I am petrified

Mawbroom, have we met?
Come on Rolande, I've read four pages, how did it go?
I hope you have lived to tell the tale!

kitty don't be "shortist" ? - you know size doesn't matter! ?

I hope you've had a lovely time Rolande.

Blind dates weren't foolproof back in the day!! One of my friends sent me on a blind date with a chap 4" shorter than me even before I put on my cuban heels.

I met DH at a Christmas party and he proposed 12 days later, too. He's taller than me!

Grannyknot I also met DH on a blind date, 52 years ago and he proposed after 12 days. That mus be some kind of record!

I think blind dates may have been better because at least we had a friend in common who had decided we would suit each other - possibly. She had arranged other blind date/s for him which didn't work, don't want to know how many

Illicit Encounters??? I'm with Miss Adventure there, doesn't sound like one I'd like to try? Maybe I'm wrong.
Also Rolande, if this date doesn't work out and I hope it does, be careful if you start to receive messages from men who live too far away, or who say they are working in another country and will be coming home soon. They are scams. Best to only correspond with men you can actually meet in person, without having to jump on a plane. Good luck for tomorrow. Have fun.

Here's to a lovely lunch out tomorrow. Hope he turns out to be a nice man and you have a good lunch together.

Hope he's nice and the date goes well !!

Good luck

It’s happening tomorrow! ?
I will let you know on Monday if I haven’t died of a stroke before hand ?

So we need to know how it went? You hopefully had a lovely time.

Rolande.
Lots of great advice already. Can I just mention something that whilst it sounds so obvious, caution can be thrown out of the window.
One of my Friends, separated last year from her husband.
She has been using a dating site, and has had many contacts some of whom She has met, but so far, no spark.
However, in her searching, my Friend has been contacted by a couple of Men looking for a Partner, who have turned out to be far from genuine. There seems to be a pattern too.
They started off emailing all hours of the day, very chatty, and very romantic. ( meetings were not arranged as they usually live a long way away ). My Friend was truly flattered initially, but then realised that all was not was it seemed.
They then started asking for a monetary 'loan'.
One of them stated that he desperately needed money for his Daughter to pay for a school trip. He asked for £300.
He even got his 'daughter' to FaceTime my friend.
Luckily my Friend was not drawn in, and told him that she had no money. She also asked him why would he ask a stranger for money?
He never replied, and in fact he disappeared from the site.

I do not want to put you off Rolande, as there are a lot of good genuine Chaps on these sites. I just wanted to tell you to be on your guard, that's all.
If they ask for any money, then run for the hills.

Surely illicit encounters is for people who are after something, well, illicit?

D'you know, sometimes people are derogatory about online dating, yet, before the internet, people went on blind dates, which is how I met my husband nearly 40 years ago...

Most dating sites have 93% men and only 7% women, so if he is not right, there are lots more men out there looking for someone like you.

I like "Illicit Encounters" as you can search for a specific profile of someone near you

You will be inundated with strange offers so, once you discard the "no-hopers, you might find your prince - even if you have to kiss a few frogs along the way

Enjoy the journey !
.

Lots of good luck. You have nothing to lose as long as you follow all the advice on here. A pleasant lunch out at the very least. Just enjoy.

Unless there is table service, and unless he's disabled ,it may be a good idea to ask him to go to the counter to order for both of you. In my experience it's awkward when meeting someone when both are queueing .

Good Luck - hope it goes well.

I've nothing to add to all the good advice, but quite understand your anxiety, I would feel just the same! However I often find that the things that worry you most, frequently turn out well in the end. The best of luck!

Good luck, Rolande!!! You will be fine, dress for comfort in something which makes you feel good...he's a biker, in my experience it will be fun, if nothing else.

CARE but dress as if you were meeting a friend for lunch. Shake hands when you meet I think. Put up with him for the duration of the meal even if he’s a total bore or slob then be vague about a second date.

If he’s OK still be careful but friendly and take things very slowly.

Good luck with your date, but be very careful, dont talk about your finances et, you probably wont, but a friend of mine met a man online, they went out for a while and he asked her to marry him, she was over the moon, thought the sun shone out of him
He ended up borrowing her car, his was in the garage being repaired he said, e never brought it back, also fleeced her out of thousands, he was just a con man, she got her car back eventually through the police, but there are some rats out there, hopefully your date will be genuine, but be careful,silly woman met another who she was more wary of, but he turned out not so nice either

Some excellent advice here Rolande. Nothing to add from me other than to say I hope you have a lovely time and don't feel let down in any way. Do keep us posted on how it goes.

No advice to give as I haven’t dated since 1965, but well done for giving it a chance. Wishing you all the very best and I’d love to know what happens.

I have a friend that has dipped her toe into internet dating and she finds that a coffee rather than a meal is a good ' first date ' as it could be just for an hour rather than the time to eat a meal. If the man seems ok then a toastie, or panini makes it last longer. She also likes to arrange it in a garden centre so she can at least have a wander if it all goes t**ts up !! Good luck and keep us posted !

Wear something you feel really confident in. That will relax you. But dress for the occasion in smart casual. I started online dating last summer and after a few hiccups (practice runs) met a really wonderful man which was lovely as I’ve been a widow for over 4 years.

I think what I found helpful was the mistakes I made in the beginning, so that by the time I met my boyfriend I knew what I didn’t want.

Good luck, it is nerve wracking, I know that. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll have fun.