As the alfresco cinema season draws to a close, Rooftop Film Club, which has become quite the dating destination, has enlisted expert relationship psychologist Madeleine Mason to help Londoners impress their dates…

Rooftop Film Club has got love on the mind. A popular dating destination for Tinder dates and couple alike (Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor recently enjoyed a romantic date at the Bussey Building), it seems there’s just something about the view, the cocktails and those cosy love seats that gets people in the mood for love… there have even been a number of proposals – and a wedding – on the Peckham rooftop!

Madeleine Mason, an expert relationship and love psychologist, has even trained the staff to spot the signs of blossoming romance and offer expert advice to get sparks flying, so if your chat-up lines are falling flat, sneak up to the bar and ask for some tips…

Snuggle up under a blanket and enjoy a good film under the stars at the Rooftop Film Club

Madeleine Mason’s
top 5 dating tips

But it always helps to do your homework, so here are Madeleine Mason’s top five dating tips for Londoners looking for love…

1 Order A Piña Colada
The feeling of falling in love is a chemical cocktail of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Pineapples are rich in serotonin, nuts (almonds or peanuts) get the dopamine and norepinephrine going. Help love along by ordering a serotonin-rich pineapple cocktail and some peanut butter popcorn before the film.

2 Seduce Your Date with Basic Psychology
Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman on the date and regardless of who initiated the date, both have the power to make the relationship grow. If you like each other, whoever initiates these steps can guarantee to cement the relationship. Do these three things during your cinema experience and you are on to a winner: 1) Touch your date on the knee, hand or shoulder for 2 minutes; 2) Give him or her a compliment, such as ‘I love your shirt’, ‘You smell nice’ or ‘You look great’; 3) Express a positive emotion during the evening, such as ‘I’m having such a great time’ or ‘I love this venue’.

3 Act Like a Couple (Fake it Till You Make it)
We always fear rejection, which often means that people who fancy each other never get together – both are worried that the other person doesn’t fancy them. Eye roll. The quickest way to become a couple is to act like a couple. Book a love seat and cuddle up, don’t even ask your date. Just do it. Put your head on their shoulder, snuggle up under the blanket, and take their hand as if the two of you have always done this. Enjoy the moment of pretence and then revert ‘back to normal’ as soon as the film is over.

4 The Don’ts
As much as you may fancy your date, eating popcorn or whispering comments in their ear during the screening is going to bug them. Don’t do it. Any annoyance will reflect on how they feel about you, and you wouldn’t want to be associated with negative feelings. Luckily, Rooftop Film Club’s wireless headphones save the day here, you can munch away all you like as your date enjoys film bliss without hearing you chew!

5 Uphold Dating Etiquette (No Phones!)
This one is obvious – turn your phone off. Resist the temptation to take it out in the presence of your date. Go to the loo if you need to check it or look up how to get home, order the Uber from there if you have to. Once you are home send a text and thank your date for a good time. Don’t wait three days or some arbitrary rule… if you want to see them again, get the next date in the diary sooner rather than later.

So there you have it! The Rooftop Film Club is screening films in Peckham and Stratford until the end of September, so pick a film, text your date, snuggle under a blanket and watch the romance blossom…