Scot finds love in New Zealand thanks to poster - UK-Kiwi love story   4 Mar 2015

They had a sleepover - but was it because of a hangover?

Picton's star-crossed lovers, Kiwi William Scott Chalmers and Scottish backpacker Sarah Milne, broke their silence today after their big date involving "cheap beers".

Mr Chalmers at first played coy when he updated the world, saying simply: "The night went amazing."

But later Mr Chalmers told stuff.co.nz that Ms Milne stayed the night at his place and he cooked her breakfast.

"I told her, 'If you want to stay here for a week you can', and she said yes."

"She's full of life ... there was no awkwardness at all."

He added: "People are asking if we're getting married. I don't think people realise yesterday was the first time we talked."

The couple may have been suffering a hangover. They missed a scheduled appearance on TV ONE's Breakfast programme this morning, and Mr Chalmers had turned off his phone.

Last night, they were snapped having drinks and a bite to eat at Picton restaurant DA's Barn, as the Daily Mail Australia got in contact with them mid-date.

Mr Chalmers said: "We had a bottle of sauv blanc and sparkling pinot gris. We had a great night. Now we're grabbing a box of cheap beers... and we're going to have a party."

 

When asked if there would be a second date, Mr Chalmers joked: "I'm not too sure. You might have to ask me tomorrow just in case I've made an ass of myself."

He added that his and Ms Milne's story proved the world was not such a bad place. "There's a lot of s**t in the world but there's a lot of love in the world," he said.

At 10pm, the couple sounded like they were still having a good time as Mr Chalmers passed his phone over to Ms Milne who described the whole experience as "surreal".

"I had no idea it would go the way it has gone," she said. "[The date has] been going alright, we've had a few glasses of wine.

"It was overshadowed by every other person in Picton and... [this] very sweet thing it could have been has become this huge public thing.

"It was very embarrassing. I'm not someone who is used to the spotlight. Thankfully he took me away from [the attention at the meeting point]."

Behind the love note, the mysterious brunette has also pleaded with the public to not have the sign removed from the premises. Photo / Facebook

Behind the love note, the mysterious brunette has also pleaded with the public to not have the sign removed from the premises. Photo / Facebook

Ms Milne, 33, who studied at Glasgow School of Arts before holidaying in New Zealand, had penned a romantic note in an attempt to locate a handsome stranger she spotted on the beach. Yesterday, in front of a crowd, the couple finally met.

Mr Chalmers, who brought a bottle of champagne with him, walked over to where Ms Milne was sitting and said: "Hello, I'm William. You know you could have just asked for my number. 
"Let's go somewhere and have a drink away from everyone," he told her, as the crowd watching their date clapped and cheered.

In her note, "Is this you?", Ms Milne described Mr Chalmers as shirtless, wearing black shorts with "stars tattooed" on his torso and running with a "curly, bouncy and blonde" dog beside him.

Mr Chalmers came forward on Sunday morning to reveal himself as the mystery man, and had told Daily Mail Australia that he planned on heading down to the picturesque shorefront to ask his brunette admirer on a date for the evening.

"Of course I'm going down. But just going up to her and asking to chat is a bit out of the question with all the attention, so I'm just going to have to skip a step and ask if she wants to have dinner tonight," he said.

"I finish work at 2pm and I'll see if she wants to have dinner or a drink at maybe seven.

"I'm not sure if the poor girl knows what she's gotten herself into. It's just gotten so big, I've gotten messages from friends overseas saying that they've read the story."

Mr Chalmers, a barista, said he first heard of the poster when his housemate came home at 3am on Saturday night and woke him up.

"He was carrying on and telling me about a poster that two German girls had told him about that described me,' he said.

Picton local William Chalmers met Sarah in Picton. Photo / Facebook

Picton local William Chalmers met Sarah in Picton. Photo / Facebook

"He knew it was me because I'm the only guy in Picton who has star tattoos, Johnny-Bravo hair and a labradoodle."

Mr Chalmers said he and his housemate drove down to the shore in the dark to try to find the note, and even when he saw it for himself, he had a hard time believing it was real.

The poster in question was tied to a pole down at the shorefront, with the headline "Is this you?", and was also posted on Beachcomber Fun Cruises Facebook page on Saturday.

"I was sitting on the grass on Friday watching the sea ... you were playing with your dog. You ran past me and smiled.

"Would you like to go for a drink/coffee/walk??? I'm in Wellington just now, my ferry arrives back in Picton on Tuesday 3rd.

"I'm in town for 1 night only... But let's see how things go... On the off-chance you are single, remember who I am and would like to meet for a drink/coffee/walk.

"I'll be sitting on the grass, watching the sea from 1-1.30pm onwards on Tuesday... Maybe you'll run past again?!?"

Mr Chalmers said that his mother had called him because she had been told of the sign and thought it was such a coincidence that the man described in the sign had star tattoos as well.

"When I told her that it was me, she started freaking out and telling everyone in the office," William said.

"She told me that she didn't raise me to not show up.'

Source NZ Herald

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