A married couple who have long enjoyed the game of Scrabble both together and separately before they even met are never at a loss for words — and attribute their wedded bliss in part to their love of the nostalgic game.
They’re still playing in tournaments built around the game decades after they began doing so.
Graham Harding and his wife Helen Harding, both in their 60s, have been married for over 20 years.
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They met in the 1990s at Scrabble tournaments, as news agency SWNS reported.
But it was a “special match” in 2000 that brought the couple together — and has kept them together now.
Graham and Helen Harding on their wedding day. They’ve been playing in Scrabble tournaments for some 30 years. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
Graham Harding is from the East Berkshire Scrabble Club, while his wife Helen is from the Leicester Scrabble Club in the U.K.
They have been taking part in the UK Open Scrabble Championship in Reading this week.
“The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
“Scrabble is all about having a good vocabulary,” said Graham Harding, SWNS noted.
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“But it is a Scrabble vocabulary — not necessarily everyday English.”
Added Helen Harding, “The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
Graham and Helen Harding’s wedding cake. They bonded over their love of Scrabble – and are still playing in tournaments together. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
The couple said they were “vague acquaintances” for about five years after they first met.
Then they got together after a special match in Swindon.
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They maintained a long-distance relationship before they got married in 2004.
The couple even brought their Scrabble board to their wedding.
The couple likely have played thousands of games between them. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
It featured a message with Scrabble pieces that said, “Congratulations on your wedding day” — while their wedding cake said, in Scrabble letters, “Helen and Graham.”
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They each took up the hobby early in life well before they met each other.
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The tournament that’s been taking place this week is the first since the COVID pandemic after a five-year break — and the couple has played some two dozen games in it as of Friday, SWNS reported.
