Surfing in the lounge with my laptop, I’m exposed to the highlights of the Idiot Lantern. One show on at the moment is “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here!” and we get to hear the wit and wisdom of megastars like Christopher Biggins. Last night he expressed the opinion that probably more than 50% of people were swingers, i.e. enjoyed sex with multiple partners in some form or another.
Now maybe in celebrity circles (or Panto casts) that is the case but I’ve only met one couple who supposedly swapped partners and whilst I wouldn’t have kicked her out of bed I wouldn’t have wanted to subject him to anyone else of either sex. Most people appear to prefer serial monogamy.
A few years ago, I was informed that having Pampas Grass in your front garden denoted a swinging household. (It must be true, Wendy from Purchasing told me). There are odd references to it on ‘tinterweb, but nothing on Snopes.
I did hear one story, though, from a reliable source. When the original Jesus Christ Superstar Musical was running in the West End in the 70s, there was a scene where King Herod appeared from the back of the set with a number of concubines on a large circular inflatable bed, suggesting an orgy. (You can hear a snippet as an MP3). My friend was an electrician for the show and he had to supervise the bed which was on a motorised winch. Such is the tension of being a West End Performer that it was traditional for the actors to have a bit of a mini-orgy of their own in the two minutes or so before the wall opened up and the bed trundled onto the stage. That also probably explained why the cast looked a bit flushed…
i live in a part of the world where the pampas grass grows of its own accord…and this is going to cause me to look at many of my meighbors in a new light.