This place is a Mecca for psychotic freaks

Today I’m interested in Mecca, and I went on a Google Search to find out the top 10 Meccas in the world using the search query “* is a mecca”. So, here they are:

1. The outskirts of rochdale is a veritable Mecca for pylon enthusiasts.

2. New York is a mecca for young artists.

3. New York City is a Mecca for theatregoers.

4. The valley is a mecca for wine lovers.

5. The coast is a mecca for tourists.

6. The Vaucluse is a mecca for climbers.

7. Holland is a Mecca for jazz enthusiasts.

8. Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism.

9. The national football centre at St George's Park has sent out a statement of intent to the rest of the world and will become a 'Mecca' for students.

10. Palm Springs is a mecca for Modernist architecture.


Edit: In retrospect, after creating this list, I have decided that although I do not doubt the good intentions of those hoping to make the National Football Center at St George’s Park into a Mecca for students, good intentions are hardly grounds for making it number 9 on the top 10 Meccas of the world. Also I am a little bewildered by the fact that Mecca, Saudi Arabia does not feature. In retrospect, that should probably be number one.

Valentine's Day

At the risk of sounding like a massive loser, I don't understand the problem with Valentine's Day. I do realise that Paperchase makes a profit out of it and everything, but there doesn't seem to be the same level of anger and vitriol directed towards the endless corporate cashing in on birthdays, and I never really did see the point in anyone celebrating the day they were born (other than maybe mothers, who create birthdays with their vaginas and should not be denied the pleasure of eating some cake in recognition of that- although that said, the last time I saw my mother on my birthday was about 8 years ago, so I think she's over it).

Back on the subject of Valentine's Day, though, I'd maintain that to celebrate love is no bad thing. In the past on the 14th of February, I've spent the day watching the Kill Bill films with my friends after waking up very hungover in the wrong bed; I've walked around town for 3 hours looking for a restaurant which my then-boyfriend wasn't too anxious to go into (we ended up sitting on the floor eating Chinese Takeaway and watching Cowboy Bebop); and I've filled my bedroom with fake roses in glass bottles, shared a candle filled bath (his hair set on fire) and then made sweet, romantic love wearing my new silver locket from Argos (sadly now smashed into pieces). There's even been one where I ended up in Boots buying the morning after pill. All of these Valentine's experiences were fraught with wonderful/terrible emotions, and I think that's great. Whether you're spending the day with a significant other, or your friends, in a club, or talking to people on Twitter, it's important to remember how nice it is that there are people who you care about as much as you care about yourself, because that's what  makes the world an OK place to live in sometimes.

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