With the holidays approaching fast, are you in need of
a drinking companion? Hire one, offers a group of entrepreneurial
Ukrainians.
For just up to 150 Ukrainian hryvnias (18 dollars), an
entertainment firm in eastern Ukraine will provide you with a
drinking buddy with whom you can talk everything from politics to
art to women or simply bemoan the condition of the world.
Yulia Peyeva, head of Kind Fairy that organizes weddings and
birthdays says offering drinking companions for hire have been one
of her firm's most in-demand services since they opened last
December.
"It is a pleasant companion who can enliven a boring evening,"
Peyeva told AFP from Dneprodzerzhinsk, a town of 300,000 on the
Dnieper River.
"Virtually all of our people are talented. They can play guitar,
sing or recite poetry. Today you may want to talk about art and
tomorrow to read Faust," she said, referring to Goethe's most
famous work.
The service is also popular among people who are reluctant to
seek therapy but find it comfortable talking to strangers, she
said.
Peyeva insisted the firm, whose staff includes psychologists,
does not encourage binge drinking nor does it provide escort
services. "We are not a dating or matchmaking service."