Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info. A pair of women's eyes give you the once over through a little hatch in the door when you ring the bell. It feels secretive, as if you're entering a mysterious clandestine world. Last time Derbyshire Live visited, reporter Nick Reid was invited down to meet the owner and have a guided tour.
This is what he saw. My heart is pounding though as Bubbles is part of Derby folklore and we're really taking you down the rabbit hole AND through the looking glass this time. In a vestibule, the woman apologises for smelling of cigarettes. She asks for a name and I give her one. Someone else's name. The name of a friend, in fact. It was the first to come into my head. I decline. Maybe this is a special offer for this evening. Then you have to pay for the actual massage.
In the waiting room, there is a woman sitting on a settee wearing a short black tunic with buttons diagonally dotted down the front, fishnet stockings, a lacy bra and pants set. Enough buttons of her tunic are undone for the material of her bra to be visible.
Given her attire, you'd perhaps expect a pair of heels but she's wearing what look like black trainers. They look slightly incongruous. Seeing someone you recognise might feel awkward and potentially blow my cover. I wash and wrap a towel around myself. There is a hair on the soap in the cubicle. Is it one of mine? On her return she asks whether I want to be massaged with oil or lotion and explains that oil gets to your muscles more easily. The towel is draped over a chair and I'm naked in front of a woman I met just minutes earlier.
This is a first, for what it's worth. There's tinny music coming from the TV in the waiting room. I lie face down on the massage table, feeling very exposed. At least it's warm. They can be a bit of a handful," she explains. She talks about worries for her family and the future. She's self-employed so if the clients dry up then so does her income.
