We get in the mood for love in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, as we find out how people are spending the occasion across the country.
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00:00With Valentine's Day around the corner, we're in the mood for love. We take a look at alternative
00:10Valentine's Days and get advice on them all from the people of Birmingham. First though,
00:14it's over to Emma at Lush in Bristol. When we're creating such memorable experiences
00:19on the high street, it's really important for us to be here. Hello, I'm Will, I'm the store
00:24manager here at Lush Cribs Causeway. Come on in and find out what's going on in our February
00:29events. Since opening in 1995, Lush has become a massive business and within Bristol, there are
00:36many situated for locals to go and enjoy their special masterclasses. What do you do? Yeah, so
00:43we are a general cosmetic store with a little bit of a twist and we have a big focus on ethics and
00:49sustainability. All of our products are handmade, which is great and we love to carry that handmade
00:54aspect through to our in-store events. So any time of year you can book in a birthday party
01:00or a celebration where you get to hand make our products just like they do down in our factory and
01:04pool. And throughout half-term summer holidays, so of holiday occasions, we also do events.
01:12Ones we've got coming up, we've got our Galentine's event and we've also got our February half-term
01:16workshops coming up, which are normally a sellout every year. Tours are now catching on, I think,
01:21to the same sort of experiences and creating those really lovely shop floor facials or pampering
01:26experiences. A hundred percent. So I think on average, we've got about 860 spaces for our
01:33February half-term workshops. Generally over the half-term, we do see that increase. It's nice to
01:38have customers through the door. I think Lush will always be one of those brands where coming into
01:43store will beat digital sales any day because we're all about getting hands-on with the product,
01:47having fun with the product and you can really learn about more of the company ethos through
01:51sales systems as well. So the Mallet Cribs Causeway footfall really increases over half-terms
01:57with a lot of school leavers and teenagers coming in. With that in mind, we're going to be hosting
02:02lots of half-term workshops, making kit bath bombs, pamper parties for Galentine's events
02:09and my training manager Evie will tell you all about that. So I am here at Lush Cribs Causeway
02:14and we are going to be making a Galentine's Day bath bomb. Let's go!
02:20Yeah, so our Galentine's event, think of it as a place for you and your mates to come for a bit of
02:24a pamper. I know that there's like a massive thing about like sober events at the moment,
02:28so we've really honed in on that and it's all about self-care and loving you and your friends
02:32around you. You get to make and take home a fresh face mask. You also get to make and take home one
02:38of our Valentine's bath bombs and you will learn how to do hand and arm massages on each other,
02:43facials on each other and also scalp massages as well, so it's all about self-care.
02:47So we have recently introduced scalp massages and facials onto the shop floor. I think it's
02:54all about adapting yourself to what people want to see. Pre-Covid, people were coming shopping
02:59as something to do and those years through Covid it was really challenging to bring people back
03:03out onto the high street, but a really big thing for us here at Lush Cribs Causeway is creating
03:08experiences within retail, so beautiful elevated shop floor experiences like free fresh facials on
03:14the shop floor. Well that Galentine's scalp moustache looks great. Now we're looking around
03:19the most romantic parts of the city of love, Birmingham. I think the most romantic spot in
03:26Birmingham is when the German markets are here and it's all Christmassy right at the top up there
03:31because it's just, I like Christmas. Definitely the riverside by the canal. I think it's so sweet
03:36and peaceful there and you kind of feel like you're near the city because you can see all the
03:39skyscrapers, but also in your own little pocket as well, so I'd say canal side for sure. Well this
03:45is nice, this is pretty here in Victoria Square and everywhere. Well Pigeon Park is nice as well,
03:52which is just by Carlmore Road. Those places actually sound very romantic, but next we're
03:58visiting a real romantic location, a medieval castle in Newcastle. So I'm David Silk, I'm the
04:04learning manager here at Newcastle Castle and we are in between the two bits of the castle really,
04:09so the Blackgate and the Castle Keep with the railway bridge, the viaduct just behind me there.
04:15So yeah we're doing a kind of exclusive after-hours tour for Valentine's Day. I'll say for
04:20Valentine's Day you don't have to be a couple to book on, anyone can buy tickets, but the castle
04:24is going to be the Great Hall of the Keep. It's going to be done up with candlelight, we'll have
04:30some cello music to relax you a bit, some snacks, some fizzy wine, and then we'll have a tour guide
04:36to take you through and give you some of the stories of the castle. It'll end up up on the
04:39roof so you'll get fantastic views, some great photos from up on the roof of the Castle Keep
04:44over Newcastle. So from your usual Valentine's Day I would say it's just a bit different from
04:48like a restaurant or like a meal out, isn't it? You can kind of really soak in that atmosphere,
04:53it's very romantic. A lot of our ideas about romance go back to stuff like castles and knights
04:59and what have you, so I think a lot of those ideas are there and what better way to celebrate it than
05:04as I say soak up that atmosphere in an 847 year old building and end up up on the roof with those
05:10fantastic views over the town. So the event itself it's actually on Valentine's Day so it's on February
05:15the 14th and tickets are available on our website. So yeah we've got loads of other events on coming
05:19up as well so I know it's the winter time but we're doing walking tours of the medieval sites
05:24in Newcastle, we've got February half term coming up so we'll have loads of activities on there
05:31and we've got well all sorts of talks on medieval beasts, storytelling, all kinds of things going on
05:36so people take a look on our events page on our website they can see all of those and get tickets
05:40for those as well. But what are some of your plans for Valentine's Day this year and do you quite
05:46like a traditional dinner date or do you like getting out and about and doing something different
05:50for date night? No I don't I'm not really interested I can't remember the last time I had a
05:56date. It would be nice if somebody dishy asked me out yeah I'd go. What about friend's date you know?
