What’s Love Got To Do With It?

It’s that day again, the day when singletons bemoan being single while everyone else, it appears, is in a lovey dovey couple but yet they secretly – or not so secretly – mock those couples who feel they have to submit to some gesture that quantifies their love for their partner. Yes, of course I mean it’s St Valentine’s Day, February the fourteenth.

Usually I make some comment on my never ending single status and very often comment on how content I am to be single but come on, we all know it’s a façade!  I would much rather be in a couple, not (just) for the love and romance, tho don’t get me wrong I would love that shit more than the next guy but for the sheer fact that on 14 February you can be as OTT in your romantic gestures and get away with it!

Whether it was making a mix-tape, on cassette, printing up a one off book of photos and poems or creating a faerie grotto at the bottom of the garden in the midst of a snow storm…I’d have so much fun! As it is I don’t have anyone in my life at the moment I can use as an excuse to go super soppy and that’s probably no bad thing truth be told as I’d no doubt be dumped and single by 16 February.

This year however I’ve gone old school. I’ve returned to my teenage years and adopted the attitude of I really don’t give a shit and I’m going to send cards to all the girls in my class. I did that one year at secondary school, it caused no end of trouble when those in relationships ended up in fights because jealous boyfriends thought they were being cheated on. Actually, I should have thought of that before I embarked on this year’s escapade!

Instead of sending cards I made use of a service on Hi5 4 Lo-fi Records which allowed you to send a digital Valentine’s card with the link to download a Valentine themed indie mix of 21 tracks, I figured there were a few people I follow on twitter who might appreciate that, with luck they’ll read this blog and figure out who sent it! I also sent a few Amazon gift cards and even a bottle of Prosecco to someone, tho admittedly she did make a general request for flowers…as we haven’t been formally introduced I opted to ignore her wishes and send her something I know she likes just as much, if not more.

I think that’s the best way to treat Valentine’s Day when you are single. Forget feeling miserable, send someone you know is single, or not, something that will make them smile, whether it’s a card, an MP3 track or even a whole MP3 album of love related songs or if you really do have slightly more money than sense, have a courier deliver a bottle of wine to someone you haven’t even met! (Remind me to tell you about a girl I went to school with called Alexis…my seeds of undoing were sown early on in life!)

As ever, I feel I must leave you with a song and this year it’s by Eels and is a live version of What I Have to Offer, it’s great when an artist manages to articulate the words you knew were in you but you just couldn’t get out, don’t you think?