Should I sign up widowed mum to a dating agency?

QMy stepfather died two years ago. My mum was devoted to him and still misses him terribly. She’s very fit and has a wide circle of female friends with whom she was (pre-Covid) used to doing all sorts of activities, like bowling, walking and going to the theatre. It’s really unfortunate that Covid put paid to all these just when she needed them the most.

She’s only 53 – very young to have been widowed twice – and I was wondering whether she could benefit from joining a ‘lonely-hearts’ group or a dating agency. Should I sign her up with one A and surprise her with it on her birthday next month? Discuss it with her first. Going out on blind dates is a very personal thing and doesn’t suit everyone. She may be ready to start dating again – or she may not. A circle of close female friends might be enough, or joining a group and meeting a new potential partner might be exactly what she’d like – you won’t know unless you ask her.

Q My boyfriend has just got a fabulous new job. The thing is though, he’s going to have to go and live in Dubai for at least the next two years. And he wants me to go with him and for us to live together.

We’ve been seeing each other for three years now and although we’ve talked about getting married, he’s always said he thought he was too young. He’s 27 now and I’m 25 and we’re really close. Although I don’t officially live with him, I sleep at his place six nights a week and only go back to my place on Sundays. We started doing A this because we wanted to stay close during Covid. Going to live abroad is a big step for anyone but he will have a job and a support network to build on. To begin, all you will have is him. It’s important you to find out exactly why he wants you to go with him, if he’s still not ready to commit himself to you. Is it simply because he’s anxious about being alone in a foreign country and wants you around for companionship? If that’s the case, then I don’t think it’s enough for you.

Write to Fiona Caine c/o Annie Lewis, 1000 Lakeside, North Harbour, Portsmouth PO6 3EN or annie.lewis@jpimedia.co.uk Fiona regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence, nor pass letters on to other readers.