Seasonal dating. When is the best season to be single?

By Catherine Portland

"I'll be yours in springtime when the flowers are in bloom.
We'll wander through the meadows, in all their sweet perfume.

And every night I'll hold you tight beneath that April moon."

Yes, these are the optimistic words from the Greece 2 song Girl For All Seasons, in which Michelle Pfeiffer's dream of a cool rider came true and they lived happily every after (presumably). But as far as my current experience goes, seasons play a much more interfering role in the course of true love.

I don't know if other people think they have a dating season, but I certainly do. I have never started a successful relationship in winter and few of my relationships have lasted the summer. This generally means I'm doomed never to have a boyfriend for more than about a year, but that's the way my seasons turn and there's little you can do to halt nature.

For example, a few years ago at the end of the summer I met this amazing man during a training course for work. He was the kind of guy I thought was way out of my league, with model looks but a down to earth personality. We ended up getting together and were really quite serious - until the next summer that is.

With the temperature hotting up, the days getting longer and summer holidays approaching I began to resent cosy nights in on the sofa and an established relationship. Like the winking sun and dispersed clouds, I wanted more space and flirtation. It really was very inconvenient as he was so lovely, but I couldn't bear to be tied down any more. So off he went and I jetted to the Greek Islands for a summer of frolics with other sun chasers and beach beauties.

But come the end of the summer, and the dimming of the light, I felt totally uninterested in dating games. Instead, I wanted to wrap up my time with friends and family and really couldn't be bothered with any vague attentions from men. Maybe it's a kind of hibernation period after all that expelled energy during the summer? Either way, being alone in winter only deepens the gloom, but there really is nothing passionate about autumn and winter.

Following this logic, if the tables were turned then summer is the best time to be dumped. There's far too much fun and excitement, parties and BBQs in summer to even care if you lose your guy. But being chucked in winter is the darkest despair. For a girl, it will inevitably lead to too much chocolate indulgence and extra pounds which don't help confidence.

Is it worth trying to fight this trend? I think not. The one relationship I've had which began in December ended in disaster. It's worth remembering these annual patterns and working out your own seasonal dating behaviour which can help you devise a contingency plan to avoid the inevitable. This summer, I'll be having lots of single fun but will be aware that unless I find a long-term man before the end of September, it's another naturally lonely winter for me.