David Elliott: Only the best servo flowers will do on Valentine’s Day

Casanova. Errol Flynn. Former police minister David Elliott. Here’s some tips from one of the great romantics of our time on how to spoil your loved one this Valentine’s Day.

Western Sydney is home to the great romantics. We love Valentine’s Day. Always have.

Personally, ever since Katrina Williams* chased me around the asphalt playground at Picnic Point Public School trying to give me a Cadbury Furry Friend on 14 February 1976, I have known this would become one of the key dates in my social calendar.

And I’m not alone.

Plenty of my mates are as committed to keeping romance alive as Casanova or Errol Flynn ever were.

Yet, in the greatest injustice since Henry VIII sacked his marriage counsellor, we’ve never been able to attract the same level of respect from the fairer sex, and I don’t know why.

David Elliott and his wife Nicole at the races in 2022. Picture: Tim Hunter

It’s not as if we don’t buy our belles flowers because, as any bloke with a car knows, pretty much every Sydney servo stocks a wide range of carnations all year round.

Now, they wouldn’t do that if there wasn’t a high demand for floral arrangements across our city, would they?

Proof of Mr Elliott’s flower-buying prowess — a bunch he bought for his wife (not from a servo) in 2021.

And how about our commitment to etiquette?

I, for one, always close the car door for my beloved.

It’s something I inherited from Dad after he bought a brand-new second-hand XD Falcon only for mum to slam the door shut following a slight disagreement over his decision to give her a new iron, one fateful Valentine’s Day.

The damage to the chassis was so bad that he never burdened her again with that task.

In fact Dad was such a romantic that from then on he would jump out of the car before it had come to a complete stop just to open mum’s door.

With everyone trying to tell us what to think and why we should cancel our special days of celebration, it’s time to give romance another go.

Just because Woolies have stopped selling chocolates and Yellowglen in the month of February out of fear of offending single people doesn’t mean we should stop celebrating in the name of St Valentine!

If love is in the air at your place, take a deep breath and remind yourself that your beloved’s fondness for you is so strong that she is the very first woman not to have dumped you.

Surely that deserves to be marked with some sort of token on this amorous day?

So fellas, join me in making St Valentine’s Day special for your main squeeze.

Take out an extra $20 this afternoon, stop by 7-Eleven and pick up a bouquet of their finest, grab some Cadbury Furry Friends for good measure and give her your full attention on this one day.

After all, the NRL doesn’t start for another fortnight.

*Not her real name.

David Elliott is a Kellyville dad currently married to his first wife