How an evening is arranged, from the first message to the door
There are five steps and none is complicated. Verity keeps the diary and reads WhatsApp and Telegram at any hour. What makes a booking go smoothly here is geography: a district that looks ten minutes from another on a map can be forty, so send an address and an hour rather than a postcode and a vague evening.
From one line to your door
It runs like any job taken at a workshop counter: you say what the evening is for, the desk says what it takes, and nothing is set moving until you agree to it in writing.
- 01Pick
Pick a name, or do not
Choose somebody from the list, or describe the evening and let the desk put two or three names in front of you, each with a reason.
- 02Write
Send four things
Who, which night, what hour, and where. A first name is enough. If there is a curtain time or a train, send that instead of a start time.
- 03Confirm
Let the desk answer
The reply says who is free, what the journey honestly takes, and the total for the length you asked about. If something does not fit, it suggests what does.
- 04Arrive
Confirm in writing
One message back from the desk carries the companion, the start, the length and the figure. That message is the confirmation, and nothing about it changes afterwards.
- 05After
She arrives
Dressed for the building she is walking into, on the hour agreed, with the fee handed to her in person at the door.
Hello, I would like to book [name] on [date] at [time] for [duration]. My address is [street and postcode], and I will confirm the door or room number in writing.
What to put in the first message
A night, an hour, a district and a building. For a hotel the name is enough; a room number is never wanted in a first message. For a flat or a house, the street and number matter more here than almost anywhere.
How long a reply takes
A reply usually takes a few minutes, at any hour. Short notice is realistic around the stations and Finsbury Park, where two tube lines and the mainline meet; up in Muswell Hill or Highgate, a few hours makes the difference between arriving settled and arriving apologetic.
Hotels, flats and the quiet arrival
Companions here are used to lobbies and to front doors, and do neither with any theatre: she walks in, takes the lift and knocks. We hold no arrangement with any hotel. For a private address, mention a buzzer, a side entrance or a gate that sticks.
Changing or cancelling
Write as soon as you know. A booking moved with a few hours in hand costs nothing. The terms on the rates page cover shorter notice and are the same for everybody. If a companion has to move something at her end, you hear it early, with an alternative offered.
Asked at the counter
How much notice do you need?
Around the stations and Finsbury Park, often an hour. Up the hills, a few hours. For a theatre night in the season, a week.
Do I have to give my real name?
A first name is all the desk asks for, used to find your booking rather than to keep a record of you. The privacy page sets out what is kept.
Can I book for a date weeks away?
Yes, and it is arranged exactly as tonight is. If the timings shift between now and then, one message moves the hour while the companion is still free.
What if she is delayed getting to me?
You hear about it from the desk before you have to ask. A companion twenty minutes behind because of a line closure will always say so.
Can the desk suggest somebody rather than me choosing?
Gladly. Describe the evening, the district and whether you want somewhere loud or somewhere quiet, and two or three names come back with a reason attached to each.
The sign stays lit
Give the desk an hour and a street, and the rest of the night is arranged quietly, anywhere from the lock at Camden to the Broadway on the ridge.