Just a quick one. If you live in hastings you can get pole dancing lessons subsidised by your local council. Click here to watch the video.

It`s not very often that something astounds me in the sexual arena. I can`t say I`ve seen it all, that would be conceited and foolish. What I`m talking about here is this article from the BBC`s news website.

The “research” is on a small sample size and its conclusions seem qualified with caveats. The most sensible quote, from Dr Petra Boynton (a sexual psychologist at University College London) was, “We’re all different. Some women will have certain area within the vagina which will be very sensitive, and some won’t – but they won’t necessarily be in the area called the G spot.”

Maybe someone ought to point out two pieces of information from my sexual explorations; i) the G Spot is probably not one structure but a collection and yes it may well be associated with the clitoris, ii) it is more or less sensitive dependent on the mood of your partner and at different points in their cycle.

I suppose there`s a third point. Why don`t they stop ultra-sounding women to find the G-Spot and go and find it with their partners? Empirical data is very overrated when it comes to sexuality, it`s better to experience the G Spot than to measure it.

Adult Blog Hub is a directory for all adult/sex bloggers and readers of those blogs. It has been in existence for almost two years and has undergone several redesigns taking it from simple post listing site to one incorporating sections for different genres and content mixtures. It also has a Top List section and news blog.

As of midnight last night the site is being operated by Alex and Suze. Originally creators of AlexSuze.com they have been blogging for three years and in that time have created and/or been involved in the development of various sites, most notably A-Rouse.com and SBC. The original creators of Adult Blog Hub have withdrawn from the site completely because of increasing commitments outside the online world.

So where now for ABH? According to Alex & Suze:

“The site already has a new skin. We think it gives the place a fresher look. Not all of the site is converted to the new scheme and there are a few glitches which we`ll be working out over the coming weeks.

There are now new classifications for blogs. We have replaced the “Amateur” and “Pro” classifications with the following:

• Journals – Erotic/Adult online journals
• Creatives – For those bloggers whose online presence includes publishing in book, film or new media
• Resources – References and forums for all adult interests
• News & Information – News sites and information that are regularly updated
• Aggregators – Sites consisting of content gleaned from other sources
• Professional – Professional porn sites

We have already begun re-classifying blogs into more appropriate categories. There are several hundred members with thousands of posts to consider so please be patient.

The news blog, formerly part of the ABH site is now defunct and A-Rouse will be the official blog for announcements about ABH.

We already have new developments in the pipeline for the site. They will be announced and implemented over the next few weeks and months.”

If you have any queries or suggestions please continue to use the email address admin@adultbloghub.com, do not email A-Rouse.com or AlexSuze.com with questions about ABH.

We arrived at the Mansfield Dungeon at five minutes to two on an overcast Sunday afternoon. We`d arranged to meet our hosts there a few days earlier and managed to drive straight to the door without taking a wrong turning. The entrance is innocuous and discrete; I knocked, heard the sound of footsteps, a key turned in the lock and we were welcomed into the Mansfield Dungeon by Mistress Falstaff …

The Mansfield Dungeon is owned and run by Mistress Falstaff (aka Maria) and Roxanne (aka Ian). The dungeon is actually a product of Maria and Ian`s relationship, and having spoken to them on that Sunday we can categorically say it is a labour of love. Love between Maria and Ian and a love of the BDSM scene.

We had the opportunity to talk for several hours about their lives, the dungeon and their experiences of BDSM and the TV scene. There is a lot to tell and therefore we`re going to be splitting this feature over more than one post. To begin with we‘ll introduce you to the dungeon, then in subsequent posts to the people behind it, Maria and Ian.

The Mansfield dungeon is above all an intimate and welcoming place. The dungeon offers scheduled events (see the event calendar on the site for details) or can be hired for private parties of up to 15 people.

The dungeon`s ethos seems to be based around the concept of friendship rather than a commercial enterprise. Maria (Mistress Falstaff) is a pro Dom, but calling her that is too simplistic. Maria is a lifestyle Dom, she`s also pro because of the way in which she realised and developed the dominant side of her personality. More of that in the next part of this feature.

People travel from far and wide (literally) to attend parties at the Mansfield dungeon. When we arrived a couple had just popped back from their hotel to pick up bags they had left there after the party the night before. I can`t say exactly where they were from but they had a long drive home, and were regulars so obviously believe the experience is worth it.

The reason has to be the atmosphere. The dungeon is well appointed with equipment for play of various kinds (as a non-expert I`ll let the images speak for themselves). Whatever your preference from a simple flogging, to rope suspension, or an evening on the Queening Chair, or maybe attached to the imposing steel pyramid, the dungeon can cater for you.

