So valentine’s day is over for another year……but there’s still leap year to come…..
Did you get it right for your loved one?
Guys – did the flowers and the fizz do the biz? Or did that scratchy orange mohair jumper not quite hit the spot?
Marks and Spencer’s underwear guru suggests following their partner’s favourite colour with a matching set. And if all else fails, go for black. Knowing their size is a far far more difficult minefield. And frankly it’s never recommended. Nearly all women I know like to buy their own underwear. Could we suggest you treat her to one of our spa weekends for her and her pals instead? Or one just for the pair of you?
Gals – were you hoping for a diamond ring in a box from your beloved on bended knee. Well if you missed out, you could ask him on February 29. Here are a few tips…..
Shamelessly sourced online: how about commandeering musicians performing in shopping malls into helping to set the perfect scene to pop the question. Or what about a jigsaw that once completed, pops the question, organising a family photo shoot where the object of your desire thinks they’re the photographer, or a fake photo session for the couple where the photographer captures the entire magical moment.
Other whacky suggestions include suddenly ‘finding’ a message in a bottle on a beach which contains a proposal. Scarier suggestions include proposing during a bungee jump, a flash mob or a ski dive. And of course, there have been multiple proposals on stage during curtain calls, during sports events in huge arenas or in secret followed by a surprise family style pitch invasion.
Sound advice on this one – if you’re not 100% certain it’s going to be a yes, do not involve a crowd. Probably best not do it on holiday nor at Christmas either. A rejected proposal doesn’t exactly create a party atmosphere for the rest of the time you’re cooped up together.
Meanwhile how hysterical is planting the ring in a silly place like a pumpkin, a kinder egg, or for the deeply spooky, in a dead frog that they had recently dissected. The fun and laughter never ends, does it……
Your best bet would be to book your beloved on to one of our skittles weekends away and just have the time of your lives. It’s cheaper than a diamond ring too.
But what if the big plan goes wrong? What if your intended says no instead of yes. And invariably runs off. Well there’s no other place to go, is there. It really is game over on the relationship.
Then there are a few bizarre traditions amongst our European friends. In Denmark for example, if a man refuses a woman’s Feb 29 proposal, he must give her a dozen pairs of gloves. I mean, who needs that many? And why on earth would you want to wear them after that showdown. Meanwhile in Finland, a man who says no thanks, must give his spurned suitor enough fabric to make a skirt. A sewing machine isn’t mentioned nor included. Typically the Italians reckon in a leap year women are erratic. I’ll just park that thought.
Meanwhile one piece of advice that I can pass on is this: for goodness sake don’t do it on telly.
Twenty or so years ago, Linda Ward, a very beautiful newsreader on Westcountry Television proposed to her new boyfriend of all of about a week at the end of the late night news bulletin. She announced she loved him and wanted to ‘live a life of passion’ with him.
The story went global, along with the accompanying stories that both already had partners who thought they were very much in a relationship. While WTV coped with the deluge of press coverage around the world, staff were being reminded not to broadcast personal messages during news bulletins. Next day the newly engaged couple were pictured walking dreamily around a lake whilst the TV station press office fended off all the flak. They never married.
The moral yet again is: if you want a happy ending, don’t do it in front of an audience. On the other hand, if you want a big appreciative crowd to witness your hopefully happy moment, then tip me and the team off and we’d be delighted to help you set it up. Tissues anyone??
