At my age nothing fazes me...I’m past those sort of feelings

DATING PAST?

It’s been pretty patchy on the romance front because working abroad on ships isn’t good for a relationship. I split with my last partner after two-and-a-half years because I was away so often. Unsurprisingly, I’ve never married, but I have been engaged twice.

One fiancée unfortunately died and another left me for someone else. I did arrive home once to see another chap’s picture next to my then partner’s bedside.

PRE-DATE NERVES?

I dOn’t get nervous. At my age nothing fazes me, I’m past those sorts of feelings. Although, I did shave off my lockdown beard and get a haircut before the date.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS? sUe is a bouncy and fun person. I was pleased with the match.

EASY TO TALK TO?

I wAs a good boy and didn’t discuss politics, but explained to sue I only returned to the UK because of the financial impact on the cruise industry. we have both travelled extensively. I lived in thailand for 35 years running a hotel before joining the cruise industry. I speak thai, Malaysian, Indonesian and French, too. I also discovered we have both lived in France and the Middle east.

I let sue choose the wine: a delicious spanish white.

EMBARRASSING MOMENTS? nOne.

DID SPARKS FLY? whIle I tend not to make snap decisions about people, there was no flirting from either side. she was different to my normal type. I think we could be friends, but we didn’t exchange phone numbers because I forgot to ask for hers.

DID YOU KISS? nO. thAt was out of the question with the coronavirus situation, so we bumped elbows instead. I’d be happy to meet up with sue for lunch whenever she is in london. we spent almost three hours together and there were no awkward silences.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE THOUGHT OF YOU?

I thInK she will say that I was all right and that we had great fun together. we had a lively conversation and I think she enjoyed it.

WOULD YOUR FAMILY LIKE HER?

Yes. she lives in hertfordshire and we probably know the same social crowd of people.