The labour of love
13 September 2012
This week, vast amounts of greeting cards, flowers, chocolates and lingerie will be sold. Cathy Hayward looks at how supply chains cope with the demand
When Saint Valentine, a Roman priest, performed secret marriages against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II, who believed single men made better soldiers, he was aware of the likely consequences. The night before his resulting execution, on 14 February 270AD, Valentine sent a letter to his lover signed, “From your Valentine”. But he had no idea of the effect those...