The things that really matter

When 25 years of marriage and business come together 

Antony and I have recently celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversary. Who could have imagined on the 3rd May 1996 that 25 years later we would be celebrating this achievement, milestone, whatever you want to call it. 

We got married on a Friday, which coming from a farming family meant that whichever day we chose, it would have made no difference because my parents worked 7 days a week as did most of their friends. It was a bright sunny day and it was filled with some serious notes with our wedding vows and then also filled with laughter, drinking, eating, speeches and so on - it was a proper fun day !

When I look back at that time I see how filled with innocence I/we were. We were in love, we had been together long enough to know we were right for each other (as much as you can do) and we were willing to do the work.

Moving forward 

Move forward 25 years and here we are older (definitely), wiser (maybe), richer (definitely not) 🤪.

We have lost loved ones, friends have come and gone as we go along the way,  worked hard bringing up children who are now both adults. 

We have had tough times and so many wonderful times, we have leaned into each other for support so many times I can hardly count and we have given each other space when we have needed to. 

We have worked for people, been self employed, started our own businesses, bought businesses and sold businesses - quite the entrepreneurs ! 

 The things that we committed to most of all have always been family, home and being willing to not quit on our relationship by being in communication. So I think where we have ended up is somewhere special. Still deeply in love, he is still the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, proud of our sons and the values that they have, and proud for not quitting on the things that we value. 

The important things 

What have we done for each other? 

Always had each others back, always supported each other when facing the day to day and sometimes bigger challenges of brining up children, we are in it together. 

We are immensely proud of our sons, both now adults and starting to make their own way. Being parents of young adults is a whole other thing…

Our love of the outdoors, walking, nature, About us We are so blessed to live where we do and boy this last year or so it has been our life saver. We have a dog that needs a lot of walking so that has forced our hands some days but if you follow us at all on social media Click here  then you will know how much we love walking in the Yorkshire Dales, in the Lakes and hopefully this weekend in North Wales 

Antony has a keen eye for birds and as he did his first degree in timber he is also pretty knowledgeable about trees as well. So when we are out walking he is able to spot birds and he knows when they are nesting etc and what trees we are seeing - he has planted thousands of them too. 

You may also know that we decided to follow a tree’s journey this year to see how it progresses and I look forward to taking you on that journey if you follow us on social media Click here 

We love cooking and eating and have grown in confidence this last few years and have even done some masterclasses by Michelin starred chefs. 

Charities that mean a lot to us 

We were supporters of Action Aid for 18 years and paid for 6 young peoples education. It was something we felt very strongly about and that our sons knew how privileged they were to be able to have a free education and how tough it is for others. We regularly communicated with them and they shared parts of their life with us as we did with them. They came from India and Namibia. 

 As our sons have grown up and our focus has shifted we made the move to support Centre Point where we provide a room for young adults to feel safe and to give them some breathing space. This is just the start of a much bigger plan we have around this and we intend to do much more. 

 We have some bigger dreams of course and we have big plans for Skipton’s House of Design and I really hope that you will come with us along the way. 

 Thank you for your support, we really do appreciate it. 

 I want to share with you some of our favourite cushions and also perhaps a photo or two of us from our wedding day. 

Love Janet and Antony 

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