Origins of Valentine's Day

February 14, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Who was Saint Valentine? Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Did you know that Saint Valentine was executed because he stood up for marriage and commitment?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we discussed the origins of Valentine’s Day. We looked at how the tradition of exchanging Valentine’s Day cards began and what importance we should put on Valentine’s Day. We also talked about why it’s celebrated on the 14th of February.

During the discussion I talked about receiving thanks from a friend for the Valentine’s gift that I delivered to her door in the early hours of February the 14th around 20 years ago. Only problem was that I didn’t deliver it. It wasn’t from me. No matter how much I tried to convince her that it wasn’t me, she just smiled and continued to thank me. I still wonder to this day who the poor guy was that selected such a lovely gift, secretly delivered it, and then got no recognition for it at all.

If you’d like to hear our discussions about Valentine’s Day click here.

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Shopping for love

February 13, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Thanks ladies.

I think it’s so considerate of the ladies of this world to leave the 13th of February completely free for guys to do their Valentine’s Day shopping. I snuck out at lunch time to grab a couple of things and noticed that the only people at the Valentine’s Day card stands were blokes. It’s only us men that would leave it until the day before.

Of course there were still ladies in the shop but they were buying other stuff. Most of them probably finished their Valentine’s Day shopping three weeks ago.

I had just finished my shopping when I noticed a very attractive young lady wander into the department store. She was absolutely gorgeous. She had long dark hair, the most amazing blue eyes and she was wearing a red top. Maybe I shouldn’t be checking out women at the local shopping centre but I just couldn’t help looking.

I quickly pulled myself together and turned away, hoping that she wouldn’t catch me watching her. I also had to hide the gifts that I’d just bought. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise when I give her the gifts tomorrow. When I get home I may have to ask her if she saw me.

By the way, I’m still looking for a few more Valentine’s stories. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about you can read my original post on the idea. Go on …. cast your mind back and come up with a romantic story of your own.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall

February 13, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Last Tuesday I was joined by psychologist Genevieve Milnes M.App.Psych, MA (Couns), B.Ed, B.Div from the Belmont Counselling Clinic during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM and we started a series of discussions about body image.

We continued the subject today looking at why we feel the way we do about our bodies.

How do we draw the line between wanting to get our bodies into the best shape possible and developing unhealthy body image problems?

We especially focussed on body image problems with women today but many of the principles are just as valid for men.

Why do women hate their bodies? What would happen if all women stopped hating their bodies?

If you’d like to listen to the programme you can click here. If you want to make sure that you don’t miss the rest of the series you can go to Sonshine FM’s Audio On Demand service and subscribe to Genevieve’s weekly segment.

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Ballet at the Quarry

February 13, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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One of the great advantages of living in Perth is our marvellous climate which allows us to enjoy spectacular events under the stars during the warmer months.

Over the next couple of weeks, West Australian Ballet is presenting Ballet at the Quarry 2007. The Quarry Amphitheatre in City Beach is a magnificent setting for a range of events.

The season begins tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, and runs until the 9th of March. The first of four pieces performed as part of the programme each night will be ’19’, choreographed by Kim David McCarthy. Kim was a special guest during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM today.

We spoke about Ballet at the Quarry as well as touching on his career and his love of dance. If you’d like to hear our conversation you can click here.

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Love is in the air

February 12, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Their eyes met across the crowded room ….

Is that really how it all began for you? How did you meet your ‘significant other’?

I’d love to get some romantic reading ready for Valentine’s Day and that’s where I need your help. Was it love at first sight when you met your partner or did you need a bit more convincing? What’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for you? What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for anyone else?

If you’ve got a gloriously romantic, or even humourous, story about how you met, about a lost love, about a romantic holiday, a romantic evening, how someone won your heart, or even how you’ve kept love alive through the years, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe you’ve got a great story about a romantic evening that went horribly or humourously wrong.

Can you remember the moment when you first knew for sure that you were in love? How did you feel during your first real kiss?

If you have a blog, why not write a post with your romantic story and then let me know in the comments section of this post? If you don’t have a blog just leave your story in the comments.

On Wednesday, which is Valentine’s Day, I’ll post links to any stories that are submitted.

I’m looking for fun and romance, not intimate details, so keep it clean and get writing.

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