Leg-braces, Hysterical Paralysis, Spaghetti Plots and Vintage Shots

Hi there, folks. It’s been a while again, I know, but I thought that if I got something out today then at least it will have been less than a week this time. How it is the new book knowing, you're probably asking?

Well, the truth is that it's all been a little in the doldrums last week or so. Perhaps the doldrums is not entirely accurate; it's more that it has become bogged down in a spaghetti tangle of plot that even I find confusing its present form - and I wrote it! In terms of actual writing there are only a few more scenes to work through, although I still have one or two ideas that I'd like to weave into the back-story at some point. For example of the use of leg callipers or braces to restrict or curb an over exuberant teenage spirit seems self explanatory and of course their continued wearing can always be enforced by the judicious application of the cane or the strap or even by the use of straps and buckles secured by padlocks, if in an institutional setting. But how much more delicious if the young lady concerned - against her naturally rebellious nature and despite the measure being entirely unnecessary from a physical standpoint - can be persuaded to compliantly don her ugly restrictive leg callipers each day without having the supervising figure of her guardian or governess or whatever standing over her and flexing her cane?

The question then becomes of course; how might one bring about that situation? What powers of persuasion might be brought to bear to so dominate the young lady's will that eventually she comes to accept this humiliating restriction along with the juvenile uniform and all the other points of discipline she must now live under? The angle I'm presently working from involves - without giving too much away, I hope - the concept of hysterical paralysis or semi-paralysis and muscle weakness; I can say no more than that for now.

As for the hideously tangled plot - I have to keep reminding myself that I have been through this stage before and come out the other side. It is partly the outcome of the way I work - in stops and starts and the creation of vignettes as and when the ideas come - but mostly it is a legacy of the style-path I set out along when creating INSTITUTIONALISED volume 1. It's a case of sitting down and reorganising the various chunks of writing into a logical stream of consciousness, even if having to tie in flashbacks and the like. Once I have worked my way through this current book, the way will be left open for me to tackle subsequent works such as the true volume 3 and whatever might follow that in a simple beginning-middle-and-end linear fashion (which is how I should have set out initially, not being a professional writer). Ambition has its costs - and boy, have I been ambitious with this one!

In truth, today's blog entry - other than the above ramble - has pretty much written itself. Some kind soul anonymously sent me these vintage shots last night. I would imagine that they originated with the old Spick and Span magazines but the source of the scans is pretty obvious as it is emblazoned right across one of the photos. This of course led me to investigate and thus I came across Vintagescans.blogspot (click top left pic to visit). Vintage Scans features “mid-century advertising, strumpetry & design”. These are large images scanned from vintage publications owned by the blog author - and very good they are too! Indeed, many have been scanned from magazines that I had no prior knowledge of. “Stocking-clad ladies are well represented”. but the collection is not limited to the blatantly erotic; there are many fashion plates, underwear adverts, sections on food and drink, technology and transport, health and beauty and the like covering the period between the 1930s and the late 1960s. For example, I was able to add to my burgeoning collection of vintage corsellete and girdle pics . Talking of which; I have managed to dig out a couple of old women’s magazines of the period at boot / antique fairs of late which very soon I shall start scanning to a new PicasaWeb album which I plan to create.

While on the subject of PicasaWeb: I now know what part of this site was deleted (no - censored) by PicasaWeb - as reported a while back by yours truly. Two of my carefully crafted PicasaWeb albums have vanished: that containing the work of Thorn / Hobbs (I'm not going to get into that controversy again) and that containing the work of Mr Roger Benson. I can understand why the Thorn / Hobbs stuff was targeted as one or two of the more up-to-date illustrations taken from online adult comics were a little, shall we say, gross. But I can't understand the deletion of Roger Benson's work. I daren't reinstate either, through fear of the blog being closed down completely, but I shall endeavour to provide links to other sources of their work in the fullness of time. Meanwhile: who can give me at least four reasons - other than you just feel like it or the fact she is clearly a strumpet - why this young lady should be given a long hard caning. I'll give you a clue: they're all uniform related.