Transformation

I have seen the term "transformation" used in many contexts when writing about kink, fetish or sexuality generally.

One that public players will be very familiar with is dramatic effect that is produced by the use of costume at a club like our Nimhneach. As the night develops, we admire and wonder as more people appear in the door dressed as anything from near naked sci-fi figures to elaborate (and very warm) large animals. Amazingly delicate icing sculptures of outfits mingle with big raucous bosomy corsetted burlesques.

The adults we shared a pint with at the meet 'n' greet emerge from the green room in pigtails and pinnafores, lollipops in mouth and only missing their bundles of schoolbooks.

These are transformations we are all very familiar with. We Ooh and Aah, we ask how it was created, we secretly look for ideas to copy.

But last night, at our January club night, I was struck by a lesser commented on, but actually more dramatic, transformation. It was 2.30. We were standing by the door, near the cloakroom. We saw people around us grabbing quick good night kisses and hugs, making promises to meet up again next month, or running back for a forgotten bag. They were strangers.

Who were they, these invaders? They looked like any bus queue. I don't know them. What are they doing in our club?

Then I started making connections. The girl in the warm coat and the thick wool scarf had been an iridescent concoction of white and silver ten minutes earlier. The bloke with the practical pullover and confident breezy manner had been little else but skin, tattoos and submission earlier in the night. This transformation has far less wow factor, but is actually more interesting because it is the proof that we are all in the real world.

Walking out of the stage door and into the street is an actor's ascension into the real world. Butterflies to caterpillars, a transformation indeed.

Political Power

I am unashamedly reposting a photograph which Vivian (Disciplined Feminist) posted a few months ago.

(You should click picture to view a larger image, its much more powerful)

She found it on the official White House photographic collection web site, and it's still there. The other pictures also include some excellently composed images and its nice to see the current White House residents employing good photographers and publishing their work.

The more I have looked at this picture, the more there is to see. What's with the belt buckle at the back of the skirt? Quite difficult to do up or undo without help, I would have thought.

The image of schoolgirl awaiting interview with headmaster is overwheleming.

There again, others might see a teacher patiently watching an offending student writing lines or completing some other assignment.

Whatever way you view it, this picture conveys a highly charged atmosphere of authority, just what we should expect from inside a political powerhouse such as the White House.

Political power, after all, is all about controlling, and being controlled by, people.

'Nillas and Nimh'

To start with a "one liner" (literally) follow up to my November Nimhneach post. That last cane stroke is still visible on Bandree's left cheek on this, St. Stephen's day, 5 weeks later. We are both impressed.

December 19 saw us all back at the Academy for "The Last Blast of 2009". The vibe was good and many costumes distinctly seasonal. We were thrilled to have Bandree's homemade bra nominated on Fetlife, by our lovely friend J, for "Best Costume Award".

Madonna, eat your (candy cane) heart out.

Its amazing what Bandree can achieve with some felt, a couple of cottonwool balls and some safety pins. Which reminds me of the old joke of the woman who asks the man in the Chemist's shop if he has cottonwoool balls, to which he replies "What do you think I am, a feckin' sheep?" And on that note, no, I'm not going into any further speculation about the polar bear's more intimate details.


Bandree also managed to carry the festive colour scheme through to her accessories. Her other motifs for the night were peppermint creams and the discovery that Jelly Babies and Aero Bubbles are excellent together, eaten one and one.

It was a great night for costumes and friendly chat and we made some new friends, as one does at 'Nimh, and met up with some we hadn't seen in a while - you know who you are.

The title for this blogpost was inspired by a post on the BDSM-Ireland Yahoo site in the days preceding Nimhneach. The poster was proposing the possibility of bringing 12 or so of their work friends along to Nimhneach after their office Christmas Party. There were a couple of replies in the normal supportive welcoming line, suggesting ways of meeting the dress code etc.

In the heel of the hunt, some of the party lost their nerve, and the trip never happened.