06:04No no we don't not not really not really not giving anything away. So I recently I'm going
06:11through a breakup which is very it's very tough so I do not currently have Valentine's Day plans
06:17but me and my friends we probably will do something because we're literally everyone is
06:22going through a breakup or like some kind of heartbreak right now so big ladies night out
06:27we'll have our token our token man who he'll bear the brunt of all our abuse. This year it's on a
06:33Friday we have a little dog a little cockapoo so there's a really nice place around where we live
06:39it's very dog friendly so we'll book a table there have a nice meal with the dog. I quite I think I
06:44quite like a dinner date I really liked when my ex she was a really good cook so like whenever like
06:49it was like my birthday or something like that she would always make like amazing dinners like
06:53outstanding. That's when it can just be myself my wife and our little dog just together just
06:58having that nice little time together just the just the three of us. That castle looks beautiful
07:03and the people of the northeast have some great Valentine's advice but let's find out what the
07:08people of Birmingham can tell us about the art of a moor. I think probably my best one was when I was
07:14like 16 I was seeing this guy from Liverpool and he'd paid for like me to get a train to Liverpool
07:22paid for everything there like it was really lovely we went to this like mini golf place with
07:26cocktails it was really nice. I've been stood up so many times but I think the worst case was where
07:32he organized the full date we were meant to be going for crazy golf and I'm a little bit competitive
07:36so I was really looking forward to it got there was chilling at the venue he was like yeah yeah
07:39I'm on my way I'm on my way and I'm there and the bartender you know it's real when the bartender
07:44goes are you still waiting for somebody so I'm there and I'm like where are you and I got blocked.
07:49Well some dating ups and downs there but now for a Welsh rival to Valentine's Day
07:54in Cardiff. Oh yes I don't know the Santa's doing when it's been going on for a long long time yes
08:01um I mean uh we've got cards here and uh we've got quite a few people actually come in
08:08and buy them so it's not everybody knows about it but it is slowly getting more and more popular
08:15each year I think yes but it's been around for a long time and people have been celebrating it
08:20from for decades and more but it's getting more and more popular I think now. There is a massive
08:26growth in celebrating Welsh culture and what's like in your heart that kind of here right you
08:30know and so um we've like tried to mix in a bit of Welsh language you'll notice on the shop floor
08:36there's some um bilingual signage about and we've actually got a um sneaky new launch that's
08:44exclusive to Wales and yeah we're really doing the most to celebrate what it is to be Welsh here.
08:50Liz is one of the managers of Lush in Cardiff and she says that she's happy her stores got involved
08:54and it's great to be able to celebrate the story of Saint Doinwen and celebrate the loveliest of
08:58Welsh festivities. The story of the fifth century saint is a classic love tale that can be told
09:04through the ages. She's one of the daughters of Brecon Bohiniog who was the king and she
09:10was betrothed to marry someone she didn't want to marry so she ran away to the forest
09:14and where she prayed and an angel came down to grant her three wishes and her wishes were to
09:20dethore um I think may not the partner that she didn't want to marry and that all true
09:28lover's wishes be fulfilled and that she never had to marry and she opened a convent on Anglesey
09:34and you can see the ruins there today still but um a lot of people celebrate uh instead of
09:39Valentine's Day and Santa's where he went instead so uh we're kind of just lining up with that um
09:44as Cardiff store. On Saint Doinwen's Day just like Valentine's Day people love to give their
09:50loved ones gifts and one of the classics here in Wales is a proper Welsh love spook that are only
09:55found here. I'm here at Castle Welsh Crafts finding out all about the history of love spoons
10:00and how they link to Saint Doinwen's Day. Love spoons are completely unique to Wales you won't
10:07find them anywhere else now and yeah and they're they're also you know to show love so if a young
10:13man had wanted to show his affection for a young lady or if they wanted to get engaged then he
10:18would carve a love spoon for her but it has to be made out of one piece of wood and then whatever
10:23he carves is what he wishes to say to her so if there's two hearts together they're united in
10:28love. If there's a Celtic knot it means everlasting love. If there's a chain that means he's going to
10:34be faithful. The dragon is also strength and to protect and the daffodil is for hope and
10:43affection and growth in the relationship so yes whatever he'd like to say he carves.
10:50A fascinating look into Welsh romantic history and mythology that has definitely got us in the
10:54mood for love and finally let's get some dating do's and don'ts from our amorous group in Birmingham.
11:00Respect one another that's the thing yes yeah respect one another so important yeah very much
11:07so and good manners yes definitely. Really turn the phone off and just be present and chat and
11:16get to know each other but in the place where you can hear. Buy your wife a nice box of chocolates
11:21chocolates and flowers. Yeah I would say like learn to communicate healthily it's like a really
11:27big one and just get yourself out there like getting used to rejection is a really important
11:32thing and being able to like handle it well. Always be respectful I would say always be open
11:37as well and be upfront about what it is you're looking for because I think we're all adults here
11:42and it's very very easy for people to be like oh I don't want to say something in case I come
11:45across a certain way if you're just open from the get-go I think dating can be so much easier.
11:50Hopefully our mix of practical and alternative Valentine's ideas have got your romance cells
11:54sparking and you'll have some great plans with friends or loved ones this Valentine's Day.