[COMPETITION] Looking for romance? You could find it on this 4 Star weekend.

Darragh

It's a little bit different to our usual competitions but once you spot the location, you may well be tempted to give this a go...



That's a suite in the Hotel Westport and thanks to DiscoverIreland.ie, we're offering two lucky single people the chance to

find love in the West of Ireland at the Hotel Westport Singles Weekend taking place from the 26 - 28 February in Westport, Co. Mayo.


So we're opening it up to all Gentlemen and Ladies on Boards.ie - we're happy to give it to one person who will go, or if you want the whole prize for yourself and a friend, you can say that too. It will be down to the quality of the entry!

The lucky people will each experience the full Singles Weekend Programme including a selection of speed dating, fun alternative blind date, interactive game show, and an outdoor activity (weather permitting) as well as

• two night’s accommodation with a complimentary upgrade to a Premier Room, full Irish breakfast each morning
• light refreshments on Friday night and
• dinner on Saturday night as part of the Singles group.

As well as boasting a fantastic night life with lively pubs and quality restaurants, Westport has lots of great activities on offer like; horse riding, surfing, shopping, hiking and boat trips - just to mention a few!

While staying in Westport you can take in one or more of the many natural attractions in the area such as Croagh Patrick, the stunning Clew Bay with its 365 islands, and a plethora of award-winning blue flag beaches.

Hotel Westport is secluded in 7 acres of beautiful woodland in the heritage town of Westport and includes the luxurious Ocean Spirit Spa.

Ireland is the perfect location for people looking for something that little bit different. For more information and great value accommodation, please log onto www.discoverireland.ie

So, how do you enter? Simply stick a post below detailing your most awful date. The one you look back on and shudder about.

(I don't mean the 12th of February 1996, now gents, I mean the time you went out with someone hoping for the best and it turning out to be awful. )

The better the story, the higher your chance of winning - and we'll take the number of thanks each post gets into consideration.


Terms and conditions: This is open to all Boards.ie members who have 10 posts or more. Travel expenses to and from Westport are not included. Just to clarify, you can either enter to go on your own or to bring a friend. We'll pick the winner and PM them on February 19. Any questions to hello@boards.ie please and thanks

deathstarkiller

Once on a second date the woman brought me to her house. It was a tiny bungalow in the middle of nowhere, fields went on forever on one side and a forrest on the other. While driving there I began to feel the fear especially the smaller the roads got. It all felt a little like a horror movie. The fact that she'd driven me there so there was no easy way to escape and that there was no mobile phone signal did not help. :eek:

Inside her house it was just me, her and her cats. I just wanted to leave so there was going to be no romance. I sat awkwardly on the couch as far away from where she was sitting as I could and I waited for time to pass.

Eventually after a few fake yawns and saying 'oh I have to get up early for work tomorrow' a couple of times she got the hint it was time to drive me back to civilization.

When she got me back to my car she went for a kiss and I went with it. Suddenly she bites my tongue HARD!! I stopped kissing her and pulled back, figured maybe she made a mistake so I went back for more. This time she bites my lip and I began to bleed. I just pulled back, said 'ok, see ya now'.

I was quite disgusted and on the way home I had to pull the car over and puke. Yay!!

The next day she sends me a mail saying she was into s&m and sorry if she went too far. I didn't meet her again. In fact it pretty much put me off online dating.

unreggd

Is it open for Single, not looking :P ?

Reganio 2

I went on a date with this girl I had known for a while and we were good friends so we thought we would go on a date to give it a try. Date was going grand but she got a bit drunk and fell over an awful lot but that wasn't the worst part, she kissed me unexpectadly and then pulled away real quick and got sick on my shoes. Needless to say I wasn't that impressed so I got her in a taxi to take her home, in the taxi she didnt get sick but she did lift up her top to show off her womany bits in the car and press them up against the window.

We didnt' go on a date again .

Gillington

Hopefully this counts as a date.

Was going out with a girl for a year at this stage,so was used to styaing over at her house.Anyway years anniversary we went out for dinner then met her friends afterwards for drinks etc.The dinner was poxy,I'm not one for complaining in restaurants but I felt i had to that night,really crap service,wrong starters then hers was cold when we got the wrong one so we eneded up leaving before the mains and went to the nightclub.

