Several Victorian love letters written by the parents of a former prime minister were published online in time for Valentine's Day. The letters were among several papers that were bought last year for the national archives by National Records Scotland (NRS).
Sky News reported that the letters were written in 1843 by James Maitland Balfour, then MP for Haddington in East Lothian, and his bride-to-be, Lady Blanche Cecil, the daughter of the Marquess of Salisbury.
Their eldest son, Arthur Balfour, later went on to become the Prime Minister from 1902-05.
According to a recent YouGov custom survey, one third of Britons (33%) plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day with a romantic interest, up from 23% of those who celebrated in 2022. The majority (55%) will not celebrate at all, and a small percentage (7%) say they’ll mark the day alone or with family or friends. New research using UK Google searches has found that couples are almost twice as likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home this year versus previous years when there wasn’t a cost-of-Living crisis.
At the same time, cybersecurity company NordVPN can reveal that one in 8 Britons (12%) who have tried internet dating, have been targeted by romance or phishing scams.
Home cooking vs crowded restaurants
An analysis of consumers’ planned habits for the season of love shows that couples are 20 per cent more likely to cook at home rather than go out for dinner, and four times more likely to whip something up themselves versus ordering in a takeaway.
But, while British pairings may be cutting back on their out of home spend, they’re fully focused on keeping their at-home date night as romantic as possible, according to the data analysed by retailer La Redoute.
Speaking to Asian Voice, exclusively, Sourav Paul, an IT professional based in Harrow said, “For my wife and I, this is going to be the 10th Valentine’s Day together. We normally celebrate this day at a restaurant. But this year we are celebrating at home for various reasons, including budget with the cost-of-living crisis as well as travel time to a restaurant. We are cooking our favourite dishes at home for each other, making the occasion more personalised. Moreover, with flu and Covid-19 on the rise, it is better to minimise social gathering as most places will be crowded today.
“My wife, Rumki, who is a food blogger by profession (https://rumkisgoldenspoon.com), is baking a Walnut Coffee cake which is one of my favourites. She is baking some Red Velvet cookies, which is again our daughter Sanvi’s favourite.
“After work, we would be cutting the cake and munching the cookies. As it is a working day, I have taken it quite easy. I am making Bengali Chicken curry which we would enjoy for our dinner. So, this year mostly going to be family time all throughout the day making each other feel special.”
Sharmishtha Roy, who runs Sharmi’s Kitchen (www.sharmiskitchen.co.uk) and delivers delectable food UK-wide, told the newsweekly, “This year postal order and take aways have increased exponentially. Especially as Valentine’s Day is on a weekday. Though I don’t have a special Valentine’s Day menu this year but have ordered as per their likings – and there is a variety.”
Vishal Ganapathi, a financial analyst in mid 40s, who went out with his wife on the weekend ahead of the Valentine’s Day with friends, said restaurants in central London were packed, though most customers were young, possibly from Gen Z. He therefore planned to spend the evening of Valentine’s Day eating home-made pizza and watching Netflix with wife Kavita, as going out consecutively, wasn’t possible given their budget restrictions in these recession times. “But to celebrate, I have bought my wife a nice silk pyjama set to wear in the comfort of our home, as we cosy in by the tv with wine,” Vishal added.
La Redoute, the fashion and homeware brand also found that top trending searches this week included specific browsing for Valentine’s Day lingerie, pyjamas, jammies and bedding – suggesting that shoppers are planning on making the most of their romantic time at-home.
Contrastingly, many were looking to keep their partner dressed; the data show’s we’re twice as likely to gift clothing as we are underwear, intimating that the lingerie browsing is for the shopper and not their other half.
Social media had seen an influx of new baby announcements on 14 February 2023, as searches for ‘Valentine’s Day baby announcement products’ have also been trending since the start of the year.
Sarah Link, Head of Marketing at La Redoute, said, “With everyone tightening their purses and being more savvy this year, it’s no surprise that people are opting to stay in this Valentine’s Day. By updating your fashion, and home surroundings to fit the mood of the evening, your date night can be even more bespoke and magical. At La Redoute, we’re eager to prove that a date night at home can be just as romantic, with a selection of cocktail making kits, pizza boards and pillar candles to up the romance levels.
“Our silky pyjamas and lacy lingerie will also make sure your partner’s heart is fluttering this February.”
Targeted by scams, Brits want dating past to be deleted
On the other hand, millions of loved-up Brits want their online dating past deleted from the internet — and some are prepared to give up sex to do it.
One in four (25%) surveyed by NordVPN said they wanted no trace of their romantic past available on the web, while 22% were concerned that hackers could get hold of information about their sex life.
And in a bid to make a clean break from their baggage, 12% even said they were prepared to give up sex in exchange for having their online presence removed.
An estimated 20 million adults in the UK have an online dating profile or have used one in the past.
Developer information from the Badoo.com mobile app shows that user IDs, approximate location, phone number and app activity can all be collected for marketing purposes.
Of those surveyed who have dated online, one in six (16%) reported receiving more spam emails having signed up for a dating app.
NordVPN’s research also showed that 2.5 million Brits have been the victim of romance or phishing scams while looking for love.
These cons see fraudsters match with another user and then try to drain their bank account, either by dangling the promise of a romantic relationship or encouraging them to share personal details.
The study showed that Brits who encountered an online romance scam lost an average of £4,622 each, while phishing fraud victims typically handed over £2,851 each. The research also revealed that Glasgow is the online dating capital of the UK, with more than half its residents (55%) either active on apps and websites or having used them in the past. Runner-up in the romance stakes was London (44%), with Bristol coming in third (43%).
The problem of romance scams is so severe that earlier this month Match Group – owner of some of the biggest dating apps and sites, including Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid – launched a global safety campaign featuring tips to help its users spot swindles.
These included being wary of unverified accounts and matches that shifted the conversation to investments like cryptocurrencies, with the intention of luring them into a separate fraud.
As well as scams, the survey uncovered a range of bad behaviour and issues that people have to deal with when searching for a partner online.
Among those who had dated online, one in six (17%) said they had interacted with a fake account or bot, with the same proportion receiving indecent images they had not requested.
Having signed up to an online dating app or website, 16% reported receiving more spam emails, while one in eight (13%) said that they found it difficult to delete their account.
Most worryingly, 7% of site users found themselves being stalked online.
Online safety and the security of user data were key concerns for many dating site users, with 37% believing their information should not be shared with third parties.
A third (33%) of those surveyed said dating apps did not do enough to verify users’ identities while 35% felt the number of fake profiles or bot accounts on sites was growing.
