Newly discovered website

I'm always interested in fantasy based on recreating real punishments and I really appreciate authenticity - hence sites that try to capture information about real-life punishments in the past are always worth a look. I have no idea how long the Approved School Website has been in existence although there are messages on it's forum dating back to 2004. There isn't a huge amount of content but perhaps a little extra publicity might bring more contributions to this interesting resource.

Major moments

Maybe my interest in spanking and corporal punishment helped point me in the direction of an academic career - once I was in the sixth form at school (16 years old - would now be classed as year 12 in UK) we had quite a bit of free time and I often used it to visit the local library for research purposes. It might have served me better had Corporal Punishment been one of the subjects I was supposed to be studying. I especially remember the excitement when i cam across Ian Gibson's book The English Vice. It was fascinating in itself but was the first real point of discovering that a lot of people shared my interests. (Unfortunately I'm going to be unable to post for around a week - be back then and I'll save up some ideas for when I get back.)

Rubbish holiday snaps

I generally regard myself as quite a good photographer, but I found some old holiday pictures the other day that suggest otherwise. I mean why on earth did I want a photograph of a load of people I don't know making their way up some steps in a Greek temple?
And why did I keep a slightly out of focus picture of someone standing by a tree? Or, worst of all, a patch of tarmac? And while this fountain in Dubrovnik is quite attractive, it's a shame the angle didn't allow me to take it all in.
As for this, I simply have no idea what it was meant to be a picture of...

What can Prince Charles be thinking of...?

It's a question people have often asked about the heir to the British throne, but in this case (admittedly a fairly old and slightly grainy picture) I would have a pretty good guess!

Bums on the run

I think this effort being made by several of the top names (or should that be bottom...?) in the UK spanking scene is worthy of much support. It marks a significant shift in openness about spanking that so many of our favourite girls are openly taking part in this sponsored run to raise money for a good cause. Check out their website and get making donations. I've also thought of a way to help the training involving someone dressed as a headmaster and brandishing a cane chasing after them... any takers? Adele perhaps as you live in my part of the world???

Anyone else having problems with images in this blogger?

When I first started posting I was able to insert small images which, if you clicked on them, could be expanded to full size. Now that doesn't seem to work. Don't think I'm doing anything different and I'm not anywhere near file capacity so far as I can see - any suggestions?

Punished on the hands

I've been meaning to post something on this theme for a while, but was finally prompted to do so by reading a piece on the subject at another blog site (http://www.eltercerojo.net/2007/03/hand_punishment.html).

It really interests me that punishments on the hand make it at all into adult CP-related websites and literature. There is so much written about the reasons why corporal punishment applied to the buttocks becomes associated with sexual stimulation (for both the punisher and punishee) but little of those can explain why either party should find the idea of hitting someone on the palm of their hands could have a relationship with sexual arousal. Obviously the dominant-submissive power relationship is still there but why else does it have a role in CP fantasy?

I think there are two things going on - first is the ever-present schoolgirl fantasy and second is a liking for realism. Even 'though (I hope) people don't want to go out and inflict corporal punishment on a non-consensual basis against an under-age girl, the primary fantasy for many in the scene is based on adults consenting to scenarios based on just such a theme. And, if we value realism, then in the last few years of corporal punishment being administered in British schools it was far more likely, if a girl was to be punished that way at all, that it would be by means of a cane or belt (tawse) across the hands (as seen, for example, in the very realistic BBC school drama Grange Hill in the episode where Cathy was given the cane by the headmistress).

I thought that particular scene was quite severe - not just because of the pain a cane causes on the palm, but making her go through the ordeal with her mother present and watching.

Actually using a cane across the palms is not without some risk of injury and many would argue that such canings and strappings were more severe in terms of pain levels than the same punishment applied to the backside. Add to that the undoubted difficulty of managing to hold your arm out straight in front of you as you see the belt or cane coming down and it may not be the easiest role to play but it undoubtedly has its place.