Janus Spanking Magazine Volume 2 Number 12

Product Information

The Janus shop may have been firmly established at 40 Old Compton Street by 1981 and was now the mecca for all aficionados of erotic and recreational discipline, but the title of ‘Janus’ was anything but secure. The title rights became the subject of negotiation during this period and while the ownership was being resolved the editorial team launched Volume 1, Number 1 of ‘New Derriere’ (below left). New Derriere ran for just six issues while the rights to the name ‘Janus’ were being resolved and later in 1981 ‘New Janus’ Number 1 (below right) was born. The venue was a restaurant, which had a separate room upstairs. Right from the start it was clear that this all about ‘fun’ and the organiser Following the success of the spanking specials the magazine gradually began to shift its focus solely towards spanking. A new editor, AG Van Okker, took the helm in 1973 and the popularity of the magazine began to build. Van was a colourful and well-loved character with an active interest in the subject matter. He also went by the name of Homericus and published an interesting book about his life (below).

Alan Bell, the owner and editor of Roue was approached to become editor of Janus and, for a short period (Janus 8-10), he was editing both magazines. As part of the new team Alan brought Peter French and Vic Barnes with him and it was Peter and Vic who took over full running of the magazine as editor and photo editor respectively from issue 11 (below). Initially they produced the magazine from offices above the shop before moving to new premises in Golden Square. The next few years were something of a golden age for Janus. Featuring artwork by Paula Meadows and fiction by writers such as Richard Manton and R T Mason the magazine set the standard for its competitors producing innovative photo stories of a consistently high quality even when censorship restrictions were at their peak.

The fourth and fifth strokes came over the next minute or so and I knew that the last would be the worst, and he did not disappoint. He told me to stay in position for two minutes without touching my bottom. When I was eventually allowed up, he told me to face him and stand to attention for a further two minutes. Janus extended its portfolio of magazines in 1995 and Stephen Sims, who had been a regular contributor to Janus over a number of years, took on editing duties for Privilege Plus and Privilege Club Magazines. In March 1994 Janus saw it’s first major change of staff for well over a decade. Following the publication of its second 100th issue a new editor, St John North, took the helm. St John (who was better known to Janus readers as ‘Christian’, the husband of Sophie Fennington) would edit the magazine for the remainder of it’s run.

When I put the phone down, I was quite wet, and he had the effect of making me feel both excited and fearful. I also knew that I could not get out of this, and that I had to go through with it. Logically, I knew that was not the case, and I could easily say that I wasn’t going. But this wasn’t logic, I was excited about being punished and I also knew I deserved a severe caning which I was going to get at 1100hrs on Saturday. The magazine produced a series of popular videos with high production values during the early 1980’s. The St Winifred’s Trilogy (below), The Disciplinarian and the Moral Welfare videos were among the best films available on the market at the time. They sadly disappeared from the shop following the introduction of the Video Recordings Act 1984. As access to spanking related material became increasingly more easily available online the Janus publication schedule slowed down with only 4 to 6 new issues being produced each year. When Janus 167 was published in 2007 there was no indication at the time that this was to be the final issue. Despite an excellent re-launch in Janus 161 the magazine had reached the end of its natural life. The Internet had finally seen off the longest running spanking magazine in the world. But then I turned to the "Letters to the Editor" (with the motto "Want to give the Editor the business? Here is where you can"), and my eyes popped out. There was a very long, descriptive letter from a husband describing how he had come to give his wife weekly disciplinary "whippings" (for some reason the writer avoided calling them spankings, but they clearly were) after learning the ins and outs of disciplining a wife from his neighbor. The first whipping was given because his wife was exposing herself to the neighborhood by going outside to hang up the laundry (no fancy clothes dryers for them) wearing sheer underwear. Why the wife would want to show her lacy undies off to the neighborhood was never explained - I guess it was just assumed that all women were exhibitionists, but the spanking, using birch and paddle, was vividly described.There is a big difference between electing for a caning (as I have this year with my ex-boss caning me for no reason other than for fun) and having to submit to punishment. boss leapt on this and said that I had acted terribly and that clearly I should be punished. His tone reminded me of years ago when he expressed dissatisfaction with my actions when I worked for him. He told me that I should expect to be punished and that I should be at his house on Saturday morning at 11.00hrs – adding that I should be under no illusions about the seriousness of my actions and that I should expect to receive a ‘classic caning’. At the end of 1980, Volume 9, Number 12 marked the 108th and last issue of the yearly volumes. It was the end of an era in more ways than one because Van, who had been very ill for some time, sadly passed away. As photo editor and producer of Janus films the legendary George Harrison-Marks (below) had been supporting Van to edit the magazine during his illness and was the natural choice to take over after his death. The editorial for Volume 9, Number 12 tells readers to look out for Volume 10 Number 1 but it wasn’t to be… The army wife who had spread gossip about the husband's commanding officer's wife and, as a result, was stripped naked and spanked by her husband and the officer's wife in front of the officer; In April 2011 the Janus shop shut its doors for the last time. Barely a month later in May, Gordon Sergeant died peacefully in his sleep aged 82. With the closing of the shop and Gordon’s death coming just a month apart it was the passing of an age.

This was undoubtedly the best and worst caning I have ever experienced. The worst because it was so painful and certainly beyond my ‘comfort zone’. It was also worse than the final six strokes I took at the party – where I had benefited from a warm-up, had a relatively comfortable trestle to bend over and had the pain slightly dulled by several large V&T’s. Here I had taken a severe caning ‘cold’, without the benefit of alcohol and having to stay in position touching my toes.I went to the bar to buy my ex-boss a drink, and when I returned he was in conversation with the organiser. Clearly my ex-boss had told the organiser that I was no stranger to the cane and I was asked if I had any interest in putting on a ‘finale’. Earlier I had wondered what it might feel like to be caned in front of so many people, but had not actually considered that it might actually happen. I told them I’d think about it. In conversation with my ex-boss, he said that it might be fun and if I agreed I could clearly dictate what I would receive. I told him there was no way I would be able to take the number of strokes that these girls were taking, and he replied that he thought the organiser was simply talking about ‘six of the best’. The magazine was published in yearly volumes of twelve monthly issues but in 1973 Janus published three specials. The first focussed on bondage, rubber and leather fetishism, the second on spanking (below) and the third on fetishism beneath the skirt. The editorial team were overwhelmed with the response to the spanking special and published a further three spanking specials that same year. I was amazed at how easily these girls took their ‘punishment’ and how after each had received twenty spankings and twenty strappings, most were hardly marked. These girls were taking thirty strokes of the strap each time it was their turn! The second incident took place a little later and I was very interested in Amelia Jane’s article in Janus when she talked how much more powerful a caning is when there is a genuine reason for punishment. I discussed this with my ex-boss over the phone and he asked me if I had done anything lately for which I should be punished.