Gay & Lesbian

Time ladies please: lesbian speed dating in action

If you’re sick of a scene where a hard, steely stare is considered a come-on, or you’ve recently considered offering yourself up to the local nunnery, then lesbian speed dating could well be the answer to your prayers. I popped along to see how Pink Date is cutting through the clutter and saving singletons years of hassle, leaving you time to enjoy the finer things in life. (Another ‘L Word’ anyone?)

Nothing short of a benevolent gift to the lesbian masses, Pink Date was founded by enthusiastic self-starters Liz and Sandra. The latter, wearing a rather fetching event-branded T-shirt, recalled with a smile how ‘you’d go out to bars and clubs and never meet anyone’. And so, aware of speed dating’s current popularity on the straight scene, the couple thought: Why not start something?
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From its humble Tuesday night beginning six months ago, LSD has taken off like a souped-up jet. Word of mouth and a Saturday-night slot have seen gay women from both in and outside the M25 arriving in their droves, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to apply a fresh approach to that age-old lesbian dilemma: where can I find Ms Right and all the trappings?

When I arrived at the Chocolate Lounge’s cave-like room, the evening was in full swing and the wannabe daters were not to be disappointed. The meeting was a veritable sell-out with 30 of London’s finest Sapphic singles in attendance. What’s more, there wasn’t a shrinking violet among them, as any and all nerves were calmedby the hosts’ friendly and professional manner. And for those ladies who required a little extra reassurance, there was plenty of good, old-fashioned Dutch courage being served in the bar upstairs.

Time waits for no woman and as luck would have it, speed dating is no exception. With only three minutes to win over a prospective date, the pressure was well and truly on. As Sandra herself will tell you: ‘People are nervous, but they soon realise they’ve just got to get on with it’.

Despite the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it vibe, the atmosphere felt particularly intimate. With the exposed brick walls, soft lighting and claret-red drapes, the scene was reminiscent of a cosy French restaurant, only without the moustachioed waiters and smelly cheese. Once the women were settled at their tables, Liz explained the rules. Upon arrival, half of the participants were given badges with dots and for the first part of the evening remained seated, playing ‘host’ to the other circulating, dotless women. Fret not though, the roles were duly reversed later on so that ultimately, everyone was afforded the chance to play Queen, happily enthroned at the tables as various courtiers came courting.

Despite the somewhat regal overtones, it was easy to see that each of the women were making the most of the little time available to them, some even finding room to squeeze in that all-important question: ‘Do you want to book the moving van or shall I?’

Joking aside, spirits were most definitely high and even if some ladies had been struck by a thunderbolt à la ‘Some Enchanted Evening’, they moved good-naturedly on to the next date every time headmistress Liz rang her three-minute bell.

On a well-earned drink break, I managed to catch up with 28-year-old Katie who said that while ‘you get about as long as it takes for a kettle to boil… it’s all about that initial spark’.

She felt that three minutes was enough time to get a sense of the person and decide whether you wanted to see them again. ‘Yes, I’ve ticked a couple of boxes’, she confirmed with a coy smile. ‘So I guess we’ll wait and see’.

With nothing left to do but link up people who’ve already expressed a mutual attraction to each other, I’d say that there’s a pretty good chance that Liz and Sandra may soon be in need of new hats, as the success of Pink Date seems to suggest that there may be wedding bells ringing in the not-too-distant future. So come on Ms Bitter and Twisted of Ealing – get yourself along. Soon you too could have more dates than most lesbians have cats.

Call Liz on 07711 7 36502 for details of the next Pink Date or visit www.pinkdate.co.uk for more information.