UK Sex Shop News

Congratulations to Jacqueline Gold on being awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in the new year's honours list.

She is the CEO of the high street sex shop chain, Ann Summers. She has developed the chain to its current figures with 140 shops and 10,000 employees.

The Daily Mail reports that she is best known for introducing the Rampant Rabbit sex toy to Britain, where it remains a bestseller among such intriguing products as the Orgasmatron , the Shagasaurus and the Vibrating O Ring .

The Mail also enquired as how she would spare the Queen blushes when asking about her achievements. Gold responded:

Our brand has evolved over the years, and it's no longer for the dirty anorak brigade. Even Zara Phillips has held a couple of Ann Summers parties. So maybe I can suggest that, if she wants to find out more, she asks her granddaughter.

Of course the award has offended politically correct moralists such as Yasmin Alibhai Brown who spewed in the Daily Mail:

A gong for selling sex toys and why I'm convinced Britain's become a corrupt country

How else can one explain the presence of Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold on the list, the recipient of no less an honour than the CBE? Again, she's already had ample financial reward (she's one of the richest women in Britain) and is acknowledged as running a thriving business. But when did selling a Rampant Rabbit -- or indeed any sort of sex toy -- have anything to do with the lasting national good? When did selling a Rampant Rabbit -- or indeed any sort of sex toy, as has been the case for Jacqueline Gold -- have anything to do with the lasting national good?

Just like former lingerie boss and fake-tan entrepreneur Michelle Mone, who was made a Baroness this year, or Karren Brady, whose undoubted business skills have their roots in her boss's soft-core pornography empire, but who David Cameron nevertheless made a Baroness last year, Gold has no right to be the recipient of a major national honour. They should go to brave police officers who have risked their lives, or the tireless carers for those suffering from dementia, not to the peddlers of sex toys and lingerie.

A series of letters between the Irish prime minister Charles Haughey and the Irish Countrywoman's Association (ICA) in November 1982 detail the PM's displeasure at the prospect of sex-shop chain Conegate setting up stall in Ireland.

Conegate was (and still is) a company belonging to David Sullivan best known on the high street as the Private Shop chain. The business model of selling softcore, whilst misleadingly claiming that sealed packets were hardcore, was very successful at the time.

The ICA initially wrote to both Haughey and then Fine Gael leader FitzGerald expressing their unhappiness at the suggestion that Conegate was on its way to Ireland, and requesting a commitment that this would not happen.

Haughey's private secretary replied that the Taoiseach would be totally opposed to the opening of any such shops .

And indeed no sex shops opened in Ireland until 17 years later when Ann Summers opened in Dublin.

Poppers remain popular amongst gay men, a staple of lifestyle shops such as Clone Zone , Bent and Prowler that go by the name aromas , along with being a regular sight for sale in gay bars, clubs and saunas.

Sometimes used simply for a mild (and brief) high, they are typically used as part of a sexual encounter. Let's be clear why many guys use them; they make it easier for bottoms to be fucked.

Not for much longer. The Psychoactive Substances Bill has already completed its run through the House of Lords and is now at the Report Stage in the House of Commons. It takes broad interpretation to 'psychoactive substances defining them in clause 1 as something that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it. This necessitates a series of exemptions contained in Schedule 1. This currently includes alcohol, caffeine and tobacco products (along with medicines etc).

Gay Star News is reporting that attempts to have poppers added to this list continue to fail with the Government adamant that they will fall within the ban.

Clause 5 of the Bill prohibits supply offering to supply, and possession with intent to supply offence. Import will be an offence under clause 8. Possession is not per se an offence under the legislation, but sharing with partners would fall within the scope of the Bill. The penalty for any of these offences could be up to a year imprisonment and/or a fine.

Take four women all struggling to find happiness and fulfilment, add a touch of glamour, gutsy humour and a desire to improve their lot in life and Brief Encounters is born.

