The Spinster's Exploits

Sex, sensuality and possibly spanking after seventy…

  • I love some of the novels by Philip K Dick – dodgy on women, but amazing imagination and thoughts on the condition of man/the male of the species as well as flowing prose.

    Michael Sheen actually championed Dick on “Great Lives” and like me is a fan of “Do Androids…” and “Flow My Tears The Policeman Said”. Interesting background stuff about drugs, times, and dead twin. Like idea of Sheen using Dick as part of inspiration for Lear.

    I read my first Banks on a friend’s recommendation – “The Algebraist” – but it was a struggle. So I was considering a Dick (provide your own rudery here) but got waylaid by Heinlein instead. I had “Stranger in a Strange Land” on the kindle and whizzed through it – forgotten what a page turner he is. I’ve not read him for decades (literally) – he tended to do short adventure pulp SF tales and long more philosophical bricks of novels. I enjoyed “Stranger” which was about an earthling brought up martian who believed in ritual canibalism. As a result of enjoying it so much – especially after Banks! -I then read print version of “Time Enough for Love” about an elderly male brain being transplanted into a young woman.

    Heinlein has some very dodgy sexual politics that seem based on a fifties fantasy of horny men and willing women – very macho, but at least – unlike Dick – he likes them, even if they are very much fantasy women who fall for difficult crotchety old men…

    Oh! Did I mention the spanking? From my closeted (is there such a word?!) days I remember the thrill from the threatened spankings that seem to crop up in his stories – all part of the fifties fantasy of macho men and sassy girls who like being bossed around. In “Time Enough…” there is an actual spanking and a fair amount of spanking talk.

  • If you’re looking for the definitive answer, I apologise as I don’t have it!

    That marvellous – and perplexing “debate” arises regularly when editors have a space to fill in the Sunday supplements or lifestyle section of papers – I remember it being brought up by women reading “Shades of Grey” and the “Twilight” novels in 2012 –  the days before the pornification of culture and the porn explosion and I wrote about it at the time.

    Basically, a chap being all confused because he was new and modern and into equality but now women wanted to be dominated… In fairness he was amusing but it felt old hat despite the modern references.

    And – surprise, surprise – there was a woman saying just because we have fantasies doesn’t mean we’re doormats in real life – we can tell difference between real life and fantasy, thanks very much – an excellent message that was good to see. Something that modern women seem to have grasped and find liberating with no qualms about internalised oppression and other concerns that I and others have had – and all power to modern women!

    She then came up with – surprise, surprise (2) – the idea that women are now so grown up, responsible and busy it is no wonder we/they want to have fantasies about rich, powerful men telling us/them what to do… I remember reading such amazingly original thoughts about High Court Judges and politicians who visited dominatrixes or liked being adult babies decades ago.

    I’m sure there’s something in the escapism from responsibility idea and people (women and men) who toy with such fantasies and sometimes act on them or are thrilled by such tales may well be seeking something “other”.

    But in my experience (as someone with submissive fantasies who has met others with similar feelings) that’s not really the whole picture for many. Seeds of such fantasies/desires are sown very early and most who see BDSM as part of their identity appear to have known about it throughout their life.

    Of course people toy with lots of ideas/fantasies/experiences to enrich their sex lives or stave off boredom and that’s great. So whether you fancy swinging, dogging, a little light spanking or one of these apparently modern crazes like anal sex or hairless pubes – great! Go for it and have fun. But for some it’s not about a jaded palate or a search for novelty – the power dynamic of BDSM is about who they are – not all of them – but a significant and important part of their identity.

    So what do women want? Still a good question. And the men? Whatever it is let’s hope they get it!

  • I do tend to lack these! But vey pleased to have posted by 8a.m. and having drunk a glass of water! A good start to the day.

  • …OK – an anorak test – Did you know that anorak used not to be an acceptable word in Scrabble as it was listed as a foreign word? So now I’ve proved I too am an anorak in the current meaning of the word, what’s this about canes?! And where do the anoraks come into it?

    If your fantasy is caning an anorak-clad woman while wearing your favourite sensible jacket I must apologise for misleading you and letting you down. I want to talk about canes and gently tease those who get a bit precious about their equipment (moving on hastily and doing my best to resist an obvious double entendre…).

    When I had my first spanking relationship, I saw myself as a softie and fantasised about canes, but I did start to wonder about the ‘real thing’. I was too nervous to buy a real cane, so like many, started off with a garden cane. As I’d read stuff on spanking sites, I did know this wasn’t recommended. I was sensible, but private and wanted to start somewhere. I told my then partner he had to read up on caning before he tried it and he did. We knew that garden canes may break (which is why ‘proper’ canes, usually made of rattan are recommended) but as we were only just experimenting, he wasn’t planning on using tremendous force.

