I work on the local newspaper. My articles appear twice a week. Some may think that it is an easy way to earn a living, just two pages a week, but in fact it is a full time job as I have to do a lot of research about whatever subject I am to write about. On this occasion my editor asked me to write about life on a farm and I knew nothing much about farming. The editor told me that he had a friend who owned a farm about fifty miles away and he thought that he could arrange for me to stay there for a week. The newspaper would pay for my board and lodging. It meant leaving the wife and two boys behind - and it was during the school holidays too - but it sounded as if it might be interesting.
Graham and Alice turned out to be a very nice couple, they made me feel at home from the moment I arrived. Twelve year old Jamie completed the family, a fine handsome lad with a big smile, his suntanned face evidence of the healthy outdoor life he led. The farmhouse was large and well appointed and I was given the spare room which made the average hotel room look like a cupboard. It was even en-suite, something I did not expect on a farm.
The one drawback was the early start every morning at five am! Not that I had any physical work to do. My job was to watch and question and make notes. At eight am. Graham and I would return to the farmhouse for breakfast. It was about the only time I would see Jamie until the evening. It was the school holidays and immediately after breakfast Jamie would be on his bike and off to meet his friend Douglas who lived on the neighbouring farm about four miles down the lane.
The week passed quickly. On Friday Graham arranged that he would stop work at midday and leave his men to get on with the work so that we could have an easy going afternoon on my last full day at the farm. Alice was out visiting friends, so would not be at home to prepare lunch. Jamie would be having lunch at the home of his friend Douglas. Graham and I drove down to Newdon Market, a small market town about five miles away, and had a pub lunch.
After lunch we returned to the farmhouse and settled down in armchairs in the lounge to enjoy a glass of wine each. It was about three pm. when the telephone rang. Graham went into the hall to answer it. When he returned I could see that he was not looking very pleased.
"That was the father of Jamie's friend, Douglas." he said, "Apparently the boys were up a tree somewhere when the branch broke and they both fell down into a ditch full of stagnant water. They are both covered from head to foot in slime and mud! Jamie has strict orders not to climb trees unless there is a responsible adult present! He's for it when he gets home!"
"What will you do to him?" I enquired.
"He knows what he's in for!" replied Graham, "A _d_a_m_n_ good hiding! That's after I get him cleaned up!"
"What about his friend?" I asked.
"He's going to get the same! His father is going to give him a good thrashing!"
Graham turned and went upstairs. He returned a few moments later with a bath towel and a bottle of bath gel. While we were waiting for Jamie's return Graham gave me an insight as to how he treated Jamie. It seems that he was not generally all that strict with the boy. In fact Jamie was almost spoilt, but he tended to be a bit of a daredevil so there were strict rules he must not break because they mostly concerned his safety. The last time Graham had occasion to punish the boy was just over a year ago when he was seen swimming on his own in some disused gravel pits which were now full of water. Here again, he had been told not to swim anywhere except in Newdon Market swimming pool unless accompanied by an adult who was a good swimmer. On the few occasions Jamie has had to be chastised he has to go through a certain routine to prepare for punishment. I had yet to learn what this consisted of.
There was driveway about a half a mile long from the lane up to the farmhouse. About half an hour after the telephone call we spotted Jamie biking up the drive. Graham invited me to go to the front door with him to see what what sort of state Jamie was in. And what a state! He was soaking wet, his shorts and shirt were ripped and he was covered in mud and green slime from head to foot! He must have been completely submerged in this obnoxious mixture. Even his hair was full of the stuff!
"You have no need to say anything!" shouted Graham as Jamie approached, "I've heard all about it! Don't you dare try to come into the house in that state! Go round to the back and get on the lawn!"
Jamie did as he was told while we walked through the house to the back door.
"I-I'm sorry dad...." began Jamie.
"Keep quiet and do what I tell you!" interrupted Graham, "Now get all your clothes off! They are ruined. They will have to be thrown away except for your shoes!"
Graham turned the garden hose on and brought it over to where the naked boy was standing.
"Hold your arms out sideways and put your legs apart!" ordered Graham.
Jamie shuddered as the cold water hit him. Graham started at the boy's head and worked downwards - under the armpits, the torso, the genitals, the legs and the feet.
"Turn round," ordered Graham, "and pull your bottom-cheeks apart!"
He hosed Jamie's back down as he had done the front, working downwards. He then handed the boy the bath gel.
"Now lather yourself all over with this." Graham told him, "Rub it well into your hair first. It's caked in mud!"
Soon Jamie, covered in white foam, resembled a snowman. His father picked up the hose pipe and rinsed him down again.
"Bend over while I rinse your hair out!"
Jamie bent over, his well-formed wet bottom glistening in the sunlight, while Graham stood over him and thoroughly rinsed out his hair. That finished, he handed Jamie the bath towel and told him to dry himself. With the help of the warm sunshine he was soon dry. At last the boy was able to hide his modesty by wrapping the towel around his midriff.
"Now go to your room and dress yourself for punishment, and come down to the lounge in twenty minutes time!" said Graham, then turning to me - "I'm sorry about this interruption to our afternoon, Henry!"
Actually I had found it a very interesting interruption, and I was eagerly awaiting act two of the drama! Back inside the house I asked Graham what he meant by dressing for punishment. He told me that Jamie had to put on his school uniform of grey short trousers and shirt together with the school tie and blazer, but no underwear! He would have to address Graham as "sir" - not "dad" - until he was told that his punishment was over. Jamie came downstairs at the appointed time looking, as one would expect, very apprehensive and without a word stood in front of Graham.
"I don't have to tell you what to do, do I Jamie?"
"No sir!" replied the boy and he turned and walked from the room!
