Date 100

"Why pamper life's complexity when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?"

I wanted to get back on the dating horse again after the New York disaster, so, where better to start than Tinder?!

On my first day back on it, I stumbled upon Date 99 during my search, so she was clearly looking for a new holiday companion. In all seriousness though, I was a bit upset in seeing her on there as she'd told me she didn't have time for relationships and she'd only finished with me a few weeks before, but I guess that's not what Tinder is really known for...

Anyway, it didn't take me long to get a date and I met up with a very sweet woman who'd only recently moved to Brighton after living overseas for the last few years. She even bought me a little present, a Lego figure, although I was devastated when I left it on a pub table! We got on really well, had a few drinks, went for a meal...then we ended up getting a taxi back to hers and sleeping together. This probably wasn't the best thing to happen but we'd been having such a good time that we didn't want the night to end. I even got a lift back home in the morning as she was driving near where I lived to go shopping, which was very kind of her. I did in my heart of hearts regret it though, and I shed a few tears when I got home as I'd just wanted to lose myself and forget about the previous weeks. I guess these things just happen sometimes though and I got carried away a bit.

We'd had a good time but in the days afterwards she began to get a bit passive aggressive. During a text conversation she sent the below, when I hadn't returned a compliment:

I didn't know how to respond, so I said nothing and a couple of hours later I received this:

I thought I'd leave it for a bit and then the next day she texted me normally as if nothing had happened. I was a bit wary of her as she sent me a few more texts like the above during the next week, however, we agreed to meet for another drink. We again had a good time but things just fizzled out and we never went out again.

Date 4

"This Charming Man."

This was my first date since I'd joined Guardian Soulmates, and although it wasn't my first experience of internet dating; I was still reasonably new to the whole thing.

If my memory serves me right then it was Good Friday in 2007 and I'd had to go into work in the morning, which was just as well as it took my mind off my inevitable nerves. All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening involving various bars and a restaurant, although to be honest I can't actually remember much about her apart from her love of quizzes.

Anyway, at the end of the day I walked her to the bus stop and waited for her to board her bus, such is the gentleman I am, and she told me to contact her in a week about arranging a second date. I duly obliged and heard nothing back, so waited another week before texting her again, which again resulted in no reply, so I gave up.

Bizarrely a couple of weeks later I received a text from her asking me what year did Abba win the Eurovision song contest for 'Waterloo, ' so I googled it and texted her back that it was 1974. And that was the last I heard from her, so at least I possibly helped her win a pub quiz if nothing else. I was a little confused by this strange behaviour, but not too bothered, however, this was to prove to be the shape of things to come in my quest.