Five years ago Anita Goinar, a mature student from Germany, began writing to Bradfordian Peter Nieschmidt to improve her English. The pen-pals struck up a friendship by mail, then Anita came to visit...and romance blossomed.

WHEN THE idea of having a penfriend was first put to Peter Nieschmidt he was disinterested to say the least.

"My mum approached me and said a woman who was holidaying in England asked if she could pass my address on to a friend back in Germany. She said her friend wanted a penpal to write to so she could improve her English."

Peter said that was fine, but he didn't pursue it. "I left it at that and didn't think any more about it." Then, two weeks later, a letter plopped on to the mat at his semi-detached home in Buttershaw, Bradford.

It was a strange letter, littered with long words and odd phrases. It was written by Anita Goinar, who admits it was a little bizarre: "I had a dictionary and used lots of long words to impress him. Being a Genesis fan I also used phrases from songs which I had translated. It must have been very weird."

She adds: "I didn't think he would write back to me because my English was terrible." But he did. Says Peter: "Anita's letter wasn't too bad. Some parts were difficult to understand, it was hard to know what she was trying to say."

Yet his reply was just as hard to fathom. Jokes Anita: "He wrote back in 'Bradford English.' I went to a neighbour and asked 'What on earth does this mean?'

Peter acknowledges that it was difficult knowing what to put. "It was like a dating club introduction - we would write letters describing our surroundings and things like that."

The teething problems were soon ironed out, and the pair began describing their thoughts and feelings. Divorcee Peter, 46, was the eternal pessimist. Says Anita: "His marriage had broken up and he was quite bleak, saying things like 'No-one loves me.' He was not very confident."

Anita, 40, who was also divorced with an 11-year-old son, was inquisitive. "She used to fire questions at me. Each letter would have the same questions but would it be written in different ways. It was as if she was testing me to see if I'd told the truth in the first place."

The pair wrote to each other every day - quite a feat, bearing in mind that Anita's letters were between nine and 15 pages long. Says Peter: "She could write and write, while I was struggling to manage four pages."

Then, on Anita's birthday, Peter, who is of German descent and can speak the language, rang his penfriend up as a surprise. "I was so shocked. I didn't know he could speak German," she recalls. They spoke for only a short time, but after that the calls continued and they began to "talk endlessly."

They exchanged photographs, but Peter was not entirely up-front. Says Anita: "Peter sent photos of himself looking much younger! He had a shaved head and looked like a Russian prisoner in Siberia."

But the convict-like image did not put her off, and not long after the pair came face to face for the first time when Anita flew to Bradford for a holiday.

As with many first-time meetings, things were awkward. Recalls Anita: "I was nervous, and when he picked me up he was cool, like an ice mountain - he was not at all relaxed and was very reserved." But Anita overcame her nerves and chatted away happily. Peter began to relax and within a few hours, they both felt comfortable.

Peter had made a real effort to welcome his German friend to Bradford. "It was lovely, the whole house was polished," says Anita. As well as exploring Bradford, he showed her the sights. They visited Haworth, Blackpool, and the beautiful West Yorkshire countryside. Says Anita: "I was made welcome by Peter's family and had a wonderful time."

As the fortnight went on, the couple realised that their feelings for each other were deepening. And when Anita flew back, Peter sobbed. "I bawled my eyes out. I was a blubbering mass at the airport," he confesses.

Back in Germany, Anita, a former clothes shop proprietor and qualified nursery nurse who had gone back to college to study languages, felt at a loose end. Her son, Benjamin, was due to start school and she thought that if she were to move to England to be with Peter on a permanent basis, it would be sensible to do so straight away.

So she abandoned her studies, sold her worldly goods and made arrangements to return to Bradford. She recalls; "I had to sell all my furniture and about 250 books which I miss very much."

Peter was elated. "She just phoned and said she'd be arriving on such and such a date." Adds Anita: "I said to him that if we were to become a family I had to make my decision quickly because the phone bills had got ridiculous."

Life since the move has not been a bed of roses. In his job as a security supervisor Peter works long shifts and, without her close friends to pass the time with, Anita has felt lonely. "It has been difficult to settle. Some people turned their back on us when I came over and sometimes I thought maybe I should pack my suitcase and go back."

But she stayed and a year after she emigrated, the penfriends got married at Bradford Register Office.

Anita works part-time manning a school crossing patrol, but is determined to carry on her education. She is studying English at Bradford College and hopes eventually to go on to university. Benjamin goes to a local school. She says: "I don't want to set targets, but I'd like to feel that there are opportunities for me in England to work - to be independent."

Sitting on the sofa in their cosy home, the pair are still very much in love. "We've still got all our letters," says Peter. "It's hard to believe that's how it started."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.