Love is all around us....

How wonderful it is that for one day in the year, the evil spectre of commercialism is hidden behind the tide of warmth and love that is St.Valentine's Day!.

Or, because I like to see life from both sides of the fence - Valentine's Day is second only to Christmas for naked consumerism and is worth around£2.3 billion to the retail sector.

For some men, Christmas is easier than St Cupid's day when it comes to present buying. At least at Christmas it is generally accepted, nay almost traditional, that to buy one's loved one's present at the local garage just before it closes on Christmas Eve, does not imply any more lack of thought than men usually manage to exhibit for the rest of the year!

In fact, I considered that my offering last year of a bag of charcoal, two bags of Haribo, a tree shaped air freshener for her car (shaped like a Xmas tree as well!) and a £2.99 bunch of flowers, to have been almost inspirational.

A special thanks to Texaco for that.

However, not everyone agreed!

But on Valentine's Day, there is the added issue of guilt. Very large bunches of roses would only be met with significant suspicion. One would surely receive the "...what have you done wrong that you need to buy me a large bunch of flowers to make up for?" look.

...or the "Are you trying to make me fat?" retort when you buy her a big box of chocolates.

...or the "Don't you like my ankle length winciette brown nightie then...?" when you buy her that short red satin number.

It is true that I don't actually KNOW that my own nearest and dearest would react in this way - as I've never given her the chance.

I don't like commercialism. Well unless someone wants to buy something for me.

Who says romance is dead?