Can I buy you dinner?

I keep getting approached by random men in the streets with this question and it's not an unusual thing to ask in itself but each time it's said with such gusto that I'm beginning to think there's more to the question than meets the eye.

So walking down the street in Brooklyn, random hispanic guy wearing a vest (yes as in undergarment type vest) stops to ask me for my name and number, the first he gets, the second...ah not so much. As I try being firm but polite and walking away with 'sorry I have to go', it seems like he decides this is the right moment for him to play his trump card so he says 'I'd like to buy you dinner'. Then he waits expectantly as though I'm going to say 'oh well when you put it that way...ofcourse you can have my number'. In my head ofcourse 'I'm thinking I doubt you can feed yourself let alone me'. But once again my mama raised me right so I smile politely, say thank you but no thank you and walk away.

Fast forward a few similar encounters to today as I'm walking down Fifth avenue, I get accosted by a guy wearing an awful awful (no that's not a typo I said it twice because that's how bad it was) check jacket, dark pink shirt and what we Londoners would refer to as 'dodgy' trousers. He offers me his business card which I scan quickly; he's an image consultant - well what do you know? He apologies for stopping me, and clarifies that he doesn't think I need his service but...wait for it....'I'd like to buy you dinner'...this is said ofcourse in a 'wannabe-smooth-debonair-I-mean-what-I-say' way which I suspect is meant to have the effect of me doing cartwheels - and screaming 'dinner? really me?...oh thank you thank you!' Fortunately for him and me, he doesn't wait for my response, no doubt confident that I will be calling that number for that dinner....after all when was the last time a man offered to buy me dinner? ..last week?...oh yes, ofcourse...I forget.

I admit that perhaps I'm harder to please now that I'm older and more jaded or maybe I just missed the memo that went around about women all gagging for men to buy them dinner. I'm hoping the men who read this will take heed - by all means offer to buy a woman dinner but don't say like you just told her you were about to fly her to venice in a private jet. Really dude, its just dinner and how do I know you're not going to suggest some 'all you can eat' hole in the wall anyway?

Fly Virgin - you'll love it

As a young student travelling around the world on borrowed money (think credit cards and student loans) some 15 years ago, I fell in love with Virgin Atlantic. I remember travelling with Virgin to New York in Economy and for once not feeling short-changed by an airline simply because Business Class was out of my reach. I find that most airlines make economy passengers feel like they've drawn the short straw with bad service, terrible food and impatient and highly irritable cabin crew members. Virgin Atlantic was and still is a class apart.
The staff are polite and helpful, the food is delicious and identifiable (no small feat believe me). On a recent flight I had a beef casserole and was dreading being presented with brown slodge with lumpy bits but instead I got chunks of beef and vegetables that I could actually chew. For me the most impressive thing about flying Virgin is the incredible choice you get with their in-flight entertainment. From countless movies to tv shows, documentaries, music playlists for all tastes and genres. There were atleast two Nigerian films on the in-flight programme as well as ofcourse some Bollywood and numerous Hollywood blockbusters.

When I think of Virgin Atlantic, I think of a company that takes customer service seriously; no effort is spared to make you feel special whether you paid $500 for your ticket or $5000. Each time I've  flown with Virgin, I've been adequately fed and watered - with an incredibly wide choice of soft and hard drinks, regular rounds of snacks, filling main meals that look like something you'd make at home or eat in a restaurant, they even serve Gü deserts now and ofcourse while you watch your films, there's the round of delicious icecream. This time they even finished with a sweet treat of lovehearts at the end of the flight as we were landing, which both reminded me of my childhood and why I LOVE flying Virgin. As I left the plane I felt more than happy to part with my spare change for their charity, I like to think of it as a tip for great service.

An eight hour flight on Virgin Atlantic just seems to whizz by which makes me think that if I ever find myself booking a 20 hour flight to some far flung place it will have to be with Virgin, the airline that's definitely got it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbib-A6NpW8&playnext=1&list=PLB3F886FFE1802B04