really know what it is all about? A Royal Gazette reporter took to the streets of Hamilton, just before Valentine's Day today, to find out.

Senior citizen Mrs. Nellie Dill said love meant being honest with each other and trying to get along.

But Mrs. Maisie Butterfield said love was the best thing of all, because God wants us to love one another.

"It's nice to be loved, and it's nice to love,'' she added.

Mr. Mike Lemay said love was unconditional. And Bermuda's Athlete of the Year Mr. Brian Wellman said that love meant "commitment, trust, and was spiritually and emotionally a faith.'' Mr. Alan Smith looked at the more spiritual aspect of the meaning of love and said: "God is love and love is God and perfect love casts away all fears.'' Mrs. Edna-Mae Scott said: "Love means a blending of spirits. It means togetherness, companionship, and harmony.'' But Mrs. Rebecca Payne said that love meant consideration for the other person.

Younger people also had their own idea of what love meant.

Eighteen-year-old Zalita Hunt said: "Love means friendship, joy, happiness, peace, and trust.'' Mr. Edmund Smith thought that sometimes the word love came to easily for people.

"Love means caring, sharing, togetherness, trust, understanding, and communication.

"But most of all you have to love within. If you can't love within, how can you love without. I find that love is rarely something found.'' He added: "Some people think they have it and they don't, the word love is sometimes said without feeling.'' And 22-year-old Mr. Conway Bennett said there were many different types of love such as love for brothers and sisters and a love for a woman.

"Loving a woman is complete love with trust, lust, compassion, faith, and the ability to understand.'' Mr. Art Simons said that love was caring, sharing, intimacy and warmth.

Other people had different perspectives on the meaning of love.

When asked about love, some thought of late husbands, wives and pets and others just didn't want to think about it at all.

Mr. Leon Edmead said: "Love means that you love someone who understands where you came from like my dog Buttons.

"He can be trusted and he speaks to me when I want to be spoken to. Love also means sincerity, friendship and honesty.'' Mrs. Mary Knight remembered her late husband when thinking of the meaning of love.

"I lost my love of 50 years five years ago on February 16. We made sure that we were in love when we got married. Being in love with him meant the world to me. He was my one and only love.'' Mrs. Trudy Maddocks said that love meant caring about the other person more than you do yourself.

However, Mrs. Jennifer Ming wanted to know what Valentine's Day had to do with love. "I tend not to wait for different occasions to express my feelings.'' Mr. Chris Kristoff did not think too highly of love because he thought being in love would be too much work.

"Love means fear because it is all about commitment, honesty and trust and a lot of hard work.'' Fifteen-year-old Theresa Turner said that love meant trouble. "Love gets you in trouble. It has no particular meaning, love could be anything, but love to me is trouble.'' She added: "Right now God is my love.'' Miss Rebecca Payne Mr. Brian Wellman Mrs. Edna-Mae Scott.