Internet Romance Storms the World Wide Web!!!!

Well, it stormed my life - turned it upside down in fact. Here's our story (for anyone who's interested!).

We 'met' through a penpals posting I put out just after I got my computer. I was a little naive in thinking no-one would want to write to a 29-year-old female single parent who (stupidly!) described herself as 'voluptuous'. I was immensely surprised to receive over 180 replies! However, Robert is just about the only person I still communicate with from that bunch - just as well really, or I'd spend my whole life replying to e-mail! We wrote innumerable e-mails to each other, interspersed with e-cards of various natures. We bared our souls, told each other things we'd never told anyone else and gradually fell in love. We started to chat on ICQ regularly - every night! - before we met.

Our first phone call was a nervous experience. Robert was at a music festival which meant we wouldn't be able to have our nightly ICQ chat - a horrifying thought by that time. I sat by the phone waiting for him to phone and when he did I got all coy and girlish... his voice was like music to my ears. I'd fallen in love with Robert just through his e-mails and chats - I didn't need to hear his voice to realise I had lost my heart but it reinforced how I felt about him. I don't remember what we said to each other, I was shaking like a leaf and just so glad to hear him that I didn't take in what he was saying! (Robert says 'That just goes to prove that you never listen to me...')

We finally met in person on 20th September 1997, outside a supermarket in my home town of Swansea (it was the easiest place to give directions to!). Robert can vouch that my sense of direction is worse than non-existent...

We spent a blissful weekend with each other, and were sorry to part. Robert had to return to Taunton so we carried on our e-mail and chat romance. We were never apart for more than two or three weeks after that - either Robert drove to Swansea to see me or I travelled by coach or train to Taunton to see him. It was difficult, but more than worth the effort.

The next big event after our meeting was introducing Robert to my son, Matthew. He was 11 at the time - old enough to form opinions.... The initial meeting went really well - they got on like a house on fire (and still do!). I was really amazed at how well they reacted to each other. Of course, it took a bit of time for them both to get used to each other, but I think the fact that Matthew was willing to move 100 miles away from the rest of the family to be with Robert speaks volumes.

Our relationship went from strength to strength. Robert and I had so much in common, it was truly like finding my soul mate. However, strangely enough it was me that first proposed. It all started as a joke - during one of our early e-mail 'conversations' I happened to mention that I was feeling old. It went something like this...

Sandra: I feel so old.

Robert: You're not old!

Sandra: I love you, will you marry me??!!??

So there you go, I did in fact propose first. Robert said that was probably the best offer he'd had all day/week/month/year/decade - delete as applicable!

Our real engagement happened on February 14th 1998. Robert had been in Swansea for the weekend and on Valentine's Day morning Robert had proposed. We went out shopping. I mentioned that I would like to look at rings, even if we didn't get one that day. I think we went to every jeweller's shop in the city, and there are quite a few! We finally found we both liked, a solitaire diamond in a heavy setting - perfect for my larger than average fingers! We had to have it re-sized, and were told that it would take a couple of hours (impeccable service - thank you, Swansea Goldsmiths!) so we went home. And do you know what we did? No, not that! We made bread. Lovely fresh-baked bread. I think we picked the ring up while it was proving. That was the nicest bread Robert's ever made for me!

We told our respective parents, who seemed a little shocked but happy. We told almost everyone else we know via e-mail - an appropriate method, I suppose. Everyone was really pleased for us - but no-one was more pleased than I - I loved Robert with all my heart (and still do).

Time passed. Long weeks of separation were punctuated by weekends of bliss spent together. Sunday afternoons were the worst - I knew one of us was going to be travelling back home that day, and used to dread the fateful departure time. We always said that at least we were only 100 miles or so away - it wasn't like one of us was in Australia or anything!

We started to think about moving in together. It seemed sensible for me to move to Taunton, after all, Robert had a job and I was unemployed at that point. Of course, it took a lot of planning and organising - finding the house, looking at schools, wondering if I was doing the right thing... It was hard, but definitely worth it! The day came when I had to pack up my little house on a hill in Swansea and say goodbye. It was so difficult, and I didn't sleep at all the night before we moved. I cried all night, knowing I was doing the right thing, but already missing my family and friends. Moving day went exceedingly well - thanks to our friends Matt and Robin. It didn't take us long to settle in, but I felt homesick for a long time. Now Taunton feels like home, I guess home really is where the heart is, as the old adage goes.

Matthew settled into his new school remarkably well, and I am so proud of him. He enjoys lots of things about his school (especially the holidays!).

Life settled down. I got a job with a temp agency, Jobseekers of Taunton, which led me to get a permanent job at the school I currently work at. After two years there I have recently changed jobs from being an Adminstrative Assistant to being ICT Technician (I am in the process of writing The St Augustine of Canterbury School website - watch this space for further developments!).

Where was I? Oh yes. I was going to mention our first Christmas in Taunton. Robert made it so special for me. Around three or four weeks before Christmas we were talking about getting married. I didn't want a huge wedding, I wanted it to be fairly intimate, with just close family and friends. Luckily, Robert agreed with me (or else he's a really good actor!). We made an appointment with the Vicar of Robert's church and he came around to discuss dates and details. I guess we gave everyone a bit of a shock when we announced that we were going to be married three weeks after Christmas! Obviously, we didn't have a lot of time to organise things, but we managed it, and made a good job of it I think.

There were a few minor hitches - I got a dress pretty much as soon as we'd decided to do the deed, however, it was long, red, velvety and sleeveless - not exactly sensible for a January evening church wedding! I needed to find a jacket to go with it. This caused major problems, to the extent that Robert developed nervous hiccups (ok, maybe the jacket wasn't the only thing making him nervous!). Suffice it to say, I managed to find something during the week leading up to the wedding.

We got married on 23rd January 1999 at 5.00 pm in a beautiful candle-lit wedding. I don't really remember much about the day, but I do remember lying awake during the night before thinking I missed Robert so much (he spent the night at his parents' house). The day itself dawned like a typical January day - wintery! The day seemed to go in a flash, but also (contrarily) the hours felt like days! The time arrived to get in the car and make my way to the church. I'm sitting here smiling at the memories. The Vicar, Julian Smith, was fantastic. He made me laugh as we were waiting for the time to walk down the aisle. The wedding was beautiful. I'm known to be an incredibly soppy person, I can cry at anything, but I managed to hold back the tears! I felt incredibly lucky to be marrying Robert.

I think the best moment for me was walking back down the aisle arm in arm with Robert. I just couldn't stop smiling, as you can probably see from the photographs!

Then it was on to the reception. I think Robert's told you all about what my brother Alan did to improve the appearance of the reception hall, so I won't put you through that again. However, I will just say "Orange??"!

Walking into the reception hall was wonderful. Alan had done such a brilliant job, it was perfect. I burst into tears (the emotions had finally caught up with me by then) because it all looked so beautiful. Alan rushed over and said "Which bit don't you like, I can change it!"

It sounds funny to say it, but I think that reception was the best wedding reception I've ever been to! Robert's band, Friends in Low Places played, my brothers Alan and Ronnie sang and everyone had a great time. The food was lovely, and having our family and friends around us was so special.

It's been 18 months since we got married, and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to believe I've been so fortunate to have found someone as wonderful as Robert. It just goes to prove that Internet romances can lead to greater and grander things!

Click here to read Robert's version