The South African

Location: Kongs, Bristol

This guy might have been great if I had been in a different mindset (as might many of them really). But things had recently fallen apart with my South African boyfriend (distance is a killer) and I was feeling pretty despondent over ever finding anyone again.

We met in Kongs on King Street. With its ping-pong and fuzzball tables and countless retro arcade games, it is my one of my favourite bars in Bristol. It's always busy and attracts a mixed crowd. I’ve also realised it’s a great place for a date, especially if you’re secretly competitive like I am. It gives me great satisfaction watching my date trying their hardest not to lose to a girl, whilst also trying to maintain that they are not putting in any effort at all! One guy started looking so despondent about his performance that I considered losing on purpose to make him feel better. I guess in some vague way, having a girl beat them strips them of their manhood, and you don’t want that to happen too early on! 

The added bonus of doing a sport of some kind on a first date is that if they are completely uninteresting, being at opposite ends of a court/table/pitch means you barely have to talk at all!

This guy was also South African (I can't help it, I keep seeming to swipe right to anyone with a vaguely African-sounding name) and, like every South African guy I have met, he was fiercely sporty. He had the reputation of a sporting nation to uphold.

Dammit though he genuinely beat me…but it was close…and I took great satisfaction in the fact that he was pretty shattered and sweaty by the end of the match, so clearly had had to put a lot of effort into beating me.

It was a fun date, but I just don't think I was ready at that point to start dating again. Recommend Kongs though!