Speed
Dating
What
is this new type of dating - craze or crazy?
The
Speed Dating phenomenon
 Well
two months ago I could'nt wait any onger and decided to find out
for myself just what all the talk was about. I grabbed my credit
card - typed 'speed dating in UK' into the mighty Google and waited
nervously to see what appeared. X-date.co.uk
was
the first result that appeared and to start with the letter X
at the front of the title I assumed it was X-rated - or perhaps
dating for people looking for a quick encounter - but I read on
and it turned out to just be a funky name for a simple speed date
service in London.
Heres what happened
8.30 arrived and handed a piece of paper with ruled lines on it
from 1 to 20 + a sticker and a pen to write your name and stick
it on your jumper - or ball gown - whatever youre wearing!
8.35 got a coke from the bar and sat down
8.42 more people started to arrive - some on their own - most
with a friend or two - some in groups.
8.50
made a few friends before anything kicked off - usual banter -
why are you here! - done this before? (of course everyone says
no! lol)
8.55 - all the ladies are asked to sit on the tables around the
room and the guys are told that they will be the ones to swap
seats once the 3 minutes - yes 3 minutes of banter between the
couples is up!
9.00
- kick off - lady stands up with a microphone and says "lets
x-date!" - basiclly got 3 minutes to talk to the person opposite
you!
After
each 3 minute session - the lady stands up again and says - "all
move seats gentlemen"! At this point - moving between time
you quickly write a few one line notes about the person you were
just talking too. At which point you also tick one of 3 boxes.
Yes - No - or friend.
Once
the final whistle blows - and it really is a whistle, the only
thing to do after a further 30 mins of general chit-chat with
the other daters, is to get home - login and fill in your results.
Its at this point that the speed dating website calculated whether
or not you have any matches - ie anyone else that you sais yes
- no - or friend too, said the same thing in their notes about
you. If there is a match - then an automatic email is sent to
both parties!
And that.. as they say.. is it:)
Here's
an article from the BBC website
The Speed Dating phenomenon
Speed dating has set up home in Nottinghamshire and is fast becoming
a global phenomenon. Louise Prance, a Nottingham-born student,
sets out to find out why.
Step one: As soon as you arrive you will be asked to write your
name and contact details on a sheet
Step two: Take a seat, girls one side, boys the other. You have
three minutes to find out as much about each other as possible.
When the bell sounds, all guys move along one. By the time you
have reached your last speed dater you will have noted the number
of every potential 'date' you have met in that time.
Step three: Hand in your feedback form.
Step four: After the event you will be contacted with your match
details via e-mail or text.
Speed Dating. Yes, that word fills me with fear too. Because like
you I picture sad, unattractive, middle aged people all clinging
on to their last hope of finding true love.
Why is speed dating becoming a global phenomenon?
So why then is it becoming a global phenomenon? Taking over the
likes of chat room dating and internet love matches.
There are many reasons why this could be - it's a bit of fun
and it's different to the normal night down the pub. But I have
a sneaking suspicion its more than that.
Okay, so you only have three minutes with each person who sits
opposite you and you have no idea if they are a closet Gary Barlow
fan. But I can't help but feel that it is somewhat romantic.
I, like most women have the fantasy of meeting my perfect man,
in the perfect situation and him saying the perfect lines. So
having an evening arranged where you get to meet 30 candidates
who are all hoping for the same thing, and are not a) attached
b) gay and c) homicidal is like getting a lifeline thrown to you
when your drowning. Isn't it?
Signing up
Before I sussed it out first hand I decided to have a look at
how easy it is to sign up for one of these events and see if I
could get an idea of who I would be sharing three minutes of my
life with.
I found with 99% of websites you can book really easily online
(I'm assuming that's to save us singletons the shame of having
to ring up and actually admit that we have reached the point of
no return!) and yes - there is normally a 'view guests' button,
minus photos!
Some of the names men have given themselves did leave me somewhat
anxious… 'Friend of Brad Pitt', 'Sting', 'Son of Tommy Cooper'
to name but a few.
So, obviously most of these men do comedy as their part time
profession then? Hoping to restore my faith in the women I checked
out their 'view guests' button. 'Ladytramp' and 'Cheeky Angel'
are what greeted me. Wonderful.
However, I swallowed my pride, looked past these initial worries
(well, 'Friend of Brad Pitt' man could come in handy one day?)
and decided to see for myself what one of these events was actually
like. Also to protect any of you before you throw yourselves out
to the sharks. (I can tell what your thinking, but no, it's not
because I haven't had a date in a few weeks and I fancy my chances…
Hmmm…)
The speed dating experience
Arriving at the event I decided to view from the sidelines and
see how the people interacted with each other and to see how the
event was actually co-ordinated.
To give you the basic gist of what happens, the ladies are allocated
a table at which they will sit at for the whole event.
Then, both the men and the women are giving 'flirt' cards, which
have the profiles of all the people that you are going to meet.
You then mark whom you like and don't like. Simple!
That is until it actually starts. This is when the work starts.
At first you'll be thinking 'Oh it's only three minutes, I can
fill that time up no problem' but from the look of some peoples
faces when they got stuck with that Gary Barlow fan, three minutes
can feel like a long, slow lifetime!
The event lasts for about two hours and you generally see about
30 people in a night with a break half way through for drinks
and a chat.
After its all finished you hand in your 'flirt' cards to the
organisers who will then email you the next day and let you know
who has picked you and if you have any love matches!
People normally stay at the bar after the event to carry on drinking
and to either bitch about the amount of losers there are there
with your fellow gender, or carry on the flirting with your lucky
match.
So ladies, pack away your trepidation, have that glass of wine
before you leave the house and go and let the men fawn over you
in the old traditional style, as they vie to win your affection
and a mark on your flirt card. Because the old saying is true
'you don't know until you try'. This could be your night?
Speed dating services
Directory of speed dating websites and services
google - directory of dating and speed dating services
www.speeddatingireland.com
www.urbansocial.com - dating events
Related Christian topics
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Dating advice
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Discernment
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Dating Directory
Guidance by God
| Christian
Dating in UK
| More
About Speed Dating events
Speed dating - About speed date
events @ christianadvice.net 2004 |