Anyways we'd a good night and at the end she was starving so I said instead of buying a burger(how romantic) I'd cook her something quick when we got to hers.So she went up to freshen up etc and me in my Drunken Ramsey mindset got to work in the kitchen although cant for the life of me remember what I was cooking.

So set everything up had stuff in the oven and I thought I'd go in and turn on the tele while I wait,next thing I know I'd dozed off and herself came screaming into me waking me up shouting at me what the hell was I doing,the oven needed to be left open a bit to let air circulate or whatever,which I'd forgotten to do.The oven was on fire and smoke everywhere in a 6 month old white kitchen I put out the fire then ran out the back garden.hopped over the wall and tried running back to Bray which is an hours walk away.They followed me an picked me up saying it was alright but they werent saying that when the bill came in!

Happy anniversary love

(we went onto have 2 more anniversary's but naturally i wasnt alowed cook)

Gary ITR

I went out with a girl a while back, after days of nagging I let a girl in work set me up with her friend.

Anyway she turns up and lets just say she wouldn't be my usual type, pretty girl though. So we decide to have dinner, the whole dinner conversation was about her ex boyfriend and how much of a bastard he was, I barely got a word in edgeways but I nodded along throwing in as many 'oh no's' and 'that's terrble' as I could.

Then she starts dropping hints about coming back to my place and spending the night, so I'm thinking 'ah sure at least I'll get a bit' and start feeling pleased with myself. It had been a bit of time since this was my first date since splitting with my ex. Next thing she tells me she's waiting for results from and STI/STD screening since her ex had told her that he had contracted chlamydia and advised her to get checked. So when it came to going outside and getting a taxi I made sure and flagged 2.

That's just one of my bad dates, I seem to make very bad decisions when it comes to women so I'll post more later

Publicdiservice

Mine was a particularly awful second date following on from a great first. I'd been away gigging in between, a 10 night tour of some of the dingiest comedy clubs in England so I arranaged to meet her for dinner on the night i got back in. Rushed home from Airport got ready and headed for the date. As i arrived 5 minutes early she text to say she'd be an hour late, so being Irish i decided a few pints best to pass time. Walked into closest pub and met a girl i've known for years who was home from Oz on a holiday. She had a couple of friends with her so I joined them had a few pints and a catch up with her. Craic was great but headed off eagerly when date arrived. Meal went great, good chat chemistry was good and even a bit of suggestive fumbling under the table. Went for a pint in a quiet pub to carry on from the meal and an hour and 2 drinks on passion is building and the night is looking good. At this point after the same friend arrives in with her mates, all looking the worst for wear by this time.
Friend takes an instant dislike to the girl and proceeds to step between us any time i get close. Concious of the fact this was killing the mood i tell date we'l go elsewhere. Before we can finish the drink the extended group is joined by a rather well built Ghanain Chap who's taken a shine to not one but all of the women in the group. He proceeds to freak everybody out by saying he was a satanist and then offering to buy my friend and date from me, rather cheaply too. Somehow i orchestrated an escape from the pub for all by telling him i don't share my Harem! Once outside and a safe distance away I suggest to my friend to call it a night she flips out kicks me, cracking my shin bone but leaves. Surprisingly enough my date had seen enough for the night and went home alone, while i cursed my way to casualty sore, tired and frustrated. I did see her again but that early promise was gone, sadly my limp was not.

Slidey

Think this can be classed as a date.

My gf of the time asked me to take her to her Debs. I was a little older than her and had my own car a good while at this stage and would normally not drink and be the driver instead.

So we all met up in the local for a few drinks and she got stuck in me because I wanted to drive. The debs was in Cavan and I didn't fancy the idea of heading over on the bus. Anyway, the waterworks were turned on and she guilted me into going on the bus.

The hotel was eventually got to and people started loafing in the booze. We barely got through the meal and she was paralytic. I tried to get a room so she could sleep it off but they wouldn't give us one and the bus wasn't leaving 'til 3.

So I ordered a taxi and went a mile out the road to a a B&B and figured a few hours kip would do the world of good and arranged for the taxi to come back for us at half 2.

Fast forward to 10 past 2 in the hotel carpark and not a sinner to be seen and defo no bus. I got the taxi to leave us back to the hotel and had to break/sneak back in as I had thrown my key in the letterbox when I was leaving.

