Somebody buying a round for everybody in the bar is a great gesture, but make it champagne all round and it becomes a grand gesture. But if somebody buys a round for a large group of friends, when they have money problems which nobody knows about it is a grander gesture or maybe a foolhardy gesture or both.

Many grand gestures need an element of risk or foolhardiness to raise them from kind or nice to grand. Receiving a box of chocolates is always lovely but receive one from someone who has gone through various trials and tribulations to get them make the gesture a grand one. (old Milk Tray adverts.)

People climb bridges and hang messages displayed on sheets while others pay small aircraft to write smoke messages in the sky, but they are not always grand gestures because grand gestures also involve an element of impulse and large-heartedness!

My brother who lives in America and is far from wealthy decided to send his mother -in the UK, flowers for her birthday. He then thought it would also be nice to send some to me, and to his other sister, and the other one, and also his brother. The flower company were bemused as he kept phoning back with yet another request.

He was quite tipsy but when he had sobered up he laughed his head off at the thought of the bouquets he had sent out and when the company phoned to confirm the order (despite the huge bill) he told them to go ahead and send them.