Friendships between men and women can be an extremely volatile thing. While a male mate can provide valuable insight into the male psyche, what happens when you develop the urge to take that male psyche behind the bicycle shed?

Changing a friendship into a relationship can be a tricky business that requires wisdom and mental agility. It also helps if you are teetering on insanity because, let’s face it, if the person has been your friend for this long, you can be 99.9 per cent sure there is no attraction there. Men are not very complex characters; if he wanted you he would have indicated it by now. For your part, your love life has plateaued and you have just built it up in your head.

You’re a woman with a crush and time on your hands though, so you won’t be reasoned with. The best you can hope for is to minimise the fall-out.
If you decide to pursue the object of your desire, and you will, it is important to tread carefully. Look for the signs and you should be able to establish if someone is interested or not. Does he eye you up when you get dressed up on a night out or does he look past you to the blonde at the bar?

After a little tactful investigation, you should have a better idea of what you are dealing with. If you still have no signs that he is interested, maybe it’s time to back off. Try focusing your energies elsewhere – tag rugby or knitting - and give that crush time to pass.
If you think those feelings are returned, and you will have convinced yourself that they are, maybe it is time to take a chance and make your move. But how to go about it?

There are two schools of thought – the sensible one and the reckless one. The sensible approach entails getting the person in question on their own and revealing your feelings in a sober and honest manner. Yeah right!

The other option is much easier and wetter. Arrange a night out with friends (including the one you fancy), intake copious amounts of alcohol and make a move. You can blame it on the alcohol if it goes horribly wrong and if it goes right, who cares?