We met in November 1996 and got on like a house on fire (as they say). One small snag was that John worked away a lot and he was away all December 1996, so the relationship was pretty cool-ish. It got better by phone and e-mail though!!We had planned a holiday for March 1997 – to Norway (snowboarding) and to stay with friends. John was away in Germany at the time and I decided to start snowboarding lessons – aim to impress, that’s what I say… and I did BIG style. I broke my back on the fifth session and spent six months in full body fibreglass plaster. Washing? (Don’t ask!!) Put it this way, I became reacquainted with my mum’s caring touch after 20 odd years!! Needless to say this was the ‘breaking point’ (pardon the pun) of the relationship – that is, we were completely committed after this and virtually inseparable, apart from the odd work trip for John.November 1998 saw us move into our own brand new house and we have been VERY happy. Needless to say, the wedding won’t make much difference to our commitment to each other, but we want to finally celebrate and shout about it to anyone who’ll listen. Hopefully, we’ll be doing that in November 2003 – we’ll have been together seven years by then…so we can’t be accused of rushing it !!The proposal: John was away again – America this time. I proposed to him on 29th February 2000 and he said yes … after a while!!I had sent a red rose with a small card (which he keeps in his wallet) to ask him the question and to be sure I sent a pictorial e-mail too. At the time, we were buying a new car and there was a problem with it. At 3pm on the 29th (I was a wreck – waiting for him to ring) he rang to tell me about the car not being delivered and I burst into tears – stress of waiting for an answer!!! Eventually he rang back after getting the rose – which the hotel people had put in water in his room in a crystal vase (which he nearly brought home because he thought it was with the rose!!)On the 12th March he flew home and we went to Goldsmiths in Manchester to buy the ring! Now we’ve got all the planning etc to look forward to and of course the rest of our lives. We’re both very happy.