Caroline

In her own hours

Some people fill a room and some settle it. Caroline settles it, and has done since she took a flat in De Pijp she has never once wanted to leave.

There is something unhurried in her timing: nothing begins abruptly and nothing ends at a bell. Living among the small restaurants means she is often booked by guests who would rather eat first and speak Spanish while they do it. Twenty-nine has brought no interest in performing youth and a great deal of interest in the work itself - the table up without fuss, the lamp moved, the room brought down to something kinder. Two hours and three are what she will suggest, and she is usually right about it.

Caroline decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.