17. April 2011

A couple of days ago I wrote about a wedding party of 30 people sitting at the same table who totted up over 1000 years of the marriage between them . (That was over 15 years ago and the same people, all of whom are going strong, would probably now notch up around 1500 years.). This against the background of a government report which, shows us to be the worst country in Europe, concerning the marriage stakes, with 50% of all children in the UK having divorced parents. The point of raising this issue again results from a discussion, on the early-morning radio, where one of the participants was asked the secret of a long-lasting marriage, She said that it was quite simple, the husband and wife had to be good friends. Pretty obvious, when you come to think of it. enduring friendship can transcend, love, passion and infatuation, which in itself is a form of temporary madness, akin to the March hare!. One can love one’s friends, of either sex, in a plutonic way, but this is quite different from the love you one feels for one/s spouse,, who, by definition, must be one’s best friend. You never let down your friends; you don’t cheat on your friends; you have an open and honest relationship with your friends and ‘you do as you would be done by/ with your friends. Following this code, it follows that if your spouse is your best friend. the relationship will endure.

As promised, Jane ‘the sheep’ came today, with her doctor partner John, bringing with them three rare sheep to graze down our paddock, now Mouse ,Alice’s dear donkey, is no longer with us. They are beautiful creatures, Manx Loaghtan sheep. – a small, brown, multi horned breed., They can each have up to 6 horns, rams and ewes alike, but Jane’s three ewes, Miilly, Molly and Hetty, have only 2 horns apiece.