Blind date: It was hard to know how to react to his enthusiasm for a Vegas wedding'

"What were you hoping for? Big love but I was happy to settle for an evening of exchanging ideas and learning what makes a person tick. First impressions? Punctual and a little nervous, or perhaps guarded. What did you talk about? His handstand lessons. Bad bosses. My excellent new book. His gym tribe. London cultural-event overwhelm. His novel. The sense of an impending shift in the world order. Weddings."

"Q&A Show Blind date is Saturday's dating column: every week, two strangers are paired up for dinner and drinks, and then spill the beans to us, answering a set of questions. This runs, with a photograph we take of each dater before the date, in Saturday magazine (in the UK) and online at theguardian.com every Saturday. It's been running since 2009 you can read all about how we put it together here."

The date involved Julien, who arrived punctual and slightly nervous or guarded. Conversation ranged across handstand lessons, bad bosses, a new book, gym tribe, London cultural-event overwhelm, his novel, perceptions of an impending world-order shift, and weddings. A challenging moment occurred upon encountering Julien's enthusiasm for a Vegas wedding. Table manners proved difficult when eating tagliatelle without slurping, with the narrator conceding they likely fell short while Julien did not. Julien's standout quality was a wide range of interests. The Blind Date process pairs two strangers weekly for dinner, photographs daters beforehand, and publishes first name, job and age; matches are blind and answers may be edited.

Read at www.theguardian.com