Valentine's Day 14th Feb

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt,

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth.”

― William W. Purkey

INTRODUCTION

Before embarking on this week's CST activities, a reminder to know your individual group members well. Their lives, loves and losses, as far as is possible and appropriate to ask in any biographical assessment. Adjust the questions and discussion points below accordingly. Start this week's activities with a glass of sparking (non alcohol) wine, strawberries and chocolates, to get everyone in the mood for discussing 'Valentines Day'. You could also pass around a bowl of ‘Love Heart’ sweets and ask everyone to read out their message. You could then give everyone a red rose, after checking for thorns, and ask people to comment on the smell and feel of their flower and the memories it evokes.

Discussion questions could focus on:

- Members' first loves?

- Do people believe in love at first sight?

- Has anyone ever had a blind date?

- What are members' favourite love songs?

Ask the following questions with more care to biography ...

- What were female member’s bridal gowns like? - What colour boquets and kind of flowers did members have? - What about the first dance, can people remember their song? - Where did people go on honeymoon?

- What were members' most recent anniversaries?

- How did they celebrate?

IDIOMS & PROVERBS

Next, ask members to complete these idioms (as a group 'shout out') ...

Have a change of - HEART A heart of - GOLD Having a heart-to-heart - TALK My heart skipped a - BEAT Home is where the - HEART - is Love at first - SIGHT A labor of - LOVE From the bottom of my - HEART No love - LOST Puppy - LOVE Blind - DATE Fall head over - HEELS - in love All you need is - LOVE All's fair in love and - WAR Cupboard - LOVE Love - RAT For the love of - PETE It's a love / hate - RELATIONSHIP Love is - BLIND No love lost - BETWEEN - them Love conquers - ALL Not for love nor - MONEY Tough - LOVE Love is a - DRUG Love is a - MANY SPLENDOURED THING First - LOVE Out of sight out of - MIND Absence makes the heart grow - FONDER The way to a man's heart is through his - STOMACH Beauty is only skin - DEEP Actions speak louder than - WORDS My love is like a red red - ROSE All good things must come to - AN END Better to have loved and lost than never - LOVED AT ALL

STARTING SONG. 'Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet', Henry Salomon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K_w0M8nbMI (Does anyone remember the 'Our Tune' slot on Simon Bates Radio 1 programme in the 1980s?)

(In 'Romeo And Juliet', by William Shakespeare, what were the two opposing family names?

- THE MONTAGUES & CAPULETS)

MUSIC & PICTURE QUIZ We then moved on to some questions about Valentines Day, to get the discussion going.

ROUND 1. BE MY VALENTINE

1. What date is Valentine's Day?

2. Who is said to be the Welsh Saint Valentine (Welsh patron saint of lovers)?

3. What does the word Valentine mean?

4. What is the original meaning of an X on a Valentine's card?

5. Who is the Greek goddess of love?

6. Who is the Roman goddess of love?

7. Where is the statue of Cupid in London?

8. Which famous building in America lights up a red heart each St Valentine's Day?

9. True or false: Swans mate for life?

SONG. 'Love Is In The Air', John Paul Young - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNC0kIzM1Fo

10. Plus or minus 100 years, what date was the first recorded Valentine Card sent?

ROUND 2. SYMBOLS OF LOVE

11. Finish this well known phrase, "She loves me, ......"?

12. If you’re quick to show your feelings, where do you wear your heart?

13. If a red rose is a symbol of love, what are Rosemary and White Lily emblems for?

14. Roses are red, violets are blue... What comes next traditionally?

15. What does S.W.A.L.K. mean on a Valentine's Day card envelope?

16. Nowadays we give chocolates, cards or flowers on Valentine's Day. What was given as a gift before these modern day traditions?

17. If you are engaged to a person, how do you refer to them?

18. Complete this phrase ... "Something old, something new ..."?

19. What do you call it when ...

- Someone elopes to get married - A ******* WEDDING

- Someone gets married because they are pregnant - A ******* WEDDING

- Someone gets married to a person of their parent's choice - AN ******** WEDDING

SONG. 'Love And Marriage', Frank Sinatra - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srKQvgI4RkQ

20. What are the anniversary symbols or gifts for 1 year married, 10 years, 25 years, 30 years, 50 years and 60 years?

ROUND 3. HISTORY

21. Who was the legendary Benedictine monk who invented champagne in 1679?

22. What was the name of the renowned 18th Century womaniser (some say he was a great lover) who lived in Venice? (He liked to take part in masked balls!)

