Reasons to be cheerful

February can be the cruellest month. You don’t get any valentine cards, the weather is miserable, there are no bank holidays and you’re still paying off Christmas (which seems like it was six months ago).

Don’t despair. At least there are some freebies on the horizon.

Design Week is offering you lucky readers a chance to win one of five pairs of tickets for The Chartered Society of Designers’ Beat The Blues Party.

“Wear something blue, hear the Blues, network the night away in the Blue Room,” chorus the party hosts at CSD’s Bedford Square HQ in London.

Tickets for the 16 February bacchanal cost ú10 for CSD members, ú12 for non-members and ú8 for students, which entitles you to endless beer, wine and food, plus a champagne cocktail.

Now, you can either buy a ticket or you can be quite clever and try to win a free pair. All you have to do is create a design cocktail. Fax your name, telephone number, cocktail name and ingredients to the CSD on 0171-580 2338 before Wednesday.

As a taster, how about the New Design Council Cocktail – a slimline tonic. Or, indeed, the Old Design Council Cocktail – a top-heavy mix of Napoleon and whine on the rocks. Now come on, you know you can do better than that!