So many normal people are looking for romance these days, as if a fulfilling home life and a engrossing job are not enough.

It’s as if something is missing in the modern world where internet porn is standard fare for many people. Naturally, the web caters for this perceived lack of sparkle in many people’s lives.

As an example, there is an internet dating service established for the only purpose of enabling married people to commit adultery. It claims to have more than 100,000 members in the UK alone.

A reporter who tried it out gives us this example of a typical “date”.

“I arrange to meet a 41-year-old mother of two who misses “romance and flirting”, in a cafe in two days’ time. … She turns up, a blonde with lipstick on her teeth. She looks furtively around and asks me if I’m nervous. I say that if she stops twitching, I’ll calm down. There is tension in the air like North and South Korea coming together to hammer out a treaty.

“Suddenly the realization of how odd it is to meet a stranger with the express intention of having an affair dawns on me. Romeo and Juliet it is not. … But she is an old hand at this type of encounter and tells me she’s met many men through the site, and that I was probably the only one who hadn’t lied about my age. She tells me she thinks relationships have a shelf life of about ten years before boredom sets in, but that she stays married to ensure her children have a stable home.

“After discussing how mundane marriages become and avoiding questions about my personal life, it’s clear we’re past our sell-by date after ten minutes, never mind ten years. There is zero chemistry. She doesn’t want to discuss her husband, and I feel uneasy talking to her. Despite this, she still seems keen to flirt with me.

“In the end, we agree to part and she wishes me luck and assures me I’ll find the perfect paramour. So much for raging passion. This was like having a meeting with a new accountant with a helping of self-disgust thrown in. For all the glossy, sexy chat and out-of-date pictures posted online, this is the rather tawdry, mundane reality of these adulterous assignations. A pub on a wet afternoon and two people who have little to talk about except whether or not they are going to have a meaningless fling.”

Romance is most certainly isn’t

Finding out the truth about something as complicated and personal as a relationship can sometimes be all but impossible.

Most folk are naturally shy about giving away too much and only let out the bits that reflect well on themselves. This is understandably the case when an heir to the British Throne is involved.

The Prince William / Kate Middleton five-year relationship is once again on the rocks, at least according to some commentators :

The story of the romance between Prince William and Kate Middleton has more ups and downs than the Himalayas — all 1500 miles of them.

For those of us trying to piece together the reality of the current situation from clues let slip, or journalists’ interpretations of what they know, it’s probably impossible to tell. I doubt that either of the parties knows precisely the way it’s going at any one time either.

Read the rest on Royal watcher website, Royal Anecdotes.

As predicted here, the great romance between Prince William (pictured) and his long-term girlfriend, Kate Middleton, is back on with a vengeance.

The golden couple split up in April after enormous media pressure on Kate, who was almost beseiged in her London home and faced a barrage of attention from paparazzi every time she left for work. The similarities with the young Diana Spencer were too close for comfort for many observers.

However, it appears that the split was genuine at the time and not part of an elaborate charade to take media attention away from Kate. Reports say they have been secretly seeing each other for weeks and that William invited her to a saucy Army party at his barracks in mid June.

An observer at the party is reported as saying, “William was following her around like a lost puppy as she went around the room, chatting away and dancing. In the end, he just grabbed her and took her onto the dancefloor where they started doing some rather close dancing. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other but William didn’t care that people were looking. At about midnight he started kissing and smooching her. His friends were joking they should get a room, and it wasn’t long before William took Kate back to his quarters.”

Although it was William who broke the relationship off, he’s doing the chasing now. A friend says, “William hasn’t stopped pining for Kate since they split up. He keeps saying she’s an amazing girl and the best thing to happen to him. He’s definitely serious about getting back together.”

Kate, though, is said to be showing a little reluctance, asking if this is what she really wants. She’s certainly got the psychological advantage over the lovelorn Prince.

The friend also said, “Kate’s not really a rebound sort of girl and William remained the great love of her life. … she know that if they do get together, there’ll be no turning back. There will have to be an engagement and then marriage.”

With William reported to be leaving the Army in early 2009, what price a summer Royal wedding a few months later?

Dream dates do exist! At least they do for David Brown, a 24 year old British man who dreamed about a cell phone number. David thought it might have been the number of someone he met the night before so he texted it. Thus began a romantic tale.

The number actually belonged to Michelle Kitson, a 17 year old girl he had never met. But the two hit it off - texting led to phone calls and letters and eventually David moved 60 miles to be nearer his dream lover.

Their story is an example of a true romantic dream. Michelle and David have just returned from their honeymoon.

Man Dreams of Cell Phone Number, Texts It and Meets Future Wife