KEY POINTS:
Hugh and Marge Naylor have two great loves in their lives - tennis and each other.
Last Thursday they celebrated their diamond anniversary - 60 years of marriage - and yesterday they were back in seats J37 and J38 at the ASB Tennis Centre, where they have been coming for the past 34 years.
And this is not the first time they have had their photograph in the Herald - 10 years ago they were pictured at the Men's Tennis Championship at Stanley Street, celebrating 50 years of marriage. With the same big smiles on their faces and looking younger than they did in 1999, 84-year-old Mr Naylor and Mrs Naylor, 83, looked happy to be together at the tennis.
They spent their anniversary at their son's Taupo bach last week, but the celebrations would not have been complete without their annual pilgrimage to watch top-class international tennis in Auckland.
Each year they have the same seats and watch either the women's ASB Classic, which ended at the weekend, or the men's Heineken Open tournament. This time it is the men's event. Mrs Naylor says they are still enthusiastic about tennis, even though their five-year membership tickets to the ASB Tennis Centre have almost doubled in price to $4300 from five years ago.
"Gone are the days when I had to sit on concrete landings. The seats are much more swish and sophisticated these days.
"The facilities have gotten a lot better," said the grandmother of 10.
Part of the attraction of the tennis is the group of tennis-mad friends they have made over the decades.
"They're among our greatest friends and they haven't changed much since we've known them. They are a very sporty couple," said one such friend, Pam Goddard.
As for the lovebirds, they have a simple New Year's resolution - don't change a thing.
The couple are still quite active and still go line dancing in Palmerston North, where they now live at Olive Tree rest home.
"We've given up playing tennis but we still go out for a game of golf quite regularly," Mr Naylor said.
They also hope to keep their seats in the family when they are no longer able to use them. This year their sons John, 58, and Brian, 54, and their children have joined them in the stands.
