
"'To have and to hold, 'til death do us part.......' are mere words for some who give the sanctity of marriage no more than lip service, but for others, they remain sacred vows before God, never to be violated. While I failed in this respect, it heartens me enormously that there are people in this world who do manage to remain married and still stay happy with each other. Meet Karam (aged 107) and his wife Katari Chand (a spring chicken of a mere 100 years). Born in the Punjab, India and now living in Bradford, they have been married for 87 years! They are the world's longest married couple. Their marriage is 5 years longer than the current Guinness record holders.The key to their successful marriage in the words of Karam is, 'My trick is to make Katari laugh. I like to tell jokes and make her smile. Being funny is my way of being romantic. Laughing makes you live longer.' I will now need to revise my funniest joke which came in the form of a piece of advice from a marriage sceptic: 'It's a waste of valuable time for any man to get married. Instead, just find a woman that you start off not liking and give her a house, all your assets and half your income for the rest of your sorry life!'" William Forde: March 6th, 2013.