Here is yet another example of how Dogging is becoming part of everyday life now, and everyday conversation. What follows is a blog post originally written by a mum who normally blogs about surprise, surprise motherly topics like babies, but the other day (May 11th) she wrote a piece called Accidental Dogging. We liked it so much, we have re-published it here.
First and foremost I have to point out that I am not, or have never been, into dogging !
However, this afternoon I unwittingly pulled into a lay-by and witnessed and was approached by doggers. I know, me, dogging!
I had gone to deliver something to a house in Narborough, Leicestershire and was on my way back to our friends in Sapcote, also Leicestershire when the phone went, my car kit answered automatically and it was a call I was awaiting from the bank. There was a lay-by immediately on my left so I pulled straight in, not thinking twice about it. I mean for goodness sake it’s a lay-by, aren’t they for tired drivers to pull into for a rest or to take a call, just like I was doing.
I was quite surprised by how busy the lay-by was at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon but that was the only thing out of the ordinary. Pretty much as soon a I pulled in a car that was about 20 metres behind me when I came to a stop pulled forward, right up behind me and flashed his lights at me.
“Weird” I thought and carried on with my phone call, he did it again. “Very weird” I thought and carried on with the phone call and then he did it again. I told the lovely bank lady I was talking to what was happening and why I sounded distracted and we laughed that he probably thought I was someone he was waiting for and he’d move on shortly.
The car then pulled out and drove very slowly past me with this very excited looking fella waving slowly at me. I looked away, made sure the doors were locked, looked round to check on my sleeping baby in the back and carried on my phone call. He pulled off.
A few minutes later the same car pulled back up behind me having exited the lay-by, turned around and re-entered. This time he was further back, about 5 metres away.
I was in this lay-by a total of 6 minutes, I know this because the phone call was 7 minutes long. It was about 30 seconds before I pulled into the lay-by and the same at the other end of the conversation. In this 6 minutes about 20 cars entered the already busy lay-by, pulled up to other cars, people got out, people got in, all while I was trying to concentrate on a conversation about life insurance.
In addition to all of these cars pulling in, 3 pulled up alongside me, wound down their windows, waved and gestured at me and on being ignored drove on. It never occurred to me what it was all about. Strange I thought, but all were professional looking business men that pulled up alongside and there was a mix of couples and single men in the other cars that passed me.
As I pulled out of the lay-by, now more than a little freaked out by what was going on and after having a conversation with the bank lady about it we decided it was decidedly dodgy and I should exit whilst on the phone and she’d hang up once I was away. On the way out I passed a group of cars surrounded by people looking in. It then hit me, this was clearly dogging in action and I’d been innocently sat watching!
How naive could I be? On arrival at my friends house her son was just arriving home from University and I cautiously asked him if he knew anything about the lay-by, he gave me a “look” and said we’d Google it when we got inside.
He then looked up dogging etiquette and apparently if you want someone to follow you to a more secluded spot then flash your headlights once at them. If they are interested then they will follow. If you want your audience to touch and interact with you then roll down your window or open the car doors.
Well, who knew?! Not sure what to think about it all really. Do I feel violated? Yes a bit. Do I feel stupid? Very. Do I feel naive? Incredibly. Will I be pulling into lay-by’s thinking they are merely a place to stop for a rest again? Never!
There you have it – a single mum writing up her Accidental Dogging story. The original post can be found at PinkWellies Blog – and if you want to read all about her baby you can do so at her blog too.
