Ten years away and the whole thing has changed while I was gone

I did six years of this in my early thirties and then stopped, partly because of a relationship and partly because I moved to a place where it was not available, and ten years went by faster than I can account for.

Three months back and the thing I did not anticipate is that being a returning person is harder than being new. A new man has nothing to unlearn. I have a set of instincts formed in a scene that no longer exists and I cannot always tell which of them are still right. Twice already I have said something that landed badly and I did not know why until somebody explained.

Forty three, city centre, three months in and going slowly by design.

What I want is a woman who does not mind correcting a man who is half experienced and half obsolete. Some things I will never need explained. Others I will get wrong in a way that is fifteen years out of date and I will need telling plainly.

Beyond that: a structured arrangement, duties through the week, service that is practical rather than performed. I have a flat, a car and a job that does not travel.

What I do not want is anybody who wants to hear about how it used to be. I have noticed I am tempted to tell that story and I have decided it is boring and, worse, usually wrong.