What`s more Maria can arrange for you to be attended to by a Pro Dom, or for you to express your Dominant side over a pro sub. These are not just random people individuals plucked from a chat room, each pro invited into the Mansfield Dungeon is thoroughly vetted, both for their character in the Dungeon and outside.

As Ian explained ” … we wine and dine them, get to know them [before accepting them]”

Because Maria and Ian know the six pro Doms currently working with the Mansfield Dungeon so well you can be sure of the correct match between a submissive and Dom. Doms always work under the supervision of Maria to ensure things don`t get out of hand.

We were interested to find out where the equipment in the dungeon is sourced. Maria explained that one of the regular users of the Dungeon made both the suspension frame (with removable stocks) and the Queening Chair. This typifies the symbiotic relationship the Dungeon has with its clients.

Friendship is a word that kept coming up in the interview, and friendship can only come from trust. The clients who use the dungeon know that Maria and Ian want to ensure that they are safe at all times. On party nights they tend not to play with the clients, standing back and maintaining a sense of perspective. That way if the play gets out of hand they can, as caring responsible hosts, intervene to ensure that the experience is intense, but safe.

Mistress Falstaff is a true Dom, with a deep understanding of the BDSM scene. She derives evident enjoyment from her role as Mistress of the dungeon. This was illustrated several times during our visit in, for example, her description of the use of riding crops brought a wicked glint to her eye. Later she offered to introduce me to a butt plug of monstrous proportions, a kind offer that thought it best to decline.

The clientele of the Mansfield Dungeon includes people from all walks of life, all backgrounds. They all know that time spent in the capable hands of Maria and Ian is guaranteed to be memorable.

Some of the equipment is obviously popular the telltale rope marks on wood and polishing of steel rings tell you that. Other equipment is only used by a small number of people. Each to their own. The prime example of that is the cage (pictured) used only by one male client. Maria commented that he`s very responsive to touch, particularly tickling, he also enjoys being suspended and tickled.

Maria and Ian were at pains to point out that they offer a non-sexual service. The Mansfield Dungeon is about exploring the boundaries in a safe sane and consensual way. The pleasure to be derived from that is easily enough for their clients.

There`s an evident pride in what Maria and Ian have achieved with the Mansfield Dungeon that is evident when they describe the place, the parties and the people that play there. It is a pride without conceit, they take pleasure in giving pleasure, especially if that pleasure derives from pain LOL.

Suze now has a dilemma. Maria described how she has, on occasion, invited friends (unaware of her involvement in the BDSM scene) to take part in “A party with a difference”, and they have thoroughly enjoyed it. As we wound up the interview Maria offered (to us both but directed to Suze I noted) “Give me five minutes [to show you what a Dom can do for you]”

Suze has Maria`s number …

In the next part of this feature on the Mansfield Dungeon, Mistress Falstaff and Roxanne, we`ll explore their relationship and how they came to create the dungeon.

Tags: Mansfield Dungeon, Mistress Falstaff, Roxanne, BDSM, pro dom, lifestyle dom, xtc2xs, xtc2xs.com, rope bondage, suspension, domination, submission, flogging, tickle torture

To celebrate their first Valentine`s Day Magma Toys, the creators of the world`s first truly hot love toy, are ensuring that every customer who purchases a Phoenix for Valentine`s Day will not forget to get the flowers as well by providing a free £10 Interflora voucher with every sale.

Designed to “keep passion hot”, The Phoenix is the ultimate gift for Valentine`s Day and almost guarantees a red hot night of Valentine`s l`amour, say Magma.

They continue:

“Nothing says I love you like a bunch of flowers and nothing says I really want you like a Phoenix – it`s the perfect union of affectionate sentiment and lustful intention.”

The free voucher promotion – available to all customers purchasing a Phoenix from the Magma Toys website – has been developed to support the extremely successful Magma Toys Valentine`s Sex-e card campaign and remains open until 20 February 2008 for anyone who fails to make plans for the day and needs to make amends.

Unlike conventional multi-speed vibe toys the Phoenix heightens pleasure through luxuriant warm sensations. The first of its kind available in the adult toy market the Phoenix immediately transforms from its cool dormant stage into a sexy hot loving machine in one simple click.

Easy to use and enjoy, the Phoenix is presented in a modern, stylish gift box, accessorised with user manual and clicker.

The Phoenix is currently available in strawberry (red), bubblegum (blue) and sherbet (yellow).

Tags: Magma Phoenix, Magma Toys, Phoenix Vibrator, Phoenix Vibe, Phoenix hot vibrator

I found a post on Informed Consent by “eleventh hour” recently which has a few things to say on the subject of the UK governments attempts to bring this law onto the statute books.

