By Holly Combe | 12 June 2007, 18:25

Anyone who’s feeling inspired to ponder the conventional rituals of marriage after reading Eleanor Turner’s recent F-word article should check out Meghan O’Rourke and Amanda Marcotte’s pieces on engagement rings (in Slate and Pandagon respectively).

Actually, I must confess that, despite having very strong views with regard to keeping my name and not having a marriage-related prefix, I have never actually addressed the issue of engagement rings. In fact, the penny of consciousness only dropped when I read these articles today. I guess I’ve never seriously thought about marriage enough to get around to it!

One thing’s for sure: if I ever do decide to do the married thing, there will be two engagement rings being given. Or better still, we’ll save the expense altogether. Who needs debt for the sake of a posh ring?