Linda Hall: It takes more than one to tango

Linda Hall.

Why do women always get the blame for affairs. I'm talking about affairs of the heart - marriage break-ups, relationship break-ups, it's always the woman's fault.

Case in point, the American tourist who blamed her Auckland host of Airbnb for having an affair with her husband and breaking up their 30-year marriage.

Hello - did her husband suddenly, after 30 years, forget he was married?

Did the "siren" sweep in and force him to break his vows?

Did she tie him up and ... well we won't go there.

Yes, I'm sure the woman did know he was married and should have run for the hills, but to totally blame the host and warn the rest of the world of the danger of using Airbnb NZ because her husband couldn't behave himself is ridiculous.

For those of you who don't know, Airbnb is a website where people can list, find and rent accommodation from 34,000 cities in 190 countries.

It's a great idea. Like anything on the net you have to do your research.

People can't wait to trash things so I'm sure if travellers found the accommodation wanting they would be quick to tell everyone.

I do feel sorry for the American tourist but it takes two to tango.

Women always seem to get blamed for seducing men and taking them away from their wives.

I totally agree that if a woman knows someone is married, she should immediately back off.

However, the man is as much to blame, especially if he is married and she is not, as in the case above.

Anyway that's what I think about that.

Now on to a totally different subject.

I fear that I may not be able to walk properly in the morning.

Yesterday morning I was up at the crack of dawn to be ready to catch a bus from Farndon Park in Clive to Perfume Point.

I did the 15km walk in the Country2Coast.

The weather couldn't have been nicer. It was a little chilly in the morning but what a glorious day.

Hawke's Bay is just stunning on a day like that and our pathways are outstanding.

Of course I started off like a lunatic again. I really wanted to do it in under two hours but everyone I mentioned that to thought I was being a little ambitious.

Of course that only made me even more determined.

So off I went, striding along the pathway with my arms swinging madly.

The first kilometre flew by and I just so happened to be in the front of the pack, so I decided that's where I had to stay.

I dared not look behind me but when I turned a bend up by the port I glimpsed a lady in pink not far behind.

So I took longer strides.

I didn't look behind me all the way, although I did happen to see someone I knew riding a bike and asked them if there were people on my tail.

"Nope," she said. "Can't see anyone."

Still I didn't slow. The last 2km were really tough. I didn't have a watch or a phone so had no idea how long I'd been walking, but none of the runners - who started an hour after the walkers - had passed me so I was hoping I'd be close to my goal.

My official time was 1.48.59 - yay!

Don't know how happy I'll be in the morning though.

Congratulations to all those people who took part, whether it was a personal challenge or a bit of fun - good on you for getting out there.

- Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today.