One small issue that I'd pick with King's article is that he has a mild 'go' at Andrea Dvorkin, a radical lesbian feminist. Surely lesbians are not insusceptible to a little romance in the form of a marriage proposal. Can of worms I'm afraid.

Thew, survived yesterday intact, no hordes of vandals or gauls bothered to try and storm the last bastion of marriage tyranny.

A truce for another 4 years has been declared except for the psychological cold war.

Maybe a pretty seductive tinker will steal my heart and then my wallett and soul.

Henry - Seven eh? The Rick Wakeman album I owned in my callow youth claims there were only six. Do you know something we don't?

Cheryl - The erstwhile Dvorkin was one scary individual.

JamesH - You could do much worse than a "pretty seductive tinker". My missus reckons Johnny Depp played a good one in 'Chocolat'. Are you bisexual perchance? It might explain the problems you apparently have with women :)

Sharing the burden of initiation wont save the dying institution of marriage.

Expanding its definition and giving same sex couples the certificate certainly will. Alas, those opportunisticly divisive lawyers in the USA will be well pleased.

Cant understand why folks still do it. Its ironic how a couple will live together for a decade, get the contract and then divorce soon after.

Its harder to get out of a mobile phone contract than a marriage contract. lm yet to meet a person, man or woman, who doesnt complain about married life or who has anything positive to say about it. In fact, married persons seem to complain a lot.

CJ I sometimes wonder if you are not Roonie Peters?

It doesn't matter in what manner I respond to your lastest post, it will not be the right thing.

CJ you do remind me of the bullies who make other peoples lives a living hell. I admire HRS's tenacity despite your personal attacks on him.

The only time I ever won at the races was when I went with a very pretty seductive genuine irish tinker. Who sadly I have lost contact with.

It's interesting to be called a "bully" for lampooning utter tripe posted by an obsessive misogynist. Actually, I usually leave poor old Timkins alone unless he posts something particularly stupid.

JamesH: "I admire HRS's tenacity..."

You call it tenacity. Those of us who don't exhibit a deep antipathy to women call it obsession. HRS is a sock puppet for the banned Timkins, and persists in posting much the same drivel that got him banned in the first place. You may have noticed that he tends to tone it down a bit when I and others draw attention to his duplicity.

My condolences to James re the Irish tinker. Perhaps he should have been nicer to her, or tried treating her as an equal.