    We found the right levels for us and it was all terribly exciting and did me no lasting damage. We both found something very thrilling and erotic about the cane. I then felt courageous enough to buy my first cane – from Ann Summers! Now I know people can be very sniffy about buying stuff from non-specialists, but it was a terribly exciting first step. He then bought a second, slightly heavier cane from the wonderfully named ‘Little Amsterdam’! Sadly this fabled emporium of soft drug and sex paraphernalia no longer graces the streets of that famous Amsterdam of Wales – Neath!

    I couldn’t resist joining in serious noticeboard discussions on real canes and a maker and purveyor of ‘the real thing’ did explain to me at length that mine were probably made of rattan and there were hundereds of types of rattan. If you want more of the techie stuff, others are better qualified than me to provide it.

    Sadly, my A.S cane did break, but being enterprising, my other half simply cut it down so we had a cane that could be used at closer quarters rather effectively.While I think safety and common sense are important, I don’t think one needs a safety certificate to smack a bottom! So my advice is play safe and have fun, but don’t feel you have to attend a masterclass before you can experiment. On the other hand, if you do fancy a masterclass fetish fairs and events can oblige.

    Of course times have changed. I was considering buying some new lingerie and visited Love Honey on line – and couldn’t resist a peek at spanking implements. And then I saw the ads from Amazon who in their march to world domination decided to show me some canes, whips and a very interesting strap – Apparently I could use these for training my horse or in the bedroom!

  • …but as fanatasy – Wow!!!! (the internal world of a spankee)

    [sigh] it’s all that naughty, impossible, challenging wife/girlfriend/potential wife or grlfriend stuff that formulated my young fantasies (and confused and troubled me as a feminist!)

    If anybody tried this on me for real – or told me this was the correct oreder of things – I’d freak, but absolutely the stuff of my fantasies. The idea of a man pulling me over his knee, spanking me, raising my skirt, more spanking, pulling down my knickers while telling me exactly what he’s doing and planning and spanking my bare bottom and I am competely helpless – wow. And if I can get out of it with an apology or similar, but somehow can’t – ooooohhh…

    And then be told to bend over table, and reluctantly/defiantly/apprehensively/helplessly (can’t decide) comply and have my bottom still bare or knickers pulled back up only to have them lowered again and be bared while he removes hs belt and tells me exactly what he’s planning to do and I may even find out about the cane in the cupboard… Hmmm…

    May need to lie down in a darkened room…

  • I’d like to start with a mini-rant and registering my objection to the term foreplay! I think all that fabulous stuff one can do is sex play and lovemaking in itself rather than a lead to something else.

    And so as one of the fabulous things you can do is spank or be spanked, then I see it as sex play and love making regardless of what follows.

    It should be noted that not everybody who indulges in spanking, see as sexual but I do. And the reason I see it as sexual is because I find it sexually arousing and it forms the basis of my erotic fantasies.

    When I was a fantasist with no experience, I did think spanking would be a form of foreplay/sexplay that would lead to genital-centred stuff. It is and does. What surprised me was how satisfying spanking is in itself. Ideally it is part of lovemaking, but I have found that for me it is also a complete act in itself. While an orgasm is the icing on the cake it’s not actually necessary. Like a passionate snogging session and the air filled with desire and promise can be strangely satisfying without scratching the proverbial itch – so can spanking be if it happens to light your personal fire.

    I have had fabulously erotic times when there’s not been the opportunity for more formal sexual activity. but I found spanking a more than adequate alternative.

    The issue of ‘does spanking lead to sex’ arose often on the spanking site I used to frequent. I once raised issue of sex leading to spanking! If one finds spanking central to one’s sexuality than the ‘flip’ can be in either direction. Erotic stimulation arouses spanking thoughts and spanking arouses thoughts of direct erotic stimulation.

  • …the question I’ve never heard…!

    I have no idea why any of us have our ‘kink’, but I’m not really bothered about that anymore. Like the perfect cup of tea, the sun on my back, chocolate, fabulous scenery, or the sea it simply works for me. And the pain is part of the pleasure. This is my simple response to why I am what I am.

    But the long answer? Of course I’m curious. But there’s only so much I can say, and it’s hard to say whether it sheds any light on the nature/nurture debate.

    I don’t actually know what made me what I am, but here is a brief history and my attempts at amateur psychology.