The next morning was a total joke. The owners if the B&B bursting their arses laughing at us and we had nothing to wear but our debs gear.

The left us into the bus station in Cavan and we had to sit there 'til 12 noon to get a bus to Longford and arrange a mate to come and bring us the rest of the way to Sligo.

People even came up and asked had we just got married as herself was in an ivory coloured dress.

Worst date EVER!

force majeure

This well not win me anything but may as well add my bit...
First off all ever since I saw the competition I had a chance to look back on the years and while I was out and about lots I actually just realised the number off dates I have being on is in face very few indeed.
Non the less those I did go on can not be classed as bad from my point off view as I nearly always wound up making a right old jackass off my self.
Thats it.... no bad word to say about any one.... may be I need therapy!:cool:

force majeure

force majeure wrote: »

This well not win me anything but may as well add my bit...
First off all ever since I saw the competition I had a chance to look back on the years and while I was out and about lots I actually just realised the number off dates I have being on is in face very few indeed.
Non the less those I did go on can not be classed as bad from my point off view as I nearly always wound up making a right old jackass off my self.
Thats it.... no bad word to say about any one.... may be I need therapy!:cool:

Sure tell us about the biggest jackass you made of yourself.

I'm the same, the only bad date experience (Well that I can relate on boards), has me as the villain of the piece.

force majeure

Moonbaby wrote: »

Sure tell us about the biggest jackass you made of yourself.

I'm the same, the only bad date experience (Well that I can relate on boards), has me as the villain of the piece.

Thats easy enough as the biggest fool I ever made off myself was after a week long bender after my 25th when I made a move on a woman by planting my face right between her you know whats... needles to say the bouncer sent me packing by the back door with the words hammering away at me... 'she's yer bosses missus ye muppet' odd but the job did not last long after that.

Herbal Deity

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_guidelines#faq_bie_faq_guidelines_advertise

Don't advertise your company

We strongly protect the conversational feel of this site. Interjecting your commercial message into that conversation is not only rude, counterproductive, against the rules but also a poor way to win customers, build goodwill and will ultimately get you banned.

We have two alternatives for commercial interaction with the community.

We have forum-targeted ads - you can find out more here.
You can have your own forum for your own company/organisation - please contact us.
Promotion is NOT our focus here, discussion is.

Seems like this is Boards going against their own guidelines...

I'm very disappointed to see this thread here. Rules like the above exist so that forums can facilitate discussion, devoid of shilling and threads promoting commercial interests.

Will

Herbal Deity wrote: »

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_guidelines#faq_bie_faq_guidelines_advertise

Seems like this is Boards going against their own guidelines...

I'm very disappointed to see this thread here. Rules like the above exist so that forums can facilitate discussion, devoid of shilling and threads promoting commercial interests.

Yeah but we the moderators felt this was a good idea, a chance to win a weekend away in a nice hotel. What's wrong with that? If you don't like it you don't have to post in thread, simple as. No one is forcing this down your throat.

Its a competition, not some company doing the usual "omg look at this place, it's awesome, btw i don't work there", it's a company offering a prize going through the right channels (darragh) and having respect for the people who use this site.

Dr Galen

Hey Herbal

Sorry to see your having an issue with this thread and what its about.

All i can suggest is that you either start a thread in the Feedback forum or contact one of the Community Managers.

Cheers

MM

r3nu4l

Herbal Deity wrote: »

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_guidelines#faq_bie_faq_guidelines_advertise

Seems like this is Boards going against their own guidelines...

Don't advertise your company

We strongly protect the conversational feel of this site. Interjecting your commercial message into that conversation is not only rude, counterproductive, against the rules but also a poor way to win customers, build goodwill and will ultimately get you banned.

We have two alternatives for commercial interaction with the community.

We have forum-targeted ads - you can find out more here.
You can have your own forum for your own company/organisation - please contact us.
Promotion is NOT our focus here, discussion is.

I'm very disappointed to see this thread here. Rules like the above exist so that forums can facilitate discussion, devoid of shilling and threads promoting commercial interests.

This competition is promoting discussion imo and as has been said, the company went through the right procedures before going through with this, Importantly, Boards.ie asked us, the mods of this forum (and tLL) if we thought it would be okay. We all thought it was a great idea It wasn't forced on us by boards.ie or the hotel in question.

