She seemed so distant whenever I tried to chat to her

but increasingly I found the conversation really hard work. We did talk about some stuff including travel — I’m a really keen traveller and have visited 37 countries, though it’s my ambition to visit 50.

Julie loves camping in her campervan, which I’d love to do, too, but it quickly became obvious that we’re not going to be heading off together.

On the whole it was clear that we didn’t have that much in common and Julie came across as a little bit distant.

I am a member of dating websites Match and Plenty of Fish and have been on several dates with women I met online, but the elusive spark has always been missing. Sadly it wasn’t ignited with Julie either.

The food was delicious, but Julie consumed her meal at a great rate which I took to mean she couldn’t wait to leave.

We walked out together. Julie said she wanted to see Cardiff because she hadn’t been to the city for many years, but having previously said that she hated shopping, she then told me she was off to do some.

I would have happily carried on talking with Julie or even accompanied her on her shopping trip, but it was clear that she wanted to get away.

If I’m honest, I had found the date quite awkward too, but I was willing to make the effort. I like to give things a chance to develop, but the problem with dating now is that people can be so fast to judge.

We left with a kiss on the cheek but didn’t swap numbers. Our homes are geographically miles apart, but more importantly we were definitely miles apart connection wise.

Still, the weather was good and the food was excellent — and as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

It hasn’t put me off dating though, and I still am getting out there. It is definitely more difficult when you’re older because I think that there are fewer people you can connect with, but it would absolutely be nice to meet someone someday!

LIKE: She came across as a nice person. REGRETS: No regrets. CAB/COFFEE: Cab.

VERDICT: 6/10