FOREST pals Penni Sharpe and Carolyn Read had so much fun and made so many friends when they attended a speed dating meeting in Gloucester that they have decided to set up local singles events.

"Our first events will be held in Ross on March 15 at the Hope and Anchor, followed by April 4 at the Royal Hotel," said Penni, who has now set up Forest Match Makers.

"Then, hopefully we will arrange some in the Chepstow area and later in the Forest itself but the overall aim is to get people involved from the whole area, where there is nothing happening much at the moment as far we can see.

"Of course it's nice to see long-term relationships and even marriages developing but really it's all about fun and making friends – we also found all the women got together and became really good friends as well. And we will not just be arranging pub meetings – walks and singles outings, lunches and dinners are also on the cards.

"We will ask every new person registering with us to complete a questionnaire – this is voluntary but it will enable us to see clearly their profile and what they are looking for.

"This will enable us to tailor events to individual requirements and also try to introduce the people we feel could be ideal matches to one another."

Penni said she wasn't interested in making money from the exercise and was hoping to cover the cost of room hire, advertising and administration.

"We both live in the Forest and we have discovered from personal experience that there is nothing like this in our area," she said.

For more details call Penni on 07864 096782 or Carolyn on 07541 030384, or email [email protected]">[email protected]