There are much greater gulfs of class, of temperament, or of culture. We are still deeply in love, and thank Providence that we were not dissuaded by well-meaning friends who said it wouldn't work.LaurieTonbridge. Dear Virginia, Ever since I was a teenager I have had a problem with blushing. I blush at the slightest thing - and it's completely blighting my life.

My friends tell me it doesn't show but I know they're being kind. A group of friends have asked me to go on holiday with them next month and I have said I would. But now, although I'd love to go, I feel I can't face it because I know I will go red all over if I wear a swimsuit - I've got fat thighs anyway and can't bear anyone to see them.Even when the lights are low at parties I know people can tell I'm blushing because I go so dark red and I sweat. Should I back out of the holiday? Or has anyone an answer to this agonising problem that is completely ruining my life?Yours sincerely, DonnaAll comments are welcome, and everyone who has a suggestion quoted will be sent a Dynagrip 50 ballpen from Paper:Mate.Please send any relevant personal experiences or comments to me at the Features Department, The Independent, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5DL; fax 0171-293 2182, by Tuesday morning. And if you have any dilemmas of your own that you would like to share, please let me know.. The show could hardly have gained a better billing A contemporary drama, with elements of farce and tragedy Principal roles played by well- known, real-life figures. The plot: a great project to put the Welsh capital on the world arts map. The sub-plot: rejection of a bold, imaginative design, lack of funding and frayed tempers.

Act 1 in the drama surrounding the Cardiff Bay Opera House has ended. The Trust set up to administer an international architectural competition and which progressed almost to the point of piledriving was wound up in the Spring after the Millennium Commission refused funding, preferring to invest Lottery cash in a major improvement of the Welsh National Stadium. The Land of Song lost the match to rugby union, the national game of Wales. Yet all is not lost. While one camp dejectedly packs its bags, drawing a line under what might have been a great Millennium project, another body - the Institute of Welsh Affairs - takes up the reins with grim determination."It's not the end of a dream, and it's wrong to say nothing is happening," says Anthony Freud, general director of Welsh National Opera.WNO, after all, has most to lose if the much talked about project in the urban wasteland of Cardiff Bay fails to materialise. Not only would it provide a stage for its shows but it would also be a home for the entire company."An opera house is fundamentally important," confirms Freud. "We'll do a better job in return for the public funding we receive, in terms of quality, cost-effectiveness and accessibility. Our community and education programme is handicapped at present as we have no suitable building in which to organise events.