Gilberts' Fridge

40%. That's shocking!

No, I am not referring to the percentage of questions you got wrong on the final exam if you got a D. I am actually referring to the number of children in the UK born out of wedlock in 2004!

If you want to get technical, Martin pointed out to me that it's actually 42%. Either way, I think it's a really sad commentary on life in the UK . Ten years ago, it was still a fairly high 28%. Not a lot of those 40% are born to teenage mothers, either. A lot of them are born to middle class, middle age couples who just don't see the point of getting married.

Every ten years the National Statistics Organization publishes a lot of stats that provide a "snapshot" view of life in the UK, and that one statistic is the one that dominated the headlines this morning. There was, I'm sure, some more interesting stuff. It just got ignored because this one came as such a surprise.

Anyway, I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions about that. In other news...

Martin and I tried to buy box springs over the weekend, and discovered that there is no such beast in this area. You put your mattress directly on the slats of your bed frame or you buy a hideously ugly bed with box spring base instead of a nice looking frame. Icky! We are going to keep checking, but I'm not too hopeful. Maybe most people here are ok with choosing either comfort OR beauty, and don't really see a need for both?

We're having another cold spell, but spring is so close I can almost taste it. The bulbs in my planters outside are about 2 weeks away from flowering, and I am so excited. Last Friday when I got home from work it was still light outside. Even Martin has a little glimmer of sun in the morning when he drives to work.

Sadly, there's not much to write about today. It was a quiet weekend, and this week promises to be even quieter. But if something DOES happen, I'll make sure to post it.