Press cuttings

Fast romance for the flirtysomething generation

Words: Ruth Hedges

It's a sign of the times and that's for sure. Speed dating - the new phenomenon to hit London - is the latest manifestation of an ever accelerated lifestyle. And it's coming to Glasgow and Edinburgh this February.

For the young professional who simply doesn't have enough time to meet people, let alone woo them, this is for you. Sign up, come to a bar and meet 30 or so other go-getters who can just about fit in a quick flirt after work and before the gym.

Working on a rotational basis, each participant has three minutes to impress before getting moved on to the next person. After the event you mark up who you'd like to see again and if there are matches, they put you in touch. A form of shag-tag for yuppies.

Founder of British Speed Dating, Simon Prockter explains where the idea came from: "The origins lie with a rabbi in the west coast of America who held the equivalent of a church parish meeting and asked how they were going to stop the young people marrying out of faith. They came up with the idea of getting all the local young Jewish people together to meet each other in quick sessions ...and then a giant Israeli organisation reformed it into the concept of speed dating.

Like the Big Brother concept, it has that buzz quality: compulsively of the moment, a big flashing wagon to jump aboard. And apparently, after starting in October, Prockter says they haven't been able to meet demand. To give you the stats: there are three age groups 24-36, 29-41, 34-46; 90% of people get matches and 40-50% of those go on to date one of their matches in the following week.

Not convinced? Fear not. The List is sending a trusty reporter to test it out. Read all next issue out Thursday 30th January. To find out more in the meantime check out www.speeddater.co.uk