Whose mum still sends them a Valentine’s Day card? Mine does. Yes I’m 33 and yes I’m in a relationship, but every February 14th a tasteful (probably Matisse) postcard will pop through my letterbox with a hastily scrawled ‘love Mum’ on the back. It makes my day.
While my friends and colleagues are being all cool and cynical about it (‘It’s manufactured, it’s meaningless blah blah blah’), you’ll find me happily whistling Barry White songs while flicking through the latest 'Nigella' for recipe ideas.
I love Valentine’s Day, but then I love any day that you can make different from every other day. I grew up in a family with a great sense of occasion – Birthdays, Easter, Mother’s Day, Bonfire Night… we always do something special together. When you’ve gone through dark times, you’ve got to relish the light.
OK, so V Day is unique in the cheesiness of the festivities it promotes – I am not one for heart balloons or teddy bears or infantilising merchandise of any kind (step away from the Forever Friends card). But I mark the day in my own way – I’ll buy my partner something thoughtful and tasteful, we’ll do something fun together, even if it involves the friends and family we love as well.
Last year was the naffest I’ve ever got – we went to see Fifty Shades of Grey in Leicester Square on 14 Feb – the opening night. It was a hot mess of rampant hormones, but my god, it was hilarious. Girls whooped and hollered when Jamie Dornan appeared on screen and when he first took his top off the audience broke into spontaneous applause. We laughed the whole way through.
By resolutely refusing to ‘be like everyone else’ and acknowledge Valentine’s Day, quite honestly you’re being more of a sheep than someone who just chooses to celebrate it in her own way. Also, sorry, but have a bit of a sense of humour and joi de vivre, would you?
What’s wrong with a bit of mass romance anyway? I find it heart warming to see people rushing home on the tube with roses squished into M&S bags, or couples sitting in factory-like rows at the local Pizza Express.
People care; they care about each other, and they care about making today a bit more special than yesterday. And that is something worth celebrating.
