Good day my darlings. And a very Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Firstly, a serious note. It makes me sad to see how miserable people get around this time of year, or how people feel if they don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend, their life isn’t worth living, and they should just go and hide under the duvet for the entire day, and sob about the fact that no cards have come through the door, no flowers, or they haven’t had a text/Facebook message/call from that person they sort of thought they were going out with but….

What’s possibly worse than that is the couples who use it as an excuse to put all the details of their relationship out in the open – Facebook, I’m blaming you – instead of just keeping it to themselves. I personally think love becomes a bit tarnished once it’s splashed all over Facebook. It makes me wonder why they can’t just talk to their actual boyfriend/girlfriend directly…

We’re morphing into a society where the concept of discretion no longer exists, where everything has to be laid out in the open, to inspire jealousy or sympathy in others. Now, I am most certainly not above reproach. This is my 6th blog, for goodness sake; I’m hardly a virgin to the world of oversharing. I too have felt the needling longing to post some vicious, biting, self-pitying status on Facebook, just because someone, ANYONE else must feel my pain, because otherwise it’s too much to deal with on my own…And equally, you want everyone to know when something has gone really super duper well for you.

BUT, I still can’t get my head round all the ‘oh, puppy, I wuv you so so so so much’ messages. Firstly, Cringefest 2011. Secondly, if you’re that close, why don’t you actually just, you know, TALK TO EACH OTHER. IN REAL LIFE. You remember that, don’t you? That thing where you move your mouth, and someone else utilises their ears. Yes. I’m terribly glad for you that you’ve found someone madly special, but please, a little Facebook etiquette. This ranting is usually better left to A A Gill; it’s not really my style, so I do apologise.

I happen to have a lovely chap myself, but as a seasoned Facebookphobic, I wouldn’t dream of embarrassing him with splashy declarations of my love and lust (I’ll just do that in this blog. I kid, I kid). But I for one will be telling him how marvellous I think he is via a less public forum.

Now, moaning all done and dusted, here’s the real crux of the post. I love Valentine’s Day. I literally, absolutely, and totally love it. Always have done, always will do, unless an acrimonious divorce gets in the way. I remember when I was about 10, getting up mega early on Valentine’s Day morning, and decorating our whole sitting room with purple crepe paper hearts I’d made myself, chiffon-y sheets, hearts dangling from the ceiling, flowers etc, to surprise my parents with. It’s pretty much my Christmas.

Perhaps it’s the time of year it comes at – just when that first tingle of Spring sunshine is starting to make an appearance, but still cool enough to retreat to your bed for hours and not feel guilty. I love this time of year, as I’ve mentioned before. I start skipping around like a lamb. Val’s Day is the cherry on top of the cake. It’s about LOVE, which to me means every kind of love. It’s about family and friends, not just romantic love. It’s a day to think about someone else, be a bit nicer, and as Annie Lennox and Al Green once sang ‘think of your fellow man, give him a helping hand, put a little love in your heart…’

So, think not of the red roses, the love hearts, or the Godiva chocolates you feel you’re missing out on. You are loved, you are not lonely, and it’s nearly Spring. I’m sorry for the rant, it’s really not my territory, and I’ve probably massively offended half of you. But I don’t think anyone should ever be made to feel bad by the behaviour of others, and no one should EVER have to feel rotten about being single, because there’s nothing wrong with it whasoever. Anyway, go out and spread some serious love. Send an old fashioned letter to a lover, go and see your grandma, give your dad a hug, take a friend out for cocktails.

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