DV8 @ La Chambre is currently Sheffield's one and only fetish night - a sorry state for a city of its size, but nevertheless a welcome addition to the Yorkshire scene. It has been running for about two years now, under the careful control of Marie and Barry, the owners of the La Chambre club.

Primarily, La Chambre is a swinger's club but, once a month, the perves come out to play and the place is turned into a surprisingly vibrant and enjoyable night. Historically, there was a high 'wandering wanker' contingent at DV8 - stragglers from the swingers scene who thought it was OK to turn up wearing something vaguely dark coloured and jerk off while watching (and sometimes disturbing) scenes. To La Chambre's credit, the dress code policy and dungeon monitoring systems have improved tenfold, and problems of this nature are now a scarce.

The venue itself is excellent, and certainly one of the best maintained and appealing clubs I have visited. On ground level, there is a large lounge area with plenty of 'chillout' space and a large projector screen offering - how can one say this politely? - cinematic entertainment befitting the scene. There is also well-stocked bar, cloakroom, and a changing area with lockers. Behind the changing area is DV8's hidden gem: a fairly large (and clean!!) Roman spa and sauna room, which offers the perfect way to relax after a hard evening's play. Despite rumours to the contrary, the spa is not just a glorified grotty bath tub - the water is clean and warm, and highly recommended. If you are *really* lucky, some young subbie may come and feed you peeled grapes while you relax.. ahh, how decadent! A small dance floor, DJ booth, and a stall selling fetish items completes the ground floor array.

Downstairs, behind the door with the poster marked 'Stairway to Hell' is the dungeon itself, two large-sized rooms connected by a short corridor. The equipment is owned by La Chambre, and is well-made and sturdy, and included a free-standing St. Andrews Cross, seeveral kneelers and whipping benches, a dental/gynaecological exam chair, various sets of stocks and other paraphernalia. Its warm (once the heaters have been on for a bit) and appropriately lit... the only problem is that, for tall folk like me, hitting your head on the ceiling is a frequent hazard!

Upstairs are the 'private rooms', which are used mainly on swingers night for... erm... swinging, but which can be used by perves who prefer to play in more intimate surroundings. There are five small and discreet rooms, each decked out on a different themed decor: there's an Arabian room, a Manhattan skyline room, and so on. Each is dark and litg atmospherically, and has a large raised, upholstered 'bed' area. This is the part of the club where sexual intercourse *is* allowed - whereas other clubs do not have areas designated for this, DV8 deals with this kind of activity on a regular basis, and makes provision for it, so if your kinky play usually concludes with intercourse, this would be your place to indulge.

DV8 currently takes place on the third Thursday of the month, kicks off around 9:30 and finishes around 2:00am. The pricing policy is a little strange - £5 for women, £20 for men, with no set price for couples. This may seem unfair - and I would agree - but talks are ongoing about having this reduced to a more standardised rate, so watch this space. La Chambre also has its own dedicated and guarded car park across the road.

For more information, go to http://www.sheffieldscene2.co.uk/dv8/, visit one of the BDSM Sheffield community webpages at http://www.geocities.com/bdsmsheffield or http://communities.msn.co.uk/bdsmsheffield, or e-mail bdsmsheffield@hotmail.com.