AFTER a life on the open road travelling between funfairs, not to mention 60 years of marriage, you may think Arthur and Kathy Newsome were due some time off.

Yet it only takes a trip to Russell's fish shop and cafe, in Redcar, to find the former travellers still hard at work helping out in their son's business.

The Newsomes, members of one of Darlington's oldest families, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary recently, and reminisced about the days they travelled the North-East from one fair to another.

Mrs Newsome said: "You could write a book about the people we knew. We would have the shooting galleries, but I remember the shows people would see like the three-legged pig or the bearded lady."

The couple travelled between York in the south and Northumberland in the north.

They would also take in all the big fairs such as The Hoppings, in Newcastle, but also enjoy smaller events. Their calendar included the Easter fair at Feethams Field, Darlington, Cockerton Feast, the old Stokesley Fair, and Barnard Castle Fair.

The couple, who had three sons, gave up travelling in the late-1960s and settled back in Darlington to work in the bingo trade.

They moved to Redcar in 1975 and bought what is now their son's fish and chip shop in 1980.

The pair met in the Baths Hall, in Darlington's Gladstone Street, at a dance during the Second World War. Mr Newsome went to war a few days after his marriage.

He fought in the D-Day landings and also served in Holland. He has lived to see the family name Arthur Newsome passed on to his great-grandson.