Date 175

"This town has dragged you down."

Geordies (me) historically don't mix well with mackems (people from Sunderland). However, as I'd never been out with a mackem before, I decided to put it to the test and go against my gut feeling and Newcastle upbringing.

I, again, travelled to London to meet her and she told me that she sounded like infamous mackem Lauren Laverne. I had my doubts though as Ms Laverne in reality, has a very obvious Geordie accent, and my date sounded neither Tyne nor Wear. I couldn't quite pick it, but she sounded more Yorkshire.

I have to confess that she beared an uncanny resemblance to someone I dated for a few months last year, which was unrequited and...is it a bit weird that that was a contributing factor in me wanting to meet her?!

As it turned out, in person, I found her a bit obnoxious and cold. She didn't really have any interest in finding out about me and it was difficult to get a word in due to her telling me about all the famous people she knew. 

I should have listened to Ant 'n' Dec.

Date 34

"Pretty girls make graves."

I was absolutely enchanted by this date from the first moment I met her. We met for lunch and drinks at a pub in Richmond and spent the whole afternoon and early evening drinking lots of red wine, and at one point I spilt some over both of us, which was such a terrible waste and also said a lot for my inebriated state. She was one of the funniest people I've ever met and a typical straight talking Yorkshire lass. As a bonus she was one of the most beautiful people I've ever laid eyes on.

We had a really great time together and as she'd worked most of her life in the music industry, I was fascinated by all the anecdotes that she regaled me with including one in which she'd been given a kettle by James Brown and she still used it.

Things had gone well and she agreed to another date a week or so later in Wimbledon. We had another fun evening and she suggested for our next date that we could go to an exhibition at the British Museum that she was desperate to see and she'd make me dinner afterwards. Although, I felt things were going well I still was apprehensive as I'd been here before. And I was proved right.

I received a one line e-mail from her the next day saying she just wanted to be friends. I can't emphasise enough how extremely disappointed I was but I was not at all surprised. I replied to her after thinking about it and said I'd be happy to be friends as I appreciated her honesty. I never heard from her again or got to see the Godfather of Soul's kettle.