News, views and woo hoos – Jan ‘10

These are some of the things that have been tickling our fancy at the end of the decade…

Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge: Want a cheap way to get in shape after the holiday indulgence? Trisha´s a big fan, Nicky and I are yet to be convinced, but that´s because we find the farting so funny. We´d love to hear if you sign up to this and manage to complete it. You might also meet someone bendy!

Visible Invisible: You sometimes catch us three deriding modern art, like a bunch of grannies what on earth is that meant to mean?! etc. However this exhibition is not up its own bottom, the pieces are actually beautiful. Ignore the vague, superfluous descriptions. It also happens to be free.

The Wire: We´ve been praising this for some years now, but we worry that the word might not have spread completely. The best thing we´ve seen on t telly for ages. It´s half price at the moment. Indeed. But be warned, it is nigh on impossible to watch just one episode, so settle in for the session.

Operation Smile: One of the biggest dating tips we give you is that you should smile often. We´re all naturally drawn to sunny faces. For some kids it´s hard to do that, so there is a great charity that helps children born with cleft palates. Read about this essential work, you might also want to get involved.

Good things that have happened to us:

It was hugely exciting to see Andrew, Claire and Helen at Crisis at Christmas. By chance they were placed at my volunteer centre on the same days as me. They all came on their own, but left with many new friendships formed. They seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did. Such an interesting experience, with fascinating folks. It was also pretty scary realising how close we all are to finding ourselves potentially homeless, some of the guests´ stories were very alarming. Well done you Treehuggers for getting stuck in!

Bad things that have happened to us:

Unusually we thought we´d mention something nasty too, just in case it came to your notice. Marie Claire wrote a feature about elite dating, where they covered agencies that charge between £6000 and £40000 to essentially do the same job that we do. The journalist knew a SIAT member who had sadly misled her. The reports were not only inaccurate, but also defamatory. Hmpf. We´re pretty peeved, but not all that surprised, as we had already asked this member to leave, on amicable terms. We had continually met her wish list, but short of getting dear Clooney himself, we knew she´d never be happy. We´ve received a written apology from the editor, upon proof that their report contained several inaccuracies. Pesky hacks!

Dating anecdotes:

This is not a Treehouse story, but it´s one that I wanted to share anyway. This Christmas I saw my Auntie and Uncle who have been happily married for fifty years. FIFTY years, man! I asked my Aunt the secret to their success, she said: Tenacity. It´s not romantic to view it that way, but it´s true. I could have given up many times on the way, but we´ve made it work. You´ve got to look for the good in your partner, why pick faults? My Uncle said something along similar lines: Sometimes it´s better to be nice than right. Of the relationships I´ve seen, SIAT and otherwise, I think these words ring true. When you´re with the proper person you want to make it work. I´ve since heeded this advice and am being much nicer to my fiance now!

Top dating tip:

It might already be one of your new year´s resolutions, but we´re here to ram it home (!), try not to get dirty drunk on dates. Tipsy is fine, it can even be great fun, but stumbling is not the way forward. Better all round to chat coherently and confidently, without the need to neck a bottle or two or three. Take it from three (almost) teetotallers: a life without hangovers can be heartily harmonious and happily healthy.

Us x