It was the spring of 1960 and I was 20 years old and wanted to book a self catering rambling holiday in the Yorkshire Dales. Ideally I needed a single bedroom cottage in a village. My travel agent said that those had been fully booked but there was a six person cottage in Westerndale which had been reserved by a party of five, for a week and they were looking for a sixth member to make up numbers.
He showed me the booking form and I read their names. Shirley Marshall, Laura Snell, Anne Fanshaw, Ruth McLean and Deborah Smith. My eyes must have doubled in size thinking about spending a week with five athletic young girls.
"Would they mind if a chap joined them?" I asked the travel agent, casually.
"No," he said "As long as they can make up the numbers. There are two single rooms in the cottage, so you'll get some privacy."
It wasn't privacy I wanted, in fact I was looking forward to the opposite, in other words to be surrounded by young women in their white lacy underwear and stockings posing seductively on their beds moaning for my company.
Four months later I arrived one sunny Saturday morning at 'Maple Cottage' in Westerndale. It was a solid stone built barn-like affair, with a slate roof. There were several steps up to the front door and I noticed that there were already five pairs of women's walking boots drying by the door. I knocked and a middle aged lady in her fifties opened it. She was clearly the owner, probably making sure that everything was in order for her guests, I thought.
"Is it David Shaw?" she asked.
"Yes it is, and what's your name," I enquired, putting down my suitcase and shaking hands.
"Well I'm Deborah Smith but everyone calls me Debbie."
My mind raced as I realised that the young voluptuous, even flirtatious 'Deborah' in my dreams was in fact a stout middle-aged woman with a large bosom and slightly greying hair.
"And have the other guests arrived?" I asked, hoping she'd say that the young nymphettes were waiting for me, dancing around nude in the kitchen.
"Yes, we all arrived yesterday and walked up the dale, just to get our bearings. I hope you won't find our company too boring. Since we are all widows we have been coming to the Yorkshire Dales for the last five years and absolutely love it." She had a kind motherly face and smiled sweetly.
My face must have shown my resentment and disappointment at the prospect of staying in a cottage for a whole week with five 'old' ladies.
Behind me I could hear voices approaching and around the corner strode two tall blonde women wearing shorts and thick cardigans carrying shopping baskets. They looked absolutely gorgeous. They must have been in their early thirties and appeared very athletic and hail and hearty. I nodded to them expecting them to walk past but instead they made their way up the steps and into the cottage, they smiled at me and I felt their body heat as they squeezed in.
"That was Laura and Anne, I'll introduce you to the others when we go in," explained Debbie.
I thought things were looking up, visualising sitting on the floor between Laura and Anne while they rubbed their firm buttock-filled shorts frantically all over my face in turn.
Shirley and Ruth looked like ex-models. They were tall and very curvaceous and pouted continuously as if on a fashion photo shoot. They struck poses which you only see in magazines. Even getting crockery out of a cupboard appeared as something artistic in 'Vogue' magazine.
I imagined them posing in swimwear while trampling all over me in their cruel patent-leather stilettos, me screaming for more.
The next few days were spent walking together. I decided to tag along as I didn't have the correct maps and I felt I ought to join in. We shared the cooking although my speciality, 'cheese-on-toast with tomato ketchup' clearly wasn't exactly the 'gastronomic highlight' of the week.
I got to know the women very well and really enjoyed their company. What they really thought of this '20 year old short and skinny bloke' in their cottage was anybody's business.
We clearly must have made an odd picture to the rest of the villagers.
Each morning they would have witnessed a stout grey haired lady carrying a haversack and map striding out in front, followed by two jolly-hearty types with rucksacks, followed by two long legged beauties carrying shoulder bags and at the rear was a small chap with a large rucksack his eyes riveted, even spot-welded, to four shapely buttocks swivelling in front of him.
One evening, after the meal we all sat around the fire drinking coffee. The women had changed out of their shorts and were wearing smart A-line tartan or tweed pleated skirts, cardigans or sweaters. Debbie was wearing thick dark brown stockings. The others were wearing tan stockings and court shoes. I noticed the odd petticoat hem.
I sat there in a loose shirt and in my hiking shorts. The conversation turned to our past experiences particularly our 'love' lives.