The expression 'golf widow' reminds us that a husband's favourite sport doesn't always interest his wife and that can put a strain on a relationship, so if you're single and looking why not start out with someone who loves playing golf as much as you do?

Love Birdie is a dating site for golfers looking for a golf partner.  Imagine looking forward to playing a round or two at the weekend with someone who is not only as keen as you are to play but who you find attractive too.  Not only will you get another round in but you can also look forward to continuing the date afterwards.

For golfers combining golf with romance is a match made in heaven.  With golf clubs all over the country and hundreds more in vacation spots around the world you need never miss out on your favourite sport again once you've found a new partner at LoveBirdie.com.  Mix a little flirtation on the fairway and you might just bypass the 19th hole and head home together!

A round of golf with someone you've met on Love Birdie would make an ideal first date.  You can learn much about someone just by playing a few holes together and it's so much more fun than just sitting opposite each other in a restaurant.  You can unwind, play your favourite game, impress your partner with your swing, and get to know each other properly as the game progresses.

Sign up now at LoveBirdie.com and start thinking about where you'd like to play golf with your date.

She told US Weekly "I carry McCormick's Pure Vanilla, the baking kind, and dab it on my neck. Men are attracted to the scent! One time, I put it on and four different guys were like, 'You smell amazing!'"

So this got us thinking; can perfumes and scents really help you on a date? The answer; Yes!

Research has shown that the male species go crazy for a vanilla scent, something Miss Love Hewitt has clearly picked up on, with studies indicating men associate the smell of vanilla and cinnamon with love.

Cinnamon is a natural aphrodisiac and wearing scents that mix vanilla and cinnamon can dramatically increase attraction – this is because both scents exude oils that are incredibly similar to our own sexual pheromones and secretions.

Our top tip for applying your chosen scent is to lightly spritz yourself after a warm bath, your pores will be open, allowing the scent to penetrate your skin and last longer.

Lifestyle magazine giant, Cosmopolitan, ran a survey that revealed 84% of men believe that perfume actually has the power to turn them on… or off! And they would be right; it has been scientifically proven that pleasant (especially sweet) scents stimulate areas of the brain that are directly connected with sexual desire, and you can’t argue with science!

The same survey also revealed that 81% of men think a woman’s scent could actually boost how attractive they are perceived to be, and 36% said that a great perfume drives them wild on a first date!

It’s not just men that are attracted to scents, since the days of the cavemen women’s brains have been programmed to choose potential mates based on their scent. Recent studies have shown that women are attracted to the smell of liquorice – although we doubt that dousing yourself in Jägermeister is the best way to win over your date.

So, what scent will you choose for your first date?

If you’ve got a date planned, make sure you smell great by visiting Semichem to pick the perfect perfume or aftershave.

Naturally, what we decide to eat will depend on the type of date that has been planned. If you are going out for a meal, you probably will eat nothing, or perhaps a very light snack. There would be nothing worse than to arrive at the restaurant unable to eat the meal.

Generally speaking though, there are several things that are best avoided prior to meeting someone to help you to get the most from your date.

Garlic
This one goes without saying really, although some people think that they do not smell after eating garlic, this is probably because you are used to it – avoid at all costs

Fizzy Drinks
Fizzy drinks should be avoided for several reasons. Firstly, the gas factor, especially if you are a little nervous. There is little that is appealing about someone who can’t stop burping during a date. Also, the vast majority of carbonated drinks are also full of sugar, and, whilst this may give you energy, it is also likely to cause your blood sugar to drop rapidly causing you to feel tired.

Beans and …
...anything that gives you the wind. This can vary from person to person but you will probably already know what causes you this problem - avoid.

Heavy Meals
Any heavy or large meal is likely to leave you feeling very sluggish, just when you want to be on the top of your game. If you feel sluggish, even though you may be enthusiastic about the date, you are likely to come across as bored or disinterested.

Alcohol
Tempting as it may be to have a few large ones to steady the nerves it's best you stay sober and enjoy the excitement.  Remember, first impressions count, and if your date suspects you've been drinking before you meet it might just spoil the start of something special.  If you drink together on your date then that's different - you each stay at the same level, but again, excess alcohol isn't clever or funny, and is likely to have a detrimental effect on you sexual performance (female or male).

So, what should you eat before a date? It is best to eat light and healthily, making sure that you eat lean protein such as fish along with some pasta or bread for energy, although overdoing this will cause you to feel bloated.

Also, do include fruit as this will provide your body with a steady supply of sugar to give you energy throughout the date, helping you to stay alert and interesting during the date.

We're told to "enjoy the journey" because we're not happy with what we have now and all we want is to fast-forward to the happiness we dream of. We think that if we allow ourselves to "enjoy the journey" or "relax" or "take a little time out" then we are wasting precious seconds that could be spent getting us closer to that happiness.

The reality is that some of us are so obsessed with this ideal of perfection that we forget to see the beauty around us. We don't count our blessings and we don't appreciate the air we breathe.

I have often wondered to myself: what's the point?  I've wondered what and who I'm looking for and whether it's worth it. Does it exist? Is all I'm looking for...me? Was I wrong to start the quest? Or would I be wrong to finish it? Is love having the same CD collection? Or a shared fondness of pets? Is it being the total opposite of each other and finding a balance? Is it truly out there looking for us too or are we all doomed to walk the planet, lonely in our souls, not knowing that all the lovers growing old together have just been fooled by one big illusion?

The truth is that whenever I wondered any of those thoughts, I realised I didn't care. I'm in the game to play it.  I want it, whether it's there or not. Whether I get it tomorrow or in 10 years time. Or 20. Or 30. Or 40.

Yes you should "enjoy the journey" but that doesn't mean stopping!

The key is to keep looking and appreciate the looking. You don't learn anything about yourself, anyone else or the world by sitting alone in your bedroom, twiddling your thumbs. The journey is just as important. In many respects it is the most important. You are your journey.

So relax, enjoy yourself and keep looking. We don't always get what we want but that just builds our knowledge for the future. Sometimes the whole point of a date or a relationship is for us to come out the other side of it having grown as a person. And that's something.

The Roman's weren't fond of Christians and two that they executed were Valentine of Terni (in AD 197) and Valentine of Rome. Then in about AD 496 the Pope (of the now Christian Holy Roman Empire) declared that February 14th should be St Valentine's Day.  He thus combined the commemoration of two martyred Christians with the ancient pagan feast of Lupercalia.

Valentine's Day is mentioned in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer (AD 1382) and later in 15th Century France.

Shakespeare mentions the day in Hamlet;

“To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.”  

During the 18th Century the writing and exchanging of cards become popular in Britain and the practice had spread to America by the 19th Century.

By the early 20th Century card makers were producing Valentine's Day cards on a vastly increased commercial basis and now, in the early 21st Century, over 1 billion St Valentine's Day cards will be sent.

In terms of the number of cards sent it's second only to Christmas, so quite a good earner for the card makers and the Post Office then.

The question is, have you got a special someone to whom you'd like to send a card?  If not then maybe it's time you registered with one of the UK's best dating sites and got cracking with those introductions and other messages.

Try LoveCup.com.  It's got a variety of flavours to suit including general daters, single parents, Christians, gay men, alternative people, and those looking for something a little spicier.

Who knows - you might be able to find someone with whom you could re-enact the Roman Feast of Lupercalia