The other night I had a long call with a close friend who is working abroad – one of those long-distance Skype check-ins where both have so much to say yet both struggle to have a fluent conversation. I don't know, maybe it's the 'laptop' effect – the feeling that you're either conference calling or being interviewed instead of having a chat. Anyway, one point of anxiety was his imminent date with a friend of a work colleague's partner. This prompted a length digression into single life and the games we play.