<span>Allow me to start by saying that I do have a sense of humour and I have never been someone who particularly cared about Valentine's Day. But</span><span> while I appreciate that people in marketing do have a job to do, I cannot bear anti-Valentine's Day promotions.</span> <span>There are plenty of people who love going out to enjoy a candlelit meal, </span><span>complete with roses, chocolates and heart-eyed teddy bears, come February 14. But for every </span><span>venue that organises an evening of romance, there is another that has a singles' night planned, which usually comes </span><span>with unlimited pink drinks and deals targeting "the girls".</span> <span>"Enjoy complimentary drinks with your girl gang," reads one </span><span>email that dropped into my inbox this week</span><span>, advertising an anti-Valentine's Day deal.</span> <span>"Ladies can enjoy free flow of signature drinks," </span><span>another says.</span> <span>But these kinds of events can go one step further. Case in point: </span><span>a taco place in the US is offering singles the chance to set their ex's belongings on fire.</span> <span>Torchy's Tacos in Austin, Texas, is hosting a "Salty Singles Day", where </span><span>participants can </span><span>take items of their </span><span>former partner's clothing</span><span> to be set alight. You will then walk away with a "Taco Love" T-shirt. Although I will admit to loving the name, it all seems a bit patronising and gimmicky, no?</span> <span>It perpetuates a romcom stereotype that, in the wake of any kind of break-up, the only way to reclaim your get-up-and-go is to destroy anything that reminds you of a significant other … cue movie montage. It also buys into the idea that the worst possible thing for anyone, but mainly women, is to be single on Valentine’s Day.</span> <span>Meanwhile, in other locations, single women are </span><span>encouraged to get manicures that read "Y-O-U-R" and "L-O-S-S" and take framed photos of their ex to a smash room to "destroy the way he broke your heart"</span><span>. </span><span>Yawn. It is tongue in cheek, I am sure, but it may </span><span>simply be the pronouns that grate. If we had a few more she and her, they or theirs, in there, perhaps it would jar a little less.</span> <span>There is one anti-Valentine's Day deal I can get on board with, however. A Sydney restaurateur is offering a </span><span>"dead </span><span>love </span><span>degustation" menu, complete with a dead rose. I'll admit that on first read, I made a snap judg</span><span>ment. </span><span>"Oh, OK, single people get dead flowers and sadness? Brilliant.</span><span>" But I was wrong – the reasoning behind chef Opel Khan's Metisse menu is much more earnest.</span> <span>He </span><span>says </span><span>"love should be celebrated all year round" and not </span><span>only on February 14. "Food is love … </span><span>my food is French, the most romantic cuisine in the world," Khan said. "It should be celebrated all the time</span><span>."</span> <span>Let's all be a little more like Khan. Scrap the Dh3,000 menus, extortionate hotel rooms and naff soft toys, and celebrate love all year round. And reader, if you want to live a little movie moment and set fire to an ex's clothes</span><span>, do it any day of the year … and not to get a free T-shirt from a taco joint.</span>