Anne Rowe is the economist's obituaries editor. In 1981 she held a party in Big and Hill where she lived, which was a much more select suburb for the south. She brought in a bag of sex toys from the Anne Summers shops and passed those round two. The women were giggly and nervous and curious and excited all at once. But back in 1981, the board of Anne Summers took quite a lot of convincing. They were very scornful of this suggestion that women should hold parties and sell these things to each other.