When Zsa Zsa Gabor she of the I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back fame was planning her ninth honeymoon, she did have some problems.

Darling, he would say, how about Hotel La Fonda, at Santa Fe? It is so romantic, historical and utterly charming.'

But, darleenk, she would reply, Im sure I was there with husband number one, or number two, or anyway, darleenk, with either one or the other.

What about a trip on Venice Simplon Orient Express, then? Its unbelievably luxurious.

Everyone does that Express theenk, darleenk.

You mean, youve done it, darling.

I told you everyone does it.

Though only much married couples would truly appreciate this dilemma, it is to their credit that they are getting a handle on it.

Time was when a divorce was a kiss of death to any civilized communication ever after between the two partners. They would refuse to attend the same party, or the same wedding, or the same anything. If by some accident they saw each other walking down the same street, they would either cross to the other side, or spit in each others eye.

That was fine when people were just discovering divorce. Now, with couples appearing at court hearings as frequently as at their favourite restaurants, holding grudges is just too much of a chore.

Considering that some marriages last six hours, and some couple of days, it probably gets difficult to distinguish between the various spouses anyway.

To their credit, couples are becoming quite reconciled to their situations. After all, they may have had children from that marriage, or inherited a couple from another marriage, so animosity for the rest of your life is simply not an option.

The last wedding I attended, not only was the ex wife and her children seated prominently in the front row, apparently when it came to the honeymoon itself, it comprised husband and wife, his ex wife, and their four children. After all, they reasoned, the kids would never get another such opportunity to see the Great Pyramid of Giza, and they were just at that age when theyd really appreciate the trip.

Times they certainly are a changing.