'BPI, MTV, BBC. Please them, please them. (Sadly, this was your life).'
After valiantly attempting to go out on a date from a few of the free sites I'd been on, I had to admit defeat after a good few months of pro-activity resulting in absolutely bugger all. I, therefore, thought I'd give Match another go because of the fact I'd met some decent lasses from there at the beginning of the year and also due to the fact that they'd sent me a voucher to subscribe for a month with 50% off.
After exchanging a few messages with Date 72, I asked her out for a drink as she's in a band and is a muso like me; so I was absolutely intrigued.
As I was a bit early arriving at the designated venue, I had a bit of a wander around elsewhere to kill some time. I hadn't been on a date for three months or more, and I have to say that I was uncharacteristically nervous. However, whilst strolling around immersed in my own little world, I bumped into my first (and best, if you happen to reading this, sir) boss who I hadn't seen for about six or seven years. This thankfully put me at ease and after a brief chat, I moved onto the bar I'd agreed to meet Date 72 at in much better spirits.
Unfortunately, the bar was absolutely rammed and there was no chance of getting a seat but luckily I had a Plan B up my sleeve, so we moved on to a pub about five minutes away and it was a good choice as we got an excellent table straight away.
Things were a little awkward at first as she was quite distant and mono-syllabic in her replies and she asked me whether she'd told me that she was currently selling her house-boat, to which I responded in the negative, and so she said that she was talking to so many people on Match that she'd forgotten who and what she'd told about herself, which made me laugh, although inwardly of course.
Thankfully though, and after a few drinks the conversation started to flow as she told me about her experiences as a violinist and singer in a band. I hadn't heard of them but they seemed to be doing alright for themselves as they'd played at Glastonbury, had done a few BBC radio sessions and had been used as background music on television. We also shared the same passion for a number of the same bands and she regaled me with stories about meeting various people in the music industry whom I liked.
At the end of the date, we went our separate ways, and to be honest I didn't really know how the date had gone. When we spoke about music, she absolutely fascinated and enchanted me but I did find her a bit humourless. I've come to the conclusion that because I've been on so many dates; I now find it difficult to tell if I like someone or not, so I don't know whether my emotions have become numb or I'm just not meeting the right women.
As it turned out it didn't really matter whether I liked her or not as she sent me a message a couple of days later saying: 'My romance radar detects that there probably wasn't anything between us but it was a nice night, so I just wanted to say so.'
At the time, I was impressed (and amazed) at her maturity and honesty so wasn't too bothered, however, a couples of days later I felt genuinely disappointed as I would have happily seen her again if she'd wanted to. I did reply and I said that it would be cool if we could still hang out but she never got back to me.
