Susan and Pete End Manchester Blind Date With 8/10 Reviews, No Romantic Spark

Q: What happens when two septuagenarians find perfect harmony over open-fire cooking but hit an immovable ideological wall?

They get an enjoyable, warm date that ends in friendship rather than romance. At Stow in Manchester, Susan, 74, and Pete, 72, found easy rapport over a polished lunch in a restaurant known for open-fire cooking and sharing plates. Both said the conversation flowed naturally across family, walking in the Peak District, running, sailing, travel, cancer and religion. They also discovered small points of affinity, including twins in their lives and similar bedtime listening habits, which helped create the sense of harmony. Both came away impressed. Susan described Pete as welcoming, kind and sociable; Pete called Susan lovely, attractive and fascinating. The lunch itself appears to have reinforced that comfort: they shared dishes, praised each other’s manners and were among the last to leave before walking together back to Manchester Piccadilly station. But the “immovable ideological wall” was religion. Susan, who said she is agnostic, felt that difference would likely be a sticking point with Pete, a retired Methodist minister. Pete agreed there was no romantic spark, saying there was “no spark of that kind.” So the outcome was not a love match, but not a failure either. They exchanged numbers, spoke positively about each other, and left open the possibility of meeting again, especially for a walk in the Peak District. In effect, strong personal chemistry and shared interests carried them to the edge of something more, but differing beliefs stopped it becoming a romance.

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 22

A polite peck at Manchester Piccadilly capped Susan and Pete’s blind date, but both said there was no romantic spark despite exchanging numbers.
An 8 from Susan and 8.5 from Pete reflected a warm afternoon built on easy conversation about family, politics, religion, travel and the Peak District.
Shared ground helped the date flow — Susan has twins, Pete is a twin, and both said they quickly felt at ease over lunch at Stow in Manchester.
Religion appeared to be the clearest obstacle to anything further, with Susan saying her agnosticism would likely be a sticking point even though she found Pete kind and sociable.