48 year old; divorced; father of 2 teenage daughters; long-ish greying hair; blue eyes; copywriter and director of a media business; creative; quirky; non conformist. Was married to Mary Poppins apparently; dabbled with drugs in his younger years. Well written profile...here's a glimpse: Headline for Mr Hippy is thus

"The Difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra!" Mr Hippy claims to be seeking a like minded soul to start something incredible...

"So ...what would you like to know? My bank balance? Do I go to the gym 27 times a day? Am I kind, creative, good fun and mildly insane? I might be but it's all so subjective isn't it and besides, I'd rather you judge for yourself so if you're completely gorgeous, slimmish, successful at something and curious about me then get in touch"

The Date
Afternoon tea in a village. I inform Mr Hippy that I will call him on arrival to arrange meeting place. As I saunter through the village, I text him with the following..."Walk through the village and look out for me...let's see if we bump into each other! Who said romanticism was dead" 15 minutes later, having rotated my head 360 degrees in a seemingly paranoiac fashion to other fellow villagers and craned my neck at disturbing angles, around corners, doorways and into car windscreens...mine and Mr Hippy's paths have not crossed! Oh dear...moment is lost! It's starting to rain on my parade literally and laterally and I'm brolly-less and feeling ever so slightly hopeless...I find a bench outside a pub and sit and wait. Mmm....text arrives..."ok I give up - where are you?" I text back "where are you?" Nothing...it's now 30 mins since we arranged to meet. I feel rather foolish and silly and awkward about meeting Mr Hippy now as he, like me, has obviously done a few laps of the village and I start to think I should have gone down the pink carnation, FT and standing under the clock tower route. Time to get out of here....once at home...I get a missed call from Mr Hippy who is in a state of bewilderment and frustration with a flat mobile battery! I respond from confused.com HQ and suggest that if intrigue over rides irritation then we should re-arrange.
Date 2
Coffee at a cafe at 2:30pm. Specific arrangements in place to avoid 2nd date disaster. Mr Hippy is hiding behind a newspaper which he has cut the eyes out of of. He is staring at me. Ok this guy is certainly quirky! He is casually dressed in jeans, shirt and linen blazer. He is good looking for an older, weathered, well worn, well lived man. He could be my biology teacher...a lecturer...or a lecherous old man!!! We have the awkward apologies and explanations for date 1's debacle. He also chooses this is the time to tell me that he is actually 51 years old, but ages himself at 48 years on his profile so not to miss women who only search up to 50! Great - a liar! He explains he was married for 20 years to Mary Poppins, a lawyer and the 2 children, he claims, eroded the relationship. He's divorced and has maintained amicable relations with Ms Poppins who now has a new partner and Mr Hippy has dined with them..which he said was strange. He's been dating for a few years...admits to being lonely. He tells me he feels surrounded by pairs...people...pigeons...happy couples...and he feels he would like someone special to share experiences with. We talk about his work..he's runs a creative media business, writes jingles and creates graphics for advertising. He recites a jingle to me and asks me to guess what it is promoting..I guess a plane...wrong...a caravan! He tells me a few horror stories from his dating experiences, a woman whose photos and flesh were a classic before and after ad for WeightWatchers, but in reverse! He said he had an excruciating swift pint with her, made his excuses and legged it! He admits to experimenting with all sorts of recreational drugs in his younger days and still enjoys a spliff, with music or after sex....alarm bells chime, why do men have to do this...refer to sex so blatantly...I am giggling uncomfortably like a school girl. It's never right an age gap of over 20+ years. He asks me about my relationship with my parents, which I find interesting. Is Mr Hippy, a wannabe father figure? His reasons are he feels people have a fuller well being if they get on well with their parents into adulthood. He chain smokes Mr Hippy, I'm surprised he doesn't have a yellow hand and a black cavern for teeth...i notice his car keys are on the table, BMW key ring. We finish our drinks and he says he'd like to hook up again...maybe go to see a live band. I make my pleasantries and leave...it was an enjoyable rendezvous....with an older man...who seems gentle and genuine...a bit lost and with a foot or yellow hand in the past. Still searching!