As a Luxurious Nomad living in the twenty-first century, whose age is in the second-half of its own century, and whose love of the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries leaves her feeling like a woman out of time, it is rather challenging to find a partner.
The Season
In ‘my’ era (late Victorian-Edwardian), people did ‘the season’ in order to meet potential partners.
I grant that the system had its flaws, but it was an opportunity for individuals to meet, dance, talk, and even if on some very superficial level, to get to know one another.
While respectability was held as a virtue, some slightly less virtuous fellows had an interesting way of letting one know exactly their intentions – bring on the nineteenth-century ‘calling cards’ – yes, they are real!
You can read more about them here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/instead-cheesy-pickup-lines-19th-century-americans-gave-out-calling-cards-180957743/
The Twentieth Century
By the middle of the twentieth century, the season had largely died out (with the last debutante ball and presentation at Court held in 1958) – but still people met at dances, village events, and the like.
The Digital Age
Move forward to the twenty-first century, people barely even know their next-door-neighbours, and dating is done online.
I have run the gamut of various dating sites on and off for about ten years or so, and in that time have some extraordinary tales to tell of dates gone wrong (LOL! That brings some doozies back to mind!), some lovely men who since became friends, and some that never made it past the first couple of messages (LOL!!! again, such memories! If we meet up for a drink sometime, remind me and I will fill you in! LOL!).
I still have an active membership on one site to which I subscribed during one of the ‘off again’ times in my previous relationship.
Out of curiosity, I thought I would log in… and lo and behold, apparently I have an almost perfect “match”!
…but what is a “Match”?
In this instance, the man in question is a 5’7″ accountant (I am 5’9″ and said in my profile that I like tall men) who likes to take holidays in the sun (I wrote that I love the cold weather and avoid the sun), and whose one and only photo was a selfie taken on an iPad in the bathroom.
(by the way, this is a premium site with premium membership)
Aside from this obvious non-match, at various times I have been “matched” with a man who when he started to get to know me said, “I would always feel I was trying to compete with you”; another who spent the first communications asking about my political affiliations – and then proceeded to twist my actual answers so that they agreed with his; and yet another who let me know right at the outset that he liked to tie women to bedposts (good to know)!
Post Covid
…and now with dear old coronavirus in the mix, me thinks that the best chance of me meeting a man will be at a gas station!
Hmmmmm, that does remind me about an absolutely dishy man I met at a gas station near Wales one time… I told him I was in lust with his bright yellow Bentley (LOL!) – and we had the loveliest banter about ‘Driving Miss Daisy’… and then… alas… we both left…
Note: if anyone happens to know said fellow with the bright yellow Bentley, please do feel free to give him my number! 🙂
So, why am I still single?
One day my Mr Right will turn up – and until then…
~ Bella
