Patricia, among the bookstalls by the river

She paints in watercolour, which means she has learned to be patient with the light. Patricia is slim and 172 cm. The long hair is auburn brown and worn loose; her brown eyes settle gently on whoever she is talking to. She wears no watch and is never late. Her style is soft bohemian romance: a floral wrap dress, a linen shirt over it when the evening turns cool, a canvas bag with a sketchbook inside.

Gentle and romantic, she is also the most attentive listener you are likely to meet. She remembers the name of your sister and the town you grew up in. Conversation, in English, is warm and never hurried. She loves film noir, the more rain-soaked and double-crossing the better, and she spends free afternoons in bookshops, leaving with more than she meant to buy. She writes letters by hand and still posts them.

Her SE1 evening begins at the book market under Waterloo Bridge, the long row of secondhand tables outside the Southbank Centre where the stock changes daily and the river runs just behind. She will hand you a book you would never have picked up and be right about it. From there the South Bank unfolds in both directions: a quiet dinner overlooking the water, a walk to the lit front of the National Theatre, or a slow stroll east towards Blackfriars as the evening settles.

Patricia travels from Belgravia and prefers a day or two of warning. An SE1 evening along the river can be requested through booking, and the rates page gives every duration.