ValentineÔÇÖs Day -┬á a meaningful celebration of romantic love or just another excuse for companies to shove cards, flowers, and poorly fitting lingerie down our throats? A time when single people begin to envisage themselves dying alone surrounded by cats, whilst couples fret as to whether their partners efforts will match their own. If he buys flowers when sheÔÇÖs only given him a tacky card from the depths of Poundland is this their signal to split up? If one of them waxes their legs, fake tans and squeezes into a fancy dress only for the other to turn up in jeans and a T-Shirt, should they take it as a sign? The lucky people in comfortable relationships will wonder if the old flame has become too cold as they mutually agree to keep it to a takeaway in front of the telly this year, and hospitality staff will hover awkwardly with their card machines as couples show a little too much affection for each other at their tables. It seems there are very few people who can get through the fourteenth without some level of dread.┬á

Despite having never been in a real relationship myself, IÔÇÖm still a self-professed hopeless romantic – a trait which is probably my downfall, since real boys are never going to match the likes of those found in Richard Curtis films, but the optimist in me refuses to give up the search and settle for your average non-fictional man; IÔÇÖll take being eaten by my cats instead. In year four I received two valentineÔÇÖs day cards, two more than anyone else in my year and two more than IÔÇÖve ever received since. One was signed ÔÇÿfrom your secret admirer -┬á Ben,ÔÇÖ and the other written out by a boyÔÇÖs sister to disguise his handwriting, not that the identity of the secret sender wasnÔÇÖt being broadcasted to the playground by lunchtime. Thinking it was fairly safe to shoot my shot with boy number two I asked him if he wanted to go out with me. Our relationship lasted for all of twenty minutes. Ah, young love.┬á

This year I left the romance stresses to my more outgoing friends, and instead we went out the night before for our second annual celebration of GalentineÔÇÖs Day – opting for a nice meal out followed by a game of blind karaoke in our living room (a fantastic pastime if youÔÇÖve yet to try it!). It was a night of reminiscing, laughter, and very scrumptious Italian food, and was the perfect way to express our love for each other. Perhaps the best valentines day act IÔÇÖve seen came this morning in a conversation over heard in the street, as a builder turned to his colleague with a big bouquet of flowers and wished him a happy valentineÔÇÖs. They laughed, but in the sort of laughter that only the people who really do like each other can make. So back to the debate, yay or nay for feb the fourteenth? Ultimately, ValentineÔÇÖs is about love, and any opportunity to tell the people around us that we love them – be it our partners, family, friends, or fellow builders – gets a double thumbs up from me.┬á┬á