    I was born in the 50’s and was brought up as a Catholic. I was very shy and was bullied from a young age. I remember being so terrified of some children that I would do anything to avoid them. No thrills there. There were also the children in my school who thought me beyond contempt so they ignored me. This meant I spent a lot of time daydreaming.

    As a Catholic I was well versed in concepts of submission, sacrifice and tales of martyrs. Some clues, perhaps? I suspect, though, there are an awful lot of women brought up similarly who find my tastes peculiar.  Although I did not comprehend the idea of sexual fantasy until well into my teens I had early fantasies of vague suffering at the hand of those who were somehow my inferior. My superiority lay in the nobility with which I bore the persecution – definitely a touch of the martyr! I also remember imagining scenes of spanking.

    What was it about that word? It had a magic for me and the fascination of the unknown. As a child I didn’t want to be spanked but found the subject thrilling. I know I hated pain. At home discipline was rarely physical. When it was, it was a hastily administered slap on the leg from my mother, which I hated and resented. My father has never physically chastised me. At school the thought of the cane terrified me and I was thankful that it seemed the preserve of the boys (an early bit of sexism for which I was thankful. Boys usually got the cane on their hand but there was something exciting about the idea of bending over and receiving punishment “Whacko” style). Most teachers commonly administered a slap on the leg or bottom but I never received one, as I was a ‘good’ girl. I remember only fear at the thought of rousing a teacher to slap me.

    The question that intrigues me (and I’ve never dared ask in case I ‘gave myself away’) is this: Were the fifties and sixties full of spanking images or did I ‘see’ them because of a predisposition? Did the following ‘make me’ into somebody with these tendencies or did I simply notice them because of who or what I am? Nature/nurture – Don’t you just love it? The memories from my childhood include

     *Dennis the Menace and Beryl the Peril always getting spanked in the comics

    *The afore-mentioned “Whacko” films and similar

    *50’s films on T.V. where the interesting, ‘feisty’ young woman is spanked by the man she loves and becomes submissive

    *Similar films where same type as above falls in love with the only man who ‘dares’ to spank her

    *Doris Day films where Doris is interesting and feisty then becomes a pushover in love. I’m not sure if she ever gets spanked but somehow it would fit the plot if she did

    *John Wayne spanking a young woman – no idea why

     *An episode of ‘Bonanza’ where an ‘Indian squaw’ is apparently badly behaved and is spanked (off-screen?) with a hairbrush. The hairbrush becomes a ‘reminder’ for her to ‘behave’

    *A Superman comic in which Lois is apparently spanked by a Superman robot (for being too inquisitive?) and hides her embarrassing secret; then it is revealed that Superman himself meted out her chastisement but Lois doesn’t know this.

    I cannot guarantee the full authenticity of my memories but the above are what I believe I remember and I’ve seen enough repeats and old films to confirm their truth in principal. So, did you notice too? Perhaps you were indifferent or indignant? Me? I tingled and still do.

  • The slightly batty, very ordinary looking septuagenarian spinster was very pleased with her latest idea – that should keep her safe she thought. 

    She was missing vanilla and also the shallow end of BDSMland where she had loved to paddle in the past and more recently just in her fantasies. 

    Yes – she was  really missing her lovely toyboy who had kept her very happy throughout the Dreaded Disease and since. He was a fabulous lover and knew all about her paddles not to mention the canes and rulers and he had happily obliged. It was, however, more her thing than his. He’d enjoyed the paddling but she suspected he enjoyed the transgression of it along with having a very willing pensioner who responded so enthusiastically to his wonderful inventiveness. It was not the same as playing with someone who shared her kink but was still fun and very satisfying. She really did love good vanilla and he was very good at it.  And they had a lovely time – mainly  in ‘NillaLand – until family stuff and practicalities took him away from her. 

    When the spinster turned seventy she decided she’d go to the movies more often, see more of old friends and find a lover (or more). She was a happy polyamorist although she hadn’t really done much about it since before the Dreaded Disease. She was no longer sure the best way to find lovers now  – for the last couple of decades her lovers had all been connections made online. Her old spanky site where she had sometimes meandered had disappeared and the dating sites all seemed to be swipey now which didn’t suit her at all. She loved profiles but they seemed to be a thing of the past.

    The spinster sighed. She thought she’d just ask the Universe and any goddesses out there to please send her a lover and then she had a think. She considered telling everyone she knew to please put her in touch with any interesting single or polyamorist men they knew. And she did still get the odd message off that BDSM site on which she still had a profile… It wouldn’t hurt to just be slightly active there as well, she thought. 

