Dear LPG readers, 

I did some advance thinking recently and I hope that LPG are able to post my message on this specific day because I have a significant other who is likely to forget again this year if he is not reminded, and I know that there will be many other people who might need reminding… 

When you get to our age the most important person in your life usually looks quite different to the one that was special to you when you were in the first flush of youth.  

If you met a long time ago and are still together, he or she will be a bit tubbier than they were when you first met, but the good thing is that you will have got tubbier together.  They are now likely to be greyer and more knowledgeable than they were all those years ago as well, but you will be too.   You will have had more than your fair share of ups and downs over the years.  You are likely to be good friends rather than passionate lovers by now, but the one thing that will be guaranteed is that you will both be able to say that you have stood the test of time.  

You may have met more recently than that and have a previous relationship or two that you can compare this current one with, in which case my hope is that the present one is more favourable than its predecessor(s).  

Or perhaps your significant other is a memory these days but one that will always be with you.  People leave and move on in many different ways but if this is the case, I hope that you are able to look back with fondness at what you had because today is the day to do just that. 

My message today is for everyone as they think of their significant relationships and friendships because I would like to remind all those oldies that forget to bother these days to keep the romance alive.  If it is appropriate, get a card or a cheap bunch of flowers.  Perhaps a phone call will do the trick, or even a text or an email.  If not take a quick stroll down memory lane and remember the good times on this valentine’s day.   

FO Beckenham