Entwined: The Art of Rope Bondage

Last night my Gentleman Friend and I went to a salon at Coco de Mer in London called "Entwined: The Art of Rope Bondage".

In a rather blatant example of buying gifts for people that you really want yourself, the tickets for the event had been a present from me to Gentleman Friend for his birthday. But, you know, I didn't buy it just for me. He did seem pretty happy about the whole thing.

Coco de Mer is a sophisticated, swanky - and some might say outrageously overpriced - sex shop in Monmouth Street near Covent Garden in London. They run several of these workshops each month and they call them 'salons' because they are fancy and a bit french.

The name Coco de Mer translates as "Sea Coconut". Which is something that looks like this.

I'm now intrigued by how some of these salons work because ours was very much a hands-on affair. Our instructor, Mistress Scarlet, showed us how to do something and then all the attendees had a go. I don't think the same model is appropriate for, say, "Back Door Bliss: An Anal Masterclass".

Entwined was very much aimed at beginner-level rope enthusiasts. And while Gentleman Friend and I aren't quite beginners, we were very happy to be instructed at beginner level. I really do like being tied up with rope. I've dabbled a bit in Shibari and the like over the years. I like all kinds of bondage - there's a nice assortment of cuffs and other restraints in the toy bag - but rope is in a classy league of its own. For a start, it takes real skill to do it. It takes effort and time to learn. And of course it looks so darn pretty. There is a certain amount of creativity required and there's also something reassuringly geeky about it.

It's a skill which is eminently well-suited to Gentleman Friend who is practical, methodical and very good with his hands. (And not just in that way, you filthy devils.) He is also a man who likes to do things properly. And that's what the evening at Coco de Mer was all about - being taught to do a few basic ties properly so that we can take what we've learnt and build on it.

I say 'we', Gentleman Friend was doing all the work here. There were five or six other couples in attendance and most of them were very democratically taking it in turns to ties one another up. We didn't do this. There is no point in me learning to do the tying. Not because I wouldn't be able to do it - although, honestly, I am cack-handed to the point of probably being dyspraxic - but because Gentleman Friend is my Dom and I am his submissive. He does the tying and I get tied up. He gives the orders and I try to obey. He gives the spankings and I get the bruised arse and a grin like the Cheshire Cat. We are very comfortable in our roles. (Emotionally comfortable, I mean. Sometimes I am not physically comfortable at all.)

Swanky place. Swanky tickets.

I do always feel like I get the better end of the deal because I would, wouldn't I? I have to accept that Gentleman Friend and I are wired differently and that's what makes it so wonderful. Personally, I would be utterly bored if I was spanking somebody's arse for several hours but Gentleman Friend does it quite happily - if a little sternly.

So there was no taking turns when it came to trying out the rope ties at Entwined. Instead, I got to just enjoy being tied up in several different ways while Gentleman Friend busied himself with ensuring that the knots were well executed, secure and didn't restrict any bits of me they shouldn't be restricting.

We were shown a single column, a double column and a basic harness and then a few different ways that all three could be combined.

At the salon in my simple harness.

Mistress Scarlet was a great teacher - delightfully down to earth and funny. She had brought along one of her submissives, "Boy", to be tied up and I loved all her comments about how she is rough with her boys and how she expects them to behave.

The session was two hours long; it was well-structured and the time flew by. At £90 a ticket, it certainly wasn't cheap but as well as Mistress Scarlet's instruction, you're also getting a classy setting, seemingly limitless drinks and the wonderfully attentive staff at Coco de Mer.

The salon price also includes 20% off any purchases that you make in the shop that evening. But because the prices are insanely expensive (over £200 for a flogger, for example),  Gentleman Friend and I did not take advantage of this offer.

Besides, we already have our own rope. And after this very instructive evening, we have become very enthusiastic about using it.

I hope Mistress Scarlet would be pleased with us.