Now I know that Nimhneach is a public club event, that anyone who meets the dress code, summons the courage and pays their door admission, is welcome. I also don't doubt that at any given Nimh', there are a proportion of one-off speculative visitors. Indeed, it is only by welcoming such visitors that we can help other people to discover and come to terms with their kinks or sexuality. That diverse, tolerant, welcome is one of the great strengths of the club.

Despite all that, I will admit to a sliver of intolerance at the idea that we might become the floor show for an office party "afters". If the whole party were going to be tolerant scene supporters, then their workplace must be like the set of "Secretary" and they don't need the Academy. If, on the other hand, they are a normal mixed workgroup, then the plan looked at risk of provoking shock and, maybe, outrage. At a PC extreme, the last thing Nimhneach needs is to be highlighted in some stupid workplace sexual harassment case.

Am I being overly cautious? What do you all think of the idea of vanilla parties coming along as groups to scene clubs? This is a purely academic question to spark interesting discussion. I am perfectly happy with the public access feature of our club and I am not for one moment suggesting that I would like a membership type approach, as is common elsewhere. If our club was like that, I, for one, would never have got past the front desk.

Wishing you a Happy Rest-of-Christmas and hoping that you all have the lovely 2010 you great people deserve.

Nov Nimh

November was a good Nimhneach.

There were some rival kinky attractions in town which meant that it started a bit more quietly than usual. However this turned out a benefit in the end because it left a bit more space for meeting people and chatting.

I was glad to see Caroline and Frank up from the floodplains. Caro did an excellent suspension on stage with DommyDarko and she has a very expressive description of the sensations, together with some pictures, on her blog.

Later in the evening, we got to play together. To my great pleasure, she agreed to experience the trust exercise which my Bandree described when we first played it together at the August Nimhneach. Although myself and B have now worked through this exercise several times, both at Nibh and elsewhere, it was very interesting for me to experience it with someone else. Caroline is tall. That adds an extra dimension (well, OK, more of the same dimension) when you are throwing someone back, face up, and then standing them up again, supporting them only by gripping a rope harness between their breasts.

What I particularly like about the combination of blindfold, chest rope harness and wrist cuffs, is the total submission it provokes in the sub. No matter how strong willed or opinionated, once someone has submitted to be in that position they have effectively surrendered control. If they cannot reach the blindfold, they daren't run, lash out or do anything else rash for fear of hitting themselves against something, tripping or falling. It is a surprisingly calm and peaceful way of ensuring that you have someone's undivided attention. It is also a very good lesson in responsibility for any Dom. Every step your sub takes depends on your attention and care.

There was other good stuff that night. My B took quite a number of punishments, including three very stern cane strokes with her wrists cuffed to the top of the cage. The last of those strokes is still clearly visible high on her left buttock, quite uncharacteristically, three weeks later.

We greatly regretted missing the electroplay workshop, but we got to speak with Lektro (the visiting lektrurer, sorry) near the end of the night. Bandree's interest was definitely aroused, so that's something else to put on the bucket list.

We hope we can make it to December, though ordinary life is kind of busy, and look forward to meeting our newfound playful friends.

Self-Image

Hers, not mine.

My Bandree had another attack of self doubt. Admittedly, things have been very busy and stressy in our day-to-day world, but yesterday, she went too far.

Any reference by me to playing or other players produced a sniffy smart-alec put down or other rebuke. Everybody else was younger, sexier, subbier, dommier or whatever.

By late afternoon, I had had enough of it. We had reached a deserted location and my Bandree was immediately pushed over a straight backed chair. Nowdays, I never put on a pair of trousers without a suitable belt. The jeans I was wearing were matched, as usual, by the thick brown leather belt I had bought, in her company, in Cheyenne during a recent visit to the US. At that time, we both knew exactly what I was doing when I bought that belt.

