It was, as usual, a wet Bank Holiday. My friend Graham and I were bored and our Mothers decided to take us to a local jumble sale. Looking around at junk isn’t much fun for two young boys but we did find a comic stall and between us we bought four vintage comics, two copies each of the Beano and Dandy.

After we got back to Graham’s house, we boys sat at a table reading our comics while our mothers chatted over a cup of tea. Graham and I soon noticed that in almost every story, the main character almost always ended up getting their bottom smacked by either a parent or teacher. We began to compare stories, reasons for the spankings, positions, implements etc.

Eventually, Graham’s Mother noticed this and asked what we were whispering about. Bold as brass, Graham asked her if she had read comics like the ones we had bought. Both mothers confirmed that they had indeed done so.

Then Graham asked if they had had thier bottoms smacked when they were younger, because we had noticed that almost every story in the comics included a spanking – a punishment that by the time was becoming something of a rarity. Again, both Mothers confirmed they had been spanked as girls – I was particularly shocked because my own Mother confirmed that she had had her bottom smacked both at home and at school.

Then Graham asked what, at the time, I considered to be possibly the stupidest question ever. “What’s it like? Does it hurt?” His Mother laughed and replied: “Of course it hurts! It’s supposed to be a punishment!”

Well, if Graham’s previous question hadn’t been the stupidest, his follow-up certainly was – he asked if we boys could try a being given a spanking to see what it was like.

Both our mothers laughed and Graham’s Mother said: “Don’t be so silly! Neither of you have done anything to deserve a spanking.” However, my own Mother turned to her and said: “You know, perhaps you should smack his bottom – he probably deserves one for being so cheeky.”

To my surprise, Graham’s Mother nodded in agreement to this suggestion. Putting her cup of tea down, she looked at her son and said: “Well, Graham – do you want to try?” She patted her lap and held out her hand. I sat with my mouth open, time frozen, as Graham unbelievably took up his Mother’s invitation. He walked over to her, took her outstretched hand and obediently placed himself across her lap, as she settled him into the traditional position.

At that point, I looked across at my own mother and saw that she was crooking her finger at me. Graham, of whom I could now only see his upturned bottom, called across to me: “Come on, Peter – go to your Mother for a smacked bottom!” I was embarrassed but intrigued at the same time, but as I clearly wasn’t really in trouble I felt reasonably safe in joining in.

Reluctantly I walked across to my Mother, who took my hand and with a teasing smile on her face said: “I think I might be going to enjoy this, you know…” Gently but firmly, she put me across her lap – as far as I can remember, she had never smacked me before and certainly not in this rather formal manner. I looked to my left and saw my friend grinning at me from across the room.

Our two mothers conferred quietly for a moment. I couldn’t really hear what they were saying, with my face close to the floor, but a moment later I felt a few pretty tame pats begin to fall on the seat of my shorts. I don’t think this lasted more than a half a minute or so, and it was by no means unpleasant.

Graham’s Mother and mine exchanged a few more words and the spanking began again, but a little firmer this time. The sound of two boys having their bottoms smacked filled the lounge for a minute. There was a bit of a tingle in my backside but it was all quite bearable. There was more laughter – more from our mothers than us boys – and then Graham outdid his own previous stupidity by announcing that he hadn’t felt a thing, and what’s more my Mother hadn’t smacked me hard enough either.

For his trouble, Graham did then get a couple of really quite decent whacks from his mother. Then there was a further conversation between the two parents and we were allowed back on our feet – but weren’t there for long. Instead, the two mothers swapped children and I suddenly found myself across his Mother’s knee.

The spanking started again and this time, perhaps because they felt less constrained to be moderate with someone else’s child, we got it quite a bit harder. My own Mother certainly was spanking with more force, and Graham received about a minute’s worth of smacks that he clearly felt quite sharply, occasionally giving a little yelp and screwing up his face. Graham’s Mother’s hand, by contrast, was deployed somewhat more moderately on my own bottom.

When they had finally finished, they left us dangling for a few seconds while they laughed at our predicament. “I think that’s the best afternoon’s work we’ve done in a while!” Graham’s Mother remarked. The two women chatted for a little longer about the ‘good old days’, then finally helped us boys to our feet. We both got a hug from our erstwhile spankers.

Graham’s Mother squeezed me tightly and said with a wicked grin still on her face: “You’ve got a very smackable bottom, Peter!” She gave me a kiss and I blushed to my boots – that was the seed of a crush I developed for her over the next few years.

The mothers then asked us how we felt about our spankings, and there was a general discussion about right and wrong and reasons for spanking naughty children. We were both playfully warned that we could expect it again if we were really cheeky or naughty, but next time it would be in earnest!

The afternoon ended with cakes and more tea before Mother and I headed home, me holding one copy each of the Beano and Dandy under my arm, with a still slightly warm bum and memories of a fun afternoon with friend and our two mothers.

When we got home, Mother said teasingly: “Well, that was a fun day, wasn’t it? I must see about smacking your bottom regularly from now on!” In fact, she never smacked me again, not even in fun.

I asked Mother if she had deliberately smacked Graham harder than me. She grinned and replied: “Well, you both got about the same dose until he was silly enough to complain that it wasn’t hard enough! I did smack Graham quite hard after that – it made my hand sting, so I’m sure his bottom did too!”

Later, at bedtime, she tucked me up and kissed me goodnight. “Are you OK after your spanking?” she asked with a kind smile still on her face. I couldn’t resist teasing her one last time. “I never felt a thing!” Laughing, she whacked the approximate area of the bedclothes where my bum was and said: “Be careful what you wish for, young man!”

All this was such a long time ago. Mother is long gone, but it remains one of my favourite childhood memories.