By Ben_shaped_canvas on Mon 25 Nov 2002 at 16:35
Erotica ran at Olympia, Kensington, this weekend. It was open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 1pm-10pm. Basically it was a load of stalls selling sex/fetish-related things. If you had some money to spend, or were a particularly avid window-shopper, I would say you could easily fill a day. There was certainly some brilliant stuff there. But personally, I don't think I could be bothered to go as a customer (I was working there) as I would not have been able to fill more than a few hours looking around, and I don't think a few hours was worth the money they were charging for entry (it was either £15 or £20 I think).
There were some shows during the days which I didn't see. I heard that on Friday there were some women wearing very little and doing a rather lame dance routine. On Saturday, apparently there were some guys wearing very little and doing cool things like fire-eating, which everyone was very enthusuastic about. The music was absolutely appalling. They kept playing the same recordings over and over, including one where the only half-decent songs they ever played were ruined by being mixed together with an outstanding lack of skill.
There were some really cool people there. I would have really liked the time to talk more with some of them. There was pleanty of breasts and some genitals on display, but not really any sex, as far as I'm aware. I was pretty busy working, so I don't know what was going on at the bar, but from what I could make out people weren't really cruising. The toilets were characterised by a complete lack of people fucking in them. All vaguely disappointing.
There was an afterparty on Saturday night, entry to which was included with the price of the stall for all storeholders. Public were allowed in for £150 (!) which I think was meant to allow but not encorage stallholders to bring friends. There was free food and very expensive alcohol. I thought it was quite fun, but certainly not the depraved orgy I had been hoping for. There were people in various states of undress, and some dirty dancing, but that was as far as it went while I was there- I left at about 1.30am and went to the Torture Garden.
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