Speed Dating Events

Loving unions are all about giving and taking, making and meeting requests. There are so many small things that each person can ask of and do for the other to make the love grow. For example, Val’s request to be told, at least once a week, that she is breathtakingly beautiful has done wonders for her partnership. Ellen’s request that she be told, at least twice a week, that she is more beautiful than Val has done likewise. And since your partner can’t be expected to read your mind, the premise here is: Ask and ye shall receive. Read the rest of this entry »

Be an active listener.

One important way to keep an argument focused and avoid escalation is to make it clear that you’re listening to what your partner says. One way to do that, marriage educators suggest, is to employ a technique called active listening. When your partner says something, repeat it or paraphrase it as best you can and ask if you got it right. Don’t argue about it or challenge how your partner feels, he says. Understand how your partner feels and acknowledge its validity. Read the rest of this entry »

If your stress is being caused by something more than just the colour of the tablecloths or whether to wear a waistcoat and you are having a bout of the pre-wedding jitters, try not to worry. It is quite normal for both partners to feel a bit daunted and question what they are doing at some point during the engagement, particularly after a few deposits have been put down and money has been spent. Read the rest of this entry »

When a man loves a woman, his primary goal is to make her happy. Through history, men have endured the competitive and hostile world of work because, at the end of the day, their struggles and efforts were justified by a woman’s appreciation. Tn a very real sense, his mate’s fulfillment was the reward that made a man’s labor worthwhile. Read the rest of this entry »

In a similar way, when a man makes a mistake and a woman is on his case to remind him, he is not free to reflect on his error and plan to learn from it. When a woman corrects a man’s behavior, he instinctively moves to defend it by returning to his cave where only “Male” is spoken. Read the rest of this entry »

Western women tend to be more unrealistic about marriage than their sisters around the world. Films and television have made them feel that romantic excitement is not only a birthright, but it is elevated to the most important aspect of marriage. Read the rest of this entry »

Much simpler is the line with which delicious dirty Dick scores in The Group, Mary McCarthy’s scintillating expose of how girls lose their innocence. And the most innocent of them all was the well-bred Bostonian, Dottie: Read the rest of this entry »

In fairness, even the most dreadful line can work. A handsome Aussie has made himself the Terror of Earl’s Court with his killing parodies of the Private Eye gag, ‘Let’s uncoil the one-eyed trouser snake’. He could also pull out ‘pyjama python’ and the whole armoury of cod okkerisms when he felt like a textual variant. Read the rest of this entry »

A proposition can be stylish, elegant and flowery — if you’re in luck. But most men weren’t cut out for scaling the heights of poetry and passion — the very idea is enough to bring on a severe attack of vertigo in the average Briton. And being a down-to-earth sort, Mr Average sees no point in beating about the gooseberry bush. If he fancies a bit of sub rosa at the bottom of your garden, the old Adam in him will just put it to you, thorns and all. Read the rest of this entry »

Our friend Kate felt that she was “losing” Jeff, her boyfriend of three months, when after a Saturday night date he said good-bye very casually and told her, “I’ll call you. I’ll let you know what’s a good night for me next week.” Kate felt the tables turning and took an extreme but necessary Dating action. She didn’t answer her phone the night he usually called. She just listened to it ring and ring. When he finally reached her the next day at work, he was a little less cocky and somewhat nervous. He asked her what night would be good for her! The phone strategy worked — he never pulled another stunt like that again. Read the rest of this entry »