'I like to think I'm a litle bit more than a dating agency'

She tells Women's Editor Sarah Foster how she gets a kick from playing cupid.

LESLEY Brewer offers me a drink. There's not just Tetley and Maxwell House but a whole array of different teas. I opt for water and settle back in the quiet space that is her office. Since January this year, Lesley's beautiful home, in the village of Brawby, North Yorkshire, has also been her workplace. From a separate wing, complete with its own entrance and a handy loo, she runs The Introduction Company. As she explains, she offers dating with a difference.

"It's a dating agency but I think it's a little bit unique in that I don't put anybody's private details out - it's completely and utterly confidential," she says. "I like to think I'm a little bit more than a dating agency."

The way that Lesley, 48, got into pairing people up was by a convoluted route. She tells me a bit about her background. "I worked as a clerk at Slingsby Sailplanes, at Kirkbymoorside, which makes gliders and underwater vehicles, until I got married and had a family," she begins. "In this area at that time there wasn't such a thing as nursery or a creche facility and in any case, I really wanted to be with my children and watch them grow up. It's paid off - they're good kids."

When Hayley, now 24, and Bob, 22, were both in secondary school, Lesley went back to work. Having sharpened her skills by doing night classes, she took a new direction.

"I worked for Derwent Training Association in Malton, which delivered modern apprenticeships in engineering," she says. "I started off part time, absolutely loved it and ended up being the company secretary and admin manager."

Yet after a while, Lesley felt there was something missing. "I didn't feel fulfilled so I left, much to everybody's surprise," she says. "I had six months out then I was contacted by the community education office to see if I would go and work there as a learning mentor. I went and did a year attached to Norton College, near Malton, listening to young people aged 11 to 16 who had issues as they were going through life."

While she tried to make a difference, her lack of progress wore her down. "They were always coming back to me with the same sort of problems and possibly returning to the same sort of issues every single day of their lives," Lesley explains. "I really did realise that unless something drastic happened to these young people, they were never going to escape. I suppose selfishly I thought 'I want to hear good news every day, not bad'."

So as she approached her 50th birthday, she had a rethink. It was a friend who first suggested she turn to matchmaking. "I was doing it anyway without realising it and I had earned a bit of a reputation for it," Lesley admits. "When I had the chance last year to have a soul search and see what I should do, a friend of mine said 'you should set up a dating agency' and it was a eureka moment."

But there was more to it than this. With almost 26 years of marriage under her belt, she knew the value of being a couple. "I've been married to Geoff since 1980," says Lesley. "I was at a barbecue and a mutual friend of both my family's and Geoff's introduced us. I was 15 and he would have been about 18. We got chatting and that was it - we've been together ever since and our relationship just goes from strength to strength."

At this point Lesley says she's sorry - she doesn't want me to think she's smug - but I tell her not to worry. In fact, in these dissatisfied times, it's nice to hear that someone's happy. She says that this is where she comes from. "I'm not a bitter, twisted divorcee. I come from the background that I'm so happy in my own relationship, I want to share that with other people."

This may sound trite but coming from Lesley, who speaks softly but with conviction, it doesn't jar. She trades on winning people's trust and in her sympathetic presence, I can see why they surrender it. "I realised my agency had to be face to face and very personal," she says. "We do get the tissues out quite often. Some people will want to tell me quite a lot of things about themselves, which is great because I can't get a full picture unless they do."

From lengthy discussions with her clients, Lesley gleans as much about their character as she can. That way, she reasons simply, she really can help find their match. She says it can be hard to fall in love.

"You have to remember that some of these people have not been in a relationship at all for say ten years, and then you've got people who've been divorced and still have emotional issues," she says. "I will chat with a client about what these may be on day one when they come to register. Some people's self-esteem is at absolutely rock bottom when they come to see me so I will try to find out where that comes from and replace it with some positive feelings."

Lesley's reward is forming real relationships with those who come to her. She says her clients are more like friends. "I think what you'll find nowadays is that people who have a single friend will make a casual introduction, and that's all I'm doing," she says. "What I find mostly is that people who have joined the agency are talking about me and their friends are joining, and you can't say better than that. I've got some really, really nice people that I've matched up."

She now has 150 people on her books and while her couples stand at ten, she says she's happy. "How I operate is quality, not quantity," Lesley insists. "In other words, if you were to join my dating agency you would have to be patient because if I don't have the right man for you on day one, I can't magic him out of thin air. I've got to wait for him to walk through my door but as soon as he does, I think 'I've got the perfect girl for him'."

Another obstacle to her work can be a lack of chemistry. "Clients know they're going to get six introductions and every one will be genuine, respectable and really nice. The only thing that might be missing is the chemistry, and I can't put that there," Lesley concedes.

With custom coming from every age group and walk of life - her oldest client is 81; the youngest 23 - it seems her service is in demand. An obvious factor is where she is, but Lesley feels that in modern life, it's little wonder that people struggle to find a mate.

"Unless you are working in a bigger organisation, how many opportunities do you get to meet somebody new of the opposite sex?" she asks. "People are so busy, we all work so many hours, that when it gets to nine o'clock, all we want to do is crash out and watch TV."

Already two of Lesley clients have set up home and though there hasn't been a wedding, she's always hopeful. "One of these days I shall get a hat," she says resolutely. "I'd love to put a message on the answer phone saying 'sorry, I can't take your call - I'm at my first wedding'. I'm sure that day is coming soon."

* The Introduction Company (01653) 669430, www.theintroductioncompany.co.uk