The Valentines Thread

[SiHart]

Happy Valentines Day!

Is today just another day for you, or something special? If you don't have someone special, does it just reinfirce how single you are, or are you just a hopeless romantic and who gets behind the spirit of the day? Have you had many cards? Are you doing something special with your partner?

Discuss Valentines Day here!

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

Hello dear!

It's our anniversary tomorrow isn't it? 4 years! Blimey. We'll be celebrating that, certainly!

[Pip Madeley]

I'm not too keen on Valentines Day, I see it as a terribly commerical thing. You should say I love you to your special someone & show them how much you care about them every single day, but certainly not once a year. I don't go for the terribly cheesy stuff either.

Saying that, I've sent the missus a card, and at the weekend I'm taking her out for dinner.

(tonight I'm being terribly unromantic, I'll be bopping to Bloc Party hehe)

[SiHart]

You're right, Pip, it is over commercialised and you're far better off shwoing how much you care all year round. For us, it's rather nice as it's as close as makes very little odds to our anniversary, so we tend to celebrate the two together. It gives us a good excuse, doesn't it?

I must admit, i always found it a rather depressing day when I was single. It just rubs it in!

Si xx

[Pip Madeley]

When you're single, you tend to either get depressed or just try to ignore it.

It's a lovely double whammy for you two though I might dump Trudi now, and make up with her tonight, so our new anniversary is today.

[Si Hunt]

We celebrate it by exchanging cards and a little pressie but we don't go overboard! We went out for a meal one year and the restaurant was all decked out in hearts and things... it was a bit intimidating for two guys!

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

Well the missus' birthday was last week so we went out on Sunday for a meal for birthday/valentines day in one. We exchanged cards & gifts but that'll be it, other than perhaps having something a bit special for dinner tonight.

I used to ignore Valentines Day when I was single, it just never involved me.

[Anthony Williams]

well, much as both myself and Teresa are against the commercialisation of Valentine's Day, we're going out for dinner to Wagamama tonight

Ant x

[Andrew Curnow]

We don't do Valentines here at Curnow Towers. We used to, I know one year we both bought a single rose for each other the night before (Zel kept hers in water, I kept mine in a cupboard, so mine looked a bit the worse for wear by the morning - oops!) and we used to get each other a card, but it was just so absurd, in that we both came to the conclusion we were sending each other cards that were obviously from each other just because the ads in the newsagents windows told us to!!

[Jon Masters]

As a concept Valentine's day is very nice, but I make it a point not to buy a card or flowers or anything else specifically designed to rip me off . This year the wife's getting DVDs (when Amazon deign to send them )

[Dave Tudor]

I did something for Valentine's Day the last two years, but not this year - this year, I say "b*llocks" to it, it's more commercial than ever before, everyone from shops to television channels are making such a big thing about it, as if it's some sort of public holiday, I just can't be arsed with it all. God, I'm a miserable bastard, sometimes!

I did, however, get a card off the cat, bizarrely, although I think my strange, younger brother may have had something to do with it...

That brings my lifetime tally of Valentine's cards up to a grand total of one...

[Ralph]

What? Is something happening today?

[Captain Tancredi]

I think today has been the best Valentine's Day I've ever had- I've just worked three hours' overtime, so the problem of sitting around feeling sorry for myself doesn't arise. And the bank paid for pizzas because we worked until 7.

What never fails to get to me, however, is the way that it can feel as if out of the roughly three billion people who inhabit this planet, nobody sees me as a future life partner, father of her children or casual shag. True, I'm remote, difficult to get to know and don't open up easily, and I do next to nothing about my looks apart from shaving, but it would be nice to think that somebody somewhere would think of me that way at least once. Having said that, I always make a point of sending at least one Valentine, so I if I get maudlin about it, at least I can tell myself that I made an effort.

Oh, and I work with a guy whose name is Valentine, which can be amusing.

[Jonno]

It's just another day for me, albeit it made for an annoying commute home with people taking up far too much space on the tube with their giant balloons/bunches of flowers etc etc.

Our sales manager at work, who's one of the rapidly disappearing old school types, put a couple of heart-shaped chocolates on each of the ladies' desks this morning, which was a nice touch! I made them a cup of coffee/tea (but then I do that every day anyway)!

[Carol Baynes]

I was watching the Brit awarrds on TV, but it's all been a bit lame in my opinion. I'll go back ina bit and see if Oasis put on a good show...anyway, "Happy Valentines" to you all!

I am still currently single and can quite happily sit here at my computer with my specs on, birds nest hair and no pyjama bottoms and not worry about a significant other finding me irresistable, although to be fair any 'significant other' should be well turned on by that.

[Lissa]

I'm turned on.

Like a vibrator on a lonely night.

Albeit one that can't stop coughing.

[Ralph]

It's just another day for me, albeit it made for an annoying commute home with people taking up far too much space on the tube with their giant balloons/bunches of flowers etc etc.

miserable git!

[Ralph]

.... and can quite happily sit here at my computer with my specs on, birds nest hair and no pyjama bottoms

Do you mind! - I was just happily settled in my singular state this evening

[Carol Baynes]

I look like a crazy secretary!

[Lissa]

I've got something I'd like you to take down if you've got a moment.

[Wayne]

I like Valentine's Day, because we normally get a well paid gig out of it.
I'm all for people making a big deal out of Valentine's Day, if i'm going to make a few bob out of it.

[Paul Clement]

Treena and I send cards to each other, and gets each other a present. It may be commercialised, but so is Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day. I don't let that bother me though, I see it as another excuse to buy Treena something I know, or at least hope, she'll like. She can't moan about me spending the money either, because it's her I'm spending it on.

[Jason Thompson]

I got Emma a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day, delivered to the door while I was at work, as well as a silly card and some luxury hot chocolate. She made me a card by making a collage of some wedding pics printed off from the computer. Unfortunately the cardstock we have is not the best for such things, and the card, lovely though it is, simply cannot be persuaded to maintain a vertical position for longer than about three minutes (stop sniggering at the back!).

I used to hate Valentine's Day, back in my single days, although the masked ball on the old Beeb boards was highly enjoyable. Anyone remember that?

And Carol, thank you for that lovey image of you sat at the computer. I'll be carrying that one around for a while....

[Si Hunt]

I saw roses, but to be honest (and without making it seem like I don't appreciate m'other half) they just seemed like a waste of money. 5 for one and 20 for a small bunch. I think in my own way more love was shown by keeping the money for when it's really needed, rather than on a flower that would just die.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

I am still currently single and can quite happily sit here at my computer with my specs on, birds nest hair and no pyjama bottoms

I thought I was the only one who did that...

What I didn't mention yesterday was that ironically the last week or two has seen me more comfortable in my own existence than I've been for a while. I think the thing that makes me want to be with somebody is just seeing two people who are really at home with each other, have their own private jokes and language and the whole domesticity thing. It'd be nice to wake up on a Saturday morning occasionally and have the round of garden centres and supermarkets to look forward to, rather than "what can I think of to fill the next 36 hours?".