*Competition Time! Share your thoughts on Man Up or tell us about a memorable first date to win a fabulous hamper courtesy of Meerkat Movies*

[KatherineMumsnet]

The lovely folks over at comparethemarket.com have been in touch to let us know that customers can now get 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Tuesday or Wednesday with MEERKAT MOVIES.*

and to celebrate they are offering one lucky Mumsnetter the chance to win a hamper including Gourmet popcorn, Champagne for 2, Cupcakes, Pick & Mix retro sweets, Clapperboard and £100 Pizza Express vouchers.

Aleksandr Orlov has been mingling with the stars since launching 2 for 1 cinema tickets with MEERKAT MOVIES. Check out his latest interview with Simon Pegg, star of new RomCom 'Man Up' at www.comparethemarket.com/meerkat/movies/films/man-up/
Man Up starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell is a romantic comedy about taking chances, finding out about yourself and rolling with the consequences and you can watch it in all UK cinemas now.

Have you seen it? Share your thoughts! Or, tell us about your most memorable first date, the best, the worst and everything in-between to this thread by Friday 26th June for your chance to win this fabulous prize and we'll pick one lucky winner. (Our normal competition T&Cs apply)

Good luck!

*Qualifying purchases only. One membership per 12 months. Participating Cinemas. Terms and conditions apply.

[TheOrchardKeeper]

I haven't seen it (yet).

I thought I'd been on my fair share of awkward first dates until this November gone...

I'd talked to this guy on the phone for an hour a few days before meeting and thought he was at least "normal" sounding. It was going great, we'd gone to an italian place and were going to see Interstellar afterwards. So he finishes his meal then as he's saying "are you done with that, it was a pretty big portion for a girl anyway" no I'm fucking not he scrapes the rest of my pasta onto his plate. Ok, maybe he really thought I was done. That's not so bad right?

Then out of the blue he asks what it is about women that makes men do such stupid things. I'm starting to get a bit and ask what he means. So he licks his palms then mexican-waves his hands whilst making fanny-fart noises in an attempt to imitate fanjo flaps! "I mean, they're so ugly aren't they"? (said whilst still flapping about). yes they probably are if they look and sound like that you strange strange man

I'd have made a run for it but felt bad because he paid for the tickets in advance and I felt bad so at 11pm we went to watch the longest, most boring film I've ever seen in my life. The soundtrack sounded like someone had fallen asleep on an organ during an earthquake. And Mr Ugly-Vagina man (as he's been known ever since) spent the whole time trying to lean closer and closer so I just pretended to be asleep until the end, pretended to go to the toilet when he did then did a runner at 1 in the morning...(he'd been trying to insist on driving me home and I didn't fancy him knowing where I lived)!!

It took me months to go on another date with anyone

[TheOrchardKeeper]

I still can't believe someone who wanted to get near someone else's vagina, insulted vaginas on a first date...

[YourHandInMyHand]

Best first date ever was with current boyfriend. We went out for cocktails followed by a meal, we had an amazing evening and have both said since that we just knew on that first date.

Worst date has to be with the guy who was very vocal about his "evil" ex and got extremely angry if any other man glanced at me or brushed past me! Oddly enough his behaviour didn't make me warm to him!

[grecka]

I went on a blind date and throughout the evening the man kept talking about his female best friend who persuaded him to come to this date! That's all he talked about! Of course, there was not a 2nd date! I still remember it, even if it was 10 years ago!

[chairmeoh]

one of the Worst - we'd met in a dark nightclub so not really seen each other very well.

We went out for a drink and I thought he looked vaguely familiar. As conversation flowed, it suddenly dawned on us both at exactly the same time that his brother and my sister had been married yonks ago and divorced terribly. Loads of mud had been slung.

I couldn't knock back the g&t quick enough as we agreed this would be a very bad idea and we should just pretend the evening had never happened. I was home by 8.30.

[Hygge]

My very first first date was a trip to the cinema.

I was meeting him there. It turned out we were on the same bus. I hadn't seen him, but he saw me. He completely ignored me on the bus, then raced to get to the cinema first to buy his own ticket and not mine.

We watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Halfway through I realised that my brother and two of his friends were three rows behind us, having followed me to make sure my date behaved himself.

At the end of the film the five of us all walked back to the bus stop in silence, my date too scared to speak to me, and my brother sat next to me all the way home

Another first date, also to the cinema, had my date answer several texts on his mobile phone and then actually take a call, all during the film. People around us were getting annoyed. During the call he told the person calling him that he "wasn't doing anything much" and would meet them later on. We had said we would go on for a meal but apparently he had a better offer because when he finished the call he said "that was my Mum, I'll have to get straight off after this". It was not his Mum.

At this point I excused myself to go to the ladies and instead left the cinema and drove home. I was supposed to be giving him a lift home, and consoled myself with thoughts of how long he waited for me to go back into the film and then how long he might have wandered about outside looking for me or my car.

Cinema's are not lucky places for me to go on dates.

The best first date wasn't a very romantic one either. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Our table at a restaurant had been double booked, so we were told to wait two hours or be turned away. We tried three other restaurants and they were all too busy. We couldn't get a taxi, it started raining, the strap on my shoe broke and we ended up in a kebab shop, very, very overdressed, laughing about what a disaster the night had been, and the man behind the counter got chatting to my date and asked what our plans were and my date said "Well I think I'm going to marry her." He was right.

[CMOTDibbler]

I had a few first-and-only dates back in the day.
One bloke I'd met in the book shop and got to chatting, so when he asked me out for a drink it seemed like a good idea. Alas the next day, it transpired that the chat we had was his only conversation, and anything else was like pulling teeth. Fortunatly, I'd arranged for a friend to walk through the pub after half an hour (this is pre mobiles) so at a look she was able to rescue me.

[DancingHat]

One of the worst dates I went on was a bloke who came round to look at the spare room in my house share who I'd chatted to on the phone and in real life showing him round the house. He decided against the room but asked me to go for a drink. We'd got on well so I thought why not? Except when I actually met him from the drink he was far shorter, far older and bizarrely had such a weird look to his face I wasn't sure I'd met up with the same bloke I had shown round the house! Can't blame the beer goggles as I was sober when I showed him round and sober when I drove to the date.

He proceeded to tell me he was a part time DJ but he'd had all his records stolen from his car because he'd left them on the back seat! What a div! He then angled after a lift home when he walked me back to my car and I just ignored the hints and the hanging around for a kiss goodbye and got in my car and drove off! He texted me to meet up a few times, which I said I was too busy for, and I just had to say it's never going to be a yes sorry. No idea what I was thinking.

[InAndOfMyself]

Best first date - I was friends with a colleague at work and we decided to take the workplace flirting out into the real world. I wanted to show him what a fun day out meant to me so we met a deli where we picked up a picnic lunch, then we headed to in-line skating rental store and rented our skates and went on a 3 hour round trip through a river side path. After the exercise and picnic lunch we went for a stroll around the town's shops and went to a spur of the moment movie (Speed with Keanue Reeves - not a great movie but silly enough to enjoy). Then, because the date was going well, we went to dinner at an outdoor patio and had a lovely conversation.

Though the relationship never went anywhere serious that was my ideal first date and I had a lot of fun.

[flightywoman]

Oh my strangest date ever...

It was 1985 and I was working in London as a nanny, used to do the shopping and stuff and would use the local shops, of which one was a butcher's. There were two lads in there, one I really fancied and one I didn't. Which one asked me out d'you reckon? Go on, guess!

Of course, it was the one I didn't fancy. And actually what he said was "will you marry me?" to which I replied "Um, well, I don't really know you well enough" and he snapped back "well, will you go for a drink then?" and before I could stop the words coming out I'd said "Ok".

I met him from work, and we then had to get the tube to his flat so he could get changed. Quite what on earth I was doing going off into unknown bits of London with TOTAL strangers is utterly beyond me. We got to his flat, somewhere, he put a video on (relax, it wasn't porn) and went to get changed. He kept popping his head round the door to sing along and recite the dialogue. It was The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A fine film. Referenced in Fame. Starring the wonderful Tim Curry. And Meatloaf. You should see it if you haven't already.

