Singledom blues

I blame this entirely on the spate of weddings we have been having recently, but I was having a conversation with a friend about how they really want to get married and -- no, I`m sure she doesn`t mind if I share this with you -- how sad they are they don`t have a steady boyfriend. Thing is, I could understand this if she was an old spinster with crows feet and greying hair, but she is pretty and only 27.

To quote Nick Hornby "only people of a certain disposition are frightened of being alone for the rest of their lives at twenty-six". Well, the Japanese are. Someone in their late-twenties shouldn`t be worried that they aren`t already paired off with three screaming children. I think it is entirely the fault of the car adverts. Seeing a man standing in front of his new station wagon with a pile of wide-eyed, smiling children spilling out of it, proudly telling us "I am a father" makes even me, the hater of all things under three foot, a bit broody.