Captain Beany has said he remains an ‘edible bachelor’ as he continues his quest to find true love.
The self-proclaimed ‘eccentric’ from Wales closed his Baked Bean Museum of Excellence in his hometown of Port Talbot two years ago to find his ideal life partner.
Beany, born Barry Kirk, who has 60 baked bean tattoos on his head and tattooed legumes for eyebrows, said he has been ‘too busy doing my own thing’ to find love and has left it up to the universe to find his soulmate.
The 70-year-old told Metro: ‘I’m still an edible bachelor.
‘I believe in fate. What’s to bean will bean.’
While he said he is not on any dating apps, he tried his luck on Paul O’Grady’s reboot of Blind Date on Channel 5 in 2017, dressed in an orange superhero outfit, but left the show a single man.
He hoped his appearance on the show would help him to get a date in the future, but he said ‘I don’t think anybody got in touch to say they wanted to go out with a superhero’.
He added: ‘I don’t know whether I’m very choosy or I haven’t found the one that I’m looking for.’
While finding an equally avid lover of baked beans would be a bonus for Beany, he said it is not a dealbreaker and instead highlighted the attributes he wants to see in his future betrothed.
He said: ‘I would like to think she would definitely have a sense of humour, definitely have a caring side to them to counteract my fundraising prowess, happy go lucky, and a person who would compliment my own persona.’
Although his quest to find true love began after closing down his Baked Bean Museum of Excellence, he has no plans to reopen the attraction, instead dedicating his time to fundraising for charity.
His current home still contains an array of legume-themed memorabilia, including a baked bean coffin, which he now uses as a coffee table, and an unofficial blue plaque sign stating himself as the ‘Mayor of Aberavon’.
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He said he created his own plaque to ‘compliment my Great British eccentric attribute’.
He also previously ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 General Election in the former constituency of Aberavon, Port Talbot, south Wales, where he gained 731 votes, but ultimately lost to Labour’s Stephen Kinnock.
Despite not finding his sweetheart, Beany keeps himself busy by taking part in fundraisers to support various charities.
His latest challenge is a mammoth hike over 44 days from John O’Groats to Lands End all while donning a pair of baked bean pyjamas in what he hopes will be the ‘world’s wackiest record’.
He said: ‘I’m hoping to create the world’s whackiest record of donning a pair of baked bean pajamas. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would have done that themselves.
‘I’m kind of an eccentric guy.’
Beany is walking in memory of his brother, Peter Kirk, who died in 2000 aged 37 from cardiomyopathy, a heart disease which affects the organ’s ability to pump blood around the body.
The Welsh eccentric is marking 25 years since his passing by raising money for the British Heart Foundation.
He said: ‘I’m dedicating this, not only for my brother, but for all those people who have undertaken heart operations and are trying to find a cure.
‘Every step is a heartbeat away from finding a cure for heart disease.’
His challenge began on July 12 and he hopes to complete his walk on August 25th, where he is aiming to raise £5,000 for the charity.
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