Jen Holmes, First Year, Medicine, St Hugh’s
Unfortunately, as per, I underestimated the time it takes to get anywhere from St Hugh’s, so I was a tad late – luckily for me Joe was still waiting. After the awkward introductions we went inside for a friendly chat over a drink in the Bear Inn. While it was a slow start, with us both suffering from a case of first date nerves, once we had our drinks and had got the usual questions over with, the con- versation started flowing. Discussing the usual topics from where we each lived, pets and family chatting was nice and for the most part awkward silence was avoided. Passionate about his subject, Joe excelled in storytelling. He made historical events seem more entertaining than ever, and his historical themed cocktails sounded even more interesting. Time flew and before I knew it my glass was empty: I had to make my excuses and unfortunately return to the library.
First Impressions?
Obviously nervous, but soon opened up.
Quality of the chat?
6/10.
Most awkward moment?
Waiting for the bartender to take our photo at the end of the date.
Kiss or miss?
Sweet but not my type – miss.
Joseph Brown First Year, History, Worcester
We met at the door of the Bear Inn as had been agreed beforehand. After introducing ourselves, we promptly ordered pints of cider and before long the conversation was flowing. We discussed all sorts of topics, mostly fairly normal ones like our hobbies, what our impressions of Oxford life were, our plans for the summer etc. Though we’re on quite different ends of the spectrum when it comes to academic subjects, each of us managed to gauge the other’s interest, particularly as regards our intellectual pursuits – Jen liked my account of the tale of Heloise and Abelard, the most notorious lovers of 12th century France, and arguably of all time. Generally, the conversation went quite naturally – we most certainly didn’t run out of things to discuss – and, overall, we had a very enjoyable and relaxed time chatting, drinking and chilling in the pub.
First impressions?
Struck me as a nice, laid back person.
Quality of the chat?
Very good and light-hearted.
Most awkward moment?
Saying I loved IT after she admitted to a clown phobia.
Kiss or miss?
Miss – but open to meeting again.
