Allen Cassidy (12-6-08)
by John Prather
as part of the Oral History Project.

Synopsis of Interview with Alan Cassidy and Coffee, Cake, & Kink

No full transcript is available as of December 6, 2008.

Interview is on two 90-minute cassette tapes – 3 sides.

Wife’s name is Sonia

Interview takes place in London, England on October 13^th, 2007 at 2:55pm

The interviewer does not give us his name so I will notate his questions with (Itr).

Alan is the prior of Coffee Cake & Kink (CCK)

Alan has been in the kink scene since 1998.  

First found magazines then visited his first club in ’98.

Alan is transgender.  First club was called Dominant in North London. He was able to dress in his female persona there and felt free for the first time.

He met a man named Dave who lived in an apartment below a video sex shop and made wooden dungeon toys in Soho.  He was called Dungeon Dave.

He was Alan’s mentor in many ways.

In the year 2000, Alan set up an online fetish magazine called whatsyours.com.

In 2003 he opened the doors of Coffee, Cake & Kink.  That is when he shut down the magazine. The magazine won the publication of the year Erotic Award at he Erotic Oscars at the Sex Maniac’s Ball (SMB). The Ball is a charity for Outsider’s Trust for people with disabilities.

Interviewer asked Alan to talk about the Sex Maniac’s Ball (SMB) and it’s history.

Tuppy Owens set up SMB.

Tuppy has been an activist for sexual freedom in England since the late ‘60’s.

She had a relationship with Cynthia Pane who ran a house for fetishes.

Interviewer asked if a movie was made about Cynthia Panes life. Alan wasn’t sure.  The interviewer will bring up the subject latter.

He asked Alan if he knew he was kinky as a kid.  He said he was but didn’t know what it was called. He loves shiny clothing. He met his wife at the Sex Maniac’s Ball.  He was the dungeon monitor and met her. They married in 2002 and met in 2000.

CCK opened in 2003.

In 2002 he published the first fetish map. It was published until last year. He had a partner who basically took it out from under him and he feels very hurt about it. 

CCK came about because he and Sonia were meeting people in very vanilla places during the day for a chat.  He felt that there was a need for a place where you could meet and feel free to talk. It’s a very welcoming coffee house. 

Location was chosen because it was available.  He didn’t want to be in Soho because the vibe was wrong. He requires his employees to be people persons.

Itr asked if it was always his intention to have an art gallery at CCK?  Alan said yes, because he ifs very much a visual person. It’s the art of extreme, and humor, and very diverse, unlike the rest of London.  CCK has never had a problem with the local community. There are in what is viewed as a more liberal council and district. 

Itr just introduced Sonia, the co-proprietor of CCK.  She is not British.  She is Dutch. Any problems that they are having in their business have nothing to do with kink.

Kink is not the motivation for their opponents, but it is being used as a weapon.

There have been some disputes with the landlords also.  However, Sonia thanks everyone for their great support. 

Most of the next few sentences describe some of the litigation they are going through.  Much has to do with the sign they put on the store to licensing.  The public is very supportive and they very rarely get any negative reaction. Their restaurant and shop brings together so many people from various backgrounds and interests. They have an 18 yr old age requirement for entrance.  They have exhibitions of various kinks including water sports, scarification etc. Downstairs is where the artists exhibitions resides. It is been used for gathering from workshops to business meetings. Having business meetings there sometimes allows the participants to think outside the box.

They bring kink into the mainstream as a professional, a parent, a leader and a student of kink. Alan and Sonia speak of many different people that come to purchase many of the different prints. They speak of how kink is becoming more mainstream from fashion to movies. Their exhibitions challenge even the fetish community to be open to other areas of kink.  They used the medium of rubber to challenge both the gay boys and the straight community.

In their coffee shop they have created a business model that requires the customer to take time out.  They serve their coffee in pots, and their pastries are all home made.

There are only two rules:

-No genital nudity

-You have to ask the others in the space if they mind if you practice your fetish.

They find their business very rewarding and fulfilling. They want this to serve as a stepping-stone to coming out fully in your fetish.

Itr asked about the various fetish clubs in London.  Some of the various names of the clubs are Skin Two and Torture Garden.  Itr asked if there were sex at the clubs like at American play parties. None say that they have sex, but you know that people do.  This all started in the mid 1990’s.  All the clubs had their specialty.  They all are commercial enterprises that they were making a living from it.

In speaking of the SM clubs he spoke of The Firm and of Ishmael Skyes the co-founder.  He also spoke of The Boat, which was an SM boat cruise down the Thames.

He spoke of the London Fetish Fair started by Heather. Alan spoke of various clubs that failed and yet others succeeded. By name he spoke of Club Wicked ran by Caroline and Brian but ran into trouble with the local cathedral and the Church of England. They sold their venue.

Before Club Wicked there was Fist, by Suzy Krueger with the House of Fetish. It was always more raw and more gay and lesbian.

Spoke of the Hoist, XXL, and The Back Streets, also Myland. There is Club Hades, Club Smack, and Club Pedestal where men are at the feet of mistresses. There is also many other under ground parties.

The respect has been gained because the fetish clubs have a sense of professionalism and things are done right.  Therefore, the media doesn’t go after them. It just doesn’t sell newspapers.

It doesn’t matter what direction you are going, as long as you are moving.  Coffee houses are all about discussion and imparting knowledge.  Therefore they offer their lounge to the community for discussions and workshops where knowledge is given out. Some of the groups that use the space are SM Dykes ran by Janice and The Fetish Root ran by Richard.

Then there is the spiritual space.  They have a group of Christian BDSM people.  They have discussion groups along with Eucharist.  Alex, a clergyman from The Church of England, runs it.  Basically the space is there to be used by all types of groups, and they even have guidelines on how to start a group.

They took a break for dinner and then a tour of the art portfolios and the various spaces in Coffee, Cake & Kink.

 This coffee shop is like a child to Alan and Sonia. They protect it, yet it needs to stand on it’s own two feet.  Their hope is that it Coffee, Cake, & Kink takes on a life of it’s own and becomes a business that runs on it’s own and serves the needs of the community.

The lower level is called the art lounge and the ambiance is fantastic and charming.

Alan wants to give the impression on this interview that he and Sonia are just everyday people that try to make a difference and with little steps everyone can make a difference.  His hope is that the Archives will see this oral history as a small contribution of the kink scene in London and they will always try to support the Archives.

The interviewer ended the oral history without ever telling us who he is.