Valentines day and birthdays

Well, of course, we had a fabulous valentines day

My Darling gave me a bouquet of these


then dinner in our favourite restaurant.... it's not our favourite for nothing.


After a beautiful starters and mains delivered with fabulous service from one of our favourite waitresses, our desert came with compliments from the house ... we were flattered... and they came like this....


tiramisu (the best in the world) with big chocolate hearts....


Absolutely....Perfect



My baby sister turned a terrifying 18 on Friday (yes she missed being a valentine baby by 20 mins) so we went through to my folks place to personally wish her happy birthday and to help my folks set up for her party. We didn't stay of course (we dont really fit in with all those young people) but she had a great time... really pleased because she definately deserves it.

On saturday our little feint of spring ended and it dropped back down to about -10 (celsius) and a blanket of white stuff fell....


Which makes an already incredible landscape.... unimaginably still and quiet

We took a couple of snaps from the train, it was so picturesque


A trully lovely weekend

Valentines day

In Ad 197 and AD 269, respectively,

Valentine of Terni (bishop of Interamna) an evangelist and healer

Thanks to www.catholic-forum.com


and Valentine of Rome (a priest) imprisoned for feeding the martyrs who were in prison .

Thanks to www.catholic-forum.com

...were beaten and beheaded...martyrd. Which, to many people doesn't mean much, until.....

Merry Old Chaucer

Thanks to www.nndb.com

wrote, in 'Parlement of Foules' in 1382,

For this was on seynt Volantynys day

Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese [choose] his make [mate].

Spawning the popular 'courtly love' of the high middle ages

The earliest valentine card (surviving) is from Charles, duke of Orleans, to his dear wife while being help captive in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.



And so, many disputes and declarations later (catholic church heavily involved) we celebrate a highly processed, pink and red, love-heart strewn version of St Valentines day.....

And thats why we are going out to dinner tonight.



Happy Valentines day...