Set in the early 80s, the six-part series introduces Steph, Pauline, Nita and Dawn as unlikely entrepreneurs who begin to sell exotic lingerie - to the dismay (and often delight) of their loved ones.

Steph is an invisible girl until Ann Summers comes into her life. It ignites the ambition she didn't know she had and grows her confidence. Married to Terry and with a young son, Steph strives to make something extra of her life. Her chance meeting with Nita in the school playground kick starts a sequence of events that will change both of their lives. Mother of four, Nita is a mix of grit and warmth, struggling to run a household with a husband whom she adores but who frequently strays to the wrong side of the law, despite his devotion to his family.

Pauline is the oldest of the gang, in her 50s, who jumps in at the deep end and agrees to host a party for Steph to salve her loneliness. Pauline's sunny disposition hides a secret sadness. She and her husband, Alan deeply love each other but their relationship has suffered whilst he's concentrated on building his business. It's through Ann Summers that Pauline steps out from the shadows.

Young Dawn has a lust for life, and although bubbly and outgoing, since her mother died she has been trapped, looking after her father and three brothers who all take her for granted. The bug of earning serious cash with the other women gives her the incentive to finally realise her dreams with fiance, Russell.

The series is inspired by chapters telling the story of the early days of the Ann Summers party plan business found in 'Good Vibrations, Jacqueline Gold's memoir.

To a soundtrack of music from the era, Brief Encounters will commence filming in February 2016, with casting currently underway.

George Osborne's autumn statement heralded a significant change of policy for local government funding that may make local authorities less sniffy and moralistic about adult businesses.

Osborne's  decision to axe the central government grant to councils in favour of local authorities being able to raise their money from business rates may mean that council may be shooting themselves and their voters in the foot when refusing to allow profitable businesses that provide funding via business rates.

Radders99  on the Guardian forum commented:

Perhaps many councils now dependant on business rates won't be so sniffy about licensing pole dancing clubs and mini-casinos on the High Street, granting consent for 24-hour betting and one-armed bandit shops, encouraging marginal pubs and working mens clubs and generally be much less puritanistic and moralising about what people choose to spend money on.

Those lap dancers will in effect be keeping the chidrens' library open - so let's have *truly* inclusive communities, eh?

The moralist campaign group Child's Eye Line UK is crowing after shopping centres in the UK have agreed to remove Ann Summers window displays featuring bondage imagery.

The St Nicholas shopping centre in Sutton and the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington removed the bondage-halloween themed posters after campaigners whinged they were not appropriate to be displayed in children's eye line.

Leszek Banasiak, Operations Manager at the St Nicholas Shopping Centre in Sutton, told Child's Eye Line UK:

Thank you to local parents for drawing our attention to this matter. We understand your concerns and have instructed Ann Summers to remove the poster.

Child's Eye Line UK founder Kathy McGuinness spouted:

Sexualised imagery should not be displayed on the high street. It's great to see retailers acting responsibly and listening to parents' concerns. We hope that other shopping centres and high streets will follow their lead to protect children from sexualised imagery in family-friendly places.

The New Cross sex cinema, Club 487, has had its license revoked by the miserable Lewisham Council.

There were reports of hard-core pornography being shown while customers pleasured themselves - and each other.

After a police raid in March , manager Peter Jones applied for a license in April, previously stating the venue was nothing more than a private members club . He told News Shopper:

People think they can come here and have sex like that. It's not like that. But what's wrong with it if there was? They're all over 21.

The council initially granted a license with a host of suffocating conditions, including installing CCTV in all rooms except the bathroom and only showing under-18 films.

In a council meeting on October 20 councillors deemed the basement was, in fact, being used as a sex cinema and R18 movies were being screened, something which needed a further license. Coun Janet Dab said:

We expect all licensed businesses in Lewisham to operate responsibly and to comply with licencing conditions. Club 487 clearly flouted these and the consequence was the loss of their licence.

