Monica
#1Since arriving in London, I've made some new acquaintances who regularly gather at each others' homes during the day for "a tea" - all girls. I hadn't been to any, so one of my friends suggested I host one as a way of meeting them and making new friends. My specialty is espresso, so I showed the British lasses how it's done (Brits know tea, but not coffee!).
Eventually, I was asked all the standard questions. After I was done answering, one of the girls said "So we hear you're an escape artist. Can you show us an escape?" This was followed by silence, many stares, back and forth looks, and open jaws, followed by much encouragement.
So, I left the room and returned w/ my box-o-cuffs and pulled out a pair of Peerless handcuffs, which I let them inspect. They were giddy w/ intrigue. Then I showed them how they worked and asked one of them to cuff my hands behind me. Without them being able to observe my hands, I quickly shimmed the cuffs and handed them back to her. More jaw drops and then a cacophony of claims of "trickery, fake handcuffs, let's see that again", etc.
So, I pull out all of my cuffs and, figuring I would get no volunteers, I say: "Who wants to try for themselves?" They all said: "me-me!", "I do-I do!", etc. So, I cuffed all of the girls w/ their hands in front of them, remembering to use the deadlock, so no one did anything foolish. For good measure, I then locked up a few of the more vocal gals w/ the leg shackles and said to all of them: "OK, your turn. You're on your own."
They fiddled about, being utterly frustrated by the lack of options and finally gave up and went back to eating, sipping and chatting. They all seemed content, so I joined in just as if I didn't have a room full of prisoners (and virtual strangers). I think they were intrigued to know just how it felt to be handcuffed - without pending harm, badness, embarrassment, or major inconvenience.
One of them commented on how she wished she had a single cuff to wear as a bracelet. "Next Christmas, maybe" I told her. "Can my husband order it through you?" she replied. I said, "He might prefer the two-bracelet model instead." We giggled like schoolgirls.
3 of the girls asked to borrow handcuffs. I obliged only after giving and receiving back a thorough demonstration on the absolute do's and dont's and what to do in case of a "cuff crisis".
When they left, I gave them the requesite keys and my phone #'s just in case and I said "happy cuffing...and don't hesitate to call me if you run into trouble" and "I expect to see one of you in a very compromising position in the very near future." We cackled.
There is something about cuffs - and several others mentioned this in another thread - that brings out exuberant intrigue. Whenever I show them to someone, they just have to hold them and play with them - especially when they hear the sound of ratchets and see how the swivel arm travels through the lock case and back around - and "try them on", which often leads to "can I borrow them?" I like to call it "the gadget factor". Something really well-engineered, sturdily-constructed and purely functional (like a good pair of cuffs) becomes an aesthetic item and is hard for people to ignore.
Eventually, I was asked all the standard questions. After I was done answering, one of the girls said "So we hear you're an escape artist. Can you show us an escape?" This was followed by silence, many stares, back and forth looks, and open jaws, followed by much encouragement.
So, I left the room and returned w/ my box-o-cuffs and pulled out a pair of Peerless handcuffs, which I let them inspect. They were giddy w/ intrigue. Then I showed them how they worked and asked one of them to cuff my hands behind me. Without them being able to observe my hands, I quickly shimmed the cuffs and handed them back to her. More jaw drops and then a cacophony of claims of "trickery, fake handcuffs, let's see that again", etc.
So, I pull out all of my cuffs and, figuring I would get no volunteers, I say: "Who wants to try for themselves?" They all said: "me-me!", "I do-I do!", etc. So, I cuffed all of the girls w/ their hands in front of them, remembering to use the deadlock, so no one did anything foolish. For good measure, I then locked up a few of the more vocal gals w/ the leg shackles and said to all of them: "OK, your turn. You're on your own."
They fiddled about, being utterly frustrated by the lack of options and finally gave up and went back to eating, sipping and chatting. They all seemed content, so I joined in just as if I didn't have a room full of prisoners (and virtual strangers). I think they were intrigued to know just how it felt to be handcuffed - without pending harm, badness, embarrassment, or major inconvenience.
One of them commented on how she wished she had a single cuff to wear as a bracelet. "Next Christmas, maybe" I told her. "Can my husband order it through you?" she replied. I said, "He might prefer the two-bracelet model instead." We giggled like schoolgirls.
3 of the girls asked to borrow handcuffs. I obliged only after giving and receiving back a thorough demonstration on the absolute do's and dont's and what to do in case of a "cuff crisis".
When they left, I gave them the requesite keys and my phone #'s just in case and I said "happy cuffing...and don't hesitate to call me if you run into trouble" and "I expect to see one of you in a very compromising position in the very near future." We cackled.
There is something about cuffs - and several others mentioned this in another thread - that brings out exuberant intrigue. Whenever I show them to someone, they just have to hold them and play with them - especially when they hear the sound of ratchets and see how the swivel arm travels through the lock case and back around - and "try them on", which often leads to "can I borrow them?" I like to call it "the gadget factor". Something really well-engineered, sturdily-constructed and purely functional (like a good pair of cuffs) becomes an aesthetic item and is hard for people to ignore.
