MY EIGHT TIPS FOR DATING OVER 50

1 DATING again after a long period can be daunting. Start by volunteering or joining a local interest group rather than a dating site (try

meetup.com to find groups in your area). You’ll find people with similar interests and get the confidence to just go out on your own while broadening your social circle.

2 OUR children want us to be happy. So if you are worried what your kids may think of their mum on the dating scene, talk to them. I bet you they’ll think it’s great.

3 DON’T dismiss internet or app dating. To our generation it can still seem an odd way to meet someone, but everyone does it. Even if you don’t meet the man ( or woman) of your dreams you’ll have a hoot in the process.

4 TODAY’S women ‘ multi date’ — they see several men at the same time until they find someone they want to be exclusive with (what we used to call ‘going out with’). Everyone knows the score, there’s no deception and it doesn’t limit you. 5 TRY not think too much about how you dated ‘back in the day’. If you want to date a younger man, an older man, a man who lives a long distance away, don’t dismiss it because it didn’t used to be the done thing. It is now!

6 IF YOU go on a date with a man and you don’t click, don’t rule out a friendship. Women over 50 sometimes lack male friends, so try to build on that — he may not be for you, but he may have a friend who is.

7 SAY ‘yes’ to invitations. A drinks party on a work night may sound tiring, but who knows what you might be missing? If you go and it’s not for you then you can leave after one drink. We have one life, that’s it, so live it.

8 GET a girlfriend to be your official ‘plus one in mischief’. For me it’s my friend Clare. We have the best time. We call ourselves Eric and Ernie because we often end up sharing a bed like Morecambe and Wise used to. I’ve even bought a pipe and big glasses (I’m Eric)!