Blind date

He walked out and left me sitting there. I was so upset. How could any man be so rude?

EverY week, we send a couple out on a blind date. This time, Susan elwood, 65, went to lunch at The Garden room restaurant in The George of Stamford hotel, in Lincolnshire, with Mark, a 60-year-old divorcé.

But her date abruptly left the restaurant after only a cup of tea — and refused to explain why.

Understandably bewildered and bruised, Susan has bravely decided to speak out about her experience, in the hope it will help others who have also had the humiliation of a dating disaster.

Susan is retired from working in hospitality overseas and lives in Stamford. She is divorced.

SUSAN, 65, SAYS:

I CAN safely say this was one of the worst dates of my life. I’ve been single for five years since my divorce and have dated quite a bit, mostly online and via apps. I’ve dated all kinds of people, but this was the first time someone has been so rude.

I can see why, on paper, we might have been matched. I’m active and busy and travel is my passion. I like music, swimming, theatre, comedy, good conversation, good food and wine and kind people.

I also do a lot of work for charity, so when I heard that my date did a lot of fundraising and volunteering, as well as loving music, I was looking forward to meeting him.

When Mark arrived, I thought he looked like an undertaker. Then he admitted he was one! Thankfully, he said he had left his hat in the car.

There’s nothing wrong with being an undertaker, but you don’t expect someone to dress like one on a date.

Yet his appearance was nothing compared to his demeanour. From the word go, it was clear he didn’t really want to meet me and I was very taken aback by his behaviour.

I had originally suggested a low-key cafe, but then the location changed, so I chose the beautiful Garden room restaurant, where I’d been before.

It’s a treat to go somewhere special on a date, especially as the daily Mail was kindly picking up the tab! But as soon as Mark walked in, he made it very clear he didn’t want to eat in such a fancy place and suggested we go elsewhere. I wasn’t about to head off with someone I’d just met and anyway, it would have been rude to leave.

Mark said he would never pay £10 for a bowl of soup and that he had asked the Mail if he could donate his part of the lunch to a homeless charity. He became very animated, so I told him he didn’t have to order it, especially as I could tell I was already a fly in his soup!

I persuaded him to sit down and have a cup of tea (although, frankly, I needed a glass of wine by then) but he continued to rant about the price of everything.

I tried politely to tell him perhaps a date wasn’t the right platform for his charitable endeavours and that we might focus on getting to know each other instead.

I have done a lot of work with the homeless and I can honestly say that there are better ways to support a soup kitchen than not eating a bowl of soup on a date!

He then became very combative, telling me about his marriage break-up, and seemed very angry.

Frankly, he came to the date with baggage. He hasn’t dealt with his issues. Believe me, I know everyone has skeletons, but we have to try not to bring them on dates!

I told him he was being rude towards me and his behaviour was making me uncomfortable.

He said he wasn’t trying to be rude, but he wouldn’t be spending a tenner on a bowl of soup.

Once he’d finished his tea (which he proclaimed was the worst cup he had ever drunk), he walked out and left me there. I really felt so embarrassed and upset. But there was no way I was going to let him ruin everything — so I held my head up high, ordered lunch and sat there eating it by myself.

I didn’t have the soup, but the seabass was delicious, and I want to thank the staff for being so kind and caring towards me.

As I sat there, I went over everything that had happened to see if I had done something wrong. But I can honestly say I did everything to try to make it work. All I could think was that perhaps he had come with an agenda and no intention of getting to know me. I am by no means perfect, but I felt he was highly disrespectful to both me and the restaurant. I’ve been lucky and have found love a number of times in my life. I do go on dates, but I’m finding it harder to push myself. Staying in watching Netflix can seem an easier option than trying to get to know a stranger. I know finding someone special takes effort and, as we get older, it can be more difficult for both men and women. But when you do find a connection, it is the most wonderful feeling. I’d love to meet someone who likes travel and shares my interests. As this date has taught me, they must have a great sense of humour and be able to laugh at themselves! I’m not a quitter: I say you have to turn the page when bad experiences happen, so I won’t give up on dating. Mark didn’t like his cup of tea and I wasn’t his cup of tea either, which is fine. But I don’t think this was even about me, so it won’t stop me from going on another date. I hope there is a man out there who knows how to treat a woman well and who wouldn’t care where we ate, as long as we had a good time together. LIKED? Nothing. REGRETS? None on my side. COFFEE OR CAB? Cab. Verdict: 0/10

OUR DATING DOCTOR SAYS:

A BAD date can leave you bewildered, upset and reluctant to carry on, but the thing to remember is that if love was simple to predict, dating would be easy. A match that looks good on paper can end in zero attraction — while people who we might assume are mis-matched can enjoy amazing chemistry. We are often sold the myth that finding love is easy — romantic novels and movies make us believe that it happens as fast as eyes meeting across a crowded room. But in real life, love rarely comes knocking. You have to go out and find it and the journey can take many twists. This column tries to help people return to dating and encourage them to persevere if, at first, they don’t find ‘The One’. We decided to publish Susan and Mark’s date to show that things can go wrong — but it’s not the end of the world. A bad experience can be upsetting. But the problem is rarely, if ever, about you. So, keep dating and, one day, you may just find that perfect match to share tea for two.

Mark’s name has been changed. Do you have a dating horror story? share it with us at femailreaders@dailymail.co.uk