tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444180381501478270.post4696163700402437746..comments2024-03-23T23:05:01.651-07:00Comments on Bea's TV Station: Maids and MistressesBea's TV Stationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18140517314106768037noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444180381501478270.post-51093579290110776422013-08-19T13:29:34.054-07:002013-08-19T13:29:34.054-07:00What a wonderful experience to have had, I would l...What a wonderful experience to have had, I would love to find a Mistress like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6444180381501478270.post-53597929966884223342013-07-02T08:55:11.469-07:002013-07-02T08:55:11.469-07:00Carrie, I have just come across this post and it m...Carrie, I have just come across this post and it mirrors exactly my experience and understanding of how relationships between mistresses and maids have formed, developed and been re-created over the years.<br /><br />I was brought up, in the years just after World War II, in a "well-to-do" English household in which my parents clung to the "standards" they had known all their lives, having at least two traditionally uniformed maids doing all the domestic tasks and waiting at table for us as a family. "Sir" and "Madam" were obligatory words at the end of everything they said, and I and my sister were always addressed as "Master" or "Miss".<br /><br />Needless to say, I eventually got trapped one day by my (elder) sister and the maids and forced - or at least lured - into an afternoon of work experience as one of the maids, something which reduced me to tears and total embarrassment at the time but also, for some strange reason, left me wanting more!<br /><br />Sadly that never happened to me again as a child, but many years later I discovered a lady in whom I felt able to confide, and who was very happy to provide me with such "work experience" again, whenever I wanted!<br /><br />I went to her home about two afternoons a month for several years, cleaning her house and waiting on her and her family and friends. I also had a range of maids uniforms made to measure by one of her near neighbours. These were always the traditional black and white uniforms, varying in length but all reaching at least knee level. And I was always required to wear a white maid's cap as well (over a suitably non-glamorous wig).<br /><br />After a while my mistress started asking me to serve at the smart dinner parties which she gave quite regularly. The dining-room looked out across a fashionable cul-de-sac and, with the lights on and the curtains left open, I was clearly visible to any neighbours who chose to look, especially as I was always instructed to stand with my back to the window (and my hands folded across my apron) whilst waiting to clear the table. I am sure it gave Madam great pleasure to be able to show off her maid to any passers-by, as well as to all her dinner guests.<br /><br />On all these occasions I was treated politely, but firmly, and was expected to address everyone present as "Sir" or "Madam" and curtsey when appropriate. I was never allowed to join in the conversation.<br /><br />I am now much too old to offer my services as a maid any more but I can certainly confirm, from first hand experience, both as "Master" and "maid", that the mistress-maid relationship can and does work exactly as you describe Carrie.<br />And I am delighted to see that your latest contributions (in 2013) to Bea's Station - "Rose and Jack" and "Amongst Women" both feature another young boy being introduced in childhood to the lifelong thrill of providing male maid service. LG xx Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com