It's a time for curious messages in The Argus and chocolate presents to follow. It's the biggest day in the year for florists.

It's a time when old-fashioned men who are deeply in love still go down on one knee to propose marriage and when restaurants divide nearly all their tables so that they seat only two people facing each other.

It's a day which proves despite all the stresses and strains of modern life, romance is not dead. And if you forgot, it's February 14. It's Valentine's Day and there's still time to pop round the corner to buy your beloved a red rose.