First Date Ideas For Over 70s

Got a first date coming up and no idea where to go? Relax, nobody expects you to plan a safari. At our age the best dates are the ones where you can actually hear each other, sit down when your knees ask nicely, and still be home in time for the news. Here are six ideas that work just as well in Polokwane as they do in Plettenberg Bay.

1. A Long, Lazy Lunch

Lunch beats dinner hands down for a first date over 70. The light is better, the restaurant is quieter, and nobody has to drive home in the dark. Pick somewhere handy for both of you, so one of you is not stuck in traffic on the N1 while the other strolls round the corner. A farm stall restaurant, a wine estate or the little Italian place everyone swears by will all do nicely. One tip from experience: order something you can eat without a bib. The ribs and the spaghetti can wait for the third date.

2. A Stroll In The Garden

A gentle walk takes the pressure off, because you are side by side instead of staring at each other over the salt cellar. Kirstenbosch, the Walter Sisulu gardens in Roodepoort, the Durban Botanic Gardens or simply the park down the road all make a lovely setting. Go early before the sun gets fierce, wear a proper hat and take some water. Finish on a bench with a rooibos, and if the conversation dries up for a moment, the hadedas will happily fill the silence.

3. Be A Tourist At Home

Be honest, when last did you visit a museum in your own city? The open top sightseeing buses in Cape Town and Johannesburg let you sit back and enjoy the sights without hunting for parking, and the commentary gives you plenty to chat about. Smaller towns have their own gems too, from a local history museum to a beautiful old church, or the Big Hole if you are anywhere near Kimberley. Playing tourist together is a lovely way to discover that after seventy odd years, you still have not seen it all.

4. Matinee And Coffee

A film is perfect for a first date, because for two hours nobody has to think of something clever to say. Choose a matinee: it is quieter, often cheaper and finishes long before the evening chill. It is worth asking at the counter whether they run a pensioner special. Afterwards, find a coffee shop and argue happily about whether the ending made any sense. A show at the local theatre or a church concert works just as well.

5. Sunset On The Water

Nothing says romance quite like a sundowner on the water. Depending on where you live, that could be a harbour cruise in Cape Town, a lagoon trip in Knysna or a pontoon boat on the Vaal. Keep it gentle, this is a first date, not the Cape to Rio. Take a jersey, because it is always cooler on the water than anyone expects, and hold onto your hat.

6. Tea At The Nursery

It is hardly rock and roll, but a good nursery with a tea garden is a winner. Wander through the aloes and the fynbos, compare notes on what the frost or the drought did to your roses, and finish with scones and a pot of tea. If you both love gardening you will never run out of things to say, and if your date can name every succulent in the place, you may well have found a keeper.

Wherever you go, meet somewhere public, let a friend or family member know where you will be, and make your own way there and back. Most of all, enjoy yourselves!

Look who else just joined