Marriage takes work as well as romance.The British still believe in marriage, it seems. Despite the impression one may get from the mass media, 85 per cent of people get married, and surveys show that most believe adultery adultery Sexual relations between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. Prohibitions against adultery are found in virtually every society; Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions all condemn it, and in some Islamic countries it is still punishable by to be wrong. Yet 40 per cent of British marriages fail. Each day more than 500 children go through the heartache of seeing their parents divorce. Not only is a failed marriage damaging to those most closely involved, it adds to the cost that society as a whole pays. It is estimated that the government spends [pounds sterling] 4-6 million per day picking up the pieces of broken marriages. So any initiative to save marriages is welcome. Peter and Barbie Barbie in full Barbara Millicent Roberts A plastic doll, 11.5 in. (29 cm) tall, with the figure of an adult woman that was introduced in 1959 by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy company. Reynolds, who started Rapport The former name of device management software from Wyse Technology, San Jose, CA (www.wyse.com) that is designed to centrally control up to 100,000+ devices, including Wyse thin clients (see Winterm), Palm, PocketPC and other mobile devices. in 1991, say that marriage is left too much to chance. No-one would expect the pilot of a piston-engine plane to fly a jetplane without any retraining re·train tr. & intr.v. re·trained, re·train·ing, re·trains To train or undergo training again. re·train , they point out. The changing roles and expectations of men and women over the last 50 years mean that their traditional roles within marriage have gone for ever, yet society offers newlyweds no training, just a sumptuous sump·tu·ous adj. Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish: "He likes big meals, so I cook sumptuous ones" Anaïs Nin. wedding and a `good luck, you'll manage'. Rapport, now part of Care for the Family, offers skills training to couples so that they can strengthen their relationships and deal with problems before they reach crisis-point. The Reynolds want to see a change in public attitudes so that there is no more stigma in going to a marriage-enhancing course than in having one's car serviced. `I'd like us to reach the point where people say, "What, you're getting married and you haven't been on a marriage skills course? How irresponsible!"' Barbie Reynolds told a recent forum arranged by this magazine. `Public attitudes have changed on drink-driving and wearing seat-belts, so why not on this issue, too.' Marriage, writes Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born June 4 1951) is a British columnist and author. Her articles appear mainly in the Daily Mail newspaper and focus on political and social issues. She has previously written for The Guardian and other publications. in The Tablet, `is fragile, and if it is to thrive it must be buttressed but·tress n. 1. A structure, usually brick or stone, built against a wall for support or reinforcement. 2. Something resembling a buttress, as: a. The flared base of certain tree trunks. b. through a concerted and conscious effort by law, economics and culture'. And by individuals taking more responsibility for their own relationships, the Reynolds would add. |
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