Folded double, I brought it down on her bottom, producing sharp yelps even through the trousers she was wearing. She didn't wear them long, though. Singling the belt, I dragged her pants and knickers down. With each swing of my belt, I pushed her back down whilst chastising her for her lack of self respect. I will not have anyone, not even her, bad-mouthing the woman I love, desire and adore. I emphasised each of her virtues with another swing of my belt - her gorgeous clear skin, her sexy legs, her just-right breasts, her wonderful openness to new ideas and exploration, her sense of humour, her kindnesses to others, her erotic effect on me, her happiness in her new role as rope bunny to my fumbling rigger efforts. I reminded her, with another swing of my arm, of how proud I felt the previous evening when she chose to complement the red ribbon bow I had tied through the top pair of her labial rings by wearing black suspenders and stockings. She had looked delicious. How dare she run herself down.

When I had finished she was crying and apologising. I turned her to face the wall for a few moments, to consider her lesson and the importance to me of how she views herself, particularly in comparison to others.

I know that it is a female competitive thing, and sure, we are not youngsters at the start of our sexual careers, but living in our present (rather than our pasts or futures) we have it good. I have a sexy, aware, intelligent, brave, funny, friendly good looking, submissive woman for my wife. I can fear what will happen in the future, I can regret that we didn't discover all this years ago. But with age comes confidence and wisdom and I believe those are the qualities which most enable me to enjoy this lifestyle.

Whilst my B was facing the wall, I noted, again, with pride for both of us, the clear outline of a cane welt she received from me at Nimhneach two weeks ago. This is special because her lovely, cared for, skin doesn't usually hold marks for very long at all, 24 hours would be noteworthy. So she was right when she had commented that her Nimhneach caning had finished with a hard one.

More Kinky Art

Further to previous post, Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, Wikipedia is certainly of the view that the "Ladies of the Night" theory has some credance. I quote:
"One interpretation of the work is that it depicts the rampant prostitution that occurred in the Bois de Boulogne, a large park at the western outskirts of Paris, at the time. This prostitution was common knowledge in Paris, but was considered a taboo subject unsuitable for a painting. Indeed, the Bois de Boulogne is to this day known as a pick-up place for prostitutes and illicit sexual activity after dark, just as it had been in the 19th century."


The Pastoral Concert, above, was painted in 1508 by Giorgione or possibly Titian. In the view of art experts, it closely resembles Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, featuring two dressed men seated in a rural setting, with two undressed women, and could well have been an inspiration for Le déjeuner. It is in the collection of the Louvre in Paris making it likely to have been studied by Manet.

For our purposes, the small musical instrument (a piccollo perhaps) could certainly be used to administer short stinging strokes, but might be vulnerable to breakage. Look again however at the large stringed instrument. No sign of any strings however, much busy fingerplay notwithstanding. What we have here, modestly disguised from prudish eyes, is a very early, and large, 16th century paddle. This was long before the appearance of such tools in the hands of American disciplinarians, the country more often associated with paddling.

And Lo!, what a paddle it is! Even applied to the ample cheeks of the owner's lady friends, the piccollo will be a mere minuet, a practice piece, a child's toy of a performance by comparison.

What do you think?

Kinky Art

My B was recently at a small art class and, during a break, discussion ranged over several paintings including Le déjeuner sur l'herbe ("The Lunch on the Grass") — originally titled Le Bain (The Bath) by Édouard Manet. He painted it in 1863, and it was quite controversial given its mixture of fully dressed men and naked women.

The group quickly realised that there are some other odd features to this painting. None of the subjects are looking at each other and there are some provocatively spilled cherries from the picnic. There was a consensus that the women may be "professional ladies", the cherries symbolising what has taken place and the girl in the background having a post-coital bath.

Trust my little bottom, however, to be the one to spot the crook handled cane/walking stick? being carried by one of the gentlemen. (If you click on the picture above, it should open a bigger version). Not sure the rest of the group picked up on the inference (aren't some 'nillas awfully slow on the uptake) but I'm afraid this painting now has very strong Abel & Haron overtones which I will never shake off.

Can anyone come up with any other kinky scenarios?