Then he was ready and we went out. We went to meet his parents. First date, parents. I was wearing a raincoat and some black court shoes, they thought I was a nurse. We left there and went to a pub. Good, I thought, maybe the date will start now. It kinda did. Except his sister worked in the pub. It was a prefab building, with flock wallpaper. And his sister. I foolishly did not take the opportunity to get smashed.

At about 9pm an elderly gentleman started setting up some musical 'thing'. Keyboard, drum machine. This is pre-karaoke so quite unexpected. And on a Monday night. Did I mention it was a Monday night? Unusual day for a first date I feel. Not much nightlife on a Monday night, in a prefab pub, somewhere in a bit of East London. So the elderly gent set it all up and began 'singing'. I say singing, I have a generous nature. I don't think he was fully rehearsed, so it went a bit like this: "Oh Spanish eyes, do do do do do do do do Spanish Eyes". Some of the words were missing.

Me and my date laughed a lot. it was the high point so far.

Anyway, after a while we left and went off to Islington for Pizza. There used to be a Pizza hut in the middle-ish bit of Upper Street. That's where we went. And he was pretty leathered by this time, I wasn't.

And that's when things took a turn for the bizarre. Because obviously it had all been [i]entirely[/i]normal up to that point.

So, opposite this particular branch of Pizza hut was a grey flat-fronted building. He pointed at it and said "My friends will all be there, we can go and meet them afterwards if you like". I looked at the building. It was called 'Islington Friend' and in a flash from the ether I KNEW that it was a place to go for people who had questions about themselves and perhaps their sexuality or desires. I mumbled something about "maybe next time".

And that's when he told me that he was a transvestite.

Um, ok. I didn't know if that was going to be a problem, this was still only our first date.

Readers, I lived a LIFETIME in a few short hours!

He was very sweet, I went on a couple more dates with him, but then I had to finish with him because I absolutely didn't fancy him in trousers, so a frock was never going to do it for me.

Do you think Rocky Horror was a clue?

So there you go, my date with the transvestite butcher...

[HannahLI]

Worst date ever where the food was horrid and totally inedible and my date talked about himself in the most monotone voice ever!

[Smallinthesmoke]

I'll be the first poster to mention the film! I went to see Man Up last week with the Meerkat offer so two of us saw a film for six quid total at the Odeon. Considering last time I went to see a film it cost more like £26 for two this was a blimmin bargain.
It's a good thing too as the film was very silly. Everything about it is utterly unbelievable and some of the scenes were buttock clenchingly awful. It also has a scene where Bloomsbury bowling lanes opens out onto Brewer Street, and other things which get London geography totally arse about tit, which annoy me probably more than they should. Having said if you want a light film romp with few good lines and a pretty good lead (Lake Bell), it's passable.
I'm not going to win the hamper now am I?

[CormoranStrike]

I liked the film. Not loved, but liked.

Lake Bell is very good, totally convincing as an Englishwoman. Simon Pegg was slightly frantic throughout, I'd have run a mile on this first date. I was also fairly bemused at the original match too, with a 20 year age gap just seeming a very unlikely online dating choice.

Any who, the film rollocked along happily enough, I thoroughly enjoyed Rory Kinnear's creepy little performance, Nancy's parents were cute. Her sister was thoroughly overlooked in that family dynamic, though.

I agree with a PP, seeing this as a meerkat movie is the right priceband for this film. Worth seeing, but not worth spending a fortune on.

[Kraggle]

I haven't seen the Film yet but I love Simon Pegg.

My first date with my now DH was memorable. The day before Christmas eve and I had to go and help him choose presents for all his family at the shopping centre. It was packed and mayhem.

Our second date was better, a trip to the cinema. But the first date will always be memorable for the sheer hell of it!

[greenfinger5]

My First date with an Ex boyfriend was him taking me to meet his mum, then he went out leaving me there, when his mates turned up unexpected.

[KAW18]

My first ever date was to the cinema to see The Waterboy. Good film and even better company Chris was lovely. He's sadly missed Chris committed suicide a few years later.

