Romantic couple fight to keep love heart graffiti they engraved on wall 40 years ago
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Childhood sweethearts who carved their initials on a wall 40 years ago are hoping to be able to keep the stone before the building is demolished.
Cathy and Harry Cosgrove were in their early teens when they drew a love heart behind an arcade wall in the 1970s.
They were together for four years before going their separate ways – but the pair met again in 2000 and finally tied the knot in 2008.
The arcade-turned-tackle shop on Rhyl promenade, north Wales, is set for demolition after being bought by Denbighshire council, reports the Daily Post .
Cathy said she and Harry, who now live in nearby Prestatyn, wanted to see if there was any way they could salvage the stone to keep as a memento in their garden, and officers from the local authority agreed.
Cathy told the paper: “It was around 1972 when me and my then boyfriend Harry put our initials in a love heart behind the tackle shop when it was an arcade.
“I was living in Sandringham Avenue at the time and would often go to the Slot Palace Arcade to play on the pinball machines with Harry."
She added: “There used to be a chippy behind it and that’s where we wrote our initials in a love heart – my maiden name was Jones.
“We were together until the age of around 16 and then we went our separate ways.”
Although they saw each other in passing over the next 25 years and went on to have their own families, it wasn’t until Cathy organised a reunion of her childhood friends in 2000 that they got talking again.
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Romantic couple fight to keep love heart graffiti they engraved on wall 40 years ago
- 15:21, 22 SEP 2016
- UPDATED 15:21, 22 SEP 2016
- BY KELLY WILLIAMS
Cathy and Harry Cosgrove carved the initials when they were teenagers - and now they want to keep the stone
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Daily Post Wales
Cathy and Harry Cosgrove from Prestatyn outside The old tackle shop in Rhyl before it's demolished
Childhood sweethearts who carved their initials on a wall 40 years ago are hoping to be able to keep the stone before the building is demolished.
Cathy and Harry Cosgrove were in their early teens when they drew a love heartbehind an arcade wall in the 1970s.
They were together for four years before going their separate ways – but the pair met again in 2000 and finally tied the knot in 2008.
The arcade-turned-tackle shop on Rhyl promenade, north Wales, is set for demolition after being bought by Denbighshire council, reports the Daily Post .
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Daily Post Wales
The couple hope to keep the stone on which their names are engraved
Daily Post Wales
They made the romantic carving when they were teenagers
Cathy said she and Harry, who now live in nearby Prestatyn, wanted to see if there was any way they could salvage the stone to keep as a memento in their garden, and officers from the local authority agreed.
Cathy told the paper: “It was around 1972 when me and my then boyfriend Harry put our initials in a love heart behind the tackle shop when it was an arcade.
“I was living in Sandringham Avenue at the time and would often go to the Slot Palace Arcade to play on the pinball machines with Harry."
Daily Post Wales
The old tackle shop now faces demolition
She added: “There used to be a chippy behind it and that’s where we wrote our initials in a love heart – my maiden name was Jones.
“We were together until the age of around 16 and then we went our separate ways.”
Daily Post Wales
Cathy and Harry Cosgrove as teenagers
Although they saw each other in passing over the next 25 years and went on to have their own families, it wasn’t until Cathy organised a reunion of her childhood friends in 2000 that they got talking again.
Daily Post Wales
Harry and Cathy went their separate way for many years after putting their names in stone
“We just hit it off straight away and within a month we were back together,” she said. “Shortly afterwards we moved in together – we have seven children and seven grandchildren between us.
“We got married in August 2008 when I was 49 and Harry was 48 – I said I wanted to be a bride before I was 50 so our wedding was the week before my birthday."
She added: “We both have fond memories of Rhyl in its heyday, my parents ran a B&B on Sandringham Avenue, it was a great place to grow up.
“We are hoping the council can salvage the love heart, it would be great to be able to keep it as a memento.”
The building on the corner of Sandringham Avenue is being knocked down to make way for further regeneration in the town.
Mark Dixon, from Denbighshire council, said about the love heart: “It’s actually carved into mortar on a boundary wall so when we demolish the property, we’ll do our best to cut it out in one piece, and Mr and Mrs Cosgrove are welcome to keep it.”
