A festive concert in Newport turned into a special golden event for one couple in the audience.
The concert by Allegra was held at St Mark’s Church, Gold Tops, despite Storm Darragh outside, when the audience was entertained with a polished performance by the Newport choir.
Among the audience, which included the Mayor and Jayne Bryant, MS, were Michael and Debra Manley.
Their family had secretly alerted Allegra that it was 50 years to the day since they had married in that very church.
The couple were presented with a certificate and gift during the event.
Allegra’s chairperson Angela Hiscocks said: ‘We were delighted to be able to mark the golden wedding anniversary in the very same church in which they were married, and our congratulations go to Mr and Mrs Manley.
“As to the weather, Allegra members are certainly resilient and there was very much a spirit of ‘the show must go on’, with our musical director Robert T Elliott and accompanist Lucy Fflur Jones, both of whom had to travel a distance, battling the elements to be with us.”
A collection raised £400 for the Mayor’s chosen charities, a raffle raised money towards an Allegra tour of Cornwall next year, and donations for the buffet and drinks raised £400 which was put towards the church funds.
For anyone who would still like to see Allegra perform before Christmas, there is an opportunity on Saturday, December 14, when they are guests of Synergy in Abergavenny. Tickets are available via Synergy’s Facebook page and on www.ticketsource.co.uk/synergy/t-qjeznmp.