 When he received his first birthday card from the Queen on his 100th birthday, it was a real novelty for Ralph Tarrant.
Now, however, he and his wife have a total of ten of them as Britain's oldest married couple take their combined age to a staggering 208 years.
Having just turned 107 and celebrated 77 years of marriage, Mr Tarrant and his wife Phyllis - a comparative youngster at 101 - still live independently and are as devoted to one another as ever.
The couple - who have two daughters - celebrated both this month's landmarks with the help of some of their seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
'It's still exciting when the Queen's card comes, even though I have eight now and Phyllis has two,' said Mr Tarrant, who retired from his job selling insurance way back in 1968.
'I had a really lovely birthday, with lots of visitors. We've had a nice anniversary too with some beautiful flowers, which was a nice surprise.'
The couple, who married on July 8, 1933, spent the first part of their long retirement holidaying around the world, visiting America eight times.
They still have their own flat in Broomhill, Sheffield, and are determined to keep active, going out and about regularly, while Mrs Tarrant attends services at her local church every Sunday.
'We get out when we can, going to lunch clubs and shopping most weeks,' said Mr Tarrant. 'We are still very independent and enjoy life.'
His wife has put the secret of their long-lasting marriage and relationship down to 'getting on with each other, a good diet, exercise, avoiding cigarettes - and a tot of whisky each night'.
But they admit to the occasional tiff - usually down to Mrs Tarrant not being able to decide what she wants her husband to cook for tea, or one of them putting the television on too loud.
'Having little rows is good for a relationship,' Mrs Tarrant said recently. 'It keeps it healthy.'
She worked as chief typist at a Sheffield steel mill. A talented pianist and opera fan, she is also an active member of the church lunch club, which meets every week.
Mr Tarrant is originally from Nottingham, and moved to Sheffield with his family aged seven. He left school a year early, aged 13, starting work as an office boy at Sheffield steelworks.
He was a keen footballer, gymnast and runner. At work he became an estimator and steel inspector before eventually selling insurance until his retirement .
During the war he served in the RAF with 201 Coastal Command, as a corporal based in Inverness, Scotland.
They became Britain's oldest married couple after the death last year of Frank Milford, at the age of 101 at his Plymouth care home. He and his wife Anita, also 101, had been married for 81 years.
The Milfords were just five months short of overtaking the all-time holders of Britain's longest-lasting marriage, that of Thomas and Elizabeth Morgan, of Caerleon, South Wales, who were married for 81 years 260 days until Mrs Morgan died in 1891.
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Britain's oldest married couple: He's 107 and she's 101 and they wed 77 years ago