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Redefining the way we socialise
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 If you're the type that goes out to bars and restaurants with your friends, the chances are that you feel well served by London's inner labyrinth of exciting venues.
From time to time, no doubt, a chance encounter with a stranger has developed into a friendship or a relationship. But how often does that happen? How many really relevant relationships have evolved from such anonymous encounters?
The fact is that London is a melting pot of different personalities, different backgrounds, different cultures. The chances of meeting people that meet your own social expectations are narrowed down by the sheer number of people in the city.
So as a budding young socialite you probably frequent the West End less (the epicentre of the mish mash) and have regrouped in different areas to suit your social requirements. The cool and the hip head to Hoxton. The trust fund trendies situate themselves in Notting Hill. The rugby boys and their pony tailed counterparts head straight for Fulham. And so the picture unfolds.
But the problem is still the same. Too many people, too many idiots, too little time, and the odds stacked against you. If you're in this position, then its time to move with the times, and to try out a couple of organisations who are actively targeting you.
The two companies we feature here are not necessarily dating services, or activity organisers in the time honoured tradition. They are more about managing your lifestyle and the type of people you socialise with.
One such organisation is The Renaissance Club. It is an online member's club.
Membership is £195, and as well as the benefits we will discuss, you also get a case of Veuve Clicquot champagne.
There are two reasons you may wish to join The Renaissance Club. Their exclusive parties, and the superb discounts from the type of bars, restaurants and clubs you should probably be frequenting already!
They organise parties around London that tend to attract well-heeled and good looking people. A typical event would cost around £20, and would probably take place in a fashionable night spot. For the money there may be an open bar until a certain time, or a steady supply of champagne until it runs out. The party will probably have a theme.
Recently for example, they had a preview of the new Bond movie, with Martini's to start in Bardo on the Fulham road, followed by the movie in the UGC cinema, and finishing off with an after show party further down the road in the K Bar.
A week or two prior to this, the Renaissance Club were behind the crush of people at the opening of the new Voyage boutique in Covent Garden, with cocktails aplenty. So popular was the event, that even Boy George couldn't get in.
The club's other major benefit are the deals it negotiates with bars, restaurants and clubs. Your club membership card gets you instant membership with some very nice venues. Embassy, K Bar and Kensington Roof Gardens for example. Most of the bars they have on their books will give you your first drink free. The restaurants offer up to 20% discount, and in some cases also offer your first drink free, or a free bottle of house wine. Chances are you probably frequent these venues already, in which case the club will save you money.
In all, we think that The Renaissance Club is a great idea. If you're based in South West London, then it should be an essential addition to your social toolkit. If you live elsewhere in town, it's probably worth a look too.
And if you're new into London, and you don't know many people in the city, you can almost buy yourself an instant social life!
So The Renaissance Club is one angle. Another organisation takes a slightly different approach to the issues facing the singleton.
This company is called Gorgeous Networks, and in the words of the organiser Lorraine, "We screen all our applicants, they have to be Gorgeous and fanciable, and they have to pass our looks, presence and drive criteria - oh and we never accept the 'Desperately seeking'. We reject approximately 30% of our applicants - sounds brutal but at least you know once you're accepted you are going to meet sorted people."
Hmmm. Get the picture? Gorgeous Networks organise parties and 'speed dating' events across the capital. But to take part you need to be 'Gorgeous'.
It sounds terribly elitist and it is. Unashamedly so. And don't, for God's sakes, call it a 'dating agency'. Lorraine will skin you alive. It's a networking agency. Whatever!
My first 'Gorgeous' experience was a party being held in club-of-the-moment Elysium just off Regent Street. Frankly, I was dreading the party and meeting people who considered themselves to be 'gorgeous'. The reality was very different. I was greeted by Lorraine who immediately introduced me to a few people. This set the pattern for the evening. Lorraine is a natural at networking people, working the room effortlessly and ensuring a steady flow of communication among everyone.
