London Loves Issue 10

I’m sat editing London Loves in a bedroom that smells of urine. And no, I’m not visiting my great grandmother in a NHS care home. In fact, I’m sat in my own bedroom minutes away from my University campus after a housemate’s heavy night out. Apparently your housemate’s bedroom is the new bathroom. If you can’t make it to the toilet, it doesn’t matter; a brown carpet is the next best option. Now, I don’t normally start London Loves on such a tragic note and for some reason, I feel relatively calm about the situation. But with such a successful date in store, I figured I could slip this in without changing the tone of the feature.  After reading the write ups, the smell doesn’t bother me. All I can smell is sweet success.
It does seem that the London Love is spreading. With Valentine’s Day upon us, people seem keen to meet their match in time for a cheeky valentine smooch.  Let’s have a drum roll for London Loves number 10.

HER VIEW

I’d never been on a blind date before I met Mark, but I figured, why not?  You only live once.  Besides, I had become a bit tired of the typical trying-to-scream-over-the-music, it’s-so-dark-I-can’t-even-tell-if-he’s-cute club encounter, especially given that the last guy I met at such a setting politely asked for my number but “forgot” to inform me that he had a girlfriend.  So, I decided to give this thing a go.
And there I am, shivering outside of the Real Greek with my book bag, a bit nervous.  But once I meet Mark, I’m not anymore.  I was slightly worried I would spend dinner trying to think of things to say, questions to ask, awful puns to make at awkward moments, but Mark & I fall into conversation quickly about books, films, friends, family, & so on.  He’s easy to talk to, honest and funny, and forgiving of my confusion—as an American—at some British slang and several cultural references.  Before I know it, dinner is done, and we decide to head over to a pub and play some pool.
We take the tube to King’s Cross, and I, having not yet been to the station and being a big Potterhead (as we call fans and followers of the Harry Potter series in the states, although I don’t know if it applies here)—ask if we can please visit Platform 9 ¾.  Mark humours the tourist in me and takes me to the trolley, and I decide then that this date is a success, even if simply for the story’s sake.  So, we play some pool at the pub (at which I’m absolutely awful, but I had fun nonetheless), and then he walks me back to King’s Cross to catch the last train, which is not only gentlemanly but also gratefully appreciated as I have absolutely no sense of direction.  And after we exchange numbers, I head home and laugh at the thought of myself earlier, nervous, with no idea that this night would in fact be unexpectedly fun.
Would I meet up with Mark again?  A friend from home (and a Tottenham fan) tells me I cannot even consider it as Mark is an Arsenal fan.  But I figure, why not?  You only live once.  I guess we’ll see what happens.

HIS VIEW

I’d never been on a blind date before and had little idea what to expect.  Naturally, I was nervous.  I had taken what seemed like a big risk.  The pressure was on! What if it was a waste of time or did not deliver the expected results? I had just taken out Albrighton and replaced him with Brunt in my fantasy football team. Time would only tell if I made the correct move with my free transfer. Caitlin was relaxed and outgoing even though I was twenty-five minutes late because I lost track of time while applying hair-removal cream to my sculpted pecs.
I tried to make up for this by opening the door for her in a bid to prove chivalry was not dead (Badstuber, N. 2011).  The restaurant was nice and the conversation was lively and not too serious.  Previous London Loves dates I have read about seemed to get bogged down in serious discussions of politics.  Luckily I was able to keep that off the menu (ding ding) and steer the chat towards more cheerful topics.  I was delighted TV shows came up though as I had waited a while to discuss the latest episodes of Chuck & the demise of Gossip Girl with an American.
Perhaps I got lucky with who I was paired with, the only awkward dish was when the photographer came over and appeared from nowhere, like Merlin, and tried to serve up a lengthy photo-shoot.  For dessert, he then tried to slip me his number. But I wasn’t hungry and I was having none of it.
After the dinner we went on to a pub where we relaxed and chatted while I thrashed her at pool (3-0).  Despite her lack of promise as a pool player, I felt things were going well.  My only concern was whether making Cesc Fabregas captain for the coming game week would affect my nerves and thus performance later in the evening.
Overall it was a great experience. My only worry beforehand was being paired with someone who was going to be shy or someone who took themselves extremely seriously. Caitlin was neither of these and instead great company and hopefully there will be a second date.

THE VERDICT

There we have it. A London Loves success story. And a beautiful one at that. As Caitlin put it, you only live once so why not get involved with London Loves. It’s never too early to start planning for next Valentine’s Day. If you fancy going on a date with free company, free food, free drink, then please email love@london-student.net. Let us know your name, age, university course, three words to describe you and three words to describe your perfect partner for your chance to go to have a success story like Mark and Caitlin.