To be honest, I suspect that there are lingering issues surrounding her previous relationship still fresh in memory, it sounds like it ended pretty dramatically (apparently he was cheating through Grindr and wouldn't go away when told "you're chucked") so I can understand her wish to take things slowly and not wanting to commit too quickly. I have no issue with taking things slowly, I'd just rather it be a slow build up of socialising instead of conducting everything through a keyboard.
I'm not really doubting whether she does look as good in real life as some of her photos are in poorer light and noticeably lack mascara so I'd say that she probably is the type who would look good even if wearing a black bag.
The weird thing is though that quite early on we had arranged to meet but she then pulled out. So maybe having not been able to believe my luck at how fast she'd agreed then, I'm still clinging to the hope that it wasn't a fluke.
I'm using Tinder, Bumble and Match. I realise that it is a numbers game with OLD (you swipe through 100 profiles, match with ten, meet up with one - the real life odds are worse than that). Trouble us that numbers games are more difficult in a less-densely populated area. Some on this thread think that things will pick up online as restrictions ease but that'll be a while yet.
I'm reluctant to widen the search radius as I'll just end up with dozens of profiles from a major conurbation which is an hour and a half away (but due to the geography about 30 miles as the crow flies). Apart from the distance, those living in said conurbation are likely to keep their radii smaller so wouldn't even see my profile. In short, I'd be wasting my time. On Match though I do look a little further afield.
OLD is clearly a poor substitute for IRL dating. It does however come with the benefit of knowing that the other person is (probably) after some kind of relationship and helps to spare the blushes of asking someone out. Speed dating was a good compromise but it'll be months before that's allowed again and most events are across the border. I used to take a dance class one evening a week, that's currently banned; my volunteering/hobby interests are male dominated; and travel is banned so I'm not going to have interesting late-night chats with German medical students or French violinists in Scottish hostels.
Otherwise, there are a couple of women at work who might be worth chatting to but social distancing measures mean that we don't see as much of our colleagues in messroom and obviously I'd need to keep well away from the resident gossips (they're like the Jerry under the bed in WWII posters). Customer interaction has likewise been suspended for the duration so the chances of accidentally hitting it off with one of them are next to nil. The staff at the plastic-free shop are likely to share some of my cares but there's usually a queue (covid to blame again) and I'm wary of putting someone in an awkward/embarrassing position while they're at work. All in all, this pandemic makes it crap being single.
Never mind, the local shelter is advertising a kitten. According to the description it has baggage and would prefer to take things slowly. I've had practice there!