A woman and her builder.

I've just been to sort out some fire doors, and had to stand in a queue whilst about 20 women and their builders ordered kitchens, bathrooms and other parapharnalia. The women were all neatly dressed with their war paint on. Smart but casual. Beside them were variously aged builders, all in the regulation jeans falling down and white T-shirt. Some of them were even quite good looking in a macho sort of way. Even the ugly ones were macho. Most hadn't shaved. For a while.
You would have thought that the women ( aged between, oh say 35 and 50) were on their first dates. The gazed adoringly at these creatures. They patted the brawny, bare arms, even letting their fingers dwell fleetingly, as they withdrew their fingers, slowly, to rest on the counter top. Near the arm.
The supercharged longing at the trade counter was palpable. It did occur to me that Wife in the North was probably not treating her builder this way, and that was why she was having a few problems.
Clearly, these women's husbands were not providing satisfaction.
A friend of mine who sells upmarket kitchens and bathrooms says he can always tell when a husband has been unfaithful. His wife orders a top of the range kitchen. Even as he blanches whilst writing the cheque, he is meekly intoning " Yes dear". It's much cheaper than a divorce. And they get to keep the cook, cleaner and child chauffeuse.
I don't think this was the case with the women this afternoon.
But it did occur to me that the UK's society had changed under Bliar.
Whereas before a woman's hairdresser was the most important person in her life, nowadays it's her builder.