Speed dating - Is this just the latest trend?

Is this just the latest trend or can you really meet your ideal partner? By Sandra Rippon. Where can you go to meet someone?"

I am 37 and single. And so many of my single friends say, as do I, "where can you go to meet someone?" I am sure I am not alone in my lack of desire to be "picked up" at a nightclub when I have to be at work for 12 hours the next day. And would you really join the gym to go scouting for potential?

So how do you meet new people, and hopefully a new partner?

I was introduced to Speed Dating recently. And, as with everything else in our fast-moving progressive world, dating agencies and blind dates have been modernised to fit in with our high-speed, techno age needs.

DateXpress has recently launched in Sheffield. It is a speed dating agency, and I went onto its website following a presentation by one of the founders. I had looked at speed dating before but had always been reluctant. This, however, looked good. I could choose an evening event, in a private venue, hosted by the owners of the company, with people in my age range.

Not just leaving it to pot luck when I arrived that 50% might be a similar age to me. Also, it was a safe environment, not just for personal safety, but everyone attending, as nervous as me, knew that we were all in the same boat.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept - it is simple. An equal number of men and women arrive on the evening, have a welcome drink and an introduction to the rules. The ladies sit at a numbered table; the men are given a number and sit at that respective table and chat to that lady for 5 minutes until the whistle is blown. You each make notes of the person you have been chatting too and mark on your own personal sheet if you would be interested in seeing them again and then the men move onto the next table. This continues until all the men have been to every table.

I didn't meet the partner of my dreams on my first visit but it hasn't put me off going again because it was fun, I met some knew friends and above all, it was comfortable.
 
The organisers then collect in the sheets and where choices correspond, email addresses are exchanged (and if you don't have an email address, you can give out mobile numbers). Results are emailed (or texted) within 48 hours and then it is up to you to make the next step. So you can have a chance of meeting 15 to 20 new people in an evening without having to shout over music or be on an awkward blind date - talk about time saving. It would cost you a fortune to meet this number of people through an agency. And 5 minutes is not long enough for awkwardness but long enough to know if you want to know more.

The DateXpress website www.dateXpress.co.uk is friendly and easy to follow - so if you are single and want to meet new people, give it a go.

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