Off you go, 2023…
Maybe this blog got started at the start of the Difficult Times (do not blame me for any of it, I have no more power than anyone else, OK?) but a common theme in DSW end-of-year posts tends to be, … Continued
Musings
Kink, consent and ‘charity’?
Fewer people than you might think, these days, will just accept “it’s for charity” as a reason to put their hands in their pockets, and this is not entirely due to the fact that fewer people have any spare change … Continued
So You Think You’ve Been Cancelled
Another day, another load of whining about ‘being cancelled… If you think this modern scourge is happening to you, here’s a handy checklist… Have you been given multiple interview slots on television, radio, podcasts with more than five listeners and … Continued
Of Ghosts and Greed
Another bout of irritation is erupting about the amount of celebrities ‘writing’ books and picking up fat cheques for doing so. People are not, on the whole, overly annoyed about those who employ a lot of help when producing their … Continued
Phone away, blown away
Outdoor trading is something I have always loved, but some outdoor gigs are definitely more hassle than others. The worst thing to contend with is definitely wind. Last weekend’s potentially wonderful day at Croydon Pridefest took place in something that … Continued
Concerned parents, culture war tropes and tabloid twattery
The latest BBC ‘scandal’ has got the lot, hasn’t it? You’ve got the starting point of a celebrity being accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a minor: well, there’s a lot of it about, isn’t there? Then you’ve got the fact … Continued
Cheaper online?
Every now and again someone picks up a book, examines it with interest, then looks it up on their phone, announces it’s cheaper on Amazon and puts it down again. This is fine, I get it (particularly these days, of … Continued
Ann Summers: achievements and ambivalence
Obviously the obituaries for Jaqueline Gold talked a lot about the Ann Summers brand, and how Gold was one of the pioneers of mainstreaming women’s sexual pleasure. While I’ve never actually been to an Ann Summers party, I was certainly … Continued
Choosing Love
Choose love, because the consequences of choosing hate get worse and worse. Choose love, because choosing hate leads to teenage girls getting stabbed to death in parks in broad daylight (then mocked by bigots even as their devastated families mourn). … Continued
40 Years of the Fetish Scene
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