All,

Lambda Divers have one free space on their trip to Bonaire from April 5th-12th, if any of our female members fancy a last-minute trip.

They’ve had a late cancellation, and the lady concerned is selling her slot at a 10% discount, for US$900 (around £450) excluding flights. In addition to that, you get a US$28 credit on your resort bill for the week.

Unfortunately, I’ve had no details of what the price includes in the way of meals etc., but if you’re interested, send an email to lambdadiversinfo@hotmail.com

Neil.

At present, I only have 8 people for the GLUG Social Meal. We need a minimum of 12 to keep the booking, so if you’re thinking of coming along, but haven’t emailed me yet, please do so ASAP (log in, then click on the envelope at the top of the post). I need to let the restaurant know one way or the other by 22nd Feb.

I also plan to get the LIDS tickets at the weekend, so this will be the cutoff date if you want me to buy them.

See the previous post if you’re not sure whether your name’s on the list or not. (You need to log in to view the previous post)

Neil.

Ray’s asked me to sort out group tickets for LIDS, and a place for a meal afterwards.

For those who’ve never been before, LIDS is the biggest Dive show in the UK, and takes place at the ExCEL centre in Docklands. There are 100s of exhibitors, as well as talks by leading Dive professionals.

You can find more information at the Diveshows Website

Tickets are £7.50 (£10.50 on the door), but group bookings of 8 or more are entered into a prize draw for a £4000 holiday for 8 to Malta, so it makes sense to book through GLUG.

If you’d like a ticket, please email me (link on the Events Page, if you log in). Don’t just leave a comment here - I may not see it.

Post-LIDS Social Dinner

Since a few people will be coming from afar, and staying over in London, it’s a great opportunity for a Social meal.
After a bit of conferring with Ray, I’ve chosen Busaba Eathai, near Googe Street tube, and about a 15-20 minute walk from Old Compton Street. Busaba is a Thai restaurant in the “Wagamamma” style - but with nicer decor, and this one has a private dining room, seating up to 22 people.

They have three set menus (details to follow), priced at £16, £19, and £24pp, excluding drinks and service. I’m not sure as yet whether we all have to choose the same one - but probably. Although they don’t have a specifically Vegetarian set menu, many of the dishes are vegetarian, and they will do an extra couple of dishes specifcally for the veggies among us.

I’ve booked the table for 8pm - I wanted a bit earlier, but they’re already booked from 6-8pm. We have to be out by 10pm.

If you’d like to come to the meal, please let me know ASAP by emailing me (link on the Events Page if you log in). Again, please don’t just leave a comment on this post. I will need payment in advance, once we’ve decided on a price - either by cheque or by online transfer.

Hi everyone,

Hope the cold dark wet skies are making you think towards the coming years diving, new friends and adventures!  Just a quick mention to say that I have uploaded a few more snaps to the website gallery of the recent xmas meal knees up (go on take a peek…you know you want to!) and a reminder to say it is only one month away now (Sat8th March) till the forthcoming LIDS London Dive Show event (see their website for lectures etc.  & note:group ticket entry arranged if sufficient numbers).

Of course for those who have energy left after all that walking around (or cash not spent!) there is also the optional meal afterwards in the city for those who are interested in attending this as well.  Venue & menu will be on site shortly for the post show meal which was a well attended success last year. Hopefully see you all there - Cheers Ray.

This Saturday (December 1st) is World Aids Day. I’m sure that many of you will have read reports in the press that the UK is the only country in Europe where the infection rate is increasing. Last year alone there were 7,800 new cases in the UK.

I know that we have HIV+ members within GLUG, so let’s show our support for them, and for the 33.2 million other people worldwide living with HIV, by wearing a Red Ribbon to the AGM and Xmas Meal on Saturday.

Neil.

Bookings are now being taken for the GLUG Xmas Meal, which will be held on Saturday 1st December (exact time to be confirmed), at Strada, St Pauls Churchyard, London. Alesh has kindly agreed to organise the booking for us again this year.

All are welcome, including non-diving partners.

If you’d like to book, here’s what to do…

1. Choose your meal options from the menus at the bottom of this post.
2. Make sure you’re logged in to the GLUG website, and go to the Events Page. Click on the tick next to the “Xmas meal” entry, to register your interest, and then click on Alesh’s name, to send him an email.
3. Make sure that you include the following in the email:
   • Your name, and the name of anyone else you’re bringing.
   • Which Menu(s) you want (Vegetarian @ £20pp or Omnivore @ £30pp, including Service Charge)
   • Your options for the “Secondi” and “Dolci” courses from the appropriate menu.
4. That’s it!

NB: Please don’t post your menu choices in the comments below and assume that we’ll treat it as a booking - you must email Alesh from the link on the Events Page.

We need final numbers by 15th November, but there is a limit to the number of people the restaurant can accommodate, so you’re advised to book early!

Please note that if you sign up for the meal, you will be liable for the price of the meal chosen, whether or not you turn up. (If you need to cancel, then let Alesh know by November 15th).

Alesh will acknowledge all bookings by email, so if you don’t get a reply from him within a couple of days, please don’t assume that he received your booking - send your email again.

The menu options are below:

Hi everyone,
I am receiving number of bookings for the Christmas dinner at Strada which I am glad to process, and want to apologise for any late reply to some of those, as I have just moved to Manchester and got pretty busy with the opening of our new restaurant.
I shall be confirming all not yet confirmed emails within a week. so please bear with me.

on other note: does anyone have contact on someone from pink tank, the Manchester gay diving club, or are there any GLUG