[ladygoingGaga]

Love Simon Pegg so will be watching the film with DS

Had a few first dates I can cringe over.
One particularly terrible one was a first date with a chap from an Internet site, his photo was clearly 10 years and about 3 stones ago! I barley recognised him, he had a small beard and spent the whole evening stroking it, has literally put me off beards ever since. I could not wait to get home that night.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

My father once invited a girl on a first date at the cinema - unfortunately he forgot he'd invited not one, but two other girls to the same cinema on the same night! As he went past on the bus, he saw all three of them outside the cinema - one at one side of the steps, one in the middle, one at the far end. The first two didn't spot him, he got the attention of the third and beckoned her onto the bus and told her there was something better on at a different picture house.

The next day he rang the other two, told them he's had to finish some urgent university work, and invited them on new dates - on different nights.

Dh and my first date was in the queue for the Last Night of the Proms, outside the Albert Hall - we ate takeaway pizza he'd ordered, and had our sleeping bags next to eachother, outside Doors 9 and 10. The next morning (the day of the Last Night) he bought me breakfast and took me to his flat to use the shower, then we went to the concert in the evening, before he saw me to my train.

25 years ago this September!

[izbiz88]

I once went on a date with someone that I'd gone to school with and had been friends with for quite a long time. I really really liked him and did the one thing that you shouldn't do when you're feeling nervous - drank vodka!!! He ended up having to take me home, where I proceeded to throw myself upon him and wouldn't take no for an answer! Luckily (or not?!) he was a gentleman. Funnily enough, we never went on another date, though somehow we are still friends and can laugh about it now! I think I deserve the hamper for the sheer humiliation ;-)

[lizd31]

I haven't seen the film yet but I plan to. My funniest first date (& the last I hasten to add) was when this guy took me out for a meal. All was going well until the food arrived when he promptly removed his false teeth & put them in his pocket. I couldn't look him in the face for the rest of the meal

[ChocolateCake1]

My best date was dinner at the Sydney Opera House, followed by seeing an opera with champagne on the terrace during the interval. The views were breath taking and the company perfect (the person I went is now my husband!).

[kungfupidge]

i have yet to see it !! ill goggle it in a mo though looks good lol

me and my partners first date was a chippy a can of coke and a park bench very classy ! lol we were 19 and it was lovely and though bless ! :)

[edoody]

Went to visit my friend in Germany for a weekend. We went with a group to the Berlin Love Parade, got chatting to this guy who was with us and after a few minutes of leaving the panic ensued as I realised we had lost everyone else! Now not sure if this was his intention but seeing as I was now lost in Berlin with no contact details for my friend and didn't speak German I was stuck with the guy for the remainder of the day! He quite conveniently didn't have my friends mobile number. Possibly a sudden spurt of amnesia? Luckily for me he wasn't a serial killer! To cut a long story short he did eventually re-gain his memory and we caught a train back to my friends, who thought i had been kidnapped (not too far from the truth) We met up when back in the UK once but possibly due to the fear and panic and maybe the alcohol I didn't realise quite how short he was, our one date I spent the whole time walking on the road so he was taller up on the curb! DISASTER!

[worriedmum46]

I've not seen it as daughter is seeing it as a birthday party. My worst first date was a blind date as my friend was not allowed out with boys (we were both 14) her parents were happy for her to go to the cinema with me. Her FB bought his mate. I'm tall - he was not! He spent the whole evening trying to grope me and never did tell me his name. Put me off boys for a while.

[Holly386]

Well, my most memorable date, for several different reasons! Was when I was a college student and this really nice looking guy asked me out :-), he seemed really sweet at first and we had a nice dinner, but after a while I realised he was quite the talker! In fact, he particularly liked to talk about his job, which was cooking rotisserie chickens in Asda Deli.....I didn't mind to begin with, but when he started describing exactly how to cook the perfect rotisserie chicken in great detail including how to get the skin crispy! I started to realise, perhaps this wasn't quite what I was looking for! Anyway, we went on to a nightclub where we could barely hear one another speak (thankfully) but then he pulled me onto the dance floor and Oh My!!..... Think......Dad dancing, think..... Joey from friends dancing, think .. ..People behind him pointing and laughing! Then to top off the whole evening, he got really drunk and I ended up putting him in a taxi after he threw up round the back of the club!!!Moral of the story? ....looks are definetly not everything!!!!!