Finding someone

Like a number of other bloggers I've been thinking allot about whether to keep this online journal going.

It becomes tricky when you truly begin to know your audience, readers become true friends, and you realise that anything you vent out into the ether can actually have consequences.

But in the meantime I'm still here.

At least once of you was curious as to one of the subjects I touched upon in my last post, and I did promise a follow-up.

I came out of a two-year relationship last winter. Love and great times were shared but sadly we decided to part. I couldn't have wished for a more amicable split, and I feel blessed that I've gained a true friend who'll remain just that in the future.

It took me an awfully long time to venture back into the dating game, but as spring slowly turned into an early summer the time felt right to dip a toe into the water.

Still being of limited confidence after all these years, I decided to play to my strengths and joined uniformdating.com. Put basically, it's a dating site for those in the uniformed services (Police, Ambulance/NHS, Fire, Army, RAF, Navy) to meet other uniformed services, or 'civvies', and vice-versa.

The Yorkshireman in me managed to find an online promotional code giving me a month's free membership (which was a bonus). Joining the site was simple enough, however setting up a profile and choosing a suitable photo must have taken half an ice age. See, those who know me will know that one trait I despise in people is arrogance. I'm generally uncomfortable to crow about my own achievements and merits, so just how was I going to sell myself to any potential date?

Hours of staring at a blank cursor flashing on the monitor finally paid off and I put myself out there. Time to sit back, wait, an to be honest not expecting much interest to come trickling back.

But, lo and behold, women started to view my profile. Success! I hear you cry. However, not strictly not the case. Did they not read that I wasn't looking for women over 40? I mean, no offence. I've dated women a few years older but I would most certainly draw the line at a decade now. A few polite excuses were in order. The other problem was that the more interesting women quite literally lived at the other end of the country. I've done the long distance (read transcontinental) thing before and it ain't easy at all.

About a week later however I was messaged by someone a mere 20 miles away. For the purposes of anonymity in this journal I will refer to her as she.

She was attractive, fun, intelligent and bubbly. Even more surprisingly she wanted to meet me. I checked a few times. Yep, she was talking me.

Crikey.

We arranged to meet at a local chain-pub for our first date. Suffice to say you can tell things are going well that you're so deep in conversation that three hours pass in the blink of an eye. Indeed she was attractive, fun, intelligent and bubbly in person.

Wow.

Mentally checked again, oh my god it was me she had wanted to meet.

Date two would have been a lot sooner had I not contracted a pleasant case of conjunctivitis and a particularly chesty cough (I blame a stop search of a suspicious male I did who didn't quite have the best bodily hygiene shall we say). However she demonstrated great patience in waiting for me to get well again.

We arranged to meet again.

The rest you can say is history.

Some two months later and things are going very well indeed. We spend as much time together as work allows. We share similar passions in life, yet she's opening my eyes to new things.

One night she told me she loved me. I was blindsided. I never expected to hear someone look into my eyes and say that ever again. I too have fallen in love with her.

Quite simply she has been the most wonderful surprise. Without sounding cliched I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I expected a long trail of unsuccessful dates. She certainly sounded like she had experienced just that. But to strike lucky first time? I mean, really, what are the chances?

I don't have many exes to speak of, but at least a couple of them remain good close friends.

As I said to one of them recently "Each love is unique."

Treasure each love, mourn it's loss, but dare surrender yourself to the promise of something new.

Hopefully I am proof positive that it is possible.

25 Random Things

Another one of those meme things...

1. I'm an avid Guardian reader.
2. I can happily devour an entire packet of biscuits in one sitting.
3. Deep-down, even at my lowest ebb, I'm still an optimist.
4. I have a love for dance/electronic music, but my tastes are otherwise broad; rock to classical, hip-hop to indie.
5. I'm 6'3".
6. At the last count, I have visited 22 countries and rising... Travel is one of my great passions in life.
7. Following a friends' recommendation I am currently a massive fan of 'The Shield' and secretly wish policing was a little more like that sometime.
8. All the women I've had relationships with were born outside the UK.
9. I drive too fast.
10. I enter a ridiculous number of competitions. Someones got to win, surely?
11. I'm intrigued by religion but am still an agnostic.
12. Bad manners infuriate me - when you hold a door open for someone and they don't say thanks...
13. I'm a bit of a romantic, really.
14. Though I don't read as much as I used to, I've always got a book on the go.
15. I think I'm starting to develop insomnia.
16. Unusual for a bloke; but I love cats.
17. I'm typing this to avoid packing. I move house on the 19th of this month.
18. Before becoming a copper I worked as a bookseller, and prior to that for a small environmental charity in The New Forest.
19. I'm a terrible, but slowly improving cook.
20. When I get some more money through I would like to get a decent digital SLR camera and become a better photographer.
21. I cannot function properly without a morning coffee.
22. I long to be a father. Eventually.
23. My heroes include Moby, Neil Armstrong, David Attenborough, Captain Scott and Ellen MacArthur.
24. I have a strange fascination with cold places, particularly The Antarctic.
25. I can still speak (rustily) fluent Swedish.

Words

"We cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribes shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself..."

Spot-on, Mr President.

Jane Tomlinson

On the deeply unfortunate subject of tragic deaths of remarkable people; like many others this afternoon I was saddened to hear of the passing of Jane Tomlinson.

What more can one say?

Another remarkable individual doing extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances.

An example to us all.

Becks is Back!

Thank god Steve McClaren has seen sense and recalled David Beckham.

Every player has off games, dips in form, but when other players seem to be going through the motions for 90 minutes, more often than not he's the hardest working player in an England shirt.

So what about the fame - he didn't ask to be put on a pedestal, he's simply got where he by playing a game he loves with a quite remarkable talent. If you're going to get given a bit of money for it, are you going to refuse?

He's had his moments of madness, but I for one will always raise a glass to a simply awesome player.

Watch the skies

If you read this before this evening, fabulous.

Look up, tonight.

If reading this tomorrow or later and you didn't raise your eyes to the sky...

Here's what you missed.