KINKY BUSINESS
After two dominatrix workers annoy their neighbours by reportedly opening a brothel, we shed a light on the secret world of Miss Whiplashes
BERKSHIRE Drive in Exeter is a quiet suburban street composed mainly of semis. Many of its residents are parents with young children or elderly couples. And most people of working age seem to be in respectable middle-class occupations such as teacher or estate agent.
But at one particular semi the door is opened by a rather more exotic specimen. Lady Rosei, as she calls herself, is a professional dominatrix. And the nature of her business together with the constant stream of men that it attracts has got the neighbours up in arms.
They complain they fear for their children’s welfare because they may overhear explicit talk between Lady R and her lustful clients. Indeed, it was an exchange overheard by a neighbour in their garden that led them to a website called adultwork.com where they were astonished to find the £300,000 property advertised as “Exeter’s House Of Kink” and the “Milking Parlour”.
The website also reveals that Lady Rosei offers a wide range of eye-popping services for £150 an hour – or £600 for an overnight session. Intriguingly her accessories include “a 1950s milking apparatus”, which apparently provides “a very unique experience”.
Some say that Lady Rosei is not the only sex worker to operate from the premises – there is talk of a workmate known as Slave Trixie. But Exeter police seem fully satisfied that only one person has been working at the property and that means the enterprise cannot be classed as a brothel and so is completely above board in the eyes of the law.
The house concerned is owned by Nigel Sanders and he has been keen to downplay the goings-on. “I have a girlfriend who is a professional dominatrix,” he told the local newspaper. “She comes to visit me in Exeter and on some occasions she may have found it convenient to see someone for services in Exeter but the main reason for her visits was to socialise with me.”
Mr Sanders added: “I am not operating a business. The House Of Kink is a concept. The house is set up as a lifestyle choice and it is a private thing. It is empty most of the time and probably has fewer visitors than other homes in the road.”
NONE of this is reassuring his neighbours. One who refused to be identified said: “My children could not go out in the garden all summer because there were constant parties and adults swearing and having X-rated conversations.
“This has never been about an objection for people accessing sexual services or about people who work in the sex industry. Our one and only objection has been that these services have been operating from a family close.”
The battle of Berkshire Drive is only the latest manifestation of an S&M explosion following the massive success of EL James’ kinky sex novel Fifty Shades Of Grey and its sequels.
When the broadcaster Frank Bough was photographed entering the sex dungeon of leather-clad dominatrix Miss Whiplash in 1992 the nation was astounded. Now S&M establishments are dotted all over London with names such as The Bunker, The Blue Door Dungeon, The Serpent Rooms and The Hoxton Dungeon Suite. The latter boasts a comprehensive selection of equipment including a bondage chair, a whipping bench and a St Andrew’s cross on to which a customer is strapped.
Mistress Bettie von Sade is just one of many dominatrixes who offer services at dungeons. She charges £370 for a two-hour session incorporating anything from boot worship and corporal punishment to face slapping and nipple torture, plus a range of even more imaginative activities.
The scene has gone mainstream, too. High-street sex-shop chain Ann Summers and erotic lingerie specialist Coco de Mer sell a wide variety of S&M accessories including whips, harnesses and handcuffs. After the release of Fifty Shades there was a surge in interest. “We have seen a massive influx of customers coming in,” said Joyce Mukasa, manager at Ann Summers’ Marble Arch store where sales of restraints tripled and demand for blindfolds doubled.
A dominatrix called Mistress Josephine, who teaches people the art of domination as well as taking on clients, said: “The impact of Fifty Shades has been amazing for my business but particularly for the London Mistress School where I teach people to either become a dominatrix or couples wanting to incorporate sex domination into their lives. I have noticed a 50 per cent increase because of Fifty Shades.”
With a new EL James movie – Fifty Shades Darker – coming out just before Valentine’s Day next year, the residents of Berkshire Drive may have to put up with the whipsnapping Lady Rosei for a good while yet.