Beam me up before I kill him - date with 'Mr Spock'

29/ 8/2006

ROMANCE was certainly not in the air when an unlikely couple braved a sponsored dinner date in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Steph Elvin, 29, and Colin Foresteral, 49, regulars at the Pheasant Inn Hotel, in Reading Road, Winnersh, tolerated each other’s company for the date at Sultan Balti in Wokingham.

And with sponsorship from 90 fellow drinkers, the pair raised about £800 for charity.

Ms Elvin, from Winnersh, said: “We met at the Pheasant Inn Hotel, and I knew of him for about three years, but I hardly ever spoke to him.

“We are the two most unlikely people in the pub to go out on a date, so we thought we would go for charity.

“To be honest, nobody else in the pub would tolerate him!”

Mr Foresteral, of Rainbow Park, Winnersh, who sings in the choir at Our Lady of Peace RC Church in Earley, described the date as “pleasant”.

He said: “I think she’s a little bit misunderstood and if people take the time to talk to her they would find that she’s a very generous person.

“I must say, when I told everyone at choir practice they fell about laughing, but when I told them how much we raised they thought it was brilliant.

“It just makes me wonder, were they paying for sympathy for Steph or me?

“I’ll be a gentleman and say that it was probably out of sympathy for her!”

Ms Elvin, who works at Winnersh Primary School, sported a bright pink hair style for the date, while self-confessed Star Trek fan Mr Foresteral dressed as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the series.

Mr Foresteral is the proud owner of every Star Trek episode on video, and was offended when he was mistaken for Mr Spock, pointing out: “If you take a closer look you will notice that the red colour of the suit and the number of dots on the collar indicate that I am in fact Captain Jean-Luc Picard.”

Even as their eyes met over a plate of poppadoms and Mr Foresteral’s Starship Enterprise mascot, the mismatched pair still failed to see eye to eye.

Ms Elvin said: “To be honest I could have just ordered my food and left, and he wouldn’t have noticed.”