best luck with your interview
there is a link that was posted on that forum that might be of help (it was posted by alex)
http://www.praedstreetproject.org.uk/safety-escort.htm
which might be helpful if you havent seen it already
with telling friends, i personally find it important of being able to tell, but here i think in most situation its not something they need to know and i also think you have done well to reach out here, where you find like minded souls or ladies in a similar boat.
i don't have experience with agency work, and i am doing a busy day job and find it hard to find time to run my own business as well, i would love to be able to do more .... i shall have more time soon i hope