Men of London beware: you’re about to be blogged about

As the search for the elusive Miss. London at 3six5dates.com pushes on, one question was at the forefront of my mind: men of London are you really, ready?

By this I don’t mean that you’ve got a full can of Lynx, nearly clean bed sheets, and Addison Lee on speed dial. What I mean is are you up to the challenge of:

a. Meeting the one? (How are you at asking girls out?)

b. Wooing the one? (Baring in mind she WILL be dating like a maniac)

c. Keeping the one? (This means over the courses of your dates with her, not screwing up in such a significant way that the blog of your date with Miss. London will be read with disdain from Drayton to Dagenham).

For those who’ve just stumbled across 3six5dates.com, the premise is pretty simple: a girl goes on 92 dates in the quest for Mr. Right, and blogs about all the romantic highs and rocky lows of dating in her city.

Miss. New York, Shanghai and Sydney have already been discovered, tearing open a fresh look into their dating scene as they go. Now it’s Miss. London’s turn to see just what the city boys, artful dodgers, Romford Romeo’s, and Park Lane Prince’s have up their sleeves.

This is where I, Hayley Quinn, come in.

As a leading London dating coach I thought it’s best to lend a few pearls of wisdom to my Covent Garden Casanova’s (I’ll stop punning now, promise) to make sure that when they come across Miss. London that they do their feet sweeping best.

So here are my top three tips for how to set up a successful date: maybe with 3six5dates’ Miss London…

1. Don’t expect to dive straight in for the date:

Getting a girl’s number is, unfortunately, not tantamount to a date. In fact it can mean anything from her feeling smitten, to sympathetic, about you. So unless she was chatting excitedly about grabbing a coffee with you after work that day hedge your bets and don’t send a first text that demands a date. Instead, your first mission (if you choose to accept it) is simply to get her to respond. Something simple and conversational often works best:

Hey Caroline, great chatting to you earlier. Did you ever make your meeting on time? I had to make a terrible excuse as to why I was late that didn’t involve meeting you.. Alan from Starbucks x

If she bites back in a way that is suitably warm, friendly, lengthy and quick, you know you’re on a better footing to ask for that date. Still uncertain when to mention meeting up? Then try saying something like:

We’ll have to see if you can ever be punctual over coffee someday then… X

The important word here is ‘someday’. ‘Someday’ puts the thought out there about meeting up; but by not laying down a time frame for it to happen, if she doesn’t write back ‘when can we make this happen?’ you can persist without losing face.

2. Make the date practical & irresistible:

You only have to clock the lightning speeds with which people storm down Oxford St to deduce that people in London are very, very busy. In fact you can most commonly see me striding around, ipod on, checking my emails, drinking an iced latte and holding a conversation… all at once. When you ask a girl out you’re competing with her dental appointment, double booked social engagements, and the rest of London’s eligible bachelors. So choose a date that isn’t too time consuming, something that’s easy to commit to like coffee or a drink after work.

Next demonstrate your ‘Time Out’ levels of cool by avoiding chain franchises and opting for something a bit under the radar, hole-in-the-wall, or special. Why do Starbucks when there’s a great independent coffee shop with views of the Thames? Remember on a date you’re selling your lifestyle too: don’t be a cookie cutter boyfriend that will bore her.

3. Don’t assume that the date is ‘on’:

If between meetings, social engagements and all other diary clogging conflicts, you can’t find a date to meet until the next week, make sure you maintain contact. Don’t assume your arrangement is set in stone. Much like a red hot lump of coal from the fire interactions go cold, so you need to keep the momentum up. Dropping her the odd text in-between setting your date and whisking her off her feet; will keep you at the fore front of her thoughts and make sure you don’t get pencilled over in her diary.

Armed with these tips I hope you get to date the lovely lady that will become Miss. London; in the mean time look out for further dating tips from me at www.hayleyquinn.com