Recap: Spanko Brunch 2.0 for November 20

Bonnie, you are one in a million.

Fred: Finding Bonnie's blog, and the community that it represented, and all the links, was a revelation. I realised that I wasn't alone and there were others who were into spanking.

Roz: No!!! That is very sad news. Bonnie, like you Hermione was a cornerstone of blogland. Giving new bloggers a start with the in with the new (I know my blog didn't attract many readers until it featured on MBS), providing wonder information and advice and humour. MBS was the meeting place in blogland. Bonnie will be very much missed.

Graham: Wow! Hers and yours are two of only three websites on this topic that I regularly visit. She will be missed, but we wish her and hers the very best. Not sure where to look for all her very regular updates! 

Anon 1: Delurking for the first time in Bonnie’s honor. Spanking is a forbidden fruit - it makes people self-conscious. And then a wife and mom who is otherwise totally conventional holds forth on the mysteries and joys of spanking, and all of the hesitation falls away. She set us free to be who we are, without apology. And brought people together virtually to know we’re not alone. Blessings to her and Randy whatever the future may hold. 

Jean Marie: As I said on my blog, Bonnie was the hub, the center of a vital wheel of this spanking Internet world, a matriarchal mother-figure, the friend next door, a sage with her tutorials, a societal rule-breaker. Without the hub to the wheel, holding so many disparate spokes together, I fear we may not run as true, or make as much progress.
Because she was so down to earth, she was approachable, accessible, her blog was kind of a clearing house. It was one of the first blogs I discovered when I was just discovering my orientation as a spanko. It was a revelation to see like-minded everyday people there!
She and you, Hermione, were role models, pattern-setters, unifiers. She will be so missed! I wish her & Randy all the best!

Norse Cavalier: I loved the way she would direct viewers to the less-read blogs. I don't know even know anymore just how many blogs I found through her, but I know that most of my own readers came from her. I also loved the glimpses of her own life - she wrote in a very approachable way.

Enzo: Like so many others, I was saddened to hear the news.

I personally appreciated that Bonnie was so genuinely welcoming. She was particularly welcoming to me early on when this blog community felt very inclusive and I felt like an outsider. She was ultimately inspirational and instrumental in my starting my own blog.

Wishing Bonnie and Randy health and happiness.

Prefectdt: I am going to miss Bonnie, so much.

Before I started blogging, I first started reading the blogs of spanking models and performers, that I liked to follow as a fan. Then one day I stumbled across a Sunday Brunch, at My Bottom Smarts. And that introduced me to the joys of interacting with fellow enthusiast spankers and spankees, in a far more satisfying way than the chat rooms and forums, that I had tried before. Thank you, Bonnie, for leading the way for us enthusiasts to share our thoughts, in a welcoming environment. And that is what I will remember Bonnie for the most.

P.S. Thank you, Hermione, for continuing Bonnie's Sunday tradition.

Jack: A blog that covered it all, that one could find what they were into. The response you got when you made a comment was the norm. Bottom line, no pun, had to be one of the finest spanking blogs that really had something for everyone. 

Barrel: I was never an active participant on MBS as I found Hermione first. However when I did drop in, I found Bonnie’s wit, humor, candor, content and guidance unmatched. It is hard to say more than has been expressed here and on MBS. But I feel a sense of emptiness. While I am comfortable and content here at Brunch with all of you, it feels as if the foundation of our community has been rocked. I am confident we will all go on. But I hope and pray that Bonnie and Randy’s life will continue as they have chosen, knowing the support and well wishes from us spanko’s is truly sincere and heartfelt.

Salute!

Ronnie: Hermione, sorry to hear Bonnie is retiring her blog. She will be missed.Thank you for letting us know.

Bonnie was the first blog I read. She was always welcoming to everyone. I enjoyed her wit, humour and the advice she gave. I especially loved that she gave new bloggers a start (including me). I will always be grateful to her for that as I wouldn't have met the wonderful friends I have.

Sending love and best wishes to Bonnie and Randy.

Anon 2: I was very sad to hear the news. I start every day with MBS. I always looked forward to what Bonnie had to say or read about her latest spanking. I am going to miss her. I wish her and Randy much happiness in the future.

