Toned and athletic, five companions with a daily discipline

Angelika plays tennis twice a week and handles defeat graciously, though she rarely has to. Laura has ridden horses all her life and skis every winter, and her travel plans for any given year tend to include a mountain. Sonya takes class at the barre most weeks and meditates daily, which may explain the calm she brings into a room.

Tina, the shortest woman in the collection at 158 cm, credits long walks across London and a gym routine she calls stubborn. Nora keeps her build without making a subject of it; she is at the flower stalls most mornings and will choose a staircase over a lift whenever a view waits at the top.

Guests who want company before dinner as well as during it will find this grouping the easiest to plan around. Kensington Gardens lies on the doorstep of most W8 and SW7 hotels, the Round Pond makes a brisk circuit, and the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park stays open until dusk. Laura will happily walk a loop before an Italian dinner in Chelsea, while Angelika prefers the Serpentine galleries and a spirited argument about what hangs in them.

An athletic label says nothing about how someone behaves at dinner, so it is worth adding that the five are very different company once the walking shoes come off. Sonya is the calmest, low voiced and attentive. Nora turns a quiet bar festive with a glass of champagne and a question about what you would design for yourself. Tina is easygoing and full of stories about records and clothes, Laura warm and curious about your travels, and Angelika quick witted, teasing and at her best near live music.

Stamina counts most on bookings that stretch well beyond an evening. As a travel companion, whether for a Heathrow departure down the Piccadilly line or a few days somewhere with a slope or a court, Laura and Nora are particularly good company. Heathrow and Gatwick bookings run for at least three hours, travel time counted within them, and any journey is reserved with half the fee in advance, the part paying for her travel non-refundable.

Two of the five, Sonya and Tina, are filed as petite too, while Angelika appears with the statuesque. By hair, Nora is the grouping's one blonde, Angelika is raven haired, and Laura, Sonya and Tina are brunettes. Sonya is the only one of the five in her thirties.

An afternoon outdoors followed by dinner usually fits the three hour line at £700 or the four hour dinner date at £900. Say in your message what the first half of the day involves, so that she arrives with the right shoes.