Win-win really

force majeure

force majeure wrote: »

Thats easy enough as the biggest fool I ever made off myself was after a week long bender after my 25th when I made a move on a woman by planting my face right between her you know whats... needles to say the bouncer sent me packing by the back door with the words hammering away at me... 'she's yer bosses missus ye muppet' odd but the job did not last long after that.

I would laugh.....but this has happened to me on more than one occasion.
~scowls~

Seaneh

Right, about 3 years ago, I'd just broken up with my missus of 2 and a half years, I was a big ball of annoying sadness so all my friends were doing the trying to set me with their female friends thing so cheer me up and because they were sick of hearing me moan.

So I go through about 15 nice if unspectacular dates with girls who I have fun with but there is just no spark, no excitement.

So anyway, a female friend says "Oh, you know XXXXX YYYYY don't you?" and I say "Yeah, used to fancy the pants off her in school but haven't seen her in years, what's she up to.
Friend proceeds to tell me XXXX YYYYY has just moved back from Oz and was looking for work etc and she should set us up, I say go for it, if she's half as cool as she was back then at least I'll have a good night!

So the big night comes, I meet her in a pub in town (got there early, as a gent should) and she looks amazing, like she looked good as a teenager but lord she developed into a beautiful woman.

I greet her, we exchange a big hug lots of "wow you look so good, blah blah blah's" we get a drink and proceed to have the "what have you been up to chat" all going well so far.

Time for dinner comes, we walk across the street to the restaurant we had reservations at, get seated and get our menu's etc, order a bottle of wine (We'd already had about 4 drinks and she was tipsy) conversation flows, wine flows even quicker, so far it's the perfect night, starters come, they are ok, but the night is amazing, she's just as funny as she was 8 years before and on top of that she is extremely clever and quick witted, even while pissed as a fart, mains come, again, ok, but that doesn't even matter anymore because there is some serious flirting, hand touching, almost constant eye contact and there has even been talk of going back to her flat for a drink afterwards, best first date ever, she's amazing, I'm really into her.

Then desert comes, we are talking about school days and people we knew etc, she mentions someone she hates, why she hates them etc etc etc, I do the same, she mentions lads she was with who were arseholes, I mention girls I was with who were tools/sluts/whatever and then I mention a name, and she says "Oh really?"

I carry on talking, little do I know I'm digging the biggest hole ever, I'm going to town on this girl and why I hate her, how much of a slut she was, how stupid she was, how she was annoying, etc, etc, etc, she stands up, slaps me, throws a glass of wine in my face and storms out of the place.

Just then I remembered why I hadn't seen her in so long and why we didn't stay in contact, the girl I was talking about was her best friend, who she now lived with and I cheated on her in 5th year and she found out. I managed to turn the best date I'd ever been on into the most humiliated I had have ever been in the space of 120 seconds.

Worst, date, ever!


p.s.

I deserved it, I was a total cu*t about her friend, but only because that's how she'd been talking about the lads etc, just forgot the connection because we were both so drunk.


She still throws me evils when I pass her.

Appleguy

Started off as a laugh. Girl was working in my local shop. We were having a few laughs over which one of us could get her number and having sort of a running joke with it. After a few weeks the lads bet me to go over and chat her up a bit and see if i could get her number. Seemed she was immune to my charms . Anyway, a few days later she approached me when i was on my own and gave me her number. Sweet, i thought! She was pretty good looking and that so i decided to go for it. Normally she wouldn't have been my type lets say.

I arranged to meet her in town for a meal on a Saturday evening. Parked the car up by Stephens Green. Thinking there are some nice restaurants around there. Then it started. She txt me saying she was lost as she didn't know Dublin that well and it soon transpired she hadn't as much english as she appeared to when we were chatting in the shop. After spending about 10 minutes wandering in Stephens Green not knowing where i was going trying to decipher her txt messages i started the 20 minute walk towards her. As i got closer it transpired she was somewhere around Arnotts. I had to go on a sort of treasure hunt to find her and eventually found her over around Middle Abbey street.

I had no reservations made and we walked around for over an hour looking for a place to eat (my fault i know). What was worse was there was pretty much total silence for this hour. I was talking away to beat the band but wasn't getting much out of her. And when she did reply i couldn't understand her half the time. I was doing my best not to laugh awkwardly at the wrong moment.

