The day after Valentine's

Today is the day after Valentine’s. And just like after a big night out bingeing on drink, many a man will wake up with a colossal love hangover, trousers over there at the corner, an empty wallet, and swear ‘never again.’

But we’ll not let you get away with it. No way, my home boy. This is the February of Love, so we’re standing up for the ladies.

Not everyone can spin a love poem, I appreciate that. But how about buying your ‘Valentine’ the occasional card, just telling her how much you appreciate her?

Flowers! There is power in flowers, and for many a man, yesterday is the one and only day they will send a bouquet to their loved ones.

But imagine how much better offices would smell if women got more flowers randomly from their admirers, instead of the scent of air fresheners to disguise the acridity of the nearby ablution facilities.

The only problem with this is the ‘oohhh-ing’ and ‘ahh-ing’ and other bleating behaviour from other females that turns this not-a-big-deal expression of affection into an awkward ‘aww-shucks’ moment.

Flowers, like love, wilt, and only frequent watering will keep both alive.

In the spirit of St Valentine’s, it is important to remember her ‘special days’ — her birthday, anniversary, engagement date and when you met if you are just seeing each other.

That’s not exactly Calculus my friend, is it?

So yesterday, Friday, you spent a romantic evening together, had dinner and afterwards, diddled and fiddled around, did you? And now you think for the remainder of 2014, you can just go back to your Fridays of carousal all over the club scene, on Saturday disappear for soccer, and Sundays spend the afternoon eating nyama choma with the lads, squeezing her into your blizzard schedule when you can? Think again carefully, hombre. Girls need attention!

(Err, I beg oh to make an exception though for this evening on behalf of all EPL football fanatics. Tonight at 2015 hours, Kenyan time, it is beloved Chelsea FC away at the Etihad against the hated Manchester City).

If you can cook, whip her up an imaginative meal once in a while. If like me, you can hardly boil a cup of tea to save a life, take your lady out often to a nice restaurant if you can.

Don’t be like a Manchester United player called Janujaz. I recently read about him inviting a beautiful lady for dinner through the social media. She dressed up, expecting a dashing Janujaz to come pick her up in a marvelous moti, and take her some place fabulous for dinner.

Janujaz called her. Could she come pick him up from the stadium where he’d been training? She got into her old Ford Mondeo, drove to Old Trafford, and there he was, all sweaty in his track suit. He directed her to a Nando’s down the road, bought her a chicken and chips, which he shared eagerly with her. Then he asked her to drop him home, and had no parking money for the London ‘Kanjo.’ She turned down his offer of ‘let’s do another date on Valentine’s and instead sold her story to a tabloid.

And if the ladies reading this are happy that it’s been effete February here, you just wait for ‘Macho March.’ It will be like a cyclone sweeping the weave off your head.