ivien Gray was 17 years old when she reluctantly attended a Boxing Day drinks party with her father in 1973. “I didn’t really have a choice about going. I was dragged along by my parents and didn’t have anything else to do,” she says. While she was there, she was invited to a New Year’s Eve party by Kelvin, the son of one of her dad’s colleagues. “I was at a girls’ school so I was looking forward to the prospect of meeting some boys.” The party was being held at Mike Wiles’ house, a good friend of Kelvin. “We used to take it in turn holding parties at our parents’ houses,” says Mike. “I was a really shy teenager.” When Viv arrived they exchanged pleasantries, but didn’t have much time to chat. “My lasting memory is of him scrubbing purple sick off the carpet,” she laughs. “One of his friends had been drinking Pernod and blackcurrant.” Two weeks later, there was another party. “This one was being held by the guy who’d thrown up on the floor,” says Mike. “I plucked up the courage to go to Debenhams where Viv worked at her Saturday job in the record department.” As well as buying Grave New World by the Strawbs, a record he still has to this day, he also managed to ask whether she would like to join him at the party. “I hadn’t had any girlfriends before and thought she seemed really nice.” When they arrived at the party, Mike was apprehensive. “I showed my ineptitude by telling her that her jewellery looked like an egg timer,” he says. But Viv was impressed with the purple cord that Mike’s mum had sewn into the bottom of his trousers to make them more flared. “I also noticed his knees trembling when he was nervous.” Despite this, they talked and slow-danced all evening. Mike walked her home and asked if she would like to go on a second date to the local youth group. At the time, both were busy studying for their A-levels, but they started seeing each other every weekend to go to parties or the cinema. In 1974 they had summer jobs in the same office in their home town of Chelmsford, Essex, before heading off to different parts of the UK. Mike moved to Leicester to study estate management at a polytechnic (now De Montfort University) while Viv went to train as a domestic science teacher in Gloucestershire. “We visited each other, but he was never allowed to stay at my all-girl halls,” says Viv. Then Viv’s parents decided to go to the US for a year and asked if she wanted to join them. “I couldn’t be far away from Mike so I decided to stay at college, and moved in with Mike and his parents during the holidays.” Viv and Mike got engaged in 1975, and married two years later after finishing their studies. The couple continued to live with Mike’s parents in Essex before buying a place of their own a year after their wedding. They had three children in 1980, 1981 and 1983 and then moved to Somerset in 1989. “Mike found a job as a bursar in a school and we’ve been here ever since,” says Viv. They share a passion for live music, and regularly go to local events, as well as taking trips to London. “We’ve seen the Rocky Horror Show about 10 times and we always dress up,” laughs Viv. “We also love walking and take regular trips to the Lyme Regis seaside.” When they first met, Viv was impressed by her husband’s height. “He was really tall and a great listener, which is great because I love to natter.” She loves his knowledge, his sense of adventure and his open mind. “A few years ago I asked him if a young Ukrainian teenager from school could come and live with us when his mum could no longer afford boarding fees. Mike said yes immediately and so he had a place to stay while he finished studying.” Mike loves his wife’s compassion. “I think she’s gorgeous too, of course. She’s also a great mum with good principles.” The couple have seven grandchildren, whom they see when they can. “We’ve grown up together and acknowledged the changes,” says Mike. “We’ve had tough times but we’ve always known we wanted to be together.”