In with the swingers at city sex club

‘LAST week we must have had 18 couples in,” explains Alex, as he stirs his instant coffee. “Tonight there’s only about eight so far. Of course, Fridays are not as busy usually.”

Alex and his wife are standing next to the small kitchen which acts as a makeshift bar for the After Eight Club.

A club regular, Alex, dressed in jeans and T-shirt, with a beard and beer belly, now volunteers as barman. “No charge on these,” he says as he hands over two beers from the fridge. “We don’t have a licence.”

This is “the meeting area” at Edinburgh’s only swingers club.

Around a dozen men and eight women are sitting around the large tenement-style lounge – all watching a pornographic film.

White fairy lights light up the blood-red walls as Alex chats amiably to the latest arrivals.

In the company of Alex and his wife Debbie, who look to be in their late-40s, the atmosphere is friendly, even relaxed – although a darker side to the swinging scene was to become clear later on.

“Some of the single guys can be a bit pushy,” he says. “You have to be firm about saying ‘no’. Especially when you’re just dipping your toes in the water.

“But if you’re interested later, myself and my wife would love to join you,” he adds, casually.

Moments earlier, shortly before midnight, we had knocked on the door of the After Eight Club, which operates from the former Highland Club sauna in Spittal Street.

At the reception booth, Jim, the club owner, accepts the 10 individual membership fees and 20 entrance charge for couples. Single men pay 25 for membership and 35 entry. Single women are allowed in free.

The official host for the evening, Dave, a man of about 40, offers the initial welcome.

He smiles as he breaks away from chatting to hostess Carol, who looks to be in her late-30s, and is wearing a mini-skirt and passing round Quality Street on a tray.

“You’ll find it’s a very relaxed atmosphere in here,” he says. “No-one is going to pressure you to do anything. If they do, tell me.”

Down a narrow flight of stairs, a tall rack of white towels stands beside a shower room next to a pair of closed doors.

“These are the private rooms,” says Dave. “They have locks and if you want to go in there by yourselves, that’s fine. And if you speak to another couple and decide to join them, that’s fine too.”

In the bowels of the club is “the open room” which is dominated by a giant bed. A couple in their late-20s are lying on the bed – fully-clothed – and talking.

Four empty couches are lined up against the red walls, which glow faintly from the candles sitting next to a corner bathtub. Talcum powder and condoms are arranged by the bed.

“This room is never locked,” says Dave. “It’s still a little early but it can get busy. The open room is not for every couple, but it can be fun if you’re comfortable.”

The After Eight Club has been running for about a year, with regulars joined each Friday and Saturday by a few new faces.

Later in the evening the couple who had been on the bed in the open room totter towards us.

Robert, tightly gripping the neck of his bottle of beer, sidles up next to us with his girlfriend, Rosy. “We’ve came on the train from Dundee tonight,” he says, his brow glinting with sweat. “We managed to get a babysitter and decided to go for it.

“Are you two interested in joining us in a private room? It’s our first time here too.” After a gentle let down, Robert looks crestfallen, but says: “No worries, maybe later.”

As the time edges towards 2am, another few couples and lone men arrive. Some disappear downstairs, locking a private room.

A handful of men continue to watch the adult films in silence.

Standing up from the group, Pete, a stocky man in his early 30s, puffs out his chest and approaches us at the bar. He is about to offer a stronger-than-intended warning about the risks of swinging.

“I came here the first time with my girlfriend and we ended up in the open room,” he says. “It went too far and there were a lot of people there. We’re not together anymore, which I’m completely fine with – but it wasn’t because of that.

It’s all about doing what you’re comfortable with. You shouldn’t go too far like we did.”

Then Pete leans closer and fixes us with an intense stare. “But if you would like me to join you, I can’t pretend I’m not attracted to that idea – really attracted.”

Alex comes over with more beers as Pete skulks back to the sofas.

He tells us he’s always on hand to make sure the single guys don’t get too pushy. A big burly man, Alex, says he has to be vigilant when women go into the “open room”.

“Sometimes it can get a bit out of hand in there,” he says.

At 2.45am, Robert from Dundee heads back across the bar, out of breath from darting upstairs. “It’s kicking off down there,” he says.

Behind the wispy drape in the open room, the night’s host and hostess Carol and Dave are lying naked on the bed with Pete.

An audience of around 12 soon gathers on the couches, some still holding beers and coffees. A middle-aged couple take off their glasses, smiling happily at one another, and begin stripping, before joining the trio on the bed. Before long, there are eight people on the bed. Heading back outside, the meeting area is almost empty except for Alex who stands behind the bar, cupping his wife’s breasts from behind.

“Are you heading off?” said Alex. “Well I hope you had a good time and we see you again if you decide this is for you.”

As the door closed behind us at 3.30am, a few revellers were making their way home from Lothian Road after the nightclubs closed. Meanwhile, at the After Eight Club, the party was still going on.

* names have been changed

UNCOMFORTABLE BRUSH WITH SEEDY SIDE OF LIFE

GEMMA FRASER

AFTER leaving strict instructions with friends to come to our rescue if we called them, we left the pub and headed towards the great unknown.

Their choruses of "you'll be fine" offered little comfort as we stopped outside the door and took a deep breath before entering the members-only club.

Would it be a civilised affair, complete with bored middle-aged couples and a pile of car keys? Or would it be seedy, pressurised and risky?

As we entered the lounge area, all eyes fell upon us and you could almost hear them thinking "fresh meat".

After a brief run-through of what the night was likely to entail, we made our way back to the "meeting room".

I have to admit, the repeated reassurances from our host that we would not be expected to do anything we weren't comfortable with put my mind at ease a little.

I was even looking forward to chatting to the interesting characters who made swinging part of their normal weekend activities.

The conversation with barman Alex and his wife Debbie was light-hearted, the same as what you would expect at any party. But a glance to the other end of the room quickly reminded me where I was, as a group of single men - and a middle-aged couple - sat in silence, eyes fixed on the hardcore porn on the TV.

I found it quite disturbing when one visitor talked about his six-year-old son wanting a Nintendo Wii for Christmas, knowing that the young boy's father was visiting a sex club.

At one point, I had to pay a visit to the toilet, which was beside the rooms downstairs.

By this point, at least one man was making it obvious his intentions towards me were less than honourable. I felt uncomfortable about going downstairs alone, in case I was followed.

My undercover "partner" for the night agreed to accompany me to the foot of the stairs, but to the others in the lounge - who thought we were a married couple - it looked as though we were going downstairs to make use of one of the rooms.

As I feared, we were followed - not by the man I suspected, but another who wanted to proposition the pair of us.

As the night drew to a close, people became desperate to pair off before kicking-out time.

I was really starting to feel uncomfortable by this point, and our well-rehearsed line of "we don't really want to do anything on our first night" seemed to be wearing a bit thin with some people.

AN INDULGENCE FRAUGHT WITH DANGER

SUE MAXWELL, a sexual and relationship psychotherapist with help organisation Relate, says some couples can make swinging work well for their relationship - for others, the practice can end it.

"Some couples can manage swinging, they don't feel jealous and they enjoy the experience," she says.

"However, I do see couples who have had problems and it has been a complete disaster. Perhaps one of them has found their self-esteem has gone down the tubes as a result, maybe they don't like seeing their partner with another man or woman, they are worried their partner will 'go off' them, the fear someone else 'performs' better than them - all that negative stuff.

"If you have a strong sense of yourself, it might work well, but for many people it's fraught with danger."