‘Nothing says love like chemicals’: Valentine’s roses often covered in pesticides, testing finds 14 February 2026 at 10:00

‘Nothing says love like chemicals’: Valentine’s roses often covered in pesticides, testing finds

14 February 2026 at 10:00

Bouquets imported to Europe found to be heavily contaminated, often with chemicals banned in EU and UK

Stay away from roses this Valentine’s Day, environmental campaigners have warned after testing revealed them to be heavily contaminated with pesticides.

Laboratory testing on bouquets in the Netherlands, Europe’s flower import hub, found roses had the highest residues of neurological and reproductive toxins compared with other flowers.

‘Stabbed in the Face soundtracked an incredibly joyous time’: the weirdest songs we find romantic 14 February 2026 at 08:00

‘Stabbed in the Face soundtracked an incredibly joyous time’: the weirdest songs we find romantic

The Guardian

By:John Doran · Safi Bugel · Jason Okundaye · Luke Turner · Jeffrey Ingold · Elle Hunt · Tim Jonze · Dave Simpson and Kate Solomon

14 February 2026 at 08:00

Declarations of undying affection, comparisons to a summer’s day? Who needs ‘em! Our writers recall the offbeat songs that capture their hearts

By Easter 2004, I’d been in a relationship with my partner, Maria, for four months and I was just realising how deeply in love I was. We had become inseparable. A magazine sent me to the ATP festival at Pontins in Camber Sands to interview “the Beastie Boys of noise”, Wolf Eyes. The interview fell to pieces when the band, in a state of great psychic refreshment, all wearing Manowar T-shirts, refused to stop watching a Manowar DVD and signalled they would only answer questions if they related to Manowar.

‘Love, honor, cherish, accommodate’: 16 hard-earned relationship tips 14 February 2026 at 07:00

‘Love, honor, cherish, accommodate’: 16 hard-earned relationship tips

The Guardian

By:Madeleine Aggeler

14 February 2026 at 07:00

While there is no one recipe for a successful relationship, we can learn from each other to build one that lasts

What is the key to a good relationship?

For some couples, it’s important to share hobbies. Others say having individual interests is imperative. I’ve read that couples who sleep in separate beds are the happiest and I’ve also read that sleeping in separate beds is the death knell of romance. When I got engaged, I asked my parents – who have been married for 40 years – what advice they had for me, and my mother offered: “Contribute as much as you can to your retirement accounts.” OK!

Madeline Horwath on Valentine’s day for city dwellers – cartoon 14 February 2026 at 06:00

Madeline Horwath on Valentine’s day for city dwellers – cartoon

The Guardian

By:Madeline Horwath

14 February 2026 at 06:00

‘Full of emotional wisdom’: Guardian writers on the best movie romances you might not have seen 14 February 2026 at 04:07

‘Full of emotional wisdom’: Guardian writers on the best movie romances you might not have seen

The Guardian

By:Owen Myers · Alaina Demopoulos · Jesse Hassenger · Veronica Esposito · Pamela Hutchinson · Andrew Lawrence · J Oliver Conroy · Radheyan Simonpillai · Adrian Horton · Benjamin Lee and Andrew Pulver

14 February 2026 at 04:07

For Valentine’s Day, writers picked their favourite lesser-known film love stories – from a dom-sub chamberpiece to a magical teen comedy

‘It launched a million fantasies’: the greatest ever TV romances

It’s the first rule of romcoms that opposites attract, and you can’t imagine two more different lovers than Poinsettia (Lynn Redgrave), a spark plug of a dame convinced that she is in a relationship with the 19th-century composer Giacomo Puccini, and Fish (James Earl Jones), a gentle giant who spends his spare time wrestling a demon that only he can see. That makes for some of the film’s funniest moments, like when Poinsettia ruins a Madama Butterfly opera performance by loudly singing along to the aria. Charles Burnett’s touching film is about how Fish and Poinsettia find refuge with each other that lets them emerge from the fantasies protecting them from the real world’s cruelty, and they find a kind of late-in-life puppy love over dinner dates, cozy sleepovers and card games at their Barbary Lane-like boarding house. When I saw the restoration last 14 February, the theater was filled with couples who, like my boyfriend and I, seemed cozied up just a little closer than usual. Owen Myers

The Annihilation of Fish is available on the Criterion Channel in the US

Valentine's lamps, Easter rugs: 'seasonal decor' has become a year-long tat-fest | Amelia Tait 14 February 2026 at 03:00

Valentine's lamps, Easter rugs: 'seasonal decor' has become a year-long tat-fest | Amelia Tait

The Guardian

By:Amelia Tait

14 February 2026 at 03:00

This year-round churn profits shops and content creators, but not the rest of us. Nobody needs ‘autumn oven gloves’

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means you should have spent the last few weeks swapping all of the lamps in your house. If not, you still have a few hours: box up your beige lampshades (or better yet, throw them in the bin) and replace them with ones of red and pink hues. Then – if you want to feel mentally well – you must also change your lightbulbs, because “warm white lighting” is the best way to ensure your crimson decor doesn’t look “too harsh”.

