Gillian Harvey, a journalist and mum to teenagers, has shared the story of a Valentine's Day date in 1996 that went awry when her boyfriend, John, arranged for a barbershop quartet to perform at their table.
At the time, Harvey was 17 and sitting with John in an upmarket pub. The venue was decorated with red roses for the occasion. She noticed four elderly men in red tuxedos and straw boaters enter, and pointed them out to John. The group made a beeline for their table and burst into song, with one member playing a harmonica and looking her in the eye.
A shy teenager's nightmare
Harvey described the experience as excruciating for a shy teenager. She felt the centre of attention and wished she could vanish. John, however, smiled, expecting her to be delighted. The performance lasted about five minutes but felt much longer to Harvey, who squirmed in her seat as the quartet sang songs like Elvis Presley's (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear and handed her a stuffed animal.
Reflecting on the moment, she said it felt less like a romantic surprise and more like a humiliating ambush. Other diners turned to look, and her ears burned with embarrassment. When the quartet finished and left, the table sat in stunned silence.
A romantic start to a relationship
Harvey had met John in September 1995, when she was 17. He was a friend of a friend and had been in her year at school, but they had never spoken. When they connected, she felt an electrical charge. He asked for her number, and she wrote it in the condensation on his car. He arrived at her doorstep two days later with roses.
John was not a typical 17-year-old, Harvey said. He was romantic, often bringing gifts and making mix-tapes with classics like Peter Cetera's Glory of Love. He had a car, which was a plus for a girl living in a village with few amenities. He declared his love within two weeks and mentioned marriage after a month.
Grand gestures and a breakup
The couple broke up when Harvey was 19 and went to university, but reunited a year later. John proposed in a hot air balloon when they were 20, and they planned to marry at 24. However, as they planned their life together, Harvey began to see beyond the bouquets. Arguments would end with John spending half his weekly wages on flowers, but she wanted him to save his money instead.
The couple booked a wedding, but called it off in 2002, almost a year before the planned date, realising they were not right for each other. The deposit was refundable.
Harvey looks back on the relationship fondly, saying they were both young and trying on love for size. She no longer celebrates Valentine's Day, despite being married for 22 years, and has learned that love is not a cliché but something you work at – and that it does not require a barbershop quartet.
