Don Your Way: Feeling the love while working on Valentine's Day - but not from readers!

He’d often bellow it across the old Doncaster newsroom when us young trainee reporters were making our plans for the evening, barely worrying about any breaking news events that might be unfolding on the town’s streets.

Of course, the point he was trying to make is that news does not stick to 9-5 deadlines. There’s plenty goes on outside those hours. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, somewhere in the world, something dramatic is happening.

It’s why us reporters at the Free Press work from early in the morning until late at night and across weekends, across a shift system to bring you as much news as we possibly can.

Saturdays, Sundays, Easter, Christmas, bank holidays, chances are, someone will be on duty.

And so it was that the rota threw up for yours truly working today, Valentine’s Day.

I’d rather have not crawled out of bed early doors, but fortunately, my wonderful other half Giulia (one L) had made the day far more bearable with a stack of gifts, decorations and home cooking to make a lockdown Valentine’s Day at the newsdesk a lot less trying than it might have been.

Sadly, that devotion hasn’t passed over to our readers on this most romantic of all days. Over the course of the working weekend, feeling the love has been a tough call.

As usual, the insults, attacks have continued aplenty – from the likes of readers who really think we should work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to those who hope we close down for spreading ‘scaremongering, fear and lies.’

Roses might be red and violets might be blue, but there’s nothing bluer than seeing the comments in the DFP Facebook section when you’ve been working your socks off when everyone else is knocking back the prosecco and scoffing heart-shaped chocs and sticking on Dirty Dancing.

Fortunately, as I gaze out across Doncaster’s grey, gloomy skies, I can take warmth in that the working day will soon be over and I can put the haters to one side.

Well, until tomorrow when it will no doubt start again!