Composer's grandson tells how he found the love of his life in Worthing nearly 50 years ago

Suzy Depledge's move to Iceland to be with Örn Kaldalóns was so unusual, it caught the attention of the Worthing Herald and the story was shared far and wide.

It is a tale of enduring love, as the couple, who moved back to Worthing 17 years ago, recently celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary and are as close today as they were when they were married in 1975.

They had met only by chance when 29-year-old Örn was visiting Worthing to see a friend, and much of their early relationship was conducted through letters and telephone calls. Suzy was 20 and working as an Inland Revenue typist when she first saw the 6ft 4in Icelander, a computer expert and the grandson of well-known composer Sigvaldi Kaldalóns.

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Örn explained: "In 1973, I met an Englishman on a sightseeing tour to Windsor. He told me he had been in a tent in Öskjuhlíð in Reykjavik in the war. I told him that I was planting trees in Öskjuhlíð in a group of teenagers back in 1958 and today a formidable forest was growing there. We became friends, and he invited me to come and visit him in Worthing, next time I came to England.

"In the summer of 1974, I was studying Systems Engineering at IBM Sudbury Towers in London, for several months. One weekend I took the train to Worthing to meet my English friend. His daughter made us a lovely dinner and her friend Suzy arrived and joined us. Afterwards, the four of us went sightseeing in his Austin Mini. I fear I was a bit rude, conversing most of the time to Suzy. Thinking that I must keep in touch with this girl, I asked her if could send her brochures about Iceland. She said yes and I got her address. I still owe her the brochures!

"I invited her sightseeing in Iceland and she came in the autumn. I took her on a circle tour around the country with some good friends of mine. The road around Iceland is roughly 1,000 miles, so the trip took ten days. It passes south of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe, with volcanoes underneath. During eruption, the glacier shield starts lifting and finally floats on a cascade of watermass comparable to the Amazon river. It flushes away every bridge and every construction when icebergs as large as houses roll over the sands on a 20-mile stretch south of the glacier.

"In the summer of 1974, this was remedied, laying temporary bridges and a warning system installed on both sides, just in time for me to take Suzy around Iceland. We stopped in Skaftafell, where quite a few rivers ran from the glacier. The unbridged ones could be waded across. Of course, I gallantly lifted Suzy over each and every one. My friends said I also carried her over the dry rivers but I am sure they were mistaken.

"From Skaftafell, we arrived at Egilsstaðir in the east country and Akureyri in the north. Both towns now have opened international airports. From Reykjavík, Suzy went back home to Worthing and a long dark winter took over in Iceland."

Soon there was talk of marriage but Suzy was the only child of Thomas and Christine Depledge, and the only grandchild for Thomas's mum, living six doors away. To them, Iceland was a strange, far-off land of mountains and glaciers. Örn could not just gather her up and whisk her off to his ice-capped volcanic island like some maurauding Viking - there was much thinking, talking and questioning to be done.

Örn said: "I arrived in England in April 1975, where I met her parents. Suzy and I decided to marry on May 31. We said our vows at the wedding ceremony and over 100 friends and relatives attended the wedding reception in Field Place, where we showed slides from Iceland. Then off to Gatwick, on to Tenerife."

The family recognised the two were very much in love and they would not stand in Suzy's way. With their blessing, the couple looked eagerly to their future. Two visits had been made to Reykjavik, Örn's home town, already, so Suzy knew what to expect - like occasional earthquakes, a high cost of living, houses heated by hot water from the natural geysers and natural hot water open-air baths.

Örn said: "The day after the wedding, Suzy got her 'morning gift', a nice warm Icelandic sheepskin jacket, just what she needed in 40°C! We went to the top of Pico el Teide, the 3.7km- high mountain in Tenerife. They warned us not to walk too fast, since the air was quite thin. We survived and arrived safely back in England, where Suzy said goodbye to friends and family and subsequently we flew to Iceland, to start our married life.

"In Iceland, we had two beautiful daughters, Solveig and Helena. We moved to Toronto in Canada in 1982-1983, where I worked for IBM in Torolab, and the girls went to primary school and learned to play piano. Back in Iceland, I continued working with IBM, Suzy went to University and finished her Masters degree in English Literature. She now is an Icelandic citizen, named Kamilla Suzy Kaldalóns.

"After 30 years in Iceland, we decided to move back to England, where Suzy's parents were getting elderly. Both our daughters live in Worthing, some ten-minutes' walk from us. Now we have lived here for 17 years, but don't worry, only 13 to go! Will we go back to Iceland? I don't know, not necessarily. I have 'infinite leave to stay in England' - just as well, since there are lots to see and experience in Britain."