I knew it! I’ve been saying it all along.

Says the Daily Mail in London:

“Half of men will upgrade a common cold to flu and describe headaches as a migraine to gain maximum sympathy.

They will also moan more than women when suffering a bug or virus.

This is despite the fact they catch fewer colds and flu each year – five compared with women’s average of seven.”

Certainly rings true for me – we’ve spoken before about Den and his Man-Colds. The worst of it is, he refuses to go to a doctor, happier instead to self-diagnose and then sit on the couch with a little silver bell, ringing for my attention when he needs his nose wiped and whatnot.

But I have another thing to put forward to you – men use this same talent of gross exaggeration in the opposite way as well. Den doesn’t usually cook in this house. For three years now, cooking has been mostly my domain. Sometimes I relish it, but lately I’ve lost my cooking mojo and happily left the task to Denis for a couple of weeks now to see how he would cope. He’s stepped up, but my Lord is it at a cost.

You see, every meal he makes – whether it be throwing hunks of meat into the slow cooker or whipping up a spag bog – has to be fawned over for at least 48 hours after the fact. How good it was. How great it tasted.

And yet, if I do the same I’m lucky to get a “tastes great” without fishing for one.

Anyone else find the same thing? Men and their exaggerating? Do women have an equivalent affliction I can’t think of right this second?

I saw an octogenarian couple crossing Swanston Street the other day. They didn’t even look as though they could negotiate the street without one another. The husband had a walking stick, the wife a hunched back. They were clinging to each other’s hands in support and care. And perhaps even from years of habit.

What is it about watching a little old couple show such affection for each other that tugs at our heartstrings? Picture the same old couple knocking socks in bed together and most of us would cringe.

Our modern society places so much importance on the aesthetics of life – attractiveness, wealth and social status all rank highly on our radars. But the chances are, that by the time you’ve hit 80, not a lot of these things are on your side anymore.

Which is probably why it’s incredibly moving to see two people that have lost so much of their youth, yet still have so much in each other.

Does it represent what we all really want when we’re old? Do we recognise on some level how lucky those two people are to have each other, after everything?

While it’s impossible to really quantify, some social researchers think that we don’t hold hands as much as we used to – people on the street seem more likely to have a mobile phone in tow rather than a beloved.

It seems a shame, as it is proven that holding hands connects you to your partner, gives you intimacy, reassurance and silent support.

It’s true that for younger generations, the act of holding hands is more intimate than a kiss – a young couple is most likely going to have a quick pash in a dark club long before they progress to holding hands.

I still remember the first time Den held my hand. We had been a casual affair for about 9 months – we weren’t dating, we weren’t exclusive, we literally were good friends with benefits and not much else.

One night, we took a stroll and Den was (unbeknownst to me) trying to summon the courage to ask if we could make it serious. He grabbed my hand as we walked – shocking me in the process.

After months of us sleeping together, it was the hand-holding that seemed overly intimate. What makes me think there’s something wrong with that sentiment?

Back to our little old couple, as I watched them I was struck by how it’s becoming rare to see couples even make it to their golden age of marriage. Maybe it’s the couples that do hold each other’s hands that make it there more easily.

The Age reports:

“Hugh Jackman has a happy marriage because he has date nights.

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine star – who has been married to Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996 – has revealed he and his wife always make time to just be with one another to keep the romance in their relationship alive.

He told America’s OK! magazine: “Make sure you have a date night just the two of you together, without the kids.”

The 41-year-old actor has two adopted children, Oscar, nine, and Ava, four, with his wife – who he met on the set of Australian TV show Correlli.”

Hell yeah, Hugh! That’s the way you do it!

Go on guys, you know if it’s good enough for Wolverine, it’s good enough for you! And – what a coinkydink! – we just happen to have this amazing website full of great date ideas to get you started.