    Now the spinster hates to be a stereotype but despite a certain ability with the Interweb, she is quite technically challenged although she hates admitting it. It seems that her Internet Provider had decided she shouldn’t visit that BDSM site so any activity there and responding to messages was a bit of a challenge. She knew it was a settings thing but didn’t know how to fix it. She realised she could access the site outside the range of her baleful Internet Provider – she figured Data Roaming cared less about her morals but it was all a bit of a pain. She didn’t really want to engage with the site in the caff or her car… Luckily, her brain kicked in and she tried disconnecting her Internet signal at home and Data Roaming happily let her play from the comfort of her sofa. 

    The Spinster added a couple of discreet pics to her profile to show she was alive and kicking and was delighted to hear from three men…

    The first man was very young. But they exchanged pics and he assured her that she was genuinely just his type… His pic was so amazing she had her doubts but didn’t want to be distrustful. And he was keen to meet so why not… And he said how he’d really wanted to send intimate pics despite her saying they did nothing for her… and then he sent them anyway! As the young man then disappeared she assumed he was just somebody who wanted to send dick pics to an old lady and was mildly amused and put it down to experience. 

    The second man sent a nice message and had an interesting profile. She liked the sound of him so she sent a nice message back. The following day she awoke to an avalanche of messages where he was imaging what they could do together. She tried to calm him down and explained that although he assured her he wasn’t a Mad Axe Murderer she did need to meet him somewhere safe and public but she was definitely interested. By now he’d got himself into a bit of a frenzy and from what he’d said, she suspected the Dreaded Disease had taken its toll on his social life and opportunities. He seemed overwhelmed by the possibility of both opportunity and disappointment and she did actually understand and was happy to meet him. Sadly he decided he’d blown it and disappeared into The Ether. 

    The third man seemed more a fully paid-up member of BDSMland than her, but did seem interested. While he visited places that didn’t interest her, he also liked some of the places she did. They exchanged pics of the respectable kind and were happy with what they saw. So once again  she sought reassurances that he wasn’t a Mad Axe Murderer and she said she’d be happy to meet him somewhere safe and public to see if there was the possibility of something happening. 

    The Spinster was delighted to meet this attractive stranger and they had a lovely chat. They both expressed an interest in developing things and the ball was in her court. But he made sure she knew what he’d like to do to her and she let him know she was keen and would like to do those things as well but first she’d need to feel safe and meet again in public. She got the impression he thought she should just trust him. After all he said he wasn’t a Mad Axe Murderer!

    They tried to arrange another get together but it was all a bit rushed and last minute as their first encounter had been. The Spinster decided she’d prefer a little planning this time. He agreed to let her know when he had more time for a proper get together. And then she received a very flattering message saying what he’d like to do to her.

    Once again, she like that idea and said so, but explained that although he said he wasn’t a Mad Axe Murderer (and she really didn’t think he was) she was still concerned about keeping herself safe and had always exchanged phone numbers and car registrations with potential lovers before being alone with them. 

    He seemed to think this concern for her safety meant The Spinster didn’t really want to play and couldn’t be really interested in a ‘no strings attached’ relationship! She assured him otherwise and he decided that he trusted her but she didn’t trust him and he was passing by her town later that day and if she trusted him with her address they could have a lovely time. The fact that The Spinster had no idea where he lived and could only contact him via BDSMland seemed immaterial. And it would seem that The Spinster’s lack of trust was the only impediment to their  mutual ecstasy… 

  • My first blog post – and my title says it all.

    So who am I and where am I? A lot of my experiences – sexual and otherwise – are fairly typical of a woman of my age and background – but some are decidedly more niche…

    I am a seventy-year-old South Wales Spinster who has decided she needed to once again reignite her sex life.

    I spent a lot of time hanging around some questionable internet sites in my fifties where I contemplated my navel and my sexuality. Someone once said he had dual sexuality – vanilla and kink, That made so much sense to me – and that is how I see myself. And the polyamory? Sometimes monogamy feels right and sometimes broadening one’s horizons seems more appropriate.

    I reached my 70th birthday in 2025 after a period of undesired celibacy and I was missing sex and sensuality. I considered myself to still have my dual sexuality and enjoyed the nudge of my libido as a reminder that I was still alive and firing on all cylinders.

    Meanwhile internet dating had got overwhelmingly ‘swipey’ and even the one I favoured with profiles wanted me to swipe regularly or be deactivated. I looked around but felt disheartened. I did feel however, I needed to be proactive. So I told friends I was interested in finding a lover/lovers and jokingly asked the Goddess and the Universe to provide…And as I had a profile still on a kink site I thought I could give things a nudge there as well. So I added some discreet pictures and posted some writing to show I was still alive and had some chats and met – and nearly met – some frustrating men – the joys of internet dating once again…