We are often asked how successful friendsfirst is?
If you judge success by the number of marriages we've had then we are very successful. And if you add in the numbers of people making new friends (which is what some people join for) then it's even better
For more details of couples stories
> click here
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Enhance your social skills!
Would you like to be better at meeting people, feel more confident and do it more often? We've teamed up with The Dating Doctor giving you preferential rates on a whole range of his services.
For more details.
> click here
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Enquirers Newsletter May 2009
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friendsfirst's 18th Newsletter
Get to grips with dating May, 2009 - Issue 18
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Welcome to friendsfirst's 18th newsletter - especially if you are a new subscriber.
There are some great articles in this newsletter, news of our nearly sold out summer holiday and an offer of 6 month's free membership.
We trust you'll enjoy reading it and will find useful information and food for thought.
With best wishes,
Katharine Gray - Director, and the team at friendsfirst
P.S Don't forget - we are here to help you - if you want to chat about being single and how we can help, just give us a call on 0121 427 1286. |
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Some friendsfirst's FACTS and FIGURES
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Did you know that, of our members to date that we know about, 126 people are either engaged to be married or are married. You might be interested to know that of these people 14.5% are under 35, 21% are aged 36 - 45,15.5% are aged 46 - 55, 25% are aged 56 - 65, 20% are aged 66 - 75 and 4% are aged over 76. We really do provide a service to all age ranges and we're proud of it. Click here for more details.
Since we began in 2000 we've done 68 radio interviews on stations right across the UK. The longest interview to date so far was with Michael Blood on Radio West Midlands that lasted 25 minutes and the shortest one was 3 and half minutes with Lamont Howie on Radio Solent.
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friendsfirst's News
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Summer holiday on offer
Now spring is well and truly here, perhaps your thoughts are turning to the summer holidays. If you haven't booked anything yet take a look at our very popular summer holiday in the Isle of Wight. It's a week's stay at the wonderful Christian Centre in the Isle of Wight - St. Rhadagunds - and for 7 nights half board from £276 you won't find a better value holiday anywhere. Click here for more details.
Ring Andrew on 01983 852160 or click here for more details.
Our Discussion Boards are up and running again... we have hundreds of members and there are some very interesting topics on them. Have you had your say recently? If not, we'd love to hear from you.
There a post we've been asked to bring to your attention.
Beverley, one of the friendsfirst members, has posted a very interesting post about the problem of the lack of men in our churches and the impact this is having. Is this a problem in your church? Does it affect you personally? Is it a concern to you? If so, read Beverley's post by clicking here - and then add your own thoughts on this critical issue.
There are some beautiful thoughts and prayers too - have a look at one that is so relevant for us all I'm sure - click here to read it.
Lastly we're holding a little competition:
Post something interesting, helpful, inspirational, controversial or challenging on our Discussion Boards and the person whose post/s gets the most interest over the next 6 weeks (i.e judged by how many replies that post gets) will receive 6 month's friendsfirst membership free.
So get posting - you never know - your submission could be the winning one, and with 6 month's free membership who knows what could happen! [It's really easy to post and it's FREE - and you don't have to be a friendsfirst member to do so. All you have to do is REGISTER on the Discussion Boards - so we can validate you are a genuine person and not a computer spammer - and once that is done, off you go, get writing.] |
Did you know - loves endures
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Love lasts, and you can prove it. This, at any rate, is the claim being made by researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who presented a group of people who had been happily married for more than 20 years with photos of their partners, and used MRI scans to compare their responses with those of couples who had recently got together. In both groups, there was significant activity in the ventral tegmental area in the centre of the brain, the area that produces the feel-good chemical dopamine. Although the study was small, its results suggest that - contrary to the beliefs of cynics - some of the positive feelings attending the first flush of love, and their chemical concomitants, do not in fact fade over time, but persist. "If you ask people around the world whether romantic love can last, they'll roll their eyes and say 'probably not'," research leader Dr. Helen Fisher told the Daily Mail. "We're proving them wrong."
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Dating can seriously damage your love life
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Cast your mind back a few months. Did you spend February 14th - St. Valentine's night alone or feeling like everyone else was doing something romantic with someone special? Well don't worry, you weren't alone. In fact there were many millions like you.
The rise of singleness seems to have something in common with the rise of dating and it's not hard to see why when you look under the surface, reports Andrew G. Marshall in the Times (Feb 19, 2009).
Using a dating agency these days has become very acceptable whether its an offline personal service or an online site. Either way you get to judge people on superficial qualities before you've even met them. Moreover we are tempted that the perfect partner is 'out there' and we only have to keep looking a bit harder and longer to find them. We no longer look at each person in isolation - rather we compare them with millions of potential possibilities. And it's keeping us single!
So what are we to do? Although resorting to the old fashioned idea of reconsidering your friends and friends of friends for marriage material is still a possibility, don't completely ditch the help you can get from dating agencies. Just be aware of the pitfalls and try and make sure you aren't looking for the impossible Mr/Mrs Perfect. In other words don't be too picky or your love life could end up seriously damaged.
To read Andrew's full article click here.
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The year of dating dangerously
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Have you considered giving online dating a go? If you haven't then you'll have certainly heard of some online success stories. But is it all it's cracked up to be? What are the real chances of finding someone online? Are the quality of the sexes the same? Do people portray themselves honestly? Is it really worth all the effort and emotional turmoil?
We found this fascinating article in the Times magazine recently (Feb 09) of one thirtysomething's experience. Click here to read her hopes and horror stories of her online dating experience.
The key thing that stood out for us in this article was how desperately sad it was that she let the one really successful match go (Michael - boy with a thorn) purely because there wasn't any immediate physical attraction for her. How sad it was that there was no wise friend about to tell her that over time this might and would probably grow. But then again some people think that, with millions more 'fish in the sea', why settle for 95% perfection, if they believe they can find 100%? We wonder if they will always be swimming alone!
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I hope you've enjoyed reading this newsletter and have found something useful in it. If we can be of service to you in any way please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes
Katharine Gray friendsfirst Director
0121 427 1286 |
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friendsfirst | PO Box 4853, | Stratford upon Avon | CV37 1FZ | United Kingdom |
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