A reporter on the trail of Miss Right

Yet none of these challenges prepared me for an evening of speed-dating. It was the day after St Valentine's Day and the singletons of Yorkshire were about to judge me with a tick or a cross, as I would them, and I felt nervous.

Strolling into the fourth floor of Harvey Nichols in Leeds, as the Northern Ballet orchestra played, there was a temptation to see each of the women taking part as a Bridget Jones. But would I be their Mr Darcy – or their Mr Bean?

First up was the woman in white. Nearly 10 years older than me, if she was disappointed at starting with a man who was only 28 then she was too polite to show it. Relaxed and pretty, she wasn't particularly self-conscious and that made a world of difference. As the night wore on, I realised how vital this was to everyone's chances of success. So I enjoyed the first three minutes, and it started with a tick.

I was encouraged – but this didn't last long. The next few women I met disproved the old adage that age isn't a barrier to anything. Polite and friendly they may have been, but the difference in years was just too great.

Much like an England cricketer on a hot day in the field, my head sank. I began to fear that my age – and my appearance, because I look even younger than I am – meant it wasn't going to be my night.

Then came a shard of light to dispel my gloom. I was sitting opposite a stunner. Good looking and in a brightly coloured, funky dress, she brought the added bonus of seeming interested in what I had to say. I tried my best ice-breaker: "What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you on a date?" She wouldn't say, so I wheeled out my story about the woman who kept rolling out of my bed. Thankfully, she laughed. Suddenly those 180 seconds felt nowhere near enough.

I still wasn't sure how to play it though, so at the interval I sought out the chaps who had been speed-dating before. Men, after all, spend twice as much as women on the 900m-a-year dating industry.

"I consider myself reasonably normal but nobody is normal," one thirty-something told me. I was none the wiser.

After that, it was all ups and down. When I realised I had nothing to say to a woman, and she had little interest in me, we simply exchanged information about our lives – one dater told me about the computer system in her office – before secretly vowing to go our separate ways

This happened a few times but in each case, there really was another beautiful woman just around the corner.

One, a classic English rose, was unsparing in her criticism of the other chaps. "They're all a bit odd," she said. "One of them offered me a lawnmower, even though I told him I don't have a garden." She got a tick.

Another, a warm and good looking brunette with a sing-song accent, was fairly new to Leeds and held me rapt with her deep, dark eyes.

Just as I was about to turn into a jelly, the bell rang.

I also hit it off with a girl around my age, or felt like it I hit off – one could never be sure because we kept our scorecards close to our chest – who spent the whole three minutes trying to persuade me she liked watching football. I was sceptical even though she told me she wanted to punch a speed-dater who supported a rival team. Slim and well-dressed, the chances of her assaulting anyone seemed as remote as that of me leading her in the pas de deux. As the bell rang, she was still insisting that "I wouldn't do it really". She hadn't been afraid to show her personality though, so she got a tick.

That was the key. Some girls – and a few guys too – looked embarrassed to be there. Those who didn't take it too seriously enjoyed it the most.

Three minutes was easily enough for each "date". When it got on to why the dater didn't like their job, it was even too much.

So did I meet the love of my life? Well, it's too early to tell. I ticked the women I liked and now have to wait to see if they ticked me.

Ultimately, the chances of finding "the one" at a speed-dating session are probably no greater than at the average house party. But if you aren't overwhelmed by nerves, you lose nothing by trying. Just don't talk about computers.

Star-crossed lovers of Leeds

The event, in Harvey Nichols' Fourth Floor Restaurant, was organised by the store and Northern Ballet Theatre to promote Romeo & Juliet, which runs from Saturday, February 27 to Saturday, March 6 at Leeds Grand Theatre. For more details call 0844 848 2701. Speed Dater ran the evening. To find out more about their events go to www.speeddater.co.uk