I was sat outside a traditional pub, in the Wimbledon Village sunshine with 2 Sarge School friends.

As we chatted, an elderly gentleman asked if I would look after his bike whilst he bought a drink. He told me I could ring his bell, and told me not to steal it as he left the set.

I liked the humour and the eye contact he made. I watched as he moved toward the pub smiling socially and confidently to all the other drinkers, having a brief chat to another set.

When he returned he sat at our table like an old friend – it didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable, as I had looked after his bike and it felt we had already made a connection.

He spoke at length to the guys not specifically ignoring me, but making me feel like I wanted to get involved. He then focussed his attention on me. He asked me whether I liked riding and told interesting and varied stories about the adventures he has had on his bike. He made each story funny and entertaining focussing on his youthfulness and sense of fun – making him seem ageless.

He turned to the guys and asked them about riding. My friend mentioned that he has had several bikes stolen and then said “hmmm….infact, I recognise that bike….”  The 80 year old laughed good humouredly then said calmly, “yeah…funny…good one” in a mildly patronising, but not offensive manner, trying to assert himself as the alpha male.

He continued to talk to the guys, highlighting the fact that he was single and subtly identifying the relationship between us all. He complimented me in a roundabout way and had relevant and genuinely interesting stories related to each topic we discussed – each highlighting his intelligence and humour.

He didn’t stay so long as to feel uncomfortable – 20 minutes – and as he left, he placed a paperclip in my hand , and said “something to remember me by”.

He ended by saying hopefully Ill see you riding round here. We then turned to each other and started going through all the pick up techniques he used, even at the age of 80, we were certain he had read The Mystery Method.