They Just Clicked

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday March 7, 2008

By Brooke Hemphill

Helen and Tom witness 'pashes and dashes' at a website's launch.

Helen Lascelles is a 30-year-old trendsetting party animal looking for a guy 26 to 38, according to her profile on the dating website Meet My Friend. Metro sent Helen to the launch of the new site at Ruby Rabbit, accompanied by part-time model Tom Barrett. But the account of their evening has left us a little confused. If Helen is looking for a man, why did she end up making out in a gay bar at the end of the evening?

Helen is first to arrive at Ruby Rabbit to collect her VIP pass and she heads upstairs to De Nom with her eyes peeled for any celebrities or socialites. Beach balls hang from the roof and the staff are dressed in T-shirts that say "Qualified Wingman". The opening line of introduction is "Meet my friend" but without a friend to introduce, Helen goes it alone. She is soon chatting to a "really hot Spanish guy" who isn't aware he has stumbled upon a singles party.

Tom chooses this moment to arrive and together they check out the other floors and introduce Tom around. He meets Kate, who Helen says is "chatting him up".

The party goes from popular to packed in less than half an hour. "Every single floor was heaving," Tom says irritably. He also notices the abundance of men.

Helen is like a kid in a candy store. "There are plenty of pashes and dashes going on," Tom says. By now the ever-growing sea of singles has swept the lovely Kate away and Tom cannot see where she went. "I did try and find her again but there are so many people," Tom says. "She said she was on the website, so I might sign up." He hits the dance floor, leaving Helen to fend for herself.

"I was talking to some guy for about 10 minutes and he said, 'I'm a friend of Tom's,'???" Helen says. "I wasn't meaning to flirt, I was just mucking around. Then he said to me, 'I live in Darling Point. If we go now, no one will notice.'???" Helen is surprised: "I've never heard anything like it and I hadn't even given him any indication [I was interested]."

Both our contestants seem rather popular.

"I had my number asked for a couple of times," Tom says. "But there was no one there that I thought, 'Yeah, brilliant.' "

The catchcry of the Meet My Friend concept is "Matchmake, meddle, mingle", and while Helen is mingling she meets Steve. "I ran into Steve, who I met once at Martin Place Bar. We were flirting for the rest of the night," she says. Tom doesn't appear to be in the mood to mingle so he dabbles in a spot of meddling.

"Steve was hanging around Helen like a bad smell," he observes. Helen doesn't seem to mind and, after reviewing her options, she and Steve leave the party together.

"On the record you can say we were at Stonewall snogging," Helen says, referring to the popular gay pub a few hundred metres down the road. "Maybe you should say he walked me home," she continues. And off the record? We'll just have to use our imagination.

The following day, Tom contacts Helen to apologise for being grumpy at the party. He says he wasn't in the most social mood. Perhaps he is also a little disappointed about the lady who disappeared on him.

"I had a look on the website today but couldn't find her on it," Tom says. He is "possibly" interested in seeing her again but says he's not willing to actively pursue it. Perhaps he could benefit from the assistance of one of those qualified wingmen.

The venue

The launch of dating website Meet My Friend, where you talk up your friends, was held at Ruby Rabbit and De Nom. The Rabbit occupies the lower two floors, catering to the average punter, while De Nom, on the third level, has a more chic design. See www.meetmyfriend.com.au. De Nom and Ruby Rabbit are at 231 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, 9332 3197, www.rubyrabbit.com.au.

The contestants

Helen Lascelles, 30

"I'm into peacocking at bars - the art of wearing something outrageous to get attention."

Tom Barrett, 29

"I'm not someone who's going to chase and chase and chase."

THE DATING GAME

Each month, Metro sends

singles to try different ways to meet people in Sydney.

We follow their adventures and track their progress in search of a partner. Each month's contestants compete to win a dinner for two. To score the prize, they need to find someone to take along. To get involved email

dating@smh.com.au.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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