Valentine's Day is a waste of money | Lou Hannan

Did you know that here in the UK, we spend more than £650 million on Valentine’s Day?

It’s the second largest card-giving day of the year after Christmas.

Every year, more than 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolates are sold.

I know it’s been said a million times before but I really think why should we narrow it down to just one day for a person to demonstrate their love for another?

Surely, we should do it every day.

I know you’re probably thinking ‘there’s the voice of a single woman’ but I’ve always felt that way, even back in the day when I was all loved-up.

I couldn’t stand the commerciality of a day when we all had to celebrate our love.

Maybe it’s just me, but on the odd occasion I have gone out for a meal on 14th February I’ve spent the whole evening looking at how prices have been hiked up.

The soup starter you normally spend a fiver on has gone up to £8 simply because of the date and the fact that a crème fraîche heart’s been swirled on the top.

Then there’s the fact that you’re sitting almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the couple on the next table as they look longingly into each other’s eyes, while at the same time they're probably thinking exactly the same thing as me.

If you work in an office, you’ll know the dreaded experience of seeing who the first person is to receive the obligatory dozen red roses.

It always makes me laugh seeing the faces as they arrive with the unsuspecting recipient looking a little coy with the ‘really? For me?’ expression on their face.

The women look-on and instantly wonder if they’ll also receive flowers and if their bunch will be bigger than their friend’s while the blokes look flustered, muttering to each other ‘oh no! I’ve forgotten!’.

And then the race to the petrol station for some forgotten goods on the way home begins…

Anyway, happy Valentine’s everyone!