In love

 Today is 1751 years since the beheading of a Roman Priest called Valentine, who married people in secret  after Claudius the Cruel (the clue is in the name) banned marriages because he suspected that it made young men less likely to want to go to war to die. Coincidentally, his death also coincided with the festival of Lupercalia, where naked Roman men killed a goat and a dog, naked Roman women lined up to be whipped with the still-warm bloody hide to improve their fertility, and the men drew a name of the woman he would have long raucous sex with from a jar. Now, if all that doesn’t make you want to buy extra whipped cream, I don’t know what will.

Generally, we have better ways to find a partner now and superstitious rituals aren’t needed to improve fertility but Valentine’s Day persists. 

I’m not against it. I think you should take every opportunity you can to tell the people you love what they mean to you. 

This year has been a good one for those who commercially benefit. The M&S love sausage has flown off the shelves, the usual increase in cream in a can sales has gone through the roof (yes, this really is a thing), date night boxes, cake treats and cook at home gourmet meals have sold out. Even Melton Mowbray have struggled to keep up with demand for their “Pie Love You,” personalised pork pies. 

People want to celebrate love. And it’s not just the phwaor-sexy-can’t-wait-to-get-into-your-knickers kind. People are sending gifts to friends too. Valentines has extended to Galentines and Palentines. 

We have just finished watching the Crown and on a day like today I think about when Charles and Diana got engaged and he said, “Whatever love is.” He had a point. Love is many things and our current slower pace of life allows us to notice them all.

The Long Suffering Husband knows how I feel about him and as a nod to the day we might sit in the same room and share a box of Maltesers. However, I’d like to introduce you to the new love of my life.

This is Joey. He sits on my garden table all day, guarding the bowl of bird food that’s there. He has seen off several magpies, a raven, three seagulls, various doves and any small bird that thinks a little snack might be nice. As you can see, he’s too full to actually eat any more himself but Joey doesn’t share food and for that I love him.