What is it?

A flirting & walking tour, held on Friday evenings in central London and organised by cultural anthropologist Jean Smith

How does it work?

I had no idea what on earth to expect when I turned up for this! We met at 6:45pm in the foyer of the National Potrait Gallery. It was a relief to see Jean seated exactly where she said she'd be and once the rest of the group had joined us, the tour began.

First stop was inside the gallery, where Jean talked us through potential conversation starters, making yourself look approachable in a group and the importance of eye contact. Our first task was to smile at three men - not to daunting, thank heavens!

Next we made a move towards Covent Garden and split up for our next task - to ask someone for directions. My heart went out to one girl who wandered nearly half a mile along the road before plucking up the courage to ask someone!

Our third task involved starting a conversation in a Tesco Metro. This was the most eye opening part of the tour. We've all heard that supermarkets are supposed to be a great place to meet people, but previously I've never known how - now I do!

The tour finally ended up at Covent Garden, where after another task we all headed off to the pub!

Who does it attract?

My group was all women, though several men had booked and not showed up (nerves perhaps!)

What's different about it?

It's light on the theory, heavy on the practical skills and feels as though it's aimed at normal people, not losers who can't meet anyone!

What does it cost?

£20

What makes it special?

It's fun, relaxed and great at building confidence. Walking back to the tube I was suddenly aware that I could start a conversation or make eye contact with anyone and not just watch attractive guys walk past me all the time!

What's the down side?

The tour is a place to learn how to meet people, but it's not a dating event. You'll come away with bags of confidence and be itching to try out your new found skills, but it's unlikely you'll meet anyone on the night, although during one of our tasks one of the girls did get called a "cutie" by a guy she asked about bars and on a previous week another actually got invited to a bar by a chap!

Any tricks I need to know?

In the UK we tend to think of "Jean" as an older name, so it's worth pointing out, she's a young sassy American and not a cardigan wearing grandmother!

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