So the bad weather may be causing a hell of a lot of stress, slippery roads and a increase in carrot sales, I mean every snowman needs a nose!  However it is also causing some unforeseen effects in the online dating department.  Since the UK weather has plunged to below freezing temperatures its seems that more people have become ever so curious and dipped their finger in the already very successful online dating phenomena, causing a huge increase in sign ups.

It seems people are getting slightly board of watching daytime television and have turned their attentions towards exploring the online dating scene. Visitors to Singles365.com shot up by 27% across Tuesday and Wednesday of this week compared with figures from a year ago.

Our very own Katie Mowe was quoted in the BBC News article Online Dating Soars As Temperatures Plunge saying; “January is our busiest month anyway, as many single people make it their new year’s resolution to find a partner. We have also seen some great increases in traffic to many of our partners sites this week, and this is only going to continue.”

The increase in sign ups is a bonus to the already profiting market. A study carried out by the Forrester Research group found that the number of Britons paying to use online dating sites is set to grow from 2.6 million in 2006 to 6 million in 2012.

There are many different reasons for the increased interest towards online dating. Firstly the subject has been a very talked about issue within the media and people’s understanding is beginning to grow which leads them to become more confident and comfortable having a go themselves. The stigma that has been previously attached to internet dating has long vanished and people are now much more welcoming towards the idea. With Internet and laptops becoming a everyday necessity in most households, joining up has never been so easy.

As the temperatures across the UK shows no sign of improving, we can all happily sit back and see all those singletons finding a bit of winter romance for themselves. Lets just hope they will all be able to make it to their first dates!

But occasonally we come across tips that are so wide of the mark it actually scares us that there are people out there taking this advice. Whether it’s misrepresenting how the opposite sex think or giving people unrealistically high/low expectations, there are a lot of “experts” out there with some very strange opinions indeed.

So, in the greatest of Singles365.com traditions, here are our top five worst dating tips…

Anyone who you think is a great catch has hundreds of options. And when someone has that many choices, they’re often going to search for younger/taller/richer/more attractive partners. Why? Because they can. So forget these people and their unrealistic fantasies.
We think this sounds disturbingly like “Don’t date nice people, there’s too much competition. Date losers and they’re all yours”!!!

How many times have you been across a table from someone, thinking that you’d rather be anywhere else on earth? The common denominator in all your bad dates is not the awful dates themselves, but YOU.
Err, yes, but “you” are also the common denominator in all your good dates too, not to mention all your car crashes, all the days it rained on your way to work, all the times your biscuit broke off while dunking it in your tea, etc, etc, etc. And you’re not blaming yourself for that are you?

How many times have you taken a woman out to a nice dinner, bought her gifts and flowers, and had her reject you for someone who didn’t treat her even half as well as you did? Well, when you do these things, you send a clear message: “I don’t think you’ll like me for who I am, so I’m going to try to buy your attention and affection”.
Or, maybe, you just like her and, try and stay with us here, want the two of you to have a good time?

There is a natural order to the dating game and in it, men are responsible for the initial step in making a relationship.
We didn’t know that online dating advice sites were around it the Middle Ages, but that appears to be when this little gem was written!!!

When your partner isn’t being straight with you, whether they are telling tall tales, putting on fake accents or claiming to be something they are not, you need to sort it out. Don’t steam in with accusations but let them know what’s nagging you. Then just give them a chance to explain things.
Hang on, they’re putting on fake accents!? Never mind “give them a chance to explain things”, get out of there. Run, run like the wind!!! Unless you’re dating Alistair McGowan that is. In which case, get him to do his David Beckham, it’s brilliant.

Caroline Cartwright with husband Steve

A woman from Tyne & Wear has lost her appeal against an ASBO issued to her for making too much noise while having sex with her husband.

The order, issued after no less than 200 public complaints, banned 48 year old Caroline Cartwright and her husband Steve from “shouting, screaming or vocalisation at such a level as to be a statutory nuisance” at their home in Washington on Wearside, but the couple have since been accused of three separate instances of violating the order.

Neighbours (one of whom is hearing-impaired), the postman and even passers by in the street have complained about the noise which was played at the appeal hearing and has been measured at 47 decibels through soundproofed walls in a neighbour’s home, drowning out their TV and keeping them awake throughout the night.

Mrs Cartwright is due to stand trial at Newcastle Crown Court on 14 December.

Peter's got nothing on Ahmed Mohamed Dhore!!!

We’re a romantic bunch here at Singles365.com (well, we wouldn’t be much of a dating site if we weren’t, would we?). But even we’re a little bit cynical over reports about the ultimate May-to-December marriage between a 17 year old girl and a 112 year old man in Somalia.

Ahmed Mohamed Dhore married Safiya Abdulle in Galguduud, central Somalia earlier this week with the blessing of both families, including Mr Dhore’s 18 children and five ex wives. And Mr Dhore has said that he’s keen to have yet more children with his sixth wife.

If the groom really is as old as he says he is it would make him the third oldest man alive and would undoubtedly make this the world’s biggest age gap between a man and wife.

When asked how he wooed his bride, Mr Dhore said “I used my experience to convince her of my love and then we agreed to marry”.

All we can say is that it certainly puts all that fuss about Peter Stringfellow and Hugh Hefner into perspective!!!

Our Support Team generally deal with Members’ “blonde” moments with professionalism and discretion but every so often a question comes up that makes us ask ourselves “How does this person make it through the day?”.

And so, for your entertainment (or maybe not if it was you the person who asked the question in the first place), we present our top five Silly Support Questions:

What is a surname?

Member: I’m not getting any e-mail notifications.
Support: What e-mail address do you have registered.
Member: I don’t know, I made a fake one up when I joined.

I was going to buy the “Desert Island” from your Gifts. Can you tell me where it actually is? (NB the “Desert Island” cost £25).

In the “Who’s Online” list, is that people who are on the site, or all the people who are on the Internet?

Support: Can you tell me what it is you’re clicking on?
Member: The mouse.

Thankfully, we’ve never been asked where the “any” key is, but there’s a first time for everything and with so many new Members joining the site every day it can only be a matter of time!

Remember, the Support Team are always on hand to give a helping hand, no matter how big or small the problem, so don’t be afraid to drop them a line if you have a question. Even if you think it might be a silly one!

In tests, a picture of a “moderately attractive” man (no, we don’t known what that means either) was shown to 100 women, some being told he was in a relationship and others that he was single. Of those told that he was married, 90% expressed an interest in him compared to just 59% of those who were told he was single.

Researchers say that a woman’s attraction to men already in a relationship could be due to the perception that he has been “pre-screened” by another woman, increasing the likelihood that he would make a good partner. Another theory is that in western society women are naturally competitive and will derive self-esteem and status from their ability to take a partner from another woman.

Either way, gentlemen, the solution to finding yourself a woman is to, err, get yourself a woman (helpful, eh?)!!!

Interestingly, when the test was reversed men showed no preference to either single or attached women.