FEBRUARY 14, everyone knows what this date is significant for, or do they?

If ever a day was overshadowed by another then this has to be it.

For some, St Valentine’s Day is a special day, worth celebrating, even if only to receive the proverbial card. Not for me, however, because I can’t find one appropriate for the occasion as I see this date purely from a more historical point, that it is the anniversary of the death of Captain James Cook R.N.

Born at the foot of the Cleveland Hills in North Yorkshire, Cook became the nation’s greatest explorer, the first to accurately calculate longitude as well as charting New Zealand and east coast of Australia, to name but a few of his achievements.

He was killed at Kealakekua Bay in the Hawaiian Islands, and not by Cupid with his arrow. It is a pity this and Valentine's Day clash, but a day should be set aside to honour the great man and none better than this very day, though alas, not likely with St Valentine holding firm.

So, for me, it’s sorry dear wife, the appropriate card for the day has not been found yet again.

Pip Burke, Osbaldwick Lane, York.