Sarah Linney

Diary of a 42-year-old speed-dater

What I learned from my unexpected sociological experiment

  • From Spectator Life
[Alamy]

New experiences are always good. Meeting new people is always good. This is what I tell myself when my friend Rae invites me to go speed dating. At the age of 42.

‘Am I not too old?’ I ask her. She reassures me that I am not, but I have my doubts. A woman old enough to remember landlines is surely not who the eligible young gentlemen of Kent are looking to meet on a night out in a bar. But Rae is running the event as a fundraiser, so if I spend my night talking to a series of youngsters who think Miley Cyrus was the first to sing ‘Like A Prayer’, it’s all in a good cause.

On the train there, I suddenly realise that this isn’t actually the worst thing that could happen. I might bump into someone I know. And then, with renewed horror, I realise that this still isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

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