Love notes

We are all cowards when faced with a new love, aren't we? Thank God for notes! Valentines, often signed with just an initial, are a lovely old tradition that spares the writer a face-to-face declaration of love. A valentine in my collection showing a girl in a swimsuit announces courageously: "I'll take a high dive into your heart and be your valentine." One hopes that she is going in at the deep end of the pool and that this is not going to be a belly flop.

Now, notes are actually quite risky, too, and can miss their mark. In this romantic and funny film short, The Note tells the man “I love you”. But this is no ordinary note: It's a piece of paper with a mind of its own which does everything in its power to unite the man with an intriguing woman from the other side of the tracks.

(Directed by Jon Greenhalgh, 2007. Information here and here.)

These days, lovers are sending their heart-throbs more e-cards and text messages than paper valentines, and many affairs of the heart originate on mobile dating sites like Youand.me. How good are you at writing flirty messages? Want to improve them? We're focusing on the grammar of verbs with two objects on the next page.

So what are you waiting for? Go for it!

Anne Hodgson