And finally my prayers were answered, the spell broken and my curse lifted. In short, I finally had a fun fetish night out, my first one since Club DVS in the summer.
I must be honest and admit that Sanctum was never really in my radar or in my list of events to go to as I kept hearing mixed reviews, with a big emphasis towards the negative and I am not the fondest of the Resistance Gallery as a venue but as my year has been so mediocre in terms of good events, I knew I was not going to lose anything by giving it ago.
I am so glad I did!
The first thing I will say is how budget friendly it is. By signing on to their newsletter you become a member and get access to discounted tickets which are priced at only £10. A TENNER!! When certain events that I-will-not-mention-but-you-know-who-they-are are charging close to £50, it makes you wonder what on earth is going on with the scene these days! Anyways, as I mentioned, this event is thinking about your finances. Oh, and the reasonable pricing includes drinks! A double G&T and beer was also a tenner which is not bad at all.
The venue is a bit meh, but that is because I am not the biggest fan of it. It is small and crammed and it has a permanent boxing ring right in the middle of it which makes it even more awkward to maneuver around. Yes, you heard right, it has a boxing ring. I’ve heard this venue does Mexican wrestling nights which is right up my street so I am definitely putting that in my to do list. There is a small bar at the end of the ground floor, with some fetish equipment (cage, St Andrew’s cross and a traditional spanking bench) around it. Upstairs is a changing room/couples are/cloakroom all in one. Inside the boxing ring there was also some equipment and much needed light in case you were after needle play.
What my OH and I did not realise about Sanctum is that this is an early event, as in, it starts at 8pm and it is done by 2am, which for me is perfectly short and sweet but for some it may be a bit ‘too short’. We arrived at around 11pm after having had a few cocktails at Shoreditch and the place was quite full. The people were a real mix – I saw some familiar faces but also quite a few newbies and a nice range of ages. I will comment that I did see a few people not following the rules but it was reassuring to see the people working there sorting the situation rather rapidly (and in the most hilarious of ways!)
In terms of play, it was refreshing to finally see people get down with it and having fun. We saw the usual impact play with floggers and whips but we also saw electric play and even needles and piercings. For me it was also a really nice night because I did something I have never done before; I did a topping and a bottom scene on the same night. I first did an impact and sensation scene with a friend of mine which went really good, and then a bit later on I subbed to my OH for another impact scene. I must admit it did play a bit havoc with my mind at first but I enjoyed it very much as I felt like I got a nice all rounder that night!
Club Sanctum takes place the third Saturday of every month, and I am certainly returning in January and hope to have the same or even a better night.
For more info, visit their website here.
A Sense of Clarity 