Q:

Hi,
I have been ill since I was 16 so was never able to go out with my mates. Now I am better and I am 26, but all of my mates have settled down. I joined dating sites to see if I could meet someone, it has never really worked, I only get blokes abroad i.e Nigeria wanting me or ones that just want a one night stand. I am not that type of girl for that. I just feel embarrassed as I have never been in love.  I have tried looking for friendship sites were I can make lady friends with out sounding lesbian if you understand. If I can make friends in my area I know I could go out more and go pubs etc.  Do you know of any just friendship sites? What can I do to meet blokes?  I am very nervous now about meeting one too.
I hope you can understand what I have written. There are a few I chat too on line but they end up in love with other ladies. I seem to be the bad egg!!!

A:

Firstly, and most importantly, please do not feel embarrassed that you have never been in love. This is nothing to be ashamed of and to be honest you have probably saved yourself a lot of heart ache by being single until now.I think your idea of looking for new friends is an excellent one. Once your circle of friends grows you have a greater chance of meeting that “special someone”. I have had a look at some “friendship” websites and these are a few that stood out:

http://www.drinkingbuddys.co.uk/drink.pl
“The place for new faces, friends and good times in your area”

http://www.friendship.com.au/findafriend/
“The Friendship Page's Find-A-Friend is a place to help e-mail hungry people from around the world find more friends! People of all ages and nationalities are involved, from 6 years to 70, from Holland to India to Kenya. Since our beginning in December 1996, Find-A-Friend has been popular for its friendly feel, ease of use and success at making friendships around the world! :) Find-A-Friend is designed only for friendship.”

http://www.newfriends4u.com/friends.shtml
"Find a friend, make, meet new friends online and find single people with our friend finder site. This is where like-minded singles find, make and meet new friends online. Meet new single people and widen your social circle of straight single friends today. With New Friends 4u we make it easy for you to meet and find new friends online!"
Also, you might want to look at this article that I came across on how to meet new people and make new friends. It is full of useful advice if you feel like you are lacking in confidence;

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Friendship_how_to_make_new_friends?Open

Finally, I am not a trained counsellor, but from my own experience I can say that love usually comes along when you aren’t looking for it, so build up your circle of friends, go out, have a good time and enjoy yourself without a man and one just might come along when you least expect it!
I hope this helps.