theoddsock.com

I think I must be an anti-romantic.

I’ve never been terribly fussed about the notion of Valentine’s Day. In fact I prefer that Jonathan doesn’t buy me a card, I hate to think of all the trees pulped for the production of cards which are generally extremely tacky.

Although, strangely enough, the fact that my dad buys my mum a card, very simply signed, every year, reduces me to a pathetic, happy goopy state. They will be married for 30 years this summer.

Over the weekend while we were pottering about doing shopping and such as is the typical Sunday afternoon activity we had the local radio station tuned in in the car. On air the presenter was asking who should pay on the first date, the man or woman. My first thought was that this was a silly question, what if it is a same-sex couple?

Of course the woman asked said that the man should pay, because “she’d have spent so much on getting her hair done, a manicure, new outfit, new shoes, etc.” This didn’t impress me at all. It is the first date, presumably he isn’t au fait with the contents of your wardrobe, is it necessary to buy a new outfit and so forth? I suppose it can be argued that the new outfit will be a confidence booster, but not being willing to share some of the cost of the date does make one look a bit like a gold-digger, especially if you have decked yourself out to the nines.

As can be expected the man asked said that he’d be miffed if the girl didn’t get her purse out when the time came. Whether this was because the mere gesture that she’d be willing to pay is enough to reassure him of her true intentions or so he can act the big man by offering to pay for it all isn’t made clear.

My own opinion is that who ever does the asking out should pay for the main meal, the other suggest that they go to a cafe later for coffee and a pastry that they pay for, or something along those lines. And the subsequent meal paid for by the other, if they manage to get that far of course. Easier still would be a home-cooked meal, from experience I find cooking together much more fun.

Perhaps I’m a bit strange but I don’t want to be a kept woman, I don’t feel comfortable with leaving one person to foot the all the bills all the time, even with the disparity in salaries and though Jon and I very rarely go out we do tend to go halves on other things, like nursery carpets, or I get to pay for exciting things like getting the boiler fixed

Back to the issue of Valentine’s Day, this year we will spend the evening taking a tour of the maternity unit at the Rosie in Cambridge and will round it off with a Chinese take-away. Which, for me, at any rate, promises to be the best Valentine’s Day yet.