9 on file
At a crowded reception a tall companion is easy to find again, which is a more practical virtue than it sounds. Nine women in the house stand at 172 cm or more in flat shoes. Violetta, at 178 cm, is the tallest; Angelika and Patricia, at 172, are where the page begins.
Height gets them noticed. Composure is what the invitations are really for, and each of the nine has it in her own register.
Membership follows the facts in each file, nothing looser. Every companion here travels to hotels and residences across central London.
Karolina, 174 cm, and Samanta, also 174, are the two Octavia proposes first for a gala or a formal client dinner. Karolina brings a pianist's patience and a wit that lands a beat late. Samanta, a violinist, listens so completely that a table quietens around her. Violetta completes the three, slow to speak and very funny once she does. All three suit the formal plus one.
Angelika walks the Royal Academy in its final hour and argues with the captions. Patricia, auburn haired and softly spoken, prefers the Mall Galleries, where the painting societies hang their exhibitions. Michelle, 173 cm, loves small museums best and opens at Apsley House on Hyde Park Corner, once the Duke of Wellington's address, before a walk towards Green Park. She knows the story behind most of the portraits and tells it well.
Stacy, 176 cm and the second tallest in the house, takes a seat within heckling distance at The Comedy Store off Piccadilly Circus and improves the best lines over supper. Milena, 175 cm, black haired and direct, plays tennis hard, throws bowls on a wheel, and prefers Dukes and a martini mixed at the table. Vanessa, 173 cm, hazel eyed, her hair a sandy balayage, keeps an earlier and gentler hour, choosing between scents at Floris on Jermyn Street and collecting a new word or two over dinner.
Samanta and Violetta are also the names put forward most often for the travel companion. Samanta has stayed in more design hotels than she can list and remembers every staircase. Violetta is unhurried in an airport and good company on a long train, which is rarer than it should be.
If she is to meet your colleagues, agree beforehand how she will be introduced. A first name and a simple account of how you met is enough. Each of the nine is comfortable following your lead at a reception, and none will offer more about the evening than you do. Discretion here is a courtesy to both of you, and it is kept after the event as carefully as during it.
Six are slim and slender, in descending order of height Violetta, Stacy, Samanta, Karolina, Vanessa and Patricia. Michelle and Milena are curvaceous, and Angelika is toned and athletic. Four of the nine have raven hair.
Mention the companion who caught your eye, or describe the evening instead. Octavia knows who is free tonight and who suits a long table.