The discussion, which the post describes was entitled “The New Sex Crimes: Electronic Obscenity and Censorship“, and took place on 19 Jan 2008 at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

The law speaks for itself. The wording is an attempt by the government to apply its understanding of the perceived “problem” with some “extreme porn”, and in so doing somehow legislate against fruit loops like the Graham Coutts (who murdered Jane Longhurst), by arguing that his “obsession” with “Viloent porn” led directly to Jane Longhurst`s tragic murder.

It is the wording that is at the centre of the controversy surrounding the act. Surveys have shown that across British society, in both the BDSM and vanilla sections of our society, the vast majority of people are in favour of legislating against non-consentual and genuinely abusive activities and their dissemination via any means including the Internet. What they do object to is a criminally (no pun intended) badly constructed law that would lead to the potential for any number of law-abiding citizens in close, caring and private BDSM relationships to be locked up.

Three notable absentees from the original panel were representatives from the BBFC and the online porn channel Strictly Broadband.

Eleventh Hour reports that “[it was] pointed out that although the necrophilia and bestiality clauses are problematic, the most worrying one, because the most potentially far-reaching, is the prohibition of pornographic imagery of “an act which threatens or appears to threaten a person’s life”. He said that this could easily cover any bareback sex, or sexual acts without a condom because it would ‘appear to’ carry a risk of HIV infection (we might also add any act that draws blood, on the same basis).”

This is the sort of problem the act seems designed to create – define “harm” if you can.

Another worrying opinion voiced by Feona Attwood (principal lecturer in media at Sheffield Hallam University) ” … past experience suggests it will not be used against large, mainstream producers of pornography with heterosexual content, but against amateurs with minority sexual interests.” Which seems at odds with a society which prides itself on polytheism and the rights of the individual.

There seems to be a feeling that the bill is part of a move to claw-back some of the civil liberties and achieved by and since the Wolfenden Report.

The post winds up on the possibility that the reason for the withdrawal of representation from the BBFC was because the organisation didn`t wish to be speak in support of the dissenters to the bill and therefore be accused of “leniency” when it came to classification and censorship of films being submitted for UK release.

You can, and should read the whole article here. Learn about the opposition to the act here.

The February edition of Lucrezia Magazine is out – According to Anastasia Mavromatis “To the Rainbow and Beyond presents the sexual diversity that existed (and exists) throughout history. Much can be said about the most recent discussions concerning amendments made to the US Constitution to reflect religious standards, and thereby prohibit same-sex marriage, but for this issue, we’ll stick to the positives and do what we do best, and that is to present a diverse collection of fine story telling, art, reviews and articles with a GLBT flavor.”

So what’s in the February Issue?

Art: Lucrezia takes you to Israel. This month you will see artwork from Israeli artist and photographer Raphael Perez. Raphael`s growth as an artist also reflects his personal experiences. His official web site, gaypaintings.com has had 25 million visitors, and grows by the day. His work is arresting, colorful, introspective, optimistic and socially significant.

Fiction: Our diverse selection explores unpredictable encounters, intimate rendezvous`, self-realization and unbridled passions, in many forms. Craig Sorensen adds a theatrical twist in Improvisation, prompting the question: who is the director and who is the actor? Mallory Path explores homoerotic intimacy, using her individual style to magnify heat, passion and libertinage. Claire Litton weaves a story that will tweak with your perception, exploring personal identity, loss and redemption. Kirsten Inani Kasai explores Sapphic passion, giving new meaning to the word ‘flash`; her story is like a bright blue flame, raising the bar for erotic flash fiction. A E Franzen returns this month with an epic tale that explores sexual dysfunction and (sensual) resolution, that will simultaneously resonate and arouse. Amanda Earl explores the resurrection of an older man’s passion and a younger man’s attraction, against the backdrop of Yellowknife mine.

Reviews: Eva Adivar explores the GLBT spectrum of sexcasts. From Evan and Paulie’s Gay Porn Talk, to fabulous Tranny Wreck, there is something for every one. I review a standout erotic anthology: Best Gay Erotica 2008 (Cleis Press), and our updated review of Polly Frost’s book (print and audio), Deep Inside, now includes an audio excerpt.

Articles: This month’s in depth interview with writer, poet and editor Alessia Brio, explores the Coming Together series of philanthropic erotic anthologies. Join Michael Cain as explores reciprocation, sex and the curse of the Ex in his essay Lost on a One-Way Street.

For Further Information Contact :
Anastasia Mavromatis at editor@lucreziamagazine.com Eddie Ostrowski at armailto:artsubs@lucreziamagazine.com

Tags: Lucrezia Magazine, erotica, erotic magazine, erotic art