maybe the wife gives more and I take it all!"

The couple will be joined by their five children, 17 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren at a joint celebration for their anniversary and Mrs Blewitt's 80th birthday in Headington on Saturday