Missed her other three dates? You can read about them here, here and here!
Week 4, date #4 of my dating-for-charity adventure saw me firmly behind the wheel. Unlike previous dates who had their own ideas on where to go and what we could do, ‘Taylor’ was more than happy to go with the flow, and so I got to plan a picnic!
With sunshine and 21 degrees forecast for the capital, it was a no brainer, right?
Picking a location was made easier by the fact that Taylor doesn’t live central. I’d heard good things about Crystal Palace Park – not overly touristy but with so much history, including full-scale models of dinosaurs sculpted in the 1800s. Well, what experts back then THOUGHT dinosaurs and other extinct animals had once looked like anyway.
“You bring the picnic rug, I’ll handle everything else,” was pretty much my directive.
There was no retro wicker basket or pretty red and white chequered rug to spread out (I didn’t get THAT carried away), but I did make sure I packed some of my date’s favourite food and drink in my trusty reusable grocery bag.
In hindsight a picnic for a first date was probably fraught with danger – and not just due to London’s finicky weather.
Taylor was another setup through a friend, and so essentially a blind date I was taking to a park, plonking on the grass and hoping to get along with without a whole lot to distract us from each other. Brilliant environment for a smitten couple, bit awkward for a first meet up?
Thankfully, chatting over ciders and antipasti we established we had the same taste in music (why yes, Australia does have an awesome alt/prog metal scene!) and the rapport was built from there.
We had a post-picnic wander around the dinosaur lake and Crystal Palace ruins. There’s also a big sports centre in the middle of the park, so lots to gawk at from beach volleyball and rollerblading to model car racing (mental note; bring a footy or grip-ball along next time and work off lunch!).
It was a fun and relaxing way to spend a sunny afternoon, and while I don’t think I’ve found a love match in Taylor, I know we’re very likely to be bumping into each other at a gig sometime soon.
Carlie has just one more Five in Five date to go, and one final week to fundraise for Whitelion, Kids Under Cover and St Kilda Gatehouse – three Australian charities fighting poverty and homelessness. You can show your support for her campaign by clicking here.
