London Dating: 20Days @ Mahiki

By pfog Last edited 168 months ago
London Dating: 20Days @ Mahiki

mahiki20days3 (Small).JPG Born of a club originally dedicated to organising ski trips, 20days has expanded into other holidays and less-than-usual events. According to organiser Fliss, the singles nights were more or less an afterthought, and done "for a laugh" - such a casual attitude is a boon for speed dating, which most people view as contrived and awkward. Being affiliated with the adventure-holiday and events club, it's a pretty safe bet the people attending won't be the average "long walks on the beach" crowd, but tend more towards the "jogging down the beach and into the water for a session of kite surfing" end of the spectrum.

The formula is pretty simple: a private space booked at a bar, a few cocktails, and a couple dozen people (already vaguely like minded thanks to the club's day job) sit down for a quick chat, swapping every few minutes and submitting a scorecard at the end of the night. Once the allotted time is up, most stick around to keep on partying and getting to know one another better than the allotted minutes allow. We gave it a spin at their last event and had a ball meeting a pleasantly mixed crowd of interesting people who view it as a fun night out, rather than a desperate last stand. And, if foreign accents float your boat, there seemed to be a higher than average proportion of expats in attendance.

20days host their next singles night at Mahiki on 25th March (£25, includes cocktails and canapés). As usual, there's always a need for more gents!

Last Updated 01 March 2010