Table for one, please

As I have mentioned on my “About” page, I have set this page up to write about a number of different subjects.  I’ll never be a best selling novelist but hope that my posts are interesting to read.

So, as a little introduction, I am single and live in Manchester (UK).  My life is pretty hectic with a busy corporate job, social life, holidays and dating.  Hopefully that will give me plenty to write about.

This Easter weekend has been a classic – eating, partying, recovering, eating….you get the picture.  I’m lucky to have some awesome friends who support me and who I support in return.  I do sometimes like to go out on my own and have some quality “me time”.  Yes, sure, I like a duvet day as much as the next person, but that’s not really quality time. It’s sometimes nice to go out to the cinema or for dinner on my own.

Dining alone, even if it is at a casual place during the day, seems to raise eyebrows.  Just today, after an enjoyable lunch with a good friend, I decided to stop by a bar close to my flat for a drink.  I sat at a table alone, ordered a drink and watched the world go by. My phone battery had died whilst out at lunch, and I had no book with me, so it was just me.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that when out in a couple or larger group, it is considered rude to sit there looking at Facebook or reading a book.  Yet it seems suspicious for a lone diner to sit without any props.  The bar staff this afternoon asked me several times if I was expecting someone, and seemed surprised when I said no.  Each time the staff asked, I could see the couple of at the next stable turn to listen and then overheard them having a little gossip about little old me being sat at the next table.

I have been single for ten years but I only started to enjoy eating alone about eighteen months ago. Before that, I used to worry about what people would think about me dining alone.  But I overcame my fear and on a day off work eighteen months ago, I decided to get some lunch alone and although I felt a little uncomfortable, I had a book to read so soon felt ok.  About six months ago, I had an evening meal alone whilst on my first solo trip abroad (more on that to come in another post) and didn’t have a book, nor did I want to use my data in a foreign country. So I sat there and ate my meal without anything to protect me and it was a revelation.

It’s actually quite liberating, feeling comfortable to eat alone. It means that if I want to eat out, and my friends either aren’t available or don’t want to go where I want to go, I don’t have to miss out.  It’s not sad, despite what the gossips at the next table thought today.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be away alone meaning I will be dining alone for five nights, and you know what? I’m really looking forward to asking for a table for one!