by A diary entry on the return of an old format and one genuinely confusing bell system
Monday, A Format I Assumed Had Died Out Years Ago
Darlings, speed dating, that genuinely retro format I assumed had gone the way of dial-up internet, is apparently experiencing a full revival across London as part of this broader move back toward actual in-person meeting, and having attended one such event this week, I can confirm the format is exactly as chaotic and exactly as strangely effective as everyone always claimed it was.
Fifteen minutes, it turns out, is a genuinely bizarre unit of time, far too long to sustain small talk with someone whose energy you can already tell is entirely wrong within the first ninety seconds, and simultaneously nowhere near enough time to actually explore a connection with someone you do, against all odds, quite like.
Monday Afternoon, The Bell System That Defeated Me Twice
The event’s bell system, signalling when to rotate tables, defeated me on two separate occasions, once when I simply did not hear it over my own increasingly enthusiastic conversation, and once when I moved a full table too early out of sheer overcorrection, landing myself an entirely unscheduled extra date with someone I had already, politely, ruled out.
Tuesday, A Tally Of The Actual Results
Out of twelve total conversations, I marked genuine interest on exactly two, a hit rate that felt, upon reflection, considerably more efficient than an entire month of half-hearted app matching typically produces for the same investment of an actual evening.
A Format Worth The Bell-Related Chaos
Whatever comes of my two genuine matches, I am fully prepared to defend speed dating’s revival on efficiency grounds alone, bell confusion and unscheduled extra conversations very much included.
Wednesday, one of my two genuine matches has already messaged to suggest a proper date, bell system mercifully absent this time, which feels like exactly the kind of follow-through this entire chaotic format was apparently designed to produce.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
