Blind Date: Tim and Callum

Tim Foley, a third-year thespian with a love of tikka masala and Doctor Who, dined with Callum Bell, who’s also a third-year. Callum studies Biology, sings in his spare time and loves chocolate and nice, strong cups of tea.

Tim on Callum: 

 

Before the date what were you hoping for?

Not going to lie, the free curry was a big draw. I struggle to feed myself thanks to my ever declining bank balance. Once, I used to have a whole carton of Covent Garden soup per meal. Now I have to split it between two meals, what’s that all about?

Who were you hoping for?

Well my ideal man – cross between Eddie Redmayne and Eddie Redmayne’s brother. Who I hope is called Teddie, because that would just be hilarious and cool. Well, I’m just grateful it wasn’t Dr Parry. But really, I was hoping for a complete unknown. Come on, we live in a town with three streets, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a surprise guy hidden in a wheelie bin or something?

First impressions?

I had a rose to give him. He didn’t. One-Nil to me. Usually, that would be a sign that he’d buy the first round of drinks, but it was an OPEN TAB, oh yeah.

What did you talk about?

The Stand wonderfully provided a few conversation starters which we burnt through in five minutes. ‘Kate Middleton’s hair’ as a talking point fell flat because a) neither of us was interested in objectifying a woman’s haircut and b) I wasn’t aware Kate Middleton had hair. But we had great banter! We both live in the middle of nowhere, something to bond about.

Any awkward moments? Spill something?

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“I auditioned for your show and you rejected me.”

“Ah. (Pause) Food is good.”

No, it didn’t happen like that. No stand out awkward moments, it was a smooth evening.

Did your date have good table manners? Maisha curry as delicious as ever? Did you share naan bread?

Food was lovely. We shared naan bread… or rather, he ordered it and I ate it, so that’s a form of sharing. Like I said, I never know where the next meal is coming from.

Would you introduce your date to your friends? Did you realise that you were actually academically related/had made eyes before/bumped and grind in the Lizard before?

He’d auditioned for a play of mine and not got in, but it was no biggie. I’d seen him around, sure. There’s what, twelve gays in St Andrews? (Incidentally, please let Single-in-St-Andrews soon correct the fallacy that everyone in St Andrews is gay or taken. Taken, perhaps, but gay? Gay? We are still a minority! Still 1 in 10! And yeah, it’s easy enough to claim that St Andrews warps that, but the number of viable men who are a) successfully out of the closet and b) not sluts is very, very small. She [and I know who she is] is clearly hanging around with beautiful gay men! Oof, let me know if you need a Gay–and-Single-in-St-Andrews. Rant over.)

Did you talk about piano, musicals and your play Meat?

Of course we talked about Meat. We talked about Fringe musicals…including my own, but I need to stop bringing Titans into every conversation. Let it go, Tim. Let it go.

Did your love of curry worry Callum? Did he order something super-hot or rather mild?

I did realise I ate at an impossible pace. I went for standard Tikka Masala; it’s a classic of the genre. That’s not to say I play it safe. I went on a blind date, for Christ’s sake, that makes me more edgy than a hipster.

Did you go on somewhere..? Or do you think it’s only awkward glance territory down the vegetable aisle in Tesco?

We went nowhere. Awkward, was I meant to do something afterwards? I’m a busy guy, active even on Sunday evenings.

Rate your evening out of ten…?

He was lovely, food was nice! Nothing to complain about.

Do you think you will meet again?

Of course we will! If he’s auditioning for more shows, I hope to see him in something soon. He’s a sweet guy.

Callum on Tim:

Before the date what were you hoping for?

I was hoping it wasn’t incredibly awkward and that we would have some things in common. I feared us sitting, head in our curries in silence for the whole dinner. I don’t know how I would have dealt with that if it had happened! Thankfully I didn’t have much time to worry about that beforehand! Phewf

 Before the date who were you hoping for?

Ryan Reynolds.

First impressions?

Tim is very cute and charming. Plus, he had me laughing within about five minutes of meeting him.

What did you talk about? (how much you love the stand…? Kate Middleton’s Hair? Sainsburys on Market Street? Schweffing Louise Richardson?)

After we had laughed at the stand‘s suggested conversation topics (wondering how long you could talk about Kate Middleton’s hair without sounding weird) we moved on to musicals and our experiences of the Fringe this summer. Then, we just ended up hitting random conversations like evil unicorns and beanie babies. Conversation just kept flowing.

Any awkward moments?

Thankfully nothing major. I kept dropping bits of poppadom on my lap but I don’t think he noticed, at least I hope he didn’t.

Did your date have good table manners? Did you share a starter/dessert? Did your date order something really weird…? What was the food like?

He had very good table manners, haven’t met anyone over the age of seven who doesn’t though. We both offered to share our meals but I think we were both too polite to actually take any of it. Food was exceptional as always. You can never go wrong with Maisha.

Would you introduce your date to your friends? Did you realise that you were actually academically related/have made eyes before?

I would introduce Tim to my friends, although quite a few of them already know him. I had actually auditioned for Meat a few days before so it was quite funny as we recognised each other from that. Thankfully, I wasn’t as nervous as I was for the audition. Both of us play piano and various other instruments so it was quite nice to talk about our musical experiences and we were both in the Fringe over summer performing musicals so that came up a lot. I was also curious about Meat and his interest in writing plays/musicals so I probably asked too many questions about that.

Did you go on somewhere..? Or do you think it’s only awkward glance territory down the vegetable aisle in Tesco?

Unfortunately, Tim had a meeting for Meat otherwise I would have asked him for a drink. And you’ll rarely find me in the vegetable aisle in Tesco. The date went well so I won’t be awkwardly avoiding him if I see him.

Do you think you will see each other again?

I would like to and knowing St Andrews we will end up bumping into each other randomly.

Rate your evening out of ten…?

8.5.

The Stand would like to thank our Blind-Daters Tim and Callum, and extend a huge thanks to the great people at Maisha who provided a three-course meal, an open bar, and LOTS of curry to our two lovely Blind-Daters. 

If you are interested in going on a stand blind date, send us a message here.

 

Written and arranged by Alex Holroyd, understand Editor 

© Photos: Renata Grasso