"He's gone to fetch the punishment frame from the garden shed!" explained Graham.
I wondered what this would consist of. I was soon to find out. Jamie returned carrying an old chair which had had the back legs sawn off! He put the chair down tilted over forward so that it was resting on the top of the chair back at one end and the front of the seat at the other, leaving the two remaining legs sticking up at an angle of forty-five degrees to the ground. What a simple but very effective spanking frame it made, I thought! Without a word of command Jamie then went to a cupboard and came back with a slipper in his hand which he held out to Graham!
"I think you have forgotten something Jamie!" said Graham, "What have I told you would happen if you were naughty after your twelfth birthday?"
A look of horror suddenly came over Jamie's face! He started to tremble!
"Oh! Sorry sir! I would get the belt; not the slipper!"
"I'm glad that your memory has returned! Now go and fetch the correct implement! It's in the bottom right hand corner of the same cupboard!"
Jamie went back to the cupboard and returned, tentatively, with the belt. I was horrified when I saw it! It was thick and wide, but I was later to discover that it was made of plastic, not leather. It would sting but the effects would not be as long lasting as with a leather belt. He handed it to Graham and then, again without any word of command, he went over to the chair, got down on his knees between the two chair legs, shuffled forward until he was right up to to the underside of the seat and bent over; his trunk resting along the sloping back of the chair, his head almost touching the floor. His trousers were stretched tight around his bottom showing up it's shape to perfection!
"I know it is a long time since I last had to punish you, Jamie, but haven't you forgotten something else?" asked Graham, "Isn't there a certain question you have to ask me before you get over the chair?"
"Er! Sorry sir. Yes sir!"
"Well get up and ask me now!"
Jamie got up and faced his father. "Please sir! Am I to be punished over my trousers or on my bare bottom!"
"On your bare bottom, Jamie!"
I was feeling sorry that the boy had to go through this in front of me, but Graham had asked me to remain in the room. He thought Jamie deserved the extra humiliation of being punished in front of their guest. He slowly slid his trousers down and removed them, returned to the chair and positioned himself once more. Graham pulled back the tail of the blazer and then tucked the shirt tail under it, Jamie's bare bottom now helplessly exposed to the onslaught it was about to receive!
"You are going to get six, Jamie!" said Graham, "This will hurt more than the slipper did, but I think you know better than to try and get up before your punishment is over, don't you?"
"Yes sir!"
CRACK! "Aooowl!"
A red welt appeared across both bum-cheeks. Jamie was trying to push his bottom up higher, as if a fraction of an inch closer to the start of the belt's travel would make a difference!
CRACK! Aooowl!" This time the aooowl was louder and longer than the first one!
CRACK! "Aooowl-aooowl-aooowl!"
CRACK! This time the cry had changed to an "Arrrrgh!" Jamie was wreathing like mad and obviously in considerable pain.
CRACK! "Arrrrgh-arrrgh-arrrgh!" Now Jamie was crying.
CRACK! "Arrrgh-arrrgh-arrrgh-hic-hic-arrrgh-arrrgh-hic-hic-hic!"
"You can get up now!" he was told.
Jamie sprang up and grasped his bottom, tears cascading down his cheeks.
"You took it well lad! Don't do anything to force me to do this to you again! Your punishment is now finished!"
"Th-th-thanks-hic-hic-dad!"
I noticed it was back to "dad" again. Graham gave him a pat on the back.
"Get yourself dressed, son!"
Jamie put his trousers on, replaced the belt in the cupboard, picked up the chair and left the room, sobbing loudly. He probably went back to his room after he had taken the chair back to the garden shed, for we saw no more of him until dinner time, when he came down carrying a pillow from his bed and placed it on his chair at the dining table, his face showing some discomfort as he sat down. Although his mother had been told what had happened she did not mention it. Graham and Alice made a point of not embarrassing him any more after his punishment was over.
The next morning I brought my cases down and stood them in the hall, ready to depart after breakfast. Jamie had recovered enough to sit down without the aid of the pillow.
"Ah! Well! I'm afraid it's time for me to leave you good people!" I said after breakfast, "Thank you very much for making me so welcome!"
"I'll help you to carry your cases to the car." offered Jamie.
Walking out to the car was the first time I had been alone with the boy. I had no intention of breaking his parents rule not to mention his chastisement once it was over, but I got the impression that Jamie had offered to help me with the cases so that he could speak to me alone. I was correct!
"I felt ever so embarrassed yesterday, Mr Green!" he grinned.
"Oh! Don't be Jamie!" I replied, "I'm sorry you had to go through that in front of me, but your father insisted that I remained!"
"I guessed so!" smiled Jamie, "Last time it was in front of my aunt, uncle and cousin!"
"What does it feel like this morning?" I asked.
Jamie jokingly gave his bottom a rub and grinned. "It's still jolly sore, but bearable this morning!" he replied, "I don't know how I got through dinner last night; it was stinging like mad! I've always had the slipper before. The worst of the pain goes in a few minutes! But the belt was awful! I never want to do anything to get that again!"
We had to break off the conversation there as Graham and Alice came out of the house to see me off.
"Have you learnt anything about life on the farm?" asked Graham as we shook hands.
"I certainly have!" I said, thinking that there was one thing I could not mention in my article!
"You're always welcome here if you need to stay in this area again." Alice said.
"Yes, please come again Mr. Green!" added Jamie as I shook hands with him.
"I'm sure I shall!" I answered.
I bid them goodbye and drove down to the farm gate. I was thinking that I could never use a belt on my boys! I will stick with the slipper! But that chair with the back legs sawn off! That was something different! It fascinated me! I wondered whether we had an old chair at home which we did'at need any more! I could find a good use for it!"