Hailed as its biggest and best yet, Chester Pride was a roaring success this year for all involved. However for some it was more than an excuse to wear some bright colours, have a giggle with friends or see who can drink the most beer in a seven hour period. For Nice 'n' Naughty Director Simon Prescott it was a way to honour a close friend who sadly passed away this year.

Michael Britain, aka Hank, had always been a very ardent supporter of Pride and when he passed away Nice 'n' Naughty wanted to make sure that he was remembered so set out with the full backing of the company director Simon Prescott and help from local businesses the Golden Eagle, Duttons, Bar Lounge, Liquor & Co. Kings Head and Coach House to ensure that Hanks memory was honoured.

Setting up in local bar The Golden Eagle, Chester Store Manager Victoria Gower and fellow member of staff Karen Hewitt set up a table full of rainbow goodies and joined forces with long-time friend of the company Ken Pleavin. After arming Ken with book of raffle tickets, and themselves with a list of weights for a fun version of "Guess The Weight" the group held fun demonstrations for couples toy Electrastim on the willing crowds and drew giggles and gasps when they revealed the actual weight of the toy. (To give you a clue -- his first name was SUPER!)

The raffle with its wide selection of prizes ranging from wine and store vouchers, electro-sex kits kindly donated by our suppliers and a £210 male toy. With such an eclectic range of prizes the raffle raised a whopping £150 towards Pride with the goal being to keep the event free. Despite raising a lot of laughs and a large amount of money Victoria felt that she could have done more and was ecstatic when Simon, who was touched by the amount of effort Victoria and friends had put in informed her that Nice 'n' Naughty would increase the money raised, bringing the grand total to £400.

Photo: Carl Jackson AKA Betty Sparkle Entertainment Coordinator, Rebecca Chester's Sponsorship coordinator, David Ewart-Jones Concessions coordinator, Ken Pleavin Organiser of Golden Eagle event, Trish Murray Nice 'n' Naughty, Steph DJ and Night dance gospel singer.

Vicky is already counting the days until next year's Pride and has promised us that she's got a lot more tricks up her sleeve.

Nice 'n' Naughty is honoured again to be supporting The Golden Eagle on Saturday 19th December for a "Kinky Christmas" party with fantastic entertainment again from Dj Steph and Disco/Dance Vocalist Night.

For more details and to view future events, Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

European-based Sign Magazine is a B2B magazine published in English and distributed throughout Europe, which offers readers news about recent trends, developments and product offerings for adult retailers, has just announced the winners of its annual awards including:

HOT PRODUCT 2015 King Cock by Pipedream Products

BEST BRAND 2015 Lovehoney

BEST ADULT TOY BRAND 2015 Rocks-Off

BEST ADULT PLEASURE PRODUCTS BRAND 2015 Topco Sales

BEST WELLNESS PRODUCT 2015 Eau Zone Shunga

BEST TOY TECHNOLOGY 2015 Svakom

BESTSELLING E-STIM TOY LINE 2015 Mystim

BEST MALE ENHANCEMENT 2015 Bathmate

BEST BRAND FOR MEN 2015 Malesation by St. Rubber

BEST CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 2015 T-Magazine by Tonga

BEST PRIVATE LABEL 2015 Cobeco Pharma

BEST HOME PARTY SERVICE 2015 Ladies Night & Maison X

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTRESS 2015 Anike Ekina

BEST GERMAN ACTRESS 2015 Lilly Ladina

BEST ACTOR 2015 Pornfighter Long John

There's a pretty eye-catching display at Harmony on Oxford Street... Motörhead-branded sex toys (or 'Pleasure Tools') that have landed in time for the Christmas shopping season.

The Pleasure Tools range includes branded vibrators called 'Overkill' and 'Born to Lose'. Motörhead do have a track actually called 'Vibrator', which we're guessing is where they got the idea.

A big thumbs up for the person on Harmony's product development team who thought they spotted a gap that needed filling... so to speak.