Rescuing (part one)

April 2006

I have never actually met Geoff, he is just a friend of a friend.

Geoff at 38, is a mature student and is described as 'unlucky in love'. A female friend of his said of him once, 'well you just wouldn't would you?'

Geoff is a rescuer of women. Usually, this is women who find themselves in relationship and / or financial difficulties. I have no idea how he finds these women, but when he does, he tries to position himself such that it is him they turn to when things go wrong.
He is also known to use various online services to find women, and is frequently asked for financial support from some Eastern European admirer.

Early last summer, he announced to his closest friends that he was going to Prague to work for a couple of months, teaching English. A few days after his departure, he called my friend, asking if she could taxi a friend of his (and his friends mother) to the airport in a couple of days time.

Nothing more was heard from Geoff until one day at the start of the academic year when he returned to University and introduced his new girlfriend, a 19 year old beauty from Prague. He told his friends that he intended to devote himself to his new partner. A few of his friends advised him to be careful.

Until recently, almost nothing had been heard from Geoff, since that day. Then one morning, my friend saw him in the University coffee shop, and went to say hello. She was on her way to a lecture, so only had a few minutes to spare. But even in that time it was clear that Geoff was a rather unhappy man.

He was working very long hours, driving a truck, to support his girlfriend's life in the UK. He said that when her exams were finished she would need to return to Prague for around three months to spend time with her mother, who he described as 'sick'. Geoff was saving money to cover her flight and living expenses. On her return, he said, she would have to live with a friend who lives nearer to the university, since she was finding the traveling each day 'very tiring' and left her insufficient time for independent study. This meant he would only see her once or twice a week. He also mentioned that she needed to spend at least three hours every night online, in addition to her other studies. Apparently she is learning Spanish in the hope it will help her pursue a career in the travel industry.

Geoff said that both he and his girlfriend were 'very unhappy' about 'the lack of quality time in their relationship'.