Yesterday I was kind of ambivilent about the whole Valentines Day thing. For once I wasn’t getting depressed about the fact that the day on which single people are made to feel like a big bunch of rejects was looming around the corner. I was mindful of the fact that aside from a few recent family things, I’m generally happy with the way my life is at the moment.

But now it’s fucked me off. All day I’ve been bombarded with messages by the popular media that Valentines Day is such a really big thing that really can’t be ignored. At all. Not even for ten minutes.

First there were the random overheard conversations in the hospital earlier. Then Colin and Edith nattering away about it all on Radio 1 in the car as I drove down through Wales. Apparently Valentines day is only about straight man-woman relationships, or at least that’s all they appeared to be interested in hearing about from the listeners. So not only do I not matter because I’m not in a relationship, but I also don’t matter because I’m not straight. Great.

Even Kerrang wouldn’t stop talking about it. Although they were slagging it off and playing songs about breaking up with people, there was still no escape from it all.

Finally, everywhere round Leamington there were couples. And there were people on their own, nervously eyeing up the slightly-battered-looking flowers by the cigarette counter in Tesco, trying to find something to take back for their loved one in the name of Valentines Day.

I don’t mind the whole Valentine thing, but it really should be optional. It seems no matter how happy you are in yourself or in a relationship, it still manages to make you feel inadequate that you can’t live up to the idealist stereotypes that we’re all bombarded with for the sake of selling a few poncy flowers and posh meals out. The fact that there’s no little box you can tick on a form to not receive information about it annoys me.

Rant over. I’m going to cook my meal for one. I’m going to turn the TV and the radio off and I’m going to enjoy it 🙂