Test to 'C'

Testicular cancer is on the rise but can be cured in almost all cases if detected early enough. We have added a guide to the site which explains how to examine yourself and what signs to look out for. Read the guide.

Published: 30th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

Using dental dams

A new guide to the use of dental dams has been added to the sexual health pages of the website. Click here to see the guide.

Published: 22nd January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

Diary dates for 2007

A comprehensive guide to Pride, mardi gras and other LGBT events in the UK and abroad has been added to the Directory. Click here to see the guide.

Published: 22nd January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

World AIDS Day, 1st December 2006: Update

May I personally say a BIG thank you to everyone who gave up their own time in assisting me in raising the general public's awareness of HIV/AIDS 'World AIDS Day' via street collecting and multiple stationary collection boxes which were located throughout Wiltshire and Swindon. We sold over 1,300 red ribbons and raised over £600.

Published: 22nd January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

Over 15,000 gay unions in the first year

A Government minister has expressed delight at the number of gays and lesbians entering civil partnerships. Deputy Equality Minister Meg Munn called the Civil Partnership Act, which came into force in December 2005, one of the most significant pieces of legislation introduced by the Blair government.

More than 15,000 partnerships were registered up to September 2005, according to The Office of National Statistics.

The government has been surprised at the number of ceremonies being performed.

It was previously thought that it would take time for couples to consider civil partnerships.

Instead, tens of thousands of gay men and women have shown their desire for legal recognition. Ms Munn told The Pink News, “The Civil Partnership Act stands as an example of advancing social justice through removing barriers to basic rights, and in this instance, to those who had been denied them for too long.” There has been support for partnerships across the political spectrum since the first ceremony was performed in Belfast last December.

David Cameron made a positive reference to gay partnerships in his speech to the Tory party conference last year.

Story from The Pink News - www.pinknews.co.uk

Published: 15th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

Same-sex couples help drive housing market

Same sex couples are one of the main forces pushing the UK housing market, according to a new report. One in ten people (13%) are planning on buying a new home in the next 12 months, and it’s twenty-somethings (22%), same sex couples (21%) and singletons (17%) – not the traditional 2.4 child families that are driving the UK’s housing market, according to new research from mortgage lender Birmingham Midshires’ “Not so Average Joe” campaign.

The study found that as many as 41 pe cent of same sex couples and single people see their next purchase as a good way to make money on house price rises, compared with just 24 per cent of average 2.4 child families buying their next property as an investment.

At a time when house prices are rising at their fastest rate for two years, the latest findings show that as many as 28 per cent of homebuyers plan to purchase a new property within the next 12 months as an investment.

As part of an ongoing study of the specialist mortgage market, Birmingham Midshires asked a representative sample of 2,000 people in the UK whether they were intending to buy a house in the next 12 months and the reason for the purchase.

Tim Hague, managing director of mortgages at Birmingham Midshres said: “There is no such thing as an ‘average’ borrower in modern Britain, yet many financial services companies continue to target mortgage products that respond to an outdated picture of British life.”

Story from The Pink News - www.pinknews.co.uk

Published: 15th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

63,500 adults now live with HIV in the UK

An estimated 63,500 adults are now living with HIV in the UK, according to the Health Protection Agency. This latest figure includes both those who have been diagnosed plus around a third (20,100) who remain unsure of their infection.

Story from Fyne Times - www.fyne.co.uk

Published: 15th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

Three in five gay teens have sex before 16

The annual Love, Sex, Life survey on LGBT teen website Puffta.co.uk suggests that the UK Government’s recent “condoms are essential wear” campaign is failing to educate teens about sex early enough.

The research finds three in five (58%) gay teens have sex before the legal age of 16; and a quarter (23%) have sex when 13 or under. More at www.survey.puffta.co.uk

Story from Fyne Times - www.fyne.co.uk

Published: 15th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)

HIV increase in Sydney

Between one in ten and one in five of gay men in central Sydney are now infected with HIV, Australia’s National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research claims – apparently due to breakdown in safer-sex practices.

Story from Fyne Times - www.fyne.co.uk

Published: 15th January 2007 by Lee (updated Thu 21st Jan)