538 Prostitute I Am - Common I'm Not

First  viewed : 11  August  1981

A  quick  flick  through  a  copy  of  Clive  James' s  Glued  To  The  Box  the  other  day  revealed  that  I'd  missed  this  one  out.

It  was  a  one-off  documentary  from  Thames  TV  who'd  managed  to  find  four  or  five  ladies  of the  night  prepared  to  talk  on  camera  about  their  "profession". I  only  really  remember  two  of them. There  was  a  chubby  girl  called  Lindi  who'd  set  up  her  own  company  ( the  programme didn't  tell  you  how  it  had  described  its  business )  and  was doing  well  for  herself. She  proudly displayed  the  latest  furnishings  and  accessories  in  her  torture  chamber, ready  for  Frank  Bough to  try  out  on  his  next  visit  ( she  didn't  supply  any  names  of  course ). The  other  one  I remember  was  Sheila, an  older  woman  with  a  cut  glass  Home  Counties  accent , describing   "putting  the  johnny  on"  with  exquisite  disdain. There  was  no  footage  of  the  ladies  actually "on  the  job"  as  it  were.

As  you'd  expect  the  programme  provided  plenty  of  material  for  discussion  with  my  friends afterwards. Sean  was  awestruck  by  Sheila  - "she  was  posh  !!" . I  demonstrated  my  naivete  by querying  a  scene  where  one  of  the  girls  ran  through  her  tariff,  with  sex  at, I  don't  know, £25 and  a  full  strip  at  £100 or  thereabouts. I  questioned  how  you  could  have  one  without  the other  and  had  the  operation  of  slit  knickers  patiently  explained  to  me. You  live  and  learn.