[love] it excuses everything, no matter what the cost

You know the type of thing - the two young lovers with eyes only for each other. He sees a flower shop and grabs a dozen roses to thrust into her hands while the storekeeper gazes on approvingly, whispering: "L'amour, l'amour."

They waltz down the street, upsetting fruit carts, skip across the street causing a five car pile up and when the cops finally catch up with them, the kindly boys in blue smile at each other and forgive the young lovers everything.

Cambodian-born Rindy Sam told a court in Avignon that she was "overcome with passion" when she saw a painting in July.

"I just gave it a kiss. It was an act of love, when I kissed it, I wasn't thinking. I thought the artist would understand," she said.

Restorers have been unable to remove the lipstick and have unsuccessfully used 30 products to get rid of the stain.

The owner appears not to have been impressed and Ms Sam was fined 1500 euros for the desecration. Should the owner get a life or is he right that women, particularly young women, think anything's all right as long as they're young and carefree?

Do you remember that scene in Naked Gun where ketchup accidentally squirts on Leslie Nielsen's shirt when the two lovers are buying hot dogs from a stand and he jokingly squirts Priscilla Presley back, then they both squirt it all over the vendor and everyone laughs?

In love, any jolly jape is all right, don't you think, no matter what the consequences and to whom?

Or not?