23. Which 19th century poet laureate wrote "Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all"?

24. Name the leader of the Chicago gangsters responsible for the St Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929?

25. How many times did Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor marry?

26. Name these two stars of the 1965 movie 'Sound Of Music' (he sadly died this week, aged 91)?

27. Who was the host of the ITV dating show 'Blind Date'?

(Has anyone ever been on a blind date?)

28. What was the name of the 1989 film starring Pauline Collins where she used to talk to the wall and then went to Greece on holiday and ended up staying?

29. What year did Same Sex Marriage become legal in the UK?

SONG. 'I'm A Believer', The Monkees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcnsao7Y0gk

30. Who were the four members of 'The Monkees'?

ROUND 4. TOP 10 ROMANTIC MOVIES (In my humble opinion)

Identify the movie from the picture, year, names of actors and quotes

31. 1940

Starring Clarke Gable & Vivien Leigh

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

32. 1957

Starring Carry Grant & Deborah Kerr

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... we've already missed the spring!"

33. 1961

Starring Audrey Hepburn & George Peppard

“You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage."

34. 1971 Starring Ryan O'Neal & Ali McGraw

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."

35. - 1989 Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan

"I'll have what she's having!"

36. - 1989

Richard Gere & Julia Roberts

"I appreciate this whole seduction thing you've got going on here, but let me give you a tip: I'm a sure thing."

37. - 1993 Starring Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan

"I knew it the first time I saw her. It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was...magic."

38. - 1994 Starring Hugh Grant & Andie MacDowell

"Gareth used to prefer funerals to weddings. He said it was easier to get enthusiastic about a ceremony one had an outside chance of eventually being involved in."

39. - 1999 Starring Hugh Grant & Julia Roberts "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

40. - 2001 Starring Rene Zeleger, Colin Firth & Hugh Grant

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”

Here's a link to that 'counter Valentine's Day song that she sings along to in the movie - 'All By Myself' (and great clip from the movie) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYO6j_D8cg8

ROUND 5. TOP 10 LOVE SONGS

Here are my top 10 love songs. But ask members what theirs are and play them!

41. 'How Deep Is Your Love', Bee Gees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqqjU7u5Yc Name the brothers?

42. 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', Frankie Valli - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JSLFir3dw

What was Frank Valli's group called?

43. 'God Only Knows', The Beach Boys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AifqxMaURFI What 'Beach Boys' album was this song from?

44. 'Unchained Melody', The Righteous Brothers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXARHZmpgvw What film used this piece of music in ‘The Potter’s Wheel’ scene?

45. 'It Must Be Love', Labi Siffre - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOnGaCdRaaY Which group had a major hit with this song again in 1981?

46. 'I'm Not In Love', 10CC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgJckGsR-T0

Complete these other '10CC' hit song names -

- 'Rubber *******'

- 'I'm ***** Fly Me'

- 'Life Is A **********'

- 'Things We Do For ****''

- 'Dreadlock *******'

47. 'The Air That I Breathe', The Hollies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfINiz2jF_g

What is the main constituent of the air that we breathe?

48. 'My Baby Just Cares For Me', Nina Simone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AHuRvvHR4 This 1958 hit was re-released in 1987 after featuring in a TV advert for what?

49. 'My First, My Last, My Everything', Barry White - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtwOeoeWhoo

What was his nickname?

50. 'You To Me Are Everything', The Real Thing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxAuAGfMMKU

Which drink had the advertising slogan 'The Real Thing'?

Members should all be feeling the love after that playlist. Together, make a heart shape with our fingers and thumbs, close our eyes and blow a kiss to our special someone.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES

Make collage Valentines Day Cards. Print off old Victorian cards from the internet and cut them up to reuse and refashion them. Make origami hearts. Instruction video here https://youtu.be/CN4oPm9bCWE Make origami roses. Instruction video here https://youtu.be/jm_4hFPFAOU

EXTRA SONGS TO PLAY DURING THE PRACTICAL ACTIVITY