Many people have asked what has become of Going Places With Gareth which ran so successfully for six years.

The answer is that I have taken a break of four months while I become re-established in the workforce. This will give me the opportunity to re-commence in a different format and with some new directions. Not all of these will be popular, but I have personally known for quite some time that they are entirely necessary.

Firstly, I will throw open the web site for other groups to place their entire program on it. Some will be allowed access to update their own functions. I will personally hold fewer functions and work more on providing the web site as a service to others.

Secondly and most importantly, functions will be divided into two different age-group streams. As a working model I propose to personally hold a series of functions specifically for those people in their forties and fifties, as well as open age group functions that anyone may attend.

I ask everyone to understand that this is not my personal choice. This change has been forced upon me by those in the younger age groups, many of whom have abandoned my functions because they felt that the average age was simply too old for them. People are allowed to choose and if they prefer to mix within their own age group then their decision must be respected.

Note that this will apply only to my own functions. Other organisers advertising events through my web site may do whatever they wish.

The problem stems from the fact that with the passing of time the age bracket of single people has expanded. Twenty years ago it might have spanned fifteen years. It has now blown out to over thirty years. That is simply too wide to accommodate everyone happily within the one set of functions.

It is worth noting that most people responding through the web site, which still has a great deal of traffic, are in the forties through to mid-fifties age group.

I realize that this will be hard to police, but it is a vital change that will ensure the continued success of the singles network. I realise also that there will be cries of 'discrimination' but I reject those claims out-of-hand. there is nothing to stop people in the older age groups from having their own series of functions which younger singles are not invited to.

It is yet to be determined which functions will be age-targeted and which will be open to all.