KEY POINTS:
Too many girls, not enough farmers.
That was the conclusion of many after Saturday's Middlemarch Singles Ball, the event which has put the Central Otago town on the map.
But Laura Hill, 21, a final-year student at Otago University, and Shane "Tubby" Cleland, 29, a Waikaka livestock handler,
had no complaints.
They were the last to leave the ball, Mr Cleland said, after hitting it off late in the evening.
Ms Hill missed the midnight train back to Dunedin, and instead took the 1pm "train of shame" out of Middlemarch yesterday afternoon.
She was just one of two ball-goers who caught the 1pm train, Dunedin City Council events team leader Marilyn Anderson said, fewer than had been expected.
Some men had joined their new friends on the midnight train to Dunedin rather than coaxing the women to stay in Middlemarch, and that train returned more full than it had arrived.
"Rather than the girls staying over, the guys went to Dunedin for some loving," Ms Anderson said.
When Ms Hill and Mr Cleland said farewell on the platform, they were non-committal about any long-term connection, but said they had swapped phone numbers and might keep in touch.
"Who knows, who knows," Ms Hill said enigmatically.
Mr Cleland agreed. "Stranger things have happened."
The fourth annual singles ball attracted over 700 people, 60 per cent of them women.
Ben McDougall, 26, Sam O'Neill, 26, and Sam Brown, 19, who were enjoying the sunshine in Middlemarch yesterday morning before driving back to Christchurch had a "bloody good" night.
Mr McDougall had travelled from the North Island and said it was "well worth the trip". He had met a few nice girls, but nothing serious.
Some guests had mixed feelings.
Ailsa Scott, 36, of Christchurch, said it was "like a big disco".
The guys were young and the food was terrible. She believed the ratio of girls to guys was closer to 5:1.
But she and her four friends "had a blast". They had been followed by a television crew from Switzerland, who had filmed them getting ready, at the ball, and catching the midnight train.
They did not think they would attend again unless it was better set up for couples to meet.
Organisers believe the ball ran smoothly.
There was a prominent police presence and all drivers were breath-tested before being allowed in their cars, Ms Anderson said.
"There was a wee bit of mischief, but I've had very positive feedback."
The midnight train was delayed for about 30 minutes at Wingatui when a woman with a medical condition passed out and had to be taken to Dunedin Hospital by ambulance.
And as for true love ... Ms Anderson said she had heard a few hopeful stories, but nothing truly romantic yet.
In the interest of match-making, Ms Scott did meet one man, a Dunedin businessman named James, who was wearing a 1970s suit.
"He was very nice," she said, but they failed to exchange contact details.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
