Following on from the success of their 21st anniversary concert in December last year, the Pink Singers are pleased to be giving another concert at Duke’s Hall on Saturday 30th April, at which they will be joined by talented London lesbian and gay chamber choir, Diversity.

The concert will feature three pieces from Mozart’s Requiem, the Triumphal March from Aida by Verdi, a medley of big band songs by Duke Ellington and other artists, plus old favourites and some new arrangements, including the choir’s own tribute to Madonna: “Pink Ambition”.

Tickets are now on sale at £12 each (£10 concessions). Please phone the ticket line on 07020 934 678 to book.

Duke’s Hall is part of the Royal Academy of Music and is situated on Marylebone Road, London NW1. The nearest tube station is Baker Street (5 mins walk).

Doors open at 7.00p.m and the concert starts at 7.30p.m.

To anyone considering taking out Travel Insurance with GoGay.com, a word of warning…

Their standard policy only covers divers to 15 (yes fifteen) metres. You can get cover on their single-trip policies to 30 metres, for “an additional premium”, but they don’t have any annual policy which covers divers beyond 15m.

It’s hard to understand why they would choose 15m, when even the most basic Open Water Scuba qualification trains divers to a depth of 18m. It effectively means that their insurance is useless for Scuba Diving trips - you try finding a Dive operator that plans all its dives to less than 15m!

Apart from this, their insurance looks pretty good - unlike many Insurance Companies, they will also insure HIV+ travellers - and so I’ve sent them an email to encourage them to change their policy. If any other members would like to do likewise, please write to feedback@gogay.com

For a company that will insure divers (including HIV+) to a more realistic depth of 30 metres, check out TravelFirst insurance - if you use the link from the GLUG website, or quote “GLUG” when making a telephone purchase, the club also earns a commission on the sale.

A mysterious amphibious human-like creature has been spotted in the Caspian Sea.

As of Saturday 26th March, there were reported to be only 10 spaces left for DFL (Diving for Life) 2005. We already have 5 GLUG members signed up for the trip, but if you’re not one of them, and you’re thinking about going - it’s time to stop dithering and send off that form!

More details here and here

“It sounds like a fart but higher pitched”

Bremerhaven Zoo has scrapped plans to seperate Gay Penguin couples

The GLUG trip to Honduras is filling up fast. So far I have 9 13 people interested confirmed - 4 from GLUG, 1 from TRRR, and 5 8 from SAA Scuba in Florida. I’ve also had enquiries from another couple of US clubs. At least 2 3 people are going to be staying for a second week - this adds just US$660 (~£360) to the price, including accommodation, all meals, and 3 boat dives per day.

This is one of the best places in the world to see Whale Sharks close up, and the resort only takes 20 people, so if you’re thinking about joining us, don’t take too long to decide!

You can find full details, and booking forms, on the Events Page (don’t forget to log in first).

Diving Leisure have raised over £3500 for tsunami relief by organising a 24-hour “Diveathon”

Are you fed up with trying to keep all your dive gear and holiday things to under 20Kg of baggage? Or of having to pay excess fees in order to take what you need?

SITA are recognised by a number of people as having a lead role in the Scuba Industry, and they’ve been campaigning for a while now to get divers a decent baggage allowance.

You can help the cause by printing off their petition, and getting all your friends to sign it.

I’d encourage everyone to do so - it’s only by demonstrating that there are large numbers of people who care about this that the airlines are going to change their policies.

Don’t take too long to think about it! If you are interested in a heavily discounted trip to Belize, email me asap! There’s loads of information on the Peter Hughes website so start there and decide soon. The date is free at the moment and will be agreed by those wanting to go. I would suggest either May or September this year.

I’m in the process of putting together a trip to Deep Blue, in Utila, Honduras. The major attraction here is “Mr Big” - the Whale Shark. The deep waters on the North side of the Island of Utila are on their migratory path, and seeing them during the High and Peak seasons (between February and June) is (almost!) guaranteed.

I’ve only ever seen one of these creatures - off Boracay in the Philippines - and that was an unforgettable experience (not least because it was completely unexpected, and confronted with something that big, I managed to gulp half my tank in around 10 minutes!).

All welcome at City Hall, near Tower Bridge. Find out about Pride
Festival Fortnight, plus plans for Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Soho,
next year’s EuroPride, and the best-looking parade yet.

If anyone would like to go along to represent the club, please comment below, and confirm your attendance by emailing them.

I’m interested in joining the Peter Hughes ‘Star Dancer’ in Papua New Guniea this October. They offer a 10 day itenerary starting 17.10.05, it’s approx. 200 us dollars per night and diving after the discounts (20% immediately/10%GLUG kickback). Flights are not included.
I know of two others who might want to come and we’re thinking of staying a few extra days to explore the island. Since there is such a short booking window (by Wed. 17th March) decisions need to be made fast. I guess once we got the discount secured we can sort out flights etc. and take it a bit more slowly. If anyone is interested please contact me immediately to reserve one of the limited spaces available.
Thanks Gerhard 07764 679019

At the Peter Hughes Diving presentation on Tuesday, they offered to extend their Dive Show Special offer for an extra week for GLUG members.

The deal is that if GLUG members book any Peter Hughes trip, through the club before Wednesday 16th March, they will get an extra 20% off the price of the trip. The 10% discount to GLUG members still applies to the discounted price, which means that members would get almost 30% off the price of the holiday, but only if booked through GLUG before 16th March.

There was quite a lot of interest in the Belize itinerary at Tuesday’s meeting, and so I believe Craig is coordinating a group trip (NB: If we were to get half a boat, we would also get one place free, on top of the other discounts!).

However, there is no minimum number of people required for this offer, so even if you’re interested in one of the other locations, please get in touch with Craig ASAP.

If you want to take advantage of this special offer, you can find Craig’s details on the Contacts page (you need to login to the site first), but act fast!

You can find more details of the trips on the Peter Hughes website.

If you’re planning a dive in the North-East…. be careful!