This is according to online lighting company Pooky, which is selling 43 “lust-worthy lamps” (and shades) for Valentine’s Day. A press release sent on behalf of the brand in late January proudly declared that Google searches for “seasonal decor” have increased 70% year-on-year globally, while queries about “Valentine’s decor” have soared 2,584% since the start of 2026. “The beauty of seasonal lighting,” said Pooky’s chief creative officer, “is that it’s easy to rotate. Store one or two Valentine lampshades, a set of rose-tinted bulbs and a handful of candles in a labelled box, and you can transform your home every February in minutes.”

Social inequality is thriving in the hive | Brief letters 13 February 2026 at 12:46

Social inequality is thriving in the hive | Brief letters

The Guardian

By:Guardian Staff

13 February 2026 at 12:46

Beehive socialism | Ratcliffe’s apology | Tommy Cooper’s dream | Valentine’s Day | Love boat

The beehive may not be quite the utopian dream it first appears to be (Letters, 9 February). Worker bees need to be so active during the summer months that they typically only survive for about four to six weeks. Drone bees’ longevity is not much better. The lucky ones may get to service the queen, but die as a consequence. Unsurprisingly, the queen fares much better.
Tom Challenor
Ealing, London

• So Jim Ratcliffe is sorry for his choice of language use in relation to immigration (Report, 12 February). What about being sorry for his sentiments? Could I suggest that he spends a week as a bed-bound inpatient in a NHS hospital before he makes a judgment about the contribution of immigrants?
Liz Thompson
Oxford

Tell us your favourite TV romance 13 February 2026 at 08:13

Tell us your favourite TV romance

The Guardian

By:Guardian community team

13 February 2026 at 08:13

Who is your favourite television couple, and why?

From sparks flying during The OC’s Spider-Man snog to love stories so powerful they make you weep, Guardian writers have picked the television couples whose tales never fail to make hearts pound. Now we would like to hear yours. What is your favourite TV romance, and why?

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OpenAI retired its most seductive chatbot – leaving users angry and grieving: ‘I can’t live like this’ 13 February 2026 at 07:30

OpenAI retired its most seductive chatbot – leaving users angry and grieving: ‘I can’t live like this’

The Guardian

By:Alaina Demopoulos

13 February 2026 at 07:30

Its human partners said the flirty, quirky GPT-4o was the perfect companion – on the eve of Valentine’s Day, it’s being turned off for good. How will users cope?

Brandie plans to spend her last day with Daniel at the zoo. He always loved animals. Last year, she took him to the Corpus Christi aquarium in Texas, where he “lost his damn mind” over a baby flamingo. “He loves the color and pizzazz,” Brandie said. Daniel taught her that a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

Daniel is a chatbot powered by the large language model ChatGPT. Brandie communicates with Daniel by sending text and photos, talks to Daniel while driving home from work via voice mode. Daniel runs on GPT-4o, a version released by OpenAI in 2024 that is known for sounding human in a way that is either comforting or unnerving, depending on who you ask. Upon debut, CEO Sam Altman compared the model to “AI from the movies” – a confidant ready to live life alongside its user.

Weekend Spotlight: Things to do in Kingston area this weekend 12 February 2026 at 14:52

Weekend Spotlight: Things to do in Kingston area this weekend

The Kingston Whig-Standard

By:The Whig-Standard

12 February 2026 at 14:52

NOTE: Friday is Valentine’s Day and Monday is Family Day Read More

Mild, wild and Wuthering Heights-inspired: the sexiest toys and gifts for Valentine’s Day 11 February 2026 at 10:00

Mild, wild and Wuthering Heights-inspired: the sexiest toys and gifts for Valentine’s Day

The Guardian

By:Alix Fox

11 February 2026 at 10:00

Our expert shares saucy gifts for every experience level and relationship status – from feather ticklers to Fairtrade massage bars

• The best vibrators, tested

I won’t beat around the bush (although I will suggest some devices that can do that for you very efficiently): Valentine’s Day is coming up, so you may well be looking for some saucy gift suggestions for your other half.

As an award-winning expert who’s worked in the sexual wellbeing and pleasure sector for more than two decades, I’ve trialled thousands of vibrators and stimulators, lotions and potions, and a whole A-Z of BDSM bits and bobs. In fact, I have an entire loft room in my house dedicated to storing all my X-rated testers, samples and prototypes. I’m a trustworthy source when it comes to sauciness, so here are my top Valentine’s gift suggestions, whether mild or wild – all tried and tested. From a turmeric latte massage bar to a crotchless teddy, let’s get stuck in.

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