amative \AM-uh-tiv\, adjective:
Pertaining to or disposed to love, especially sexual love; full of love; amorous.

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When I saw this word I immediately thought 'What the f......' Followed by 'What the f.....' How am I going to deal with this one?, I thought to myself. I could go into town and photograph the window of the Ann Summers' shop, I mused. But no. People might think that I'm a perve. And anyway, I don't think an image of crotchless knickers captures the meaning of the word. Then I thought that I could try to get a picture of a bumblebee sitting on a flower - but then I thought that that wouldn't be right either (okay, there were no bees, much less flowers by the time the thought crossed my mind). So. Stumped, I was. Then it dawned on me. I could do a very contrived image with a tenuous link to the word. I could then, by way of mitigation, explain the rather tortuous logic behind the image, and the link between it and the word being described. So, here goes. Pay attention now. Today I went to the supermarket for provisions. Whilst there, I had a look at the DVDs, because I fancied getting a film. Imagine my surprise when I saw a copy of Ken Loach's masterpiece, Land and Freedom. This is quite possibly one of the best films ever, and certainly the best I have ever seen about the Spanish Civil War. Moreover, one of my friends, Guillermo, speaks a line in it. Just after the film was made, in early 1995, I met Guillermo at ISCTE in Lisbon, where he was starting his Socrates year abroad. He asked me if I had seen the film - which I hadn't at the time. He told me that he was in the scene when the Communist troops disarm the POUM militia, and that he says 'Hace dos filas'. As a mere extra, his part was so small that it was easy to miss. However, now that I have the DVD I can search for him. This I did, and there he is, large as life and twice as ugly in his PSUC corporal's uniform, lining his men up just before they shoot the heroine, Blanca. Anyway, I digress. The film is about love. It is about love for an ideal and for a belief - in this case, the belief in the revolution and the war for freedom from fascism. It is also about the camaraderie that exists between a group of men and woman thrown together in time of war, and about the bonds of love that develop between them. There is also the love affair between the two main characters, David and Blanca. So there are three rather tortuous links to the word. But wait, there's more. The Spanish Civil War, and the revolution that took place within the Republic between the Communists and liberals, on the one hand, and the POUM and CNT-FAI on the other, is a part of Europe's history that fascinates and angers me. I am angered that the 'great' democracies could leave the democratically elected Republic to be destroyed by Franco and his Fascist and Nazi allies. Angered that the Communists should turn on their anti-Franco allies, and thereby hand victory to the insurgents. My sympathies lie with the POUM and CNT-FAI - the only truly revolutionary forces that were attempting to create something better. And therein lies my final tenuous link to this word. No sexual or amorous connotations whatsoever. Just love for an ideal, which may or may not be attainable, but an ideal for which so many people gave their lives. No Pasaran.

Last year I was in the pink