Dear both, being vertically challenged is a relative thing. I stand at just over 6 foot tall and weigh in at 98 kgs. (215lbs or 15.4 stone for those in other systems), but my brother is 6.6ins tall and weighs in at 130kgs (286lbs or 20.5 stone. I can assure you that I also feel 'vertically challenged' when standing alongside him! My wife is also only 5'5" and comes up to his belt! You can imagine how she feels? Cheers, Norm

Norm, Have you asked her? My husband, his brother, and most of his close friends are in the 6'3 to 6'6 range. I'm 5'3. When I stand among them, especially if completely surrounded, I feel as safe as if behind a tall stone wall! My husband delights in teasing me until I take a swipe at him, which makes everyone else in the room laugh...imagine a welterweight taking on Mohammed Ali, with a 13-inch height disadvantage. ;-) Cheri

Gary, It's ok for you to visualize that, lol. Did I offend your sense of propriety? If so, please forgive me and come back to talk with us. It was meant in fun, not to imply you would really ever be less than a gentleman. Cheri

Dear Cheri, no problem, 'she who must be obeyed' has no need to take a swing at anyone as she has the amazing French facility for stopping anyone dead in their tracks with a bat of her eyelids when she wants to! I didn't mention that she is an identical twin, so when the two of them are together -I am in trouble in stereo! The are called Laure (my wife) and Colette - commonly called Lo and Co - as in LoCo! See what I have to put up with? Scruff has it worked out though - he simply rolls over and let them rub his tummy, and they melt. Doesn't work for me though - even though mine is 100 times bigger than his! Plus getting up off the floor is far harder for me than for him. Nature can be unfair. Nature is also unfair in the garden, as the cherry trees have now got some sort of blight - must be the unseasonal cold, and the garden strimmer has also died facing me with a 250 euro bill for fixing it! I can't work it out. The garden is not huge, at about 3,500 sq. metres, - but is on a slope. I worked out that with my motormower (not a sit-on job) I walk just over 4.5 kilometres cutting the grass. This needs doing every 10 days at this time of year. Plus I have an old Chinese road bike that I have had for 20 years and has travelled with me everywhere we have lived. I ride this for about 40-50kms every week. On this basis - why am I so fat? A matter for weekend contemplation as I attack the verdure again. Have a good one everybody! Cheers, Norm

Hi Cheri, I had a nice answer here that took me quite some time to compose then I got called away from the computer. The screen timed out and I lost it all. But the short answer to everything I wrote was no. No problemo, that is. Gary