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First seeing this concept pioneered on the fabulous cult show Sex and the City, I was eager to take part in this phenomena when dating specialist Speed Dater invited me along to their event at trendy bar Tiger Tiger in Newcastle.

Touching up my hair and applying my lip-gloss in the ladies before stepping into the lion’s den, I found myself to be as nervous (if not more) than the genuine contestants (or daters if the politically correct term is to be used).

After a few moments of self-reflection (looking in the mirror), I entered the room and was warmly greeted by hostesses Ellie and Steph.

They gave me a scorecard, on which I had to mark the dater’s name and tick a box depending on my impression of him.

The boxes labelled Yes, No, or Friend are completed after a three-minute ‘interview’, and are then entered on the Speed Dater website the following day.

The matches that correspond for example, Friend and Friend or Yes and Yes, are then sent each other’s e-mail addresses.

Ellie explained to me the addition of the friend option: “initially, daters could only choose Yes or No, but we feel many people may meet others who have similar interests and would enjoy meeting up with on a social basis again.”

She also suggested that this is a great way to meet new people especially if you are new to the area, and even for meeting business contacts.

Due to the size of the group, we were able to spend a few moments longer with our dates, chatting about our careers, hobbies and musical preferences.

It wouldn’t be fair to disclose facts of the daters I met last night, especially as they weren’t aware I would be writing this article, but let’s just say there were some very interesting characters.

I really relished the opportunity to meet such a mix of people, professions and personalities.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who just wants to get out there and meet new people.

Even if you don’t intend to meet that someone special, it’s a relaxed, comfortable environment where you can chat freely to people, who under normal circumstances, you probably wouldn’t.

However, if you are more serious in your quest for love, this is a great way to do it and it’s proven to work.

Steph told me: “one day we were walking around town and we saw three couples who had been at our dating event the week before.”

Should you find your ideal match with Speed Dater and take him or her up the alter, the company will pay for your honeymoon!

So if Mr Right’s e-mail address falls into my inbox this afternoon, I will let you know. In the meantime if you’re interested in taking part in speed dating, events organised by Speed Dater are held in Newcastle bi-weekly.

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