Membership… It might seem early but experience has proved that it can take over 6 months to pry a tenner out of some people and this year I had to go to some fairly extraordinary lengths to steer people away from loosing their GLUG accounts as some people can testify! This coming year I’m hoping for a slicker process which is why I’m starting a little early.

Apparently, and this was news to me, the club’s financial year runs to 30^th November and thus membership does to. Which doesn’t make any practical difference as January is when we start with the heavy-handed tactics!

As those of you who have seen the minutes of our last meeting will know, the committee has set some deadlines and this post is the first step in making sure I don’t need to disrupt too many people’s access to the website.

Important Dates
1^st December – Beginning of GLUG financial and membership year
15^th January – Preferred date for membership Standing Orders to be processed
31^st January – Web accounts for anyone who hasn’t renewed become suspended
28^th February – Web accounts for anyone still not renewed are deleted

A recap of Standing Orders; Two years ago the club moved towards SOs as the preferred method of payment for memberships to reduce the risks of collecting substantial quantities of cash at meetings and to reduce the amount of chasing necessary to get members to pay. Following some teething problems the system has more or less settled down.

There remains a problem however with when these actually get processed as there seems to be a spread of about 6 months between the first SO and the last. This makes verifying membership payments a headache hence why the committee has now set an official date for SOs. Why the 15^th? Well because apparently there can be issues with payments on the 1^st which is of course a bank holiday so a date in the middle seems safer.

In order of preference (most to least) here are the payment methods on offer:

• Standing Order
• Bank Transfer
• Cheque
• Cash
• Payment Gateway (Currently AlertPay)!

I know that some people will be thinking about how much hassle changing their SO will be and so on. Please be assured for most people it’s simple and quick and I’ll guide everyone through this step by step.

So that everyone knows where they stand currently, I’ve added 2 fields to the end of the profile page on the site.

For the benefit of some on the committee: That’s the ‘ugly’ profile page in the ‘unfriendly’ part of the site… not the one with the slideshow and links to gaydar! No honestly, it does exist!

The two fields show your current payment method and for SOs and bank transfers, the transaction date. Please note that the date will not accurately reflect the 2010 processing date if your SO was setup during 2009.

For those with SOs who also have access to online banking, adjusting the processing date of the SO to 15^th January should be a simple and quick task. Once you have made that alteration please also adjust the date field on your profile accordingly and save the change by clicking on the ‘update profile’ button.

Anyone with a SO set to operate in January who can’t alter it via online banking can leave it as it is however those with SOs which operate after January who can’t make the adjustment are asked to contact me for advice.

If you don’t have a SO established then the good news is its simple to do. Online banking allows you to set one up in seconds, here are the required details:

Account number: xxxxxxxx
Sort Code: xx-xx-xx
Payee: G.L.U.G
Reference: YOUR NAME <– THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Frequency: Annually
Duration: Until further notice
Date: 15/01/2010
Amount: £10

If you don’t have online banking then you can download a SO form here, fill it in and take it to your bank.

If you set up a new SO please let me know by email so I can adjust the method field (it’s locked!).

For those who don’t wish to setup a SO the other options remain available.

The details above are valid for bank transfers but PLEASE remember to set the reference to be your name otherwise it is impossible to match your payment!

Cheques can be posted to:

GLUG
144 Don Phelan Close
Camberwell
London
SE5 7DB

And with the current state of the postal service cheques posted now might just arrive in time!

You can of course cross my palm with gold at any club meeting including the AGM.

And should anyone wish to pay via AlertPay you can by clicking here: AlertPay – GLUG Membership

In due course I will be adding code to the welcome page to show you your membership status and personalize the advice given to avoid having to issue endless blanket post like this.

As always, please keep your profile up to date and if you have any questions or queries please do drop me a line and I’ll assist as best I can.

Mark
(Webmaster & Membership Secretary)

A slightly modified version of the minutes have been uploaded to correct some mistakes and omissions in the orignal!

Mark
(Webamster)

I’ll be on the BSoUP stand at the Dive show on Sunday this weekend – so please drop by and say hello if you’re there.

Alan

I’ve just received the minutes of our last meeting (6th October) and these are now available from the usual link on the Welcome page.

Mark
(Webmaster)

One for the iPhone owners out there – If you don’t have an iPhone you can ignore this post!

I’ve been alerted to a plugin which allows iPhone users to view the site in an iPhone friendly way.

Now, before you get all excited, please don’t expect the site to be fully functional, fully viewable or even entirely pretty in this mode. It makes some bits better, much of the site a little messy, strips out some of the useful stuff and renders some pages completely inoperable.

