Penny's proposal poem worked a treat

Joiner Ben Wall got more than he bargained for when he sat down to smoko yesterday.

Two hot meat pies and a bottle of tomato sauce were lined up in front of him, when in walked his girlfriend Penny Smith and an entourage of media. "Why's it all on me?" he asked, confused.

And with that Miss Smith placed a copy of the Bay of Plenty Times on the table and started to read her leap day marriage proposal to him.

Miss Smith won a $6280 engagement ring and a full page advertisement of her "love message" in the Bay of Plenty Times after entering an APN Newspapers competition with a poem inspired by Mr Wall's love of fishing.

The poem jokes about how she had been dropping hints about an engagement ring but he bought a boat instead.

After reading the poem, much to her relief, a stunned but grinning Mr Wall said: "Yes."

He placed the platinum diamond Walker and Hall ring on Miss Smith's trembling finger and then they kissed and told each other "I love you".

"Well done Ben. You had the right answer," said his employer Cath Morgan, of Autocrat Joinery. The couple were then applauded and showered with glitter.

Mr Wall said he knew Miss Smith had entered a competition but "didn't pay much attention".

He had planned to propose within the year, once he got some money together for an engagement ring. "It was on the agenda," he smiled.

The savings account he had planned to open for the ring would now be a wedding account.

"There won't be any upgrades," he said of the $900 dinghy he recently purchased.

After interviews with the Bay of Plenty Times and Classic Hits, Mr Wall took Miss Smith's hand and walked her to her car, leaving his meat pies to go cold. "I'm not that hungry anymore," he said.

Penny's poem

I promised myself I'd leave it to fate.

But gone are the days where a girl should wait!

My subtle hints weren't to pressure him though,

Just letting him know, I wouldn't say no.

He had taken the bait, or so I thought.

But it was the cod on the rod, off the boat he JUST bought!

But if fishing's his game, then count me in.

Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with him.

The opportunity has come from 'Walker and Hall'

And marriage with Ben is worth it, fish and all!