Wednesday 11 March 2009

A Short Progress Report & Another Piece of Contributed Writing

Hi folks,
A very busy week this week but here's a short progress report and also a comment posted on 'A Well-deserved Regime' (click to read original posting). First the progress report: as of yesterday afternoon INSTITUTIONALISED volume 2 stood at 230 pages and some 122,000 words, having typed up (well, dictated in anyway) some 3100 words that I had written in various pubs over the weekend. Some of you may recall I said a while back that it would be published mid-March at the latest. Well, it is getting close to that date admittedly but then again the thing is close to completion also. Most of what needs to be added is already written and just needs to be tweaked here and there so all being well by this weekend I should be proofreading in one way or another...
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And now for the contribution; another anonymously written piece, in the form of a letter addressed to Judith's aunt. Once again I have to say that this particular series has only a tenuous connection with the INSTITUTIONALISED series storyline (click on title - left in blue - to read a synopsis / book preview of volume 1 on Lulu) but does have a lot to do with the general concept of 'domestic discipline' and provides quite a nice feel for the atmosphere and the sort of possibilities that might come to exist given the right circumstances -particularly if read along with the other letters making up this thread. (In fact it is the continuation of a discussion that had been taking place on a message board sometime ago and is the result of an invitation that I extended for that discussion to be continued here - as it was being flamed somewhat on that site). Based on this contribution I couldn't resist adding on a couple of pictures that I think illustrate how Judith should be dealt with... oh, and a suitable pair of knickers for her to wear when she is (particularly galling in front of visitors, don't you think?).
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"My Dear Judith’s Aunt -
First before everything may I congratulate you on the steps that you have been taking to bring your misguided niece to a proper sense of shame and decorum.
Then may I offer some very modest suggestions as to how her punitive regime may be improved still further. I hesitate to do so, since you are obviously well versed in discipline and may even regard these suggestions as impertinent. However, as you have requested such suggestions, and have already received correspondence from two others, I will proceed.
Corporal Punishment...
Corporal discipline is a fine old tradition that should carry with it a certain dignity and even majesty. The better class of educational supplier should be able to provide you with a display rack of implements. Typically fashioned in a solid dark wood, the rack can be affixed to a wall and will bear perhaps a row of three vertical canes – thick, medium, and thin – with a brace of fine-quality leather tawses hanging to each side. This tasteful object should be placed in a public area - ideally in the hallway of your residence where it is visible to any casual visitor. What better way to proclaim that this is a house of discipline! The two leather straps should be kept highly polished, which is another regular chore for Judith to perform.
It may well be that, in practice, the trusty old cane and strap kept in the schoolroom are the most frequent visitors to Judith’s hands and bottom. Perhaps grown a little worn and shabby from years of faithful service, they still impart their lesson. But something more presentable should be kept on display. And, of course, on more formal occasions, Judith should be sent to obtain a rod from the hallway rack. This might be appropriate for the formal Sunday punishments in front of your guests. However, to be personal, I think that her Sunday spanking should be just that. A proper small-child’s bare-hand-on-bare-bottom over-the-knee spanking while your guests look on. It would differ from a small child’s spanking in that it would last much longer. Twenty minute sessions will be enough to begin on, but this can be increased later if desired.
It is possible that your guests may wish to take some of the burden of such an undertaking from you, by substituting as spanker some Sundays. If, as I assume, the Vicar is one of those who call on you, he would doubtless think it his Christian duty to relieve you of this task sometimes.
Mouth-Washing...
This little ceremony should not be stinted or carried out in any perfunctory way. A stiff bristled toothbrush should be used to work the soap well in to both the upper and lower surfaces of the tongue. Too mush rinsing afterward is an uncalled for luxury. A standard sized glass just over half full of water will provide more than sufficient for this purpose.
Castor Oil
Should you decide to proceed with this old-fashioned (and none the worse for it) remedy, I will only make one caution. Do not even consider a teaspoon. A tablespoon should be administered at the very least. In Young Ladies’ Academies of old, a full glass had to be swallowed.
Nomenclature...
It occurs to me that, so long as Judith is the only miscreant in your care, there is really little need of her given name. “Child”, as in “Come, Child”, “Say your lesson, Child”, or “Bend Over, Child!” will be quite sufficient of an address, and will constantly re-inforce her true status in her mind. "

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