IPSWICH funnyman Ronnie Markwell has something to really smile about today - he and his wife Mollie have celebrated their Golden Wedding.

IPSWICH funnyman Ronnie Markwell has something to really smile about today - he and his wife Mollie have celebrated their Golden Wedding.

And they have just returned from a cruise to celebrate their milestone.

Ronnie and Mollie, of Foxhall Road, met at a gig at The Gainsborough Hotel where he was playing double bass in a band.

The couple met in December 1958 and after a whirlwind romance married in June 1959. They have one daughter and one grandson.

Mollie, a machinist by trade, said the secret to their long and happy marriage was “give and take.”

“You get used to each other as you get older,” she said. “Being just the two of you means you can spend more quality time together, we play bowls together.

“Fifty years is quite an achievement, I don't think there are many people about who can say they have been together as long as we have.

“When we were younger you had to make a go of things.”

And Ronnie, who previously worked at the Star, added: “The key to our marriage is working together and enjoying life together.”

Ronnie, is well known in Ipswich for his outstanding charity work, having raised about �50,000 for the St Elizabeth Hospice, East Anglia Children's Hospices (EACH) and other worthy causes.

He is still a well-known amateur entertainer, playing The Dame in numerous pantomimes, and also doing a stand-up comic act.

His impression of the late Benny Hill has been a great favourite at social clubs around Ipswich for many years.

The couple were invited to visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2004 for a garden party in recognition of his hard work campaigning for local causes.

To celebrate the couple took in the sights and sounds of Norway and Russia on a 16-day cruise - and Ronnie had no problem in keeping his fellow cruisers in stitches!