Gone are the days…

When men took their time to really ‘court’ women!! I don’t know if it’s a fantasy that I’m finding difficult to shake,  that the 21st century man will really go back to the virtues of the days when men really courted ladies, when they really felt pride in getting the courage to ask a lady out and took care in the process of asking a lady out!! You will excuse the fantasy path that I’ve chosen today, but I felt really encouraged after watching Leopold woo Kate in Kate Leopold! Ever seen it?!!

You see Leopold being from a different era and world to Kate,  understood the virtues of courtship!! I laughed by head off when he offered to ‘escort Kate to a dinner that Kate had with her boss: here’s my close recount of the conversation

Leopald: You require a chaperon, his intentions are obvious

Kate: I’m alone with you, do I need a chaperon?

Leopald: We’re not courting Kate, if we were, as a matter of honour, I would have informed you of my intentions in writing!!

And when he got ready to ask Kate out, he sure did so by writing to her.  Marvellous!! Isn’t that just soo romantic, and pure, and sweet, and caring and real?

Fast forward the virtues of courtship, now called dating,  into the 21st century and its a whole new vibe on its own!! I’d be lucky if a guy puts a letter through my door to inform me of his intentions in writing these days! Well,  granted there is technology  now to thank for, so I’ll take the equivalent of emails and exchange of phone numbers as being of equal significance! I’ll even go further to say that I take my new way of choosing a date,  online dating, as being the equivalent of the beginning of my Victorian influenced courtship idea! But when the guy insists on only meeting in the evening during the week, not even during the daytime at the weekend,  then I’ll take my chances and continue to hope that the real man with a good appreciation of 20th century courting values will eventually turn up!!

Well the guy from last week, did try again and I thought I was being too hard the first time so softly,  I recommended a late afternoon coffee catch up but again, he insisted on meeting in the evening! Well I’d rather be safe than sorry so I’ve ended my communication with him.

So for my WiseGirls out there, I’ll strongly recommend a daylight catch up for the first meeting after connecting online… I’ve got a few ideas that I’ve put together to help you turn this somewhat tricky situation around if you’re ever short of ideas. I’ll share my first two with you today and I do surely hope that you’ll enjoy them as much as I have done on several occasions. So here we go:

Bea’s of Bloomsbury

   

Source: http://www.beasofbloomsbury.com/bloomsbury

This is one of my favourite first date coffee shop in London. The ambience at Bea’s is lovely, the seating area is open, yet private, the service is swift and the cupcakes, cakes and treats are to die for not to mention the quality of coffee that they serve.  If you go to the St Paul’s venue, head up to the upstairs seating place for some privacy if you want to avoid the outside onlookers. For those not so close to the City, try their main flagship café at Bloomsbury, (which is a few minutes walk away from Holborn Station), or their shop in Chelsea! By far this is my best meeting place in London. I think its great enough for your first, non committal offline date with your online match

Fortnum and Mason

Source: http://www.fortnumandmason.com

I love Fortnum and Mason’s, Piccadilly.  Most people would go in for shopping but there’s more!  Tea lovers may already know of this hidden gem and I encourage coffee lovers to try this place for their first offline face-to-face date! I believe that guy should always pay for the first date (see my online dating etiquettes), which means that this experience need to be as low cost as possible.  So I’ll give you my thoughts on which restaurant to go to within FM.  There are four main places for tea and champers; I personally prefer The Fountain on the Lower Ground Floor. Classic and elegant and their pot of tea and cakes doesn’t cost a fortune. So you end up getting quality tea at an affordable price and may get serenated by live soft music. If all goes well, perfect memory! If it turns out sour, at least you’ve had a great afternoon experience!! You win on both accounts.

What ever you do, don’t compromise on a daylight catchup for your first meeting with your online choice!!

Love always,

Your resident WiseGirl, Mandyxx

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