Widow, 74, retires to globe trot with beau

A TUTOR and widow of 74 at Beaconsfield Adult Learning Centre is giving up classes to travel the world with a man who has swept her off her feet.
June Belsham has been teaching dressmaking for 42 years at various Adult Learning Centres at South Bucks, including, for the last eight, the Beaconsfield centre on Wattleton Road.
But she packed away her sewing machine for the last time on Thursday last week to retire - and spend the rest of her life on cruise ships with a man with whom she's fallen head over heels in love.
Mrs Belsham, a widow for 12 years, met Eric Kay, a old work colleague she hadn't seen for over four decades, by chance after he rang a friend of a friend after his wife died.
She said: "I told him on the phone, when you last saw me I was tiny, now I'm five foot wide."
But far from minding about that (and it's not true anyway), he travelled over from his home in Sussex to meet her for a reunion that neither of them had ever expected would happen.
Since then they've been on three cruises together - Mr Kay is an artist who runs water colour classes on cruise boats - and Mrs Belsham says she can hardly believe her luck.
"He's absolutely wonderful, aren't I lucky? My children think it's lovely, they're so pleased for me," she said.
Back in Beaconsfield, Mrs Belsham's pupils said goodbye to her with flowers and presents and a celebratory lunch.
Mrs Belsham said: "I've loved this job. The people are so nice and friendly and from all different walks of life. The relationship isn't just one of teacher and pupil, we are all friends."