Our new dating columnist tries out Tinder and takes her date to Sean’s Bar
BY MS BENNET
Dating is getting easier, so I’ve heard. It’s not.
In a bid to get out there after a long and draining failed relationship, I (along with some friends) decided it was time to get on tinder.
After many, many “nopes” (don’t like his teeth/name/dog, clearly has a girlfriend/wife, snow pictures), I got matched with a fit French guy, and after a week of talking, we went on a date.
Of course before the date, I freaked out and, much to their amusement, asked most of my friends whether a) I looked like my pictures and b) they would be disappointed if I turned up on a date. It turns out neither of us were disappointed.
We went to Sean’s Bar in Rosie’s Deli Market Row, the perfect place for a first date. Great menu – I particularly loved the fig mule (please bring it back) and the sours – great tunes, music not so loud that you have to shout, and lovely staff. In fact, I had briefed them beforehand. It was my first internet date and I needed to be able to give someone a “he is a bloody weirdo, get me out of here” look if needed.
It was a perfect first date. I was massively interested and so was he. We met up the next day and let’s just say things moved quickly.
Things also ended pretty quickly. Four weeks of a whirlwind tinder romance ended with him either changing his number or switching off his dummy phone.
I feel like I’m owed an explanation. I can deal with “I’m just not interested”, even “actually I’m seeing someone”. I would be relieved and feel very sorry for the ‘lucky’ girl, but don’t just fall off the face of the earth!! Why do men think we are going to cry at them if they tell us they are not interested? We will not! At least not to your face. Nor will we swear or shout. Man up and be honest.
So here’s what I learnt:
1. If you think he has a girlfriend, he probably has. I didn’t really catch on too quickly.
“I don’t really like taking girls back to mine and meeting my flatmates.”
“Why? Because you have a girlfriend?”
“No I just don’t want to awkwardness”
No, because you have a girlfriend!!!
2. It’s never too early to ask where things are going. Especially if like me you lie to yourself about being ok with the whole casual thing, but you find yourself taking a picture of said person’s post while they brush their teeth, so that you can find out their surname and learn more about them. Not one of my proudest moments. But it turns out I’m not so cool with the casual thing and actually I do want to know more than the first name of someone I’m seeing!
3. When a guy is sending you pictures of his penis, you’re probably not the only one. He has pics of dicks on tap. Fact. Also, when will guys learn that the pictures will be shown to my girlfriends! Stop sending them.
The ‘great’ thing about tinder, is that you get to meet people you would never normally get to meet. Where else would a Brixton girl meet a guy with a sexy accent who works in Canary Wharf and lives in a gated community? Urgh, who am I kidding, of course it was never going to work out, he works in finance! I should have known at the point when I rolled my eyes after he said he’d only ever driven through Brixton. Once. In a cab.
Maybe I’m messing with some cosmic order or something. Maybe I’m not meant to meet these people, maybe technology is messing with what is supposed to happen naturally.
