Can't buy me love...

There have been 14 martyred Roman saints that have gone by the name Valentine. Nobody's quite sure which one is commemorated on February 14th. The first recorded connection between St Valentine and romantic love was made by Chaucer in 1382 when courtly love was first imported from France as the next big thing.

Numerous poets have alluded to it down the ages but it didn't really kick off as a commercial venture until the late 18th Century, when a British publisher produced a book of romantic poetry for those too lazy and/or stupid to write their own.

Until the 19th Century, hand written notes and letters were exchanged between the nation's love sick but by the mid 1800s cards were being manufactured in factories for sale to the public: at last, you could now prove how much you cared by spending every last farthing on a pre-printed card.

By the mid 20th Century things had moved on again and gifts such as flowers, chocolates and even jewellery (in addition to cards) were being exchanged - items that between February 13th and 14th see a bigger price hike than Whitney Houston albums.

Inevitably, the internet has seen a surge of Valentine cards exchanged online, with an estimated 15 million e-valentines being sent in 2010. Would-be Casanovas, their loins unfettered by the world wide web, can now express their passion in an unstoppable, orgasmic fountain of cheap, red, cutesy, virtual tat.

Not that I'm bitter or anything...

Today's run at 18:48
Distance	4.01 km	Time	21:29
Pace	5:22 min/km	Cadence	81 spm
Comments: Cloudy.