As I'm sure you're well - and for some of us, catastrophically- aware, today is Valentine's day. As a single pringle myself, I thought I'd write a lil post to remind us that valentines' come in many forms. My favourite v day has to be three years ago when my childhood friend Amy came to visit me in London from Keele. We were both missing each other terribly as we were in our first year of uni and boy did we go on an adventure.
Seconds before I picked Amy up from Euston, Prince tweeted a time and place. There had been a buzz in the city that week as everybody knew he was in town and throwing spontaneous guerrilla gigs that people were gagging to go to. This night in particular though was even more electric - I mean, fancy catching Prince on Valentine's day?! The venue just so happened to be one stop on the northern line away from us as well - jackpot! I screenshotted the tweet to Amy and without hesitation, it was game on and we began our quest. This is why I bloody love Amy, a room truly is more fun with her in it.
Long story short, we waited in a winding queue in the pouring rain for three hours, sang Prince's back catalogue with strangers and held each other close. Who knew that you can order pizza to a queue? 'I'll be the one in purple, mate.' Yeah, that narrowed it down...
Long story short, we waited in a winding queue in the pouring rain for three hours, sang Prince's back catalogue with strangers and held each other close. Who knew that you can order pizza to a queue? 'I'll be the one in purple, mate.' Yeah, that narrowed it down...
In the end we weren't the lucky few but we didn't let that ruin our night, oh no. We caught the ginger line back to mine in Penge, cooked fajitas and played our favourite records. The following morning we took a stroll through Colombia Rd flower marker, Brick Lane and The National Portrait Gallery before I dropped Amy back off at Euston.
So whether you have a hot date, a takeaway with your mum or if you're doing a Miranda and Carrie, I hope you spend the day with the ones you love. If you want to spread the love, you could make a playlist for your girl gang, or pick some wildflowers for your mama. The idea being that you don't have to break the bank. For instance, I have heart shaped balloons that I picked up from Paperchase for an art project a while back that every now and then I blow up and have one waiting for my mum when she gets home from work. You could even extend this sentiment and share the love within your local community. Smile at the lady you walk past on your way to work every morning, let the man in the hi vis jacket have your seat on the bus, let a student whose backpack resembles a tortoise's shell share your brolly as you walk down the high street together...
In the delightful words of Dionne Warwick: What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No not just for some but for everyone.
I spent the day with the love of my life - my mama - and treated her to a strawberries & cream heart shaped cheese from our local artisan market. I'm not sure what that says about me but it tastes too good to care.
To suit the occasion, here are some adorable pages from Peanuts 1965 Love is Walking Hand in Hand book:
Feel free to finish your own sentence below. Love is...
