Events

Monarchy and Masochism

Englishness, masochism, monarchy 8th May 2023 Events, Other Things

There is, I think, a school of kink-related thought which regards caning as a particularly English fetish – I certainly haven’t seen much in the American BDSM guides about that subset of the scene which is all about the naughty … Continued

40 Years of the Fetish Scene

anniversary, celebration, fetish, history, SM scene 6th February 2023 Events, Musings

Yes, time passes faster as you get older; the years fly by and all that. It’s still a little startling to realise that the UK fetish scene, as most of us involved with it would understand such a thing, has … Continued

Starting 2023 with a bang or at least some optimism

enjoyment, markets, optimism, political change 10th January 2023 Events, Musings

Not ignoring the fact that many, many people are having a pretty horrible start to 2023, of course. Poverty and inequality are still increasing. Large amounts of space and airtime are still being given to vicious, witless bullies. And yet, … Continued

The Night Market: an evening of surprises

beautiful buildings, bookselling, mainstream events, Night Market UK 12th October 2022 Events, Fairs and Markets

The Night Market was certainly full of surprises. Possibly the first surprise was the organisers agreeing to let me take a stall: this is absolutely not a fetish or adult event (so yes, I left the hardcore bondage, fisting and … Continued

Fetish History: Der Putsch at the Museum of Sex Objects

art exhbition, fetish history, museum of sex objects 20th September 2022 Events, Other Things, Sex stuff

I’ve written a few times about fetish clubs, particularly the history and reality of them.as distinct from the fetish party tropes you get in some erotica. So naturally I wanted to go and listen to Steve from Der Pustch about … Continued

Shenanigans signing – win tickets for yourself and a friend

author event, authors, bookselling, signed books, writing 16th February 2022 Events

During the early, volatile stages of the spring of 2020, some of us were hoping Shenanigans would go ahead even as all the other dominoes were falling: unfortunately it became unfeasible to hold it, and the same was true of … Continued

The fetish fair bonanza

bookselling, fetish markets, kinky business, small traders 6th November 2021 Events, Fairs and Markets

The last time there was this much of a range of kinky shopping activities was over 20 years ago. When this century began, you could choose from the London Fetish Fair, the Whiplash Market (also in London), the BBB (still … Continued

It’s nearly time for Night of the Cane

caning, competition, discipline, sexy fun 23rd October 2021 Events

One of the longest running events on the British kink scene is Night of the Cane. While there is what you might call a more fanciful history of it to be found here, it has been happening as a genuine … Continued

Regularity and capacity and optimism

bookselling, regular, time 22nd July 2021 Events, Musings 1 Comments

A while ago, I remember listening to some advice on blogging, which emphasised the importance of being regular. It’s not bad advice – a blog which only gets updated every six months or so is not a blog which will … Continued

Guess what else is coming home…

bookselling, events, football, memes 10th July 2021 Events, Fairs and Markets, Other Things 1 Comments

‘Coming home, it’s coming home’ is one of those things that was a meme before memes were a thing.25 years down the line, a football song made less irritating than many others by its wistful self-deprecation has been hauled into … Continued