Something about.. the day of 'love'

It's here, again. The one day of the year that all singletons dread. And that some in relationships dread.

February 14th. Valentines Day. The day of love, because - according to Geoffrey Chaucer - it is the day when the birds choose their partners. But all that aside, and without sounding like too much of a Valentine's Scrooge, what is the point in February 14th, the day of 'love'?

Don't get me wrong, I'm the typical hopeless romantic, who dreams of the day when my Prince Charming will ride off into the sunset with me. And unlike many who hate the Valentines Day traditions, I am, in fact, in a long term relationship. But I just struggle to understand one simple fact - why do we only show our love and affection on this one day.

If your decision as a couple is to ignore the consumerist hype that is Valentines Day, then you'll certainly be saving yourself a lot of money. Dinner at a restaurant will be double the price, just because of the date. And a dozen roses will require re-mortgaging your house.

So, why not tell your partner every day that you love them? And if you want to surprise them with dinner or chocolates, do it when it's actually a surprise, as opposed to an expectation.

This Valentines was set to be different for me. With my boyfriend going to rather drastic steps to avoid the stress of February 14th (he's travelling in Central America), I decided to make the 200 mile/five hour train journey home from university - in Bournemouth - to Suffolk.

And in stead of Valentines Day, myself and the girls would be celebrating Palentines Day. 

So after dinner at a Chinese and the spontaneous decision to hit the town, we were necking shots at the bar in a local club. And surrounded by desperate singletons hoping to snag a midnight Valentines kiss, we proceeded to have a brilliant night on the dance floor.

And then in true Palentines Day style - as couples all over the country sat down for their romantic candlelight dinners and soppy romantic nights in - us girls sat down for a home-cooked meal with some rather delicious dauphinoise potatoes and rather messy Banoffee Pie.

The point to all of this? If you - like so many others - find Valentines Day depressing/annoying/a waste of time, then find another constructive way of spending this day - because who else do you want to show your love for in this world? Your friends.

Of course, I did enjoy the fact that even after spending 48 hours climbing volcanoes, my boyfriend did call me from across the pond to wish me a happy Valentines Day. Well, something along the line of: 'I thought I should call you because of today and all that crap!'

It's the thought that counts!