The good news is you can easily switch between iPhone mode and normal mode using a switch which, on all but the ‘members’ page appears at the bottom entitled ‘Mobile Theme On/Off’. The default is off so visiting the site on the iPhone by default gives you the normal browser view. Flip the switch to view the iPhone-ised version and vice versa if you don’t like the result.

This is being offered as is – if you encounter problems, can’t do what you wanted or simply don’t like how it looks, go back to normal view.  The main benefit to iPhone users is that the forum listing looks like other iPhone lists and loads more quickly. The menu available in iPhone mode only lists the pages on the site which work to an acceptable degree.

Notable issues are as follows:

Pages which simply do not function in iPhone mode: Welcome (home page) & Events.
Pages with minor issues: Committee, Members & Gallery

Page layouts and formatting are generally lost in iPhone mode and switching the mode on/off takes you to the home page each time.

There is no effect on the Word Press admin screens and this only works when viewing the site on an iPhone or if you are weird and set certain browsers into iPhone mode!

It would be interesting to hear what people with iPhones think however please do be aware that this is what it is and I’m not able to make it do anything differently… you are at the mercy of an iPhone loving plugin programmer!

Mark
(Webmaster)

GLUG seems to be quite popular of late as we’ve also been contacted by the London LGBT Tourist Information office who are opening just around the corner from a the Phoenix. GLUG has supplied promotional material so visitors will have our details made available to them. Below is their press release and a link has been added to our links page.

Mark
(Webmaster)

WHO WE ARE

The Gay Tourist Office will be the first and only, dedicated, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender visitor centre in London. It will also be a vital resource for London’s LGBT residents. We open on 22nd October 2009!

WHAT WE DO

• Friends faces: The centre will have a full and part time staff to guide, direct and advise all comers. They will receive training on LGBT issues, have first-hand experience of all the city has to offer and be able provide all the latest news and recommendations.
• Info: Visitors and residents alike can come into the office to find information. We will have info on hotels and travel services, LGBT magazines and brochures, news on nightlife around town, information on community events, charities and volunteering opportunities, sexual health info, arts and cultural events, relevant maps and guides.
• Services: Guests will be able to get online at our laptop hub and even get themselves a fresh, hot drink or cool beer from the bar.
• Consume: Customers will be able to buy tickets to events and activities, take advantage of theatre deals, enter competitions, pick up free entry flyers/queue jumps and many other perks especially for our visitors with the Visitor Cards.
• Further info: As well as all the latest on gay London we will have all general tourist information specific to London and supporting LGBT work around the country.

Whether you have been here a lifetime or have just stepped off the tube for the first time we will give you a hand on getting around.

We want to show that London’s exciting LGBT life is the best in the world. We will show off what our city has to offer to local, national and international visitors as well as to Londoners old and new.

The community has responded enthusiastically lauding the centre’s arrival. We have been too long without one.

WHY WE DO IT

Fantastic activities happen all year round including Pride London, The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, sports, arts, charity fundraisers, health courses, workshops and educational courses, shopping, leisure events and clubbing so we feel it is important for all the information to be found in one place.
In this way we provide a hub to support the LGBT community and focus the world’s eyes on our freedoms and the rich, diverse, deep and wide-ranging people, services and lifestyles to be found in the city.

Did you know that London has more LGBT visitors than any other city in the world and have more members of the LGBT community living here than anywhere else in Europe.

WHERE WE ARE

We are based in Soho at 30 Lisle Street, WC2H (above KuBar, behind the Vue Cinema and within view of the Leicester Square tube station).
We will be open Monday – Saturday from 12pm to 6pm.
Find out more by:

• Emailing
• Calling Project Manager – Shaun Newport on
• Or visiting our website www.gaytouristoffice.co.uk

WEBSITE

www.gaytouristoffice.co.uk will be a vital resource for anyone planning a trip to London and will also provide news and guidance on LGBT London for locals.
We are opening in challenging times and look forward to working together to maximize opportunities for everyone.
We will be developing and growing over time and will be happy to receive any proposals and initiatives.

LAUNCH NIGHT

We will have special guest at our opening night event with champagne and canapes.

All the best,
Shaun Newport.

GLUG has been contacted by pridelondon.org in relation to the recent, well publicised and fatal homophobic attack in Trafalgar Square.

In response to that incident, and others, pridelondon.org are organising a vigil in Trafalgar Square on Friday 30th October 2009 at 8pm. In addition there is a march through Soho, beginning at Soho Square at 7pm.

Below is the full content of the press release. All information in this post is being supplied as is and on an FYI basis and does not represent any form of official announcement from GLUG or its committee.