Karl: Bonnie's blog post content was great and she continued the blog for an amazingly long time but the star attraction was and still is, for a little while at least, her blogroll. Who will take over the maintaining of a future replacement for that blogroll, for as we know, Google is next to useless to find these kind of personal blogs and social media columns. I did try to post comments a couple times on her blog but she didn't accept anonymous comments and I didn't have a blogger account. Thanks for her frank admission that she enjoyed bieng spanked and blessings on her future journey.

Erica: I can't pick just one memory of Bonnie -- I have so many over years and years. We go back to the days of MySpace (!) when I was first blogging there and she listed me on her blog roll. I feel like getting her endorsement brought me traffic it might have otherwise taken years to attain. And she's done that for countless bloggers.

I love her Keyword Chaos. She and I share the same acerbic sense of humor and some

Hermione: MBS was the first blog I discovered when I started searching for spanking sites at work (it would b e several years before we owned a home computer). I loved what I read, and soon made it a daily habit to read every post in Bonnie's archives. I asked Bonnie a few questions which she kindly answered, then she asked me if I would write about my spanko experience. You can read it here. When I decided to start my own blog, Bonnie gave me an awesome introduction.

I eventually took over the task of checking the MBS blogroll for inactive and deleted blogs. This was no mean feat as I only had a dial-up connection on my laptop, but I took my task seriously. I will be sad to see the blogrolls disappear. Bonnie also trusted me to host brunch on many occasions when she was away. That was so much fun!

Dear Bonnie, I will always treasure our friendship.

Becca: So sorry for being late to Bonnie's farewell party. Hope she will see it one day. Hermione, please feel free to copy it over to the latest brunch.

Dear Bonnie,

what a sad day to de-lurk... what they all said and much more. My journey is quite different. I wish I would discover your blog 15 years ago and not this summer.

Full disclosure, I'm vanilla, although as I learned now, so many little quirks count as kinks. For that matter, what really constitutes a spanking? A smack or two do not count, right? What about three or five? Where to draw the line, or better not to? So, I was writing a novel, quite steamy but vanilla, and one summer day, I wrote a scene that involved a spanking that went horribly wrong (they didn't know about Bonnie's writings), wrote it without any research, purely on emotions. And then, to justify what happened and why, plunged into research. BTW, I was right, I described bratting and topping from the bottom without knowing what it is.

MBS was the second spanko blog I found, right after an extreme CDD one. Thankfully, MBS is linked on virtually every blog throughout the blogosphere, and boy, did I stay in this impossible vast, skillfully crafted, generously shared Body of Knowledge. The tutorials alone, I read at least twice each and most, many times over: the elusive why (my favourite), how to talk to your partner, first spanking, fantasy vs reality, bratting, anticipation, letting go (a gem), implements, rituals, more rituals. When in doubt, read Bonnie's tutorial.

I'm still vanilla, leaving vicariously through my characters, following their ebbs and flows, letting them make mistakes, but knowing one thing for sure, I want them to become more like Bonnie and Randy, be themselves, find the way that works for them, because every couple is different, and forget the labels.

There is no sadder day for a lurker and purveyor of fine blogs to find a blog (or forum) written by a brilliant author, smart, intelligent, bold, and sincere, only to discover that the blog is discontinued (not to say dead). A word of advice for those who like me just read, do comment, drop a few words, ask for an advice before it's too late.

Bonnie, I have a parting gift for you, a song/poem called A Bottom Song Since I didn't know how to send it to you, I registered a blog today and posted it there, for Bonnie who redefined the word Bottom.

Bonnie: Thank you, Hermione and all, for these many lovely tributes. Nothing makes me happier than being able to share things I love with friends who understand. MBS provided one such outlet.

I am at peace with our decision. In the end, it makes sense. Now I just have to convince my brain to stop giving me article suggestions in the shower!

If ever you need something that I can provide, you know where to find me.

I wish all of you many years of happiness, fulfillment, connection, and meaning. Let your head do the driving, but allow your heart to navigate.

Farewell, dear friend.