| We often think dating is for singles looking for | | | | organising outings for each other to make sure |
| love but that's exactly where lots of couples go | | | | you're both making the effort. |
| wrong. Dating is essential at every stage of a | | | | Surprise: show your date you really care by |
| relationship. Whether you've been together three | | | | arranging something you know they will love; |
| weeks or three years you should never stop | | | | something they've been talking about for ages |
| making an effort to spend quality time together. | | | | and never got round to, perhaps? Or something |
| The sad truth is that after a week of endless | | | | they've never thought of doing but you know |
| meetings and tight schedules, thinking of | | | | they'd love. What about roller-skating, ice-climbing, |
| imaginative ways to spend time with your | | | | or a contemporary art exhibition? |
| sweetheart takes effort, even if you're in the | | | | Get out of town: book a train ticket to Brighton |
| early stages of dating. | | | | or South-end on sea, for example. Why not hire a |
| Put a date in your diary each week or once a | | | | couple of bicycles and tap into your inner child |
| month to spend dedicated and uninterrupted time | | | | again? There are lots of places you can go for |
| together and we can guarantee you'll keep the | | | | the day, if you don't have a whole weekend to |
| flame alive for a long time. | | | | spare. |
| Go somewhere new: don't just go for supper. | | | | Introduce some old-fashioned romance: don't be |
| Meet at a gallery, go to a concert or watch a | | | | scared of doing something a little bit cheesy like |
| foreign film. New experiences inject energy into a | | | | watching the sunset together over Primrose hill, |
| relationship and create an immediate bond. | | | | having a bubble bath or cooking a candle-lit dinner. |
| Take turns: don't leave it up to one person to | | | | We all need a bit more old-fashioned romance in |
| arrange a date every week. Alternate when | | | | our lives. |