“In my parents’ day the solution to this often intractable problem was easy; if your man was in bed, you brought him a cup of tea. Result, one very pleased man.” Tim Sharp discusses the often thorny issue of sex and communication.
“3:40am Monday morning partner and I both woke up; nightmares. By 3:43am you could find us, unnerved, pale and scared, sitting on the kitchen worktop drinking tea. The atmosphere was not helped by the screaming of partner’s cats out in the yard.” Tim Sharp looks at nightmares and their causes.
“I do not wish to offend anyone but I sometimes feel totally inhibited about what I may or may not write on this site because of the racism issue. I tend to crack jokes about women – because I am one; about men – because I’m married to one; about Scots – again, because I am one; but I am shit scared of doing anything else.” Phil asks: where does good-humoured teasing stop and racism begin?
“The division of labour in our household is based on horizontal work groups. The two of us constitute the group. I stay horizontal (this is my best thinking position); she works.” Tim looks at the domestic roles of the sexes in relationships and how the generations see them differently.
“I suspect that men have always struggled with what is expected of them by women. But women themselves have some diverse views on what they expect from men. From where I am sitting, stereotypes and relationships sit uneasily.” Tim looks at what men expect from women and vice versa.
“Suppose my partner who may (purely for the sake of argument) feel a tad insecure, temporarily doubts my deep affection for her. She might say something like ‘Show me that you love me’; innocent enough. Except that all kinds of neural pathways in my brain now go into gridlock.” Tim Sharp explores the Be Spontaneous Paradox.