Not so long ago, Going On A Date used to be a simple matter of choosing which café, pub, restaurant or film to go to. The list of options was limited, even if the company was the main attraction so it didn’t matter too much. While I love doing all these things, what strikes me these days is how much more opportunity there is to have varied and original experiences involving trying something new with no shortage of fun or quirky date ideas.
Meeting up is happening again and there’s lots to try and interesting things to invite someone to join you at. The good news is that the hospitality industry is super-keen to encourage business so there might be special deals on offer too. Here are six fun date ideas to try.

When you first start dating someone, they might seem almost perfect. In the first flush of love, that person appears to be exactly what you were looking for and it’s hard to imagine anything about them annoying you. Then you start to notice… maybe they chew loudly, pick their teeth after a meal, or spend hours scrolling on their phone. Perhaps these habits are on your list of non-negotiables when searching for love – or are suddenly added to the list! Or it might be that some annoying habits pop up early on and an otherwise interesting person is ruled out completely before you really get to know them. That can be part of a very natural selection process – one person’s annoyance is another person’s lovable quirk – but it could also damage a promising connection. So, what should you do?

My Grandfather remarried in his 70s after my grandmother died. His new wife was an enthusiastic, sunny Californian who would regularly smile at me across the dinner table and say how happy she was to have found my Grandpa, because “the greatest blessing of marriage was having someone to pray with”. As I grew up I started to question what you’re supposed to do if you’re not married with a built-in prayer partner to spur you on. The truth is your prayer life can be as full and exciting whether you’re single or married – you just have to be more intentional.

Relationships, whether in the early ‘butterflies in the stomach’ phase, or twenty years down the line all require some effort to keep things exciting. Perhaps you’re just getting to know someone, and you don’t know if it will lead to your happily ever after, or you’re seeing someone exclusively and wondering how you can keep things ticking along nicely. Or you may be reading this and are just hoping for that someone to develop a spark with. Here are five fun tips on keeping the spark in a relationship.

Looking for love can be challenging. I know from my own experience and from speaking with my coaching clients that we can end up feeling disappointed and downhearted, hopeless even, ready to throw in the towel. If this is you, it might be time to reset your romantic life. A reset will look different for everyone but here are eight steps that might help you to feel optimistic again.

“In July 2017 my now-husband and I met on Christian Connection. My husband, Callam, had signed up to CC as one of his best friends had met his wife through the platform. I joined CC after googling Christian dating sites as it was on my heart to find my husband. I had created an account on CC several months earlier and after having no success I had logged out. To be honest, I was quite disappointed and thought it hadn’t worked out for me. Anyway, after not using CC for a few months something in my heart told me to log back on and try again.

Dating is great when you both know where you’re at and what you ‘are’. Boundaries can be set, and you know and agree where you’re headed. Although some people may not like the idea of labels or awkward conversations about if or when to commit, it does help to set in black and white the status of your relationship, which then manages expectations. But the period before getting to that point can sometimes be muddy. It’s similar to going on a long trip – you’ll check the road map to get an idea of the journey, but diversions and traffic jams can cause some unexpected disruptions.

When you’re both on the same wavelength and united in where a relationship is headed, it’s easier to plan the journey; you may both know you want to get married (maybe to each other!), you’re unified in what you’re after, so let’s make it ‘official’. But how do you reach the point where you can talk about it or be headed in the same direction? How do you know when to move to the next stage? How do you know when to commit?

I have a birthday coming up, and every year among the celebrations, the candles and the parties, there’s a little pang of disappointment and fear as I turn another year older, still single, and not where I imagined I’d be in life. Some years are harder than others. I remember the year I mourned the whole day because I was one year closer to being “too old” to make it in the music industry. The year after when I decided to embrace my wisdom, swam in a freezing cold sea and felt like I could overcome anything.

There was the year I was seeing someone and they didn’t wish me a happy birthday. And then there was my 2020 lockdown birthday when I was back in my parents’ house feeling like a child, when everyone else my age was celebrating birthdays with their partners. This year I’m vowing to enjoy my birthday as a single person. The birthday blues may come, but here are a few ways we can make the most of birthdays and make the blues leave just as quickly…