Bad dates and how to get out of them
I’m sure we’ve all been on some really bad dates in our time. Wrong person, wrong place, wrong time……wrong everything. The best thing about them is that they’re consigned to obscurity or better still fade into total oblivion when you meet that special person to share your life with.
But sometimes, people find themselves suddenly single again for a variety of reasons and the whole nightmare of finding a new partner comes back to bite them. Whereas a decade or two ago, people used to meet their future partners at night clubs, workplaces, pubs etc, these days the landscape is totally different. Especially if you’re no longer quite in the flush of youth.
Since the advances of social media and more recently lockdown, all those opportunities to exchange meaningful glances with someone interesting across a crowded room have all but gone. Everyone’s glued to their screens, the art of conversation and – dare I say it – flirting have declined. Many people are working from home or in isolation these days so there are no water cooler moments where a surreptitious ‘fancy a drink in the pub after work’ might have happened. If you’re still young enough to want to go to a night club, most people have pre-loaded before they go out, ie had a bit of a skinful in advance, so the moment for any meaningful chat may have already passed……along with remembering your own phone number, let alone taking a note of theirs.
Bucking the trend as ever, of course, are our skittles weekends away where loads of like-minded people of all ages come along for a good time, ready for some fun and relaxation with their team mates. And just possibly within their group are team mates that they never had time to get to know better before. Or maybe members of other teams they had never met before but suddenly feel the need to make their acquaintance……
At Serious About Events, we’ve all loved seeing romance blossom on the alleys, on the dance floors and in the bars with couples who perhaps knew each other slightly or never before. Somehow they got it together simply by being in the same place for a couple of days in a relaxed atmosphere, enjoying all the fun and having time to chat and flirt over a game of skittles. We can vouch for some very happy marriages and subsequent babies who owe their very existence to our weekends away. And of course we’ve welcomed generations of families who love coming away with us and making memories. It’s not all just beer and skittles.
Of course, our weekends aren’t aimed at introducing couples – but sometimes Cupid just rocks up anyway. How often do you get to meet a potential date, along with their friends, and possibly their family, getting a real snapshot of what makes them tick? And crucially, whether you want to spend more time with them after everyone’s gone home?
Contrast that with the current dating scene. It can be a much more brutal business particularly if you’re trying to meet the perfect person online. Unlike meeting within a crowd in a relaxed atmosphere, things can be far riskier as you’re effectively meeting a total stranger. We’ve all rolled around with laughter at some of the fibs: ‘I’m out of signal at weekends’, the person rocking up who looks nothing like the photograph or has casually lopped a couple of decades off their age…..
A lot of potential dates get straight to the point. ‘If this is going to be serious, you’re really going to have to lose some weight.’ And it’s not the first time we’ve heard of people who issue potential dates with a questionnaire that’s nothing to do with their favourite food, movie or music. Instead, it’s a very detailed list of questions about flexibility in the bedroom department.
The advice on dating websites is to meet for drinks only on a first date as it’s quicker to extricate yourself. Another tip is to have a friend ready to rescue you after you’ve sent a text alert, by ringing with an emergency excuse or coincidentally bumping into you. If the going gets tough, be ill. Just temporarily and just enough to get yourself out of the door. The threat of projectile vomiting is not an attractive proposition……
So if you’re looking for romance, or at least a mutual attraction with a shared interest, you never know…..you might just find it on one of our weekends. You’ll be surrounded by friends who will encourage or extricate you if required. What we can guarantee though, is a fantastic atmosphere where we do our very best to ensure everyone has a good time, whether they’re single, attached or whatever.
So put your feet up, let your hair down, dance yourself dizzy but above all, have fun. That’s an order!!
