Hello, my name is Doris and I'd like to make a complaint.

I've decided to give single men a wide berth for the time being.  To occupy myself I plan to tend to my much-neglected garden (and occasionally catch up with Phil, the married Russian). Some Phil photos for your enjoyment:

In every relationship, couples eventually present each other with their baggage.   The exchange of the duffle bag. As individuals, we exchange our duffle bags at various speed.  Some of us hand our bags over early, some of us need coaxing.  Some duffle bags are large, some are small.  Some are huge. Some duffle bags need an upright hand trolley.  I'm very sorry to say that the lovely-accented, quite handsome 40 year-old Frenchman had a duffle bag that I was physically ill-equipped to carry. He presented it way too early and I broke under the weight of it. The Frenchman's history was a little difficult to work out.  Not because he was mysterious, but because I was never interested enough to keep asking questions.  Medium length marriage to a woman who had one daughter of her own, he had helped to raise during the adolescent years.  That daughter was now 19. Apparently he had ended his marriage 2 years ago because his wife's demands for perfe...

Bald men, searching for a date on the internet seem to have no hesitation filling and ticking the boxes which specify the traits they'd like in a woman. It's as if men and women are even, hair or not, and let's go. Let's get started saying what we want in each other.  Strangely, I've never seen a dating site where members can tick a box which specifies "full head of hair please".   One can, however specify age preference, eye colour, hair colour, body shape, height, star sign, religion, political persuasion, personality, drinking habits, smoking habits, job, education, nationality and ethnicity.  You can specify that you are bald, you just can't specify that you don't  want  bald. So there is room to be ageist and racist, but you cannot be...I'd say  hairist  here, but even that word seems to be reserved for men who don't like women with certain coloured hair rather than people who want a partner with a full head of hair. Even the mar...

I was chatting to my stepfather on the phone after work one evening recently, explaining why I couldn't come to visit my parents for the next few weeks.  I have an exam to sit that I need to prepare for.  He responded with "I don't know why someone your age would want to study.  Is it going to mean you earn more?" That's the first time he's ever really mentioned it and I've been studying for the last one and a half years. At the ripe old age of 44 I have quite a few years left in the workforce, and competition is pretty tough at interviews these days.  Yeh Dad, it's something I have to do.  I'm paying off my own home (recent small renovation to boot),  I'm working full-time and studying part-time - my 3rd post-graduate course.  I know, I've said all this before. What amazes me is how few people congratulate me. Not that I expect constant admiration mind you.  Most of us (women that is) who separate and raise children just get on with i...

How many men mention loving their children in their online dating profiles? Lots. What's that about? Just imagine a lady, slowly scrolling through the male profiles. She clicks on a profile and starts to read...yes, yes, same-old same-old.  Oh hang on!  She sits upright...stiffens a little...reads on. "Oh sweet Jesus!"  She breathes in sharply, choking a little on her coffee. "There it is! I've found him! A man who loves his children." The worst offenders are men with younger kids who I believe are still in a bit of shock, actually having to spend one-on-one time with their kids involved in more than just the Saturday sport.  Oh, and I mustn't forget the men who claim have their children with them 50% of the time. This second group are as rare as hens teeth, but they certainly want to make you aware of how fucking AWESOME they are.  About 3 sentences are devoted to telling you that they have their children half the time/some of the time, and they abso...

Well, that didn't go too well with Michael.  The date lasted from 7pm-8pm precisely. So, let me go over the finer details.  It very important that I jot this down before it starts to fade from my memory. I walked into the bar about 5 mins before the designated meeting time.  There he was. The bar was nearly empty but he had chosen to sit in a booth situated smack bang in front of the bar, with the bar tenders looking straight at us, able to hear our conversation word for word. Public how-do-you-do (yes, hello everyone, look over here, we are meeting for the first time via internet dating) takes place in front of the four 25 yo bar tenders, and we sit down to get to know one another. So conversation is immediately a bit difficult. Michael already has his red wine in front of him, so I break the ice by saying, "Well, I might just grab myself a drink." Grab it, come back, he asks me what I am drinking and then he launches into a discussion about how few wines they hav...