Dear Janice, I’m done with women.

Honestly, you lot are so fickle and erratic that I don’t know if I am coming or going.  

I’ve been online dating for six months and I am still no nearer to finding a partner.  

One woman tore strips off me for opening a door for her, but then let me pay for her meal.  

Another said I was lacking in manners because I didn’t hang up her coat in a restaurant, and the latest date said it was my job to choose where we went and what we ate! The list goes on.  

I’m not afraid to admit I am confused, baffled and completely lost. John.  

Dear John, us lot (human beings), are like snowflakes, you will never find two the same, and this is why dating can be as unpredictable as the weather!  

Before meeting your next date, chat a few times online to suss out her expectations and ask as many questions as you feel necessary.  

You’re not interviewing her, just sensing how much in common you have, mutual expectations, and if you even like each other!  

Let’s face it, if you’re not a match, it saves you both wasting time, effort and unnecessary disappointment.  

 

Dear Janice, I think my sister could be having an affair and I don’t know what to do about it.  

She and her husband have been together since high school and have two teenage boys.  

I was never envious, just appreciative of their close, happy and loving family life, so you can imagine how I feel at the thought of my sister risking all of this.  

We have always done lots of things together, but over the last few months she has been keeping her distance.  

Recently, a neighbour let slip that she saw her in a car with a man who was not her husband.  

I will feel a fool if I confront her and it’s all in my head, so what should I do as I’d hate for us to fall out? Eleanor.  

Dear Eleanor, you have a strong connection with your sister; therefore, it would take something pretty catastrophic to end your relationship.  

Are you sticking your nose into something that doesn’t concern you? I don’t think so. Quite rightly you have concerns about what’s going on in her life.  

This picture you paint of family bliss is perhaps not at all as it seems. As we know, even the closest of families have their ups and downs.  

Tell her that you miss doing stuff with her, so have booked lunch for you both – your treat.  

I’d be surprised if she found an excuse to say no to a free lunch, but if she does, then step things up and pay her a visit.  

Something in her life has changed, and until you discover what that is, you will only worry.  

Perhaps she needs her sister at this point in her life, so meet up, listen and take it from there.

 

Got a question for our agony aunt? Email askjanice@glasgowtimes.co.uk