When will some men learn......

Very true, Greatnan mind you, how do you explain John Prescott fullstop?

That has got me thinking about other less than attractive men who have been found out, for example Boris Johnson, David Blunkett and that awful David Mellor!

And Woody Allen!

And Andre Previn (connection there!)

Presumably there were women involved as well?

And Donald Trump, now there's a looker if ever there was one! Don't know if he could be accused of adultery, I'm just surprised he can land any woman at all, but I guess it's something akin to that immortal line uttered by Caroline Aherne's Mrs Merton when she enquired of Debbie McGee "What attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?"

It has been going on for time immorial [spelt right ]

Reading the biography of Jackie Kennedy , during the years in the White House , every one was bonking everyone else .

In fact JKF encouraged it ,

So what else is new ?

In answer to the OP's question - in my case, no learning needed! I have a very intelligent husband.

Bags completely take your point, but I think that Greatnan was making a secondary point about the power of power, if you see what I mean?

If these chaps were just your "average Joe", to use an Americanism, would you look twice at them?

Just imagine Woody Allen as the bloke restacking the shelves in your local supermarket. (Not that there is anything wrong with being a shelf stacker, I was going through the job sites the other day and saw an ad for experienced shelf stackers)

Well, quite, phoenix, which makes me think it's the women who need to learn . I can see the attraction of money but an affair!?

Seems to me the men have learned quite well. They get what they want.

Actually, if I think about it I need to put my hand up on this thread.

I had an affair with a work colleague who was less than gorgeous but he had a certain charm and made me feel good about myself. I was semi estranged from exdh at the time, and exdh had an honours degree in putting me down and undermining me. No excuse, I know.

When I did eventually leave exdh, I didn't leave to go to someone else, I left because I couldn't take anymore. Spent a year on my own before meeting Mr. P.

Sometimes phoenix people need their self esteem boosted before they can get away from a putter downer.

Sounds OK to me Phoenix Having a husband with a honours degree in putting you down and undermining you is justification for all sorts of things. Been there done that emoticon

Thank you so much, it is not something that I am proud of, but both the boys understood. I remember Jack at the age of 12 saying to me "Mum, I know you didn't leave Dad for anyone else, it was just because you were so unhappy". That meant a lot, especially as I had left him with his father. (I was working full time, exdh was home full time and I moved into a bedsit originally, still had Jack to stay at least 2 nights a week)

However, as is usually the case with GN, we have digressed! So perhaps back to the topic in the OP?

You only have to look at our closest cousins in the animal world - the apes. Alpha males - the most dominant in the group - are usually the most attractive to females. Silverback gorillas. Those papa orang-utans with the huge jowls. Those baboon boys with the huge red bottoms etc
Apart from bonobos who will bonk everything in sight, as often as possible, apparently. We used to think we were the sexiest ape until people started studying bonobos. Desmond Morris, you were wrong! Huh!

Of course we don't know the women's motivation in indulging in these affairs - perhaps they gained some professional advantage, perhaps they felt under pressure to oblige - or perhaps they were just flattered to be chosen by somebody in a position of power.
Only the two people involved in a relationship know the exact truth about it. I think many women, and some men, embark on affairs because they do not get the affirmation they need at home. Or they are just bored - a feeling I knew well.
My sister's husband was a useless lover but always told her it was because she was frigid. She told me she had an affair, with glorious sex, partly to prove to herself that this was not true, and partly to avenge herself on her husband after years of being put down.

Enough griping. Go and watch the nice TED talk about sanitary towels. it will cheer you up and restore your faith in the opposite sex .

I have done, JessM !

jessm TED sanitary towels! Can someone enlighten me please? Or is this another famous Gransnet digression!

Got to go! In about an hour I shall be rolling around on a padded floor with a big blue excercise ball! Well its as near to anything else as I can get these days!

As long as the walls are not padded too!

TED (= Technology, Entertainment and Design ) conferences - presumably someone gave a presentation on STs at one of these...

JessM posted a link bit.ly/TD05mm to a talk by a wonderful Indian man who discovered that his wife was having to scrimp on food to buy STs so he set to and designed an affordable machine to make them cheaply and at the same time provide work for women in rural areas. Have a look, it is inspiring, and very funny at times.

That was very good! I heard something on the radio recently about the make your own pads as a local industry was working in Africa, but I did not how it came to be started.

I also found it inspirational. Simple and available technology can do so much to improve lives.