New Milton Advertiser 29th Jan 2021

Friday 29th January 2021 · 23

news@adt.press · advertising@adt.press · 01425 613384

VALENTINES DAY Show your love for Hampshire and Dorset’s small businesses this valentine’s

Order your Beautiful Valentines flowers now Our ful l range is avai lable. We are able to take orders for del ivery via our website, emai l or telephone.

info@janebidwellflowers.co.uk 023 8084 4114

www. janeb i dwe l l f l owers . co . uk

DON’T make out you don’t care this Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s gifts, locally-pro- duced food and drink or supporting your nearest florist, February 14 is an ideal time to buy something unique and individual whilst also shopping locally.

It’s no secret that our small businesses have endured an extremely difficult year and until restrictions are eased and shoppers return to the high street in healthy numbers, the majority are going to be reliant on local people’s commit- ment to supporting their nearest small traders. Lockdown rules may advise against anything but essential travel, but this doesn’t mean your Valentine’s Day gifts need to be bought with the weekly food shop at the supermarket.

Across Hampshire and Dorset, smaller, inde- pendent companies have had to adapt over the past 10 months with online ordering and home delivery now very much part and parcel of the service. And what’s more - the person you are sending a Valentine’s Day present too is sure to be far more impressed if you’ve gone out of your way to find a one-off gift especially for them.

Say it with flowers... One of the easiest ways to support small businesses on the most loved up day of the year is by seeking out the skills of your local florist. Valentine’s Day is ordinarily one of their busiest periods and so is a great place to start in supporting local traders who, despite lockdown, remain very much reliant on custom from those living nearby. What’s more if you’re looking to send flowers to someone you can’t be close to this February, florists will be able to ensure a smooth and seam- less delivery of a personalised gift (together with a handwritten card!) to say you’re thinking of them.

Shop online at www.charlesnobel.com

A taste of Hampshire and Dorset... Despite not being able to go out and eat this February there are plenty of ways to let Hampshire and Dorset’s restaurants and food producers take the strain on Valentine’s Day. Alongside your favourite takeaway options are food halls and delicatessens across the county selling locally-produced food and treats should you want to whip up your own romantic meal at home. Alternatively many pubs and restaurants have adapted to sell tasty hampers brimming with the three and four-course meals they would have delivered to your table now able to be delivered to your door. What could be better than having someone else cook your Valentine’s Day meal whilst also knowing you’ve supported your favourite place to eat?

YO U R G I F T W I T H P U R C H A S E

Plan ahead to make Valentine’s perfect With Valentine’s Day just around the corner right now is the perfect time to start planning a special surprise or thoughtful gift to show the love of your life just how much you appreciate and adore them. Although sometimes considered to be nothing more than a clever marketing ploy to boost retail sales after the post-Christmas lull – the tradition of Valentine’s Day dates back many centuries. So with Christmas and festive celebrations now a distant memory and the promise of warmer weather still several weeks away – Valentine’s Day can also be a great way to lift the winter spirits and spend some quality time with your partner or spouse. The key to a successful Valentine’s Day is plan- ning – so whether you are aiming to surprise your loved one with a personalised card or a two-car- at diamond ring, now is the time to start thinking ahead so that everything is in place and ready for February 14th. According to a study more undertaken in 2017 on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers around half 48% of the UK population will buy a gift for their loved one on Valentine’s Day and a further 4% will just buy a card. It is now estimated that people in the UK spend in excess of half a billion pounds on Valentine’s Day gifts with men spending an average of £40 and women spending an average of just over £20 on their partners. The UK spend on Valentine’s Day continues to rise year on year. But the tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day is far more than a marketing ploy by greetings card and gift manufacturers – its origins are thought to date back as far as Roman times when the feast of Lupercalia was celebrated between February 13th and 15th. As part of this ancient fertility festival Roman men would sacrifice goats before and then use their skins to whip women in the belief that this would make them fertile. Something to look forward to... Alongside our family and friends, what many of us are missing most is the freedom to go out and enjoy all the county has to offer. From spas and salons to theatres and animal parks, the restrictions mean that many of our most popular places for rest and relaxation are currently closed to customers. But with staff to support and overheads to maintain they are all still very much reliant on our custom where possible. If the love of your life longs for some me time by the indoor pool, or is dreaming of a new haircut when lock- down is lifted, think about purchasing gift vouchers from their favourite salon or spa to reward them when doors reopen. If they’re huge fans of the theatre and going out to see a show, plenty of Hampshire and Dorset venues are offering gift vouchers redeemable against future perfor- mances when the curtains go up, whilst passes to one of Hampshire’s animal parks would help with their efforts to feed and care for the thousands of special species that remain in their care despite the ongoing closures and lack of visitors.

CLARINS HAND AND NAIL TREAMENT CREAM WHEN YOU SPEND OVER £100 AT WORTH £23.00

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A T L YMINGTON

Historians argue over which St Valentine this day was initially dedicated to, as two saints with this name share the feast day of 14 February. Both were martyred in Rome; Valentine of Terni in around AD 197 and Valentine of Rome in around AD 496. The most popular theory is the day of the lovers took its name from Saint Valentine, a martyr who secretly married couples against the law and, whilst in prison, wrote his beloved a letter signed, “From your Valentine”. There was also a priest called Valentine, who as the story goes, restored the sight of a blind girl and then fell in love. Sadly he also met a grizzly end when he was later beheaded. It’s widely thought that the origins of our mod- ern Valentine’s Day began in 1382, when the poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote that birds mated on Seynt Valentyne’s Day, in his poem Parliament of Fowls. A few decades later, the Duke of Orleans wrote what is now considered to be the oldest valentine, a rhyming love poem sent from prison to his wife Bonne. As with the previous Valentine’s, his story ended tragically after Bonne died before they could be reunited. As the centuries rolled on the popularity of mark- ing February 14th with gestures of love increased until in 1913 Hallmark began mass producing the first Valentine’s Day card.

CLARINS NEW TOTAL EYE LIFT INTRODUCING

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