13 February

Move over, Valentine's Day – there's a new love fest in town! That's right, folks, we're talking about Palentine's Day. And no, it's not a typo. This is a real thing, and it's taking the world by storm.

But what exactly is Palentine's Day? Well, it's pretty simple. Palentine's Day is a day to celebrate the love you have for your pals. It's a day to show your friends just how much they mean to you.

We all know that Valentine's Day can be a bit of a downer for those not coupled up. The world seems to be full of lovers and their PDAs (public displays of affection). But fear not, dear friends, for Palentine's Day is here to save the day. Gone are the days of feeling left out on Valentine's Day. With Palentine's Day, the focus is on friendship, and the love and appreciation we have for those who have been there for us through thick and thin. Who needs a significant other when you have a squad of loyal pals who are always down for a good time?

The beauty of Palentine's Day is that it's not just for singles. Anyone can celebrate it, whether you're in a relationship or not. It's a day to celebrate all the different kinds of love in our lives – romantic, platonic, familial, and everything in between.

There are no flowers or chocolates needed on this holiday. Instead, gather your best pals and celebrate the love that you have for each other. After all, as the old saying goes, friends are the family we choose for ourselves.

We'll be gathering our nearest and dearest and celebrating with the aptly named Old Pal. Cheers friends!

Get A Different Name Day

As the Turkish gentleman who endeavoured to become an American citizen under his birth name of Ufuk, and a surname pronounced Mycat, could tell you, and as Shakespeare mentioned on several occasions, names matter.

And never is this truer than in the world of cocktails. One can pretty much guarantee that anything with a colour that's got silver or gold in the name will be hard to drink, and let's not start on concoctions with the word "sex" in the title. So if you hate your first name, today is for you: it's Get A Different Name Day. And, if you've created a great drink that nobody seems to be ordering, today can also be "Rename Your Cocktail" day. Where to start? Thesauruses are always good, as are movies and song titles. Or, pay homage to an earlier drink with the name of yours.

While you contemplate names, perhaps sip on A Rose By Any Other Name.

It's also World Radio Day

Radio has been transmitted around the world for over a century, broadcasting stage plays to war announcements and uplifting music.

The invention of radio is generally attributed to Guglielmo Marconi in the 1890s but the truth is the development of radio spanned many decades and numerous inventors. Voice was first transmitted on 23rd December 1900 by the Canadian inventor Reginald A. Fessenden.

We've all favourite places to listen to radio - in the car, in bed, in the kitchen. The best broadcasters? Some will have their favourites and others enjoy exploring different stations from local to national broadcasters. In the same spirit, why not tune into NASA's station Third Rock Radio. The Houston-based radio station produced under a Space Act Agreement with NASA broadcasts indie and alternative rock music for the "music explorers" out there.

Today we're celebrating radio, the inventors, the stations and the presenters behind the microphones. So raise a Marconi or toast the Beeb with a BBC cocktail.

Black Sabbath was released today

This is also the day, in 1970, that Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut album.

Arguably the greatest metal band in history, Black Sabbath was formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne. We're drinking to the pioneers of metal music with a spirit-forward Black Sabbath.

It's also Oliver Reed's birthday

If he was still with us, the legend that was Oliver Reed would be celebrating in irrepressible style!

I'm sure that many of you are familiar with Reed's work - he made it big playing Bill Sikes in Oliver and went on to play Athos in The Three Musketeers before he famously died during a break in the filming of Gladiator when he was playing the part of Antonius Proximo.

Reed was a notorious booze hound, but probably the most impressive thing we've heard about the actor was how he downed 104 pints of beer during the stag weekend of his second wedding. Reed refuted this, hilariously saying: "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago." Hats off to Reed! Let's celebrate on his behalf with an appropriate beer-influenced Mantini.