I'm hard work - but I work hard too - I want a lot out of a relationship but I'm willing to put a lot in. What's wrong with that?

Michka, London,

I want her back in the magazine as well - I really miss her and having to find her on-line is not the same. Bring back Ariel. Why isnt she in the magazine - were we told? Do they pay you less Ariel? It's not on!

Mary Kate Lock, Leicester, England

In the USA, we often say, "There is a lid for every pot." In other words, one man may find the woman who is busy, successful, powerful or opinionated to be "hard work," but another man may find her "complex, interesting, challenging and exciting." Some men may find the woman who is "easy work" to be "boring." It's the same way with your girlfriends. I have some girlfriends who are very busy and it takes some effort to make plans with them for coffee - but I put in that effort if it's someone worth seeing!

Susan, Atlanta, GA, USA

Hi,
Hard Work to which I have a relationship to give my children a good education to make good people out of them however at the remains of the day one is left empty quanta costa
Terence

Terence Hale, zandvoort, Holland

In modern life we have the Poor, the Middle Class, the Rich.....and now the Business Class, of which this woman is a member. Male or Female, they are job and money obsessed, to the point that most of the human emotions, (other than extreme loneliness in a crowd) elude them. They are busy as bees, but produce no honey. Nothing beats taking a nap on the sofa, with your two toddlers, one on each shoulder, dreaming away profoundly. The Business Class has no idea concerning the really valuable things and experiences in life. The purchase price, to them, is far too high.....hundreds and thousands of hours of Time, given freely in a life lived without a portable phone, but with much love and giving.

Victor Compton, Cherbourg, France

From a financial point-of-view, the idea of creating financial assets is recent. For centuries, the tiny minority who were rich were born into wealth, and the vast majority, no matter how hard they worked, could never hope to accumulate wealth. So, yes, in that sense, work to make money is a recent concept.

Samuel Young, Paris, France

I would like Ariel back in the Magazine.It takes me ages to find her blog-but then I am pretty inefficient on the computer.It was one of the first thimgs I looked forward to reading

Geoff, Lancing, West Sussex

I generally find that people that say "If something bothers me I say something", get bothered about most things.

alex, london,

Another vote for the column to be in the Magazine. It was always the first article I read. Now I don't get to it until Thursday.1

Helen, Warminster, UK

Helen Palmer, Warminster, UK

a) Love is work.
b) Here's why: According to Gottman's 30+ years of research, 70% of conflict in couples cannot be resolved except by each individual compromising the precious set of values introduced into the relationship. Summary: you can only change 30% of the irritating aspects of any beloved's personality; the rest you have to learn to live with, as the beloved does yours.

ramsay, London,

It works both ways. It,s called compromise!

Thats what Annie refers too.

Garry, Sheffield,

Six emails, three phone calls and a dozen texts to meet up for coffee is ridiculous. As posted above, if some of you have lives to lead and work to do, then don't let me stop you. It speaks of petty arrogance. To me that says: you're not important enough.

One of the first things I look for in a woman (or any friendship for that matter) is a degree of courtesy and respect for my people's time. If someone requires that amount of effort to get them to sit down to have coffee with me, I would not consider that person a friend. It sounds more like I'm trying to get a sale.

Self-important people are boorish, men and women alike.

David Navarrete, Fairfield, USA / Iowa

Annie, I quite agree. Incidentally, I'm a man who falls nicely into the 'hard work' category.

Olly, York,

I think older generations are astonished at how little we are prepared to work at our relationships thesedays. Ask any elderly couple who have been married for decades (Liz II and Philip - 60 years!) about what makes a successful long-term partnership and they will almost always say 'hard work'.

Annie, Emsworth,

Excellent .I'm also hard work

Younis, Mansoura, Egypt

“You know you’re difficult,” he asserted. “It took six e-mails, three phone calls and a dozen texts to make a plan for coffee.”

What's wrong with that?

Some of us have lives to lead and work to do :-)

fnusnuank, Gen., Switz.

“It took six e-mails, three phone calls and a dozen texts to make a plan for coffee.”

Hard work = attention needing (pathological)

Jon, North West, UK

excellent article

Younis, Mansoura, Egypt

Boy. You do sound like hard work.

Pete, Sydney, Australia