By the end of the evening I'd met a considerable number of people and had a really good time. Where they all 'gorgeous'? Mostly, yes. If you'd stumbled into the bar unknowingly you would have thought you'd hit the jackpot.
A week or so later, it was time for 'speed dating'. This really did fill me with fear. I was to have four 'mini dates' in one evening. Twenty minutes with each date. The venue was the K Bar in Chelsea.
As I wandered into the dimly lit space, it became clear that I wasn't the only person approaching the whole event with some degree of trepidation. Luckily Lorainne and Kate were on hand to put us at ease, with a glass of wine.
I introduced myself to a couple of the people stood around me. "Have you done this before?" I asked one chap, but I needn't have asked the question for the display of nervous energy he had granted me. Apart from a couple of regulars, we were all new to the concept. (Or so they said.)
Again, though, like the party I had attended, the group of people were genuinely attractive and affable.
And so the dating began. Lorraine and Kate marched us all off to little alcoves within the club with our 'dates'. I don't know whether it was the wine kicking in, or the unusualness of the whole evening, but people seemed to relax very quickly.
My first date was with Jenny, from Hampshire, who commuted every day to her PR job in South West London. She was clearly nervous, but relaxed a little when I told her I had felt the same. She claimed to have been dragged down by her friends.
She clearly overcame her trepidation, as the last I heard of her was that she had had a wild night with one her dates, rolling home in the wee small hours.
Next up was cat loving Samantha, a freelance copywriter from Canary Wharf. Witty and very attractive, she was great company. She was finding the whole thing 'surreal' but fun. Alas my twenty minutes were over and she was whittled off to meet her next date.
My next date was Jennifer, a TV producer based in North London. I offered her a drink, which was a dumb move as it cut into my time with her. Intelligent, confident and very pretty, she told me she had come down with her friends 'for a laugh'.
My last meeting of the evening was with Annie who worked in the City having just returned from travelling. Her gentle conversation rounded the evening nicely off. She had come to the event as having gone travelling, she'd returned to the UK and discovered most of her friends were getting 'married off' or in serious relationships.
I found all of my dates I had been allocated to be really good company. (Albeit this conclusion was drawn in the short time we had together, and under the mild influence of a couple of glasses of wine!) To have met four similar people using the old fashioned method would have taken a lot longer!
At the end of the evening we were given score cards and asked to mark our dates. It's a harsh business, speed dating. The deal is this: if you both mark each other as a match, then the next day you are emailed the email address of your match. You can then pursue as you wish!
Gorgeous Networks is a quirky little company run by a couple of sociable live-wires who have developed a winning concept. If you can get your head around the elitist selection process, there's much fun to be had, and some great people to meet.
For those who don't want to suffer the fear of rejection, similar event organisers include Speed Dater, who organise informal meetings in bars across the Capital and promise you ten dates in one night, and Cosmo Party who theme each of their parties.
One of the constant criticisms of city living that friends squarely level at London is that it is a difficult city to meet new people and make new friends. I hear this time and time again and there is truth in it.
However, it really doesn't have to be that way. The social tapestry of the city is changing, and the channels of communication are being redefined. Without wishing to sound too pretentious, it might be time to re-examine your social strategy - and to try to approach things differently.
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 The original lifestyle guide for the more discerning young(ish!) Londoner, or like minded visitor.
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1. Hakkasan - stylish and sexy modern Chinese restaurant and bar from the creator of Wagamama. 8 Hanway Place, W1P 9DH. Tel 020 7927 7000
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3. Lucky Seven - Tom Conran's American kitsch burger joint in deepest Westbourne Grove. 127 Westbourne Park Road, London W2 020 7727 6771
4. Club Montepulciano - still easily the best night out in London. Cabaret, clubbing and cocktails. www.clubmontepulciano.com
5. The Karaoke Rooms - tacky as hell and oozing cheese out of every pore, is this the most fun bar in Soho? 18 Frith Street W1V 5TS 020-7494-3878
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