I'm a down to earth person, bit old fashioned perhaps (I like to be polite and hold doors open and the like, not as in wearing tweed and smelling of moth balls! :) still looking for my ever elusive soul mate, I'm getting fed up waiting for serendipity to kick in so I thought I'd give this a whirl. Not much luck so far as most women just seem to be looking for the tall, dark and handsome version of the species. I keep telling myself there must be someone out there somewhere looking for an average height, blond and a not so handsome version? We shall see won't we!

I'm a happy, friendly and quiet natured sort of person, I love all animals, the outdoors and walking and cycling in the country whatever the weather. Trips to the zoo to see the Red Pandas and MeerKats (Haven't seen Alexandr Orlov there yet though ;o) Galleries as I love art of all kinds, being creative (painting, drawing and carving to name a few) love books and audio books (everyone should listen to Hugh Laurie reading Three men in a boat by Jerome K Jerome ... it's brilliant!) Trying my best to be green and buying ethically, music of all kinds whether it's rock, pop, blues, bluegrass, reggae, indie, world, folk and some classical artists like Einaudi (Lisa Gerrard fan too) I really don't care about genres, if it sounds good I like it! I also love films, although not into horror, guts n gore or violent stuff. Personally I think the worlds got quite enough of that already without having to use it for entertainment!

It would be great to meet somebody who maybe had a few interests in common but not necessarily all of them! (Although that would be nice of course!) Having said that, an animals lover is an absolute must though ... dogs are my favourite but I love cats too and hope to have both one day. I don't mind dogs that jump up or say hello with muddy paws and I don't mind a bit of animal hair on my clothes either ... life's waaay too short to be worrying about stuff like that if you ask me. If how you look is one of your most important concerns in the world then we're probably not going to get on! Shallow Hal's profile is probably on here somewhere :o)

Still reading? Then I shall continue ......

I'm veggie and have been for over 20 years but just because I am I don't expect a girlfriend to be, it's a personal choice after all. But please, please, please don't call yourself a veggie if you eat fish or chicken. A - you're not and B - you make us proper veggies look bad! After all, chickens and fish are sentient beings too you know.

No I haven't just thrown my toys out of the pram, this is just one of the few things in this life that annoys me. The others include people who chuck litter - As a great bumper sticker once said - Don't be a tosser, put it in the bin! (Perhaps it should be a sticker near some peoples steering wheels) and 'reality' TV, honestly, what's real about it?

Bar humbug!! Right, the toys are now teetering right on the edge of the pram, I'd better quit while I'm ahead!

PS I'm not into football, motorbikes or cars, I prefer walking or cycling rather than driving but if you like them that's fine, life would be boring if we all liked the same things wouldn't it.

I'm sounding better and better aren't I ... hmmm, don't all write at once :)

For a first date, the old saying keep it simple springs to mind. Nothing fancy, a nice relaxed meal in a quiet pub or a stroll along the river followed by a visit to a tea shop would be my idea of a good first date. I'm not really into pubbing and clubbing anymore, I prefer a quiet country pub with a roaring fire these days!

I should also just say (I will shut up in a minute honest!) I am NOT looking for an intimate encounter or anything meaningless. It would be nice to find a friend first and see where it goes kind of thing, if that turns into something more serious that would be great.

Bye and thanks for reading right to the end, well done you! :o)