Valentine’s Day is coming up, that one day of the year when us men can’t really use “there’s football/rugby on TV” as an excuse to get out of stuff. But I’m going to put the boot on the other foot and lay the pressure on the ladies. What do you do for the men? Do you just go for the obvious (booze, Lego) or do you have to think outside the box.
The reason I ask is that I got a press release the other day from Cockburns, the port people whose name launched a thousand childish laughs. I know they are not from the South West (they’re Welsh) but they get a mention because they were the first people to get in touch re this blog (through Twitter no less!) since I set it up to stave off boredom. But I was interested in the content, being as it was trying to flog vintage port and sherry as a pressie for men (Harveys Vintage PX sherry, £19.99 for 500ml at Waitrose is one they are also trying to flog) .
This got me thinking, obviously us men have it fairly simple; we book a restaurant, buy flowers/underwear or some other kind of gift and think we have done enough. But what do women do?
You could also ask, should they do anything at all? Is Valentine’s a day for men to pull their socks up and pamper the woman (or man for that matter) in their life? Is it a day for giving gifts? Or should a line be drawn at a meal out and some bedroom adventures?
Cockburn’s clearly think you ladies should be buying their fortified wine for your men, but should you? Is Valentine’s Day a day when men pamper women or should it in these days of rightful equality, be a reciprocal thing?
Either way, I think anyone buying me a bottle of port gets a gold star. Mind you,a bottle of anything apart from rum or Cinzano will get you a gold star at Wilcock Towers.
I have already mentioned Cornish Yarg getting in on the VD (an unfortunate acronym) act, but that seems a more asexual type of gift.Maybe that is the way to go? something that both can share whilst canoodling.
Another firm with a finger on the pulse is Wing of St Mawes which has put together locally-sourced love packs for Valentine’s Day. A box of fish may not seem hotly romantic, unless you live in Newlyn, but its luxury Dinner Box (Either £39 or £35, the website isn’t sure) contains “six oysters, one lobster cooked and dressed ready to eat and a wild sea bass, fully prepared and oven ready”. Now that’s a bad-ass box. The question is, who gets the lobster and who gets the sea bass?
Sounds like a recipe for an argument if you ask me, unless you share. Which is beautiful.
Cheers.
*No chance of a moussaka btw, aubergines come straight from Satan’s arse. Good headline though. Out.
Foodies South West 
I love the aubergine comment although I initially misread it as Santa’s Arse which confused me for a moment. I have the same feelings about Jerusalem Artichokes – the inclusion of “Salem” in the name is no coincidence.