Valentine's Day

Well here we go again – the annual rip-off which is Valentine’s Day is upon us once more.

You know the day – it’s when the flowers you can purchase for your loved one throughout the year suddenly treble in price.

It’s the day restaurants mysteriously double their prices.

Even the supermarkets can’t help cashing in with their meal for two deals suddenly increasing from £10 to either £15, even £20.

Yes the season of moral blackmail is upon us.

It will, of course, come as no surprise when I tell you the Old Moaner has absolutely no truck at all with this Valentine’s Day malarkey.

Don’t get me wrong I can be as romantic as any Mills and Boon hero – I simply don’t like being exploited or emotionally blackmailed.

If you care about someone why wait for Valentine’s Day to demonstrate how much your loved one means to you? Why should there need to be a “special” occasion to buy flowers or treat your loved one to a special meal or a special day out.

The point is the spoiling and treating should be happening throughout the year, not just on a day prescribed by marketing people.

I admit in my much younger days, when I was footloose and fancy free, I used to play the Valentine’s charade but, if I’m being totally honest, I only played the game in the hope it would increase the chances of me getting my leg over rather than any grand romantic gesture.

Indeed I dislike the exploitation of Valentine’s Day so much I will actually go out of my way to avoid buying flowers, going out for a meal or booking a romantic break rather than pay the extortionate prices. 

Put simply, if someone is special to you then you don’t need a special day to express your love. 

Indeed I would go as far as to say if a partner has a hissy fit if you don’t remember Valentine’s Day then they should soon be an ex-partner as they obviously consider materialism more important.

Of course if your partner ignores Valentine’s Day and doesn’t make any romantic gestures the remainder of the year then, perhaps, it is about time you joined an online dating site.    

The other mystery of Valentine’s Day is why Valentine’s cards are supposed to be anonymous – what is the point of that? Why waste money sending a card when the recipient doesn’t have a clue who it is from?

So Old Moaners advice is avoid Valentine’s Day like the plague but make sure you pamper your loved one the rest of the year.