So, fresh from my first internet date, I bring you the run down.
I was no more than 100 metres away from the bar we were meeting in, two minutes late, when my mobile went. It was my date checking to see where I was. I thought it was a bit unnecessary, but I was nearly there so had no time to get irritated. Once I'd put the phone back in my pocket, I was outside the bar....
As I walked in and scanned the area, I instantly saw my date. To be fair, I couldn't ruddy miss her. She had a coat on that looked like she'd just come from a scrap in Kensington Gardens with a gaggle of geese and clearly came out on top. It was a huge white feathered thing, something straight out of a Sue Pollard wadrobe. Welcome to the world of internet dating....
One thing I'm never stuck for is words, so the conversation flowed freely and she was a chatty, intelligent girl...or so I thought. The talk moved onto internet dating and I told her this was my first - popping my cherry as it were. She'd been trying it for a few months now and what I didnt understand was she was on 3 different sites. You would have seen the adverts for the site we got talking on as its the biggest - something like 1 million members. Now alarm bells started ringing as I thought if a catchment area of 500,000 (working to a 50% boy/girl ratio) isn't enough, she must have some serious flaws. Call me egotistical, but I'd like to think 1 in every half a million girls would be attracted to me! Anyway, I asked her about previous dates, all had been no more than nice guys, apart from one...
She went on a first date with an Investment banker and liked him so they arranged a second. He took her to a decent restaurant in the centre of London and all was going well until over dessert he asked her this question- "Would you ever date a postman". Her response was I think fair enough and she dipolmatically said being a doctor, probably wouldn't have too much in common. His response was a little over the top. He stood up, flipped the table over and called her a f*ckin wh*re, then walked out and left her with the bill and a bit of chocolate gateau on her dress. I sarcastically asked if she thought he was a postman and with a straight face, she was still genuinely convinced he was a banker. There is a reason she's on 3 sites after all....
We had a few more drinks and then took a stroll down the Kings rd to find another bar. It was around 10'ish now and she insisted she was hungry. Eating formally on a first date isn't my thing. The restaurant we were stood outside while contemplating where to go was a candle lit affair and thats not how I roll. I told her I know a good place to eat locally and took her to an American sports bar. She was less than impressed, but I was far more comfortable. After an hour or so we left to call it a night. We were both a little tipsy and although I've had my fair share of dating experiences in the past, wasn't quite sure how you finish it all up on an internet date. Do I kiss her, say I ll email/call her or do the normal and try and get her back. She made my mind up for me and asked if I wanted to head back to hers. Not sure if its my age and I'm finally getting a conscience, being new to internet dating or that it was a sunday night but I declined and said we should go out again soon. I'm not sure I meant it at the time, but reflecting on it I probably will - she was attractive and a decent conversationalist, lets just hope that jacket doesn't make another appearance!
The lesson I have learnt from the first liaison is don't tell the girl that you have other dates lined up. I could see it didnt sit well with her when I mentioned I had two more this week. They say honesty is the best policy....but not in this case. A girl likes to feel special and knowing that you are schmoozing other local ladies isn't the way to do that.
I have another date tomorrow so will keep you posted.....