Eventually found somewhere. We were told a table would be about 30 - 40 minutes. Sat down to have a drink at the bar and realized my wallet was either in the car or at home. ****. The car was about 20 - 25 minutes walk away. I suggested i would be quicker getting over and back on my own so i left her with a drink at the bar and she was happy enough.

Hopped in a Taxi and told the driver to spin me back to the car at about 100 miles an hour. Thank god the wallet was in it. Got back just in time to see her leave with the guy who was sitting on his own to our left at the bar before i left. They seemed to speak the same language or whatever. Was going to ask him would he take my grave as quick but I didn't intervene. I just though thank **** i got her number early! A relationship with a chick like that wouldn't have been pretty!

I began the long walk back to the car heartbroken as i was As i reached the liffey i stuck my hand into my pocket and instantly recovered.

I (and obviously she) had clearly forgotten about the €50 she lent me to pay the taxi driver just incase my wallet wasn't in the car. It was the only date i ever went on where i had more money coming home than going out!

Rezident

[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]I met a girl through a friend of a friend on a night out, kiss and a cuddle, all very nice, so we arranged a date. Not ideal preparation when my friend was going to Australia and having his leaving-do from 4 o’clock that day, so I went for a few and did arrive at the date merry but essentially fine, call it Dutch Courage.

After a couple of drinks she said she’d prefer another pint of cider to the cinema so we had a few more. She started talking to an Aussie backpacker type and started buying him drinks because he was skint (on our date!) as he hovered beside us, ignoring me and all my attempts to talk to him. Someone kept farting horrendously (it was SO Mr Backpacker) and we all had to sit there in the yellow sulpherous fog and pretend nothing had happened.

Then Mr Backpacker mysteriously had enough for a round but only enough for drinks for her and himself and no pint for me even though I'd bought him one. I returned from the toilet and he’d taken my seat so I was left standing while the pair of them chatted away and appeared to be having a great time, on our date (remember the date?).

So I went to the bar to get myself another drink before possibly leaving. My friend texted me to ask how the date was going. ‘DISASTER!’ I replied, 'worst date ever, she’s trying to score someone else on our date, I'm leaving'.

You know that feeling when you’re being watched? I looked over my shoulder to see my ‘date’ had finally dragged herself away from Mr Backpacker and was standing behind me at the bar, obviously reading the text I was typing. Amazingly, things actually got a bit better after that (she started talking to me instead) and she tried, she really did and there was even a kiss at the end but it was all just going through the motions. Even the kiss, the desperate attempt on both out parts to pretend that it was working only dragged out the excruciating awkwardness. At the end she actually asked about the night, I laughed and just blurted out that it was a disaster. We never met again. Still makes me cringe.
[/FONT]

Darragh

Forgot to say - Congrats to Onkle who won this competition! Thanks so much to everyone who entered - some shocking, scary and worrying reads there. We'll have another competition with Discover Ireland (in a different forum, don't worry) soon.

My thanks to the moderators who helped facilitate this.

Rezident

Darragh wrote: »

Forgot to say - Congrats to Onkle who won this competition! Thanks so much to everyone who entered - some shocking, scary and worrying reads there. We'll have another competition with Discover Ireland (in a different forum, don't worry) soon.

My thanks to the moderators who helped facilitate this.

Ok now I'm really confused, I mean I was definitely there - there are photos.

Annnyway, now that I'm actually in the right thread:

Just want to say a Big Thank You to everyone at the Hotel Westport (especially Rhona, PJ and Eithne) and Darragh at Boards and to Discoverireland.ie for a fantastic weekend. Really good fun, I had a great time and would highly recommend it to anyone who’s single and on for a bit of fun. Great way to meet like-minded singletons and Westport is an ideal place for a weekend away.

The hotel was excellent and PJ was great craic, he had us all in stitches. I had heard before that speed dating could be hard work but the way PJ broke the ice for us really took the pressure off and actually made it all good fun. Fond memories.

Westport is a great spot, I’d never been there before but am already hoping to go back. Walshe (that bar from the Guinness ad with the TV set!), Matt Molloys, Cosie Joe’s and numerous other fine Guinness emporiums that I can’t remember the names of, were great fun, and then beating England was the icing on the cake. Wonderful weekend.

Many thanks to all, I’m still smiling from, inter alia, the weekend