Lucy Frost, First Year, Classics, Worcester
Arriving at Turf armed only with the name of my date inevitably led to some awkward staring at strangers until I was saved by the tentative question: “You wouldn’t happen to be Lucy, would you?” Thankfully, this was definitely the low-point of the date as we soon bought drinks and got to talking. On finding out that Nicky was from Oklahoma, I decided to ignore any initial thoughts of stereotypes drilled into me by Oklahoma! only to realise that he fit the bill almost entirely. It turned out I was on a date with one of the roguest guys in Oxford who spends his time playing ultimate frisbee, making cocktails, and spinning (as in full-on Rumpelstiltskin spinning wheel spinning). Despite the clash of his very rogue and my very mainstream interests, the conversation took off. With mutual appreciation of doggos, The West Wing, dabbling while rowing, and P!NK, we took our date to the Balliol bar.
First impression? His name’s Nicky.
Chat? Love it.
Personality? Sam Seaborn, is that you?
Second date? He’d have to get in line.
Nicky Halterman, Second Year, PPE, Balliol
My blind date got off to a somewhat worrying start when I was sent to the Turf at 8pm having failed to find out anything except that I was meeting someone named Lucy. Fortunately I ran into someone else dressed for a summer date and looking equally lost. We got a drink and somehow found a table on a Friday night, so things were already looking up as we set about the standard Oxford checklist of college/degree/part of London/societies. The conversation was enjoyable, if occasionally job-interview-ish, and eventually we managed to push through the opening to questions to showing each other pictures of our dogs, at which point I knew things were going well. We ended up retreating to my College bar for cheaper drinks and a pool table, calling it a night after another pint and some games of questionable quality. In the end the evening was good fun, though we never particularly found a great deal in common or a strong connection.
First impression? Positive, slightly awkward.
Chat? Enjoyable.
Personality? Kind, polite.
Second date? Probably not.
