‘Our eyes met across the room’

Photo: Rochdale Online

Wedding - Rod Barry and Sylvia Ellis

42 More Image(s) In Gallery

A local entertainer has spoken of how suffering a heart attack lead him to the love of his life in a wonderful twist of fate.

Singer and performer Rod Barry, 63, married his new wife Sylvia, 67, on Friday (26 June) having locked eyes in the Newtown Club in Castleton, just 12 months ago.

In unhappier times, Rod had decided to retire to Spain, but fate brought him back as he suffered a cardiac arrest, which landed him in intensive care in 2007.

Having recovered, he moved across the road from Sylvia and he began going into the Newtown, where she was a regular.

Mr. Barry said: “I went into the club one night and saw her sat there. Our eyes met across the room, and that was it.

“I had been on my own for five years, and Sylvia had been a widow for five years, and we discovered we had a lot in common.”

To add to the similarities, the couple discovered they were both Humanists, and decided to have a creative Humanist ceremony, focusing on making a promise to one another but without traditional, religious aspects.

Complying with some ancient traditions, the bride and groom tied their wrists together with a ribbon, to signify a bond, and lit a candle as a sign of unity.

The Mayor of Rochdale, councillor Keith Swift, who is also a semi-professional singer, performed to the crowd, as did local singer Steve Mason.

The bond is so strong that Mr Barry has officially adopted the pet cat, Tibby. He added: “We got a little certificate and had a ceremony, it was jokingly really but as far as I’m concerned I’ve adopted the cat.”

He added: “The wedding was a celebration where our friends could come and join in the fun, it was a fantastic night and it went within a flash.”

Mr and Mrs Barry are now looking forward to a honeymoon in Scarborough.

The couple chose vows themselves which they say is reflective of their beliefs.

They read:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other

Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be a companion for the other

Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you

May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead.

And through the years, may happiness be your companion.

And your days together be good and long upon the Earth