V is for

Valentine’s Day

I have never understood the appeal of Valentine’s Day – it is tacky, over-commercialised and what is so special about February the 14^th? Why is there only one day to celebrate love? Surely if you are in a loving and committed relationship, you should spread the love over the rest of your lives, not merely condensing it all into one day and only make the effort to show your love for your partner once a year.

On listening to the Collings and Herrin podcast (I am still catching up, sadly I will have run out of episodes to listen to noooo), I learnt of a news story in 2010 – I was relatively free from the news at the time so I didn’t hear of it until now, but Worcestershire Council has released news about romantic ornithacy in a bid to raise the number of tourists, who may want to go birdwatching. It is a bit weird as I am not sure how many birds you get in the county that are on this list nor how these qualities relate to each bird, but here goes:

The first bird you see will dictate the person who you will marry:

Goldfinch – a person of means, the yellower the bird, the wealthier they are.

Canary – despite being yellow, no talk of riches here, but a canary signifies a doctor, who do earn a lot I guess

Pigeon – someone who will return home (?!)

Woodpecker – you will not get married

Robin – someone connected to water, e.g. naval officer or fishermen

Peacock – someone who is vain and obsessed with appearance

Magpie – entrepreneurs who seek out good opportunities

Turkey – passionate about nature who cares about animals

Where I am from, it is likely that I will most likely see a pigeon, but keep  a look out on February 14^th – you could find a clue as to who your spouse will be!