Mark

                   

Ocean Optics UW Photography Set (Photo: Alan L)

We now have enough confirmed participants to go ahead with the UW Photography Day at Ocean Optics on Saturday 28th November – but there are still spaces available, if you haven’t been in touch with us yet.

Ocean Optics will be running their half-day introductory course (£79) for up to 4 divers. This consists of a short classroom session, followed by about an hour and a half on their artificial reef in the Action Underwater Studios tank (6m deep, 30 degrees warm!). You’ll be fitted with an Underwater Earphone, so the instructors can give instant feedback on your shots. You don’t even need a Camera – Ocean optics will lend you a compact Fuji camera, complete with Strobe and Underwater Lenses.

Divers who just want to practice their photography skills can also come along and dive on the reef without instruction – this costs £45 for up to 2 hours. All prices include tanks, air, and weights (if needed – they’re steel tanks!). (Note: These divers will be not be in the tank while the course students are using it – practice sessions will be slotted in around the course).

There are spaces still available for both the Photography Course and the Practice Sessions, so if you haven’t already told Alan or Neil that you want to come, please leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you.

Please see below for an event which one of our members (Francis) is involved in.

Further information can be found at their website: Diversity Choir.

GLUG ST JOHNS 7TH JULY 2010
Where else can you indulge in an hour long, Sound of Music singalong, in The Red Sea, other than a GLUG liveaboard! That was one of the many joys of this year’s amazing trip!
‘Thanks all, for a great time; it was one of the most enjoyable GLUG trips I have been on’. Alan L
‘Many thanks too to one and all for making it a great week – some indelible memories implanted in the brain cell! Fiona M
‘Its one of the best (if not, the best) diving holiday I’ve had – great company and brilliant diving. thanks everyone’
Debbie P
As ever Nina, our lovely Austrian dive guide briefed and executed every dive safely and with finesse. How does she spot those Hammerheads?? She did comment that she loves spending the week with GLUG as, instead off entertaining the guests, she gets entertained! With Nina firmly booked for next year’s trip, I am excited to announce that Blue Seas has been chartered as follows:

7th JULY 2010
£1006
(NB. The above price includes a £50 discount from Oonasdivers. This discount will only apply if you pay on time. If your payment is overdue the price will be £1056. )

INCLUDES FLIGHTS, TRANSFERS, A WEEKS LIVE ABOARD ON BLUE SEAS, FULLY CATERED, SOFT DRINKS, TEA & COFFEE, ENTRY VISA. NITOX FREE TO REPEAT GUESTS.

£200 non refundable deposit () secures a place on a 1st come 1st served basis
Please familiarise yourself with Oonasdivers terms and conditions

SAFARI: ST JOHNS, FURY SHOALS AND ELPHINESTONE

Visiting reefs between Port Ghalib and St. John’s Reef, this itinerary is a beautiful way to discover the southern Egyptian Red Sea. Deep drop offs covered with vibrant corals in the bluest of blue sea. Sharks and other large ocean dwelling fish are common sights. This is an astounding reef safari and a photographer’s dream. This trip is ideal for both experienced divers and newer divers. (Elphinestone, however, would require 50 logged dives)

Please feel free to contact me or, grab Brian Broadbridge at the socials on the 1st Tuesday of each month, should you need anymore details. We are really excited about putting this trip together for you.

Charlie & Brian

Hi Ian,

I wanted to thank you, Martin and (the other) Ian for a brilliant weekend had doing our Open Water Dive training. The weekend was handled very professionally and I felt safe the entire time and for someone slightly concerned doing the course, it was very enjoyable due to the professionalism and fun environment you guys created. Thanks again and looking forward to going further in the dive training. Highly recommend it for those wondering what it would be like. If I can, you can…go for it! Cheers.

Rich.

I’ve uploaded some of the photos I took on the GLUG trip to Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone a couple of weeks ago.  Check it out at www.alanlarsen.co.uk.  (I’ve been having technical hassles – me not the website, I fear – so I know that the thumbnail isn’t appearing; but the gallery is there if you click on it.)

We had a ball… thanks to Charlie and Brian for organising it and everyone else for making it such fun.

Alan

Just a reminder that the next monthly meeting is on Tuesday (6th October). As usual the committee will meet from 6.30pm and members are welcome to listen in.

There will be a summary of the committee meeting and reports from the committee at 7.30 with an opportunity for members to ask questions and raise issues/points.

Thereafter the evening is social and the committee will be mingling should there be any questions members which to discuss one to one.

The agenda for the meeting should appear in the monthly meeting panel on the welcome screen soon. Further details of the monthly meeting and venue including directions for those who haven’t attended before are available there as well.

Hope to see many of you there.

Mark
(Webmaster)