Late twenties, fourteen companions including all three Paddington locals

Every companion who lives in Paddington sits in this band. Laura takes same day requests from midday and knows the mews where horses are still stabled. Nora, honey blonde, likes a day's notice and an arrival off the Heathrow Express. Vanessa is simplest to book midweek and lives close enough to walk to a station hotel. For a hotel visit near the station, all three are among the first names the desk suggests.

Samanta crosses from Mayfair by cab. Rosa reaches Bayswater from Marylebone, Sunday to Thursday. Thea cycles up from South Kensington for a six o'clock start near Lancaster Gate. Danielle comes on the Circle line and prefers to begin after eight.

Cindy and Michelle both come from Chelsea, Cindy for afternoons on the water and Michelle for most evenings. Liana, a gentle reader, is two stops away on the Bakerloo line. Milena reaches Edgware Road from South Kensington for conference evenings. Patricia arrives from Belgravia for quiet evenings booked ahead. Karolina and Tina set out from Covent Garden, Karolina on weeknights and Tina often at short notice.

This band carries structured bookings well. Karolina, Samanta and Milena are practised at the conference plus one evening, briefed before the first introduction. Patricia and Karolina suit an extended stay, where a weekend is planned like a timetable and weekend fares are quoted on request.

For a looser, more spontaneous manner, see early twenties. For the calmest pace on the board, see thirties and beyond. Cindy, Nora and Thea bring three blondes to this band, and Patricia is the only auburn companion past 25.

Seven of the fourteen are brunettes, three blonde, three raven haired and one auburn, so almost any colouring a guest has in mind is covered somewhere in the band. Figure is just as mixed: six are slim and slender, six statuesque, five curvaceous, three toned and two petite, with several names on two lists. If a look matters as much as the timing, open one of those lists beside this one and the overlap will usually name two or three companions.

An age band narrows the board, but it cannot tell you when someone is free. That detail lives on each profile: the hours she usually starts, how much notice she prefers and the minutes she needs to reach a W2 lobby. Use this page to pick two or three names, then let their profiles decide. Whoever you choose, the ladder is identical and opens at £250.