What started out at 8pm as a relatively sedate affair had, within 30 minutes, erupted into a full blown party – The perfect introduction to the summer.
This was Saturday’s Mingle at the Mal, our first party of the summer at the wonderful Malmaison Hotel in Clerkenwell. Due to the size of the venue we’d limited the number of tickets to 150 and by 8:30 pretty much everyone had arrived.
The premise was lock and key, wherein gentleman get keys and ladies get a lock. As an ice breaker this is the perfect way to get to chat to people and, should the lock be opened, you then come to us to be entered into a prize draw for some bottles of bubbly, get another set of keys or lock and away you go again.
Normally people are slightly reticent and it takes a while for us to start giving out raffle tickets. I’m not sure what happened on Saturday – was it the weather? Was it the cocktails or champagne? – but almost immediately a small queue built as people enthusiastically undertook attempts to unlock each other and met matches within minutes.
It was all pleasantly raucous in a very good way. Throw in a bunch of speed dating sessions booked through our bespoke online system in an adjoining room and we very quickly had a brilliantly entertaining event on our hands.
I’m fairly certain a few jugs of Mojitos were doing the rounds as our single London professionals dressed in their sunny finest embraced this celebration of summer with both arms. And while the bar was certainly busy, they were also brilliantly efficient, whether pouring a beer or mixing four Old Fashioneds at one time. We certainly couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Of course there were a few ‘school disco’ moments – A few couples snogging in what I can only assume they thought were covert corners. But this is the point really – A relaxed fun night to enjoy the start of the sunny season, with a great ice breaker, in great company and in a superb venue.
It may be that there were a few sore heads the next day, but I challenge anyone present to tell me it wasn’t worth all it.
If you missed out this time around, don’t despair, we’ve got a great calendar of events lined up for the next few months including our famous Rock The Boat river cruise and next month’s Summer in the City party. Details to follow soon.
Thank you to all who came and made it such an enjoyable night and we hope to see many of you again soon.
THE ORIGINAL DATING TEAM