To wonder where on earth all of these allegedly single women are hiding?

[gilmoregirl]

Just catching up on my weekend papers, interesting article in the Observer (ok, last weekend am not very up to date with the news am I?)

Title "Single for life" why millions of women like me will never get married, at the bottom of the article there are some statistics - apparently around 51% of women under 50 in the UK have NEVER been married.

Really? I find that hard to believe as I feel very much in the minority as a single 38 year old spinster. I work in an office of seven - the six other women aged between 25 - 55 are ALL married. Only one of the women I went to university with is also unmarried. I am very much in the minority out of the parents I come across.

Does this ring true to anyone else?

I think they are counting all women aged 0 to 18, all living with someone and all who have been married.

Oh no, not the Rules! Put it DOWN!

I know online dating can be a bit of a nightmare, but it gets you out of the house, you get some funny stories out of it, the occasional shag, and you never know...My long term single friend emailed me yesterday to say she had met somone online and he had just moved in! (And she is vey vey sensible, so he must be a keeper.)

Partly I date just because I often have no-one to go out with, and it's nice to see a play, or a gig or something. I am not really expecting to meet the man of my dreams!

Haha! The Rules is definitely a strange read, that's for sure. Don't think I would follow much of the advice but it is still quite interesting in parts. I just lose the will with Internet dating, plus I don't live in the biggest place and so come across far too many guys I know on it!

Good lord is the rules still doing the rounds? I am sure I actually owned a copy of it back in the ninties. hmmmmm look where it got me - a string of losers, unwed motherhood, single parentdom and tragic spinster (if you can still be a spinster if you are an unwed mother?) at 38. I am not really a rules girl success story I don't think.

Is the tag line not something like "how to get Mr right to marry you"? or did I make that up (or was that a book Charlotte had in sex and the city????)

In terms of online dating, I do have a success story, one of my friends left her husband, signed up for guardian soulmates, was literally inundated with men desperate to date her and after numerous dates has now met the man of her dreams and is madly in love.

"Time tested secrets for capturing the heart of Mr Right", so the front cover says! I can't see me becoming a 'rules girl' either tbh.

I was on eharmony for a bit, and then justsingleparents, as figured anyone paying money for dating must be more serious than the sleazes on plentyoffish looking for 'whatever I can get, lol!!!!' Ugh. Eharmony I met a total freak, and had literally the worst date ever, and justsingleparents I met a lovely guy who i became friends with but didn't fancy in the least.

Guardian soulmates sounds so...grown up! Have you tried it gilmoregirl ? Or will you now your friend has used it successfully? Maybe I should take a look. I think its expensive but I did get a tax refund today, so...

Ok maybe not, just did a search within 20 miles of me and the only vaguely attractive guy was last online over 6 months ago! Story of my life