Quite Random

A match made in Birmingham

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Media | Strangers marry after match made on radio station

So two strangers are married in a publicity stunt for a Birmingham radio station. The couple have been brought together after being quizzed by astrologers and counsellors, and after a poll of 100,000 listeners. The vicar who married the couple objected to the wedding on the basis that it was immoral, but went ahead with it anyway. He’s worried it’s immoral? I’d say the couple have as good a chance as anyone, and better than most. Arranged marriages have been taking place in Asia, and in Asian communities everywhere, for years – and most people in arranged marriages didn’t have the benefit of counselling and polling to help them.

Internet dating allows people to put photos of themselves online from five years ago when they were looking particularly good, together with descriptions of them as active, kind, interested in travel, and down to earth with a good sense of humour. A glance at the Soulmates dating website today, strictly in the name of research, showed some photos that looks they belong to cast members from Sunset Beach. I almost wanted to date a girl who put her description once as something like ‘fat, irritable, bigoted old sow seeks desperate man’ – at least she was being honest. Welcome to the 21st century, where it’s easier to get married if you’re gay, speed-dating allows you to work out if you like someone in three minutes flat, and a radio station will hitch you with a complete stranger and pay for the honeymoon.