With Valentine's Day on the horizon, a female friend of mine has issued some instructions to 'hopeless males' (her words, not mine).

1. Unacceptable presents: half-price flowers bought from a garage; an iron, a toaster, a vacuum cleaner or any other domestic household item.
2. Unacceptable cards: So-called humorous missives containing cartoon drawings on the front and jokes about overweight/easy women.
3. Unacceptable nights out: Any pub showing football or a visit to a curry house, where you will 'accidentally' bump into some mates.

The banana skins may seem easy to avoid, but what exactly should you buy a loved one for Valentine's Day? Well, firstly, a holiday is never a bad idea.

I'm not trying to do a shameless plug for Leisure Direction Travel's holidays, but whisking a girl away on a mystery weekend break goes a long way to helping her forget all those nights when you've come home three hours late and sloshed, or the time you made a pass at her sister.

But, you've still got to give her something on the day, haven't you? (girls can be so demanding). However, hope is at hand because, according to a survey in Los Angeles, splashing out on expensive gifts is not necessarily the way to a women's heart.

What women really want is.a traditional love letter. Asked to choose one item from flowers, chocolate, jewellery, a romantic dinner or a handwritten missive, 62 per cent of respondents said their most cherished gift on the most romantic day of the year would be a letter in the handwriting of their beloved, sealed in an envelope and delivered to them.

Remember, this survey was conducted in LA, home to some of the most materialistic females on the planet, and I would have put my house on 99 per cent opting for jewellery.

But, as one l-u-r-v-e expert points out: "The love letter combines all the most valued elements in one gesture. It is personal, specific, requires thought and advance planning and cannot, under any circumstances, be a last-minute purchase."

So gents, put your credit cards away (at least after you've paid for the holiday), and sharpen your pencils.

I cannot wait to get out on the slopes and have booked a long weekend in Les Gets for later this month.

I noticed that the annual insurance policy for my girlfriend and I was up for renewal and called the provider to sort it out. Apparently, one in seven people ski without cover but they are, in my opinion, mad. Break your leg on the slopes and you could take years to pay off the bill for the treatment you'll receive.

Anyway, I was just about to renew, when I noticed that the new premium didn't include winter sports cover. Two things annoyed me about this. Firstly, that I'd now have to pay extra to insure us for skiing following a change in the company's policy, but more than that, they weren't going to tell me about the change!

If I hadn't looked at the small print, I would happily have gone away on holiday without the appropriate cover. Excluding winter sports as a standard part of an annual travel insurance policy is now fairly common among many firms. Post Office Travel Services is the latest company to charge extra to skiers and boarders.

This may be fair enough, if they've had lots of claims. But don't rely on anyone to tell you that you have the appropriate cover - read the small print yourself! I've talked in previous newsletters about getting the European Health Insurance Card, which entitles people to free or reduced cost medical treatment in Europe. This is useful, but is not a substitute for travel insurance. Often the treatment available in ski resorts is in private clinics, which are not covered by the EHIC

Is there anyone out there who hasn't read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code?

I took it on a beach holiday over a year ago, expecting to be hugely disappointed, as the enormous hype surrounding the novel at the time irritated me. However, I have to admit that I loved the book and couldn't put it down.

Part of the film was shot in the Louvre in Paris and, consequently, the museum has been attracting a record number of visitors.

There were 7.3 million visitors in 2005, up from the 2004 figure of 6.7 million, which itself was a record.

The museum's general administrator, Didier Selles, states the rise is not only due to the success of the novel. He says that free Friday-night viewings for those under 26 and high-profile exhibitions in 2005, including a show on Romanesque art from France, have also pulled in the punters.

However, he adds: "There is perhaps a Da Vinci Code effect, which will only become stronger when the film comes out."

Have you been to the Louvre? If so, what is your view of the museum and what are your favourite exhibitions and paintings? Email jeremyskidmore@blueyonder.co.uk

I may have boasted to you before that I spent a ski season working in Aspen, Colorado, a few years ago, but I've only just got over the disappointment of being on the wrong run at the right time during a crisp, sunny day in January.

"Did you see her?" asked my friend, when I came off the slope. "Eh, who?" I asked.

"Cindy Crawford. You must have seen her. She was coming down Big Burn at the same time you were up there and stopped to help someone who had fallen over. Everyone's talking about it."

Unfortunately, I'd taken a different route down the mountain and was left to imagine what she would have looked like helping a stricken fellow skier and, no doubt, several other men who had spotted her and suddenly decided they were in need of urgent medical attention.

Perhaps she would have been wearing an all-in-one silver outfit with one of those big Californian headbands? Anyway, it never ceases to amaze me when the media feel the need to applaud celebrities for acting like any other responsible human being.

Cindy was simply being a good citizen as were Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz, when they recently went to the aid of a woman lying in a heap, screaming in agony on a slope in the resort of Telluride, Colorado.

Good on the Hollywood duo but, to read some US newspapers, you'd think they'd saved the lives of millions of starving children.

According to one report I read: "Justin and Cameron had been on the slopes and were going down a red run when they saw someone bang into a brunette. And she went flying. Everyone just looked on shocked as she landed in a heap on the ground screaming with pain and it looked as though she had broken her legs. No one had any idea the couple who dashed to help her were, until 20 minutes later when they took their hats and masks off to meet the paramedics who'd turned up. They were amazing and you'd never have thought they were so famous."

P-lease. While quietly applauding their actions, it should be seen as the norm and ridiculous diva-like behaviour condemned, rather than the other way round.

Have you ever bumped into anyone famous on the slopes? Email jeremyskidmore@blueyonder.co.uk

I crossed swords with Brian after having a light-hearted pop at nauseating American expressions in the last newsletter. Brian, who has a US passport, was unimpressed by my comments and assumed I was anti-American. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've been to the US dozens of times and have many American friends. But it doesn't alter the fact that there are lots of nauseating American expressions. There are also a huge number of British quirks, sayings and traditions that are both annoying and ridiculous, but I'm still proud to be British and have many British friends. I think Brian must have lost his sense of humour, but at least he wrote in to me, and I'm grateful for that.

Email your views, thoughts and comments (and, like Brian, feel free to disagree with me!) to jeremyskidmore@blueyonder.co.uk

6. WHERE IN THE WORLD?

Jeremy

8. HOLIDAY OFFERS

As usual there are some great ideas for holidays and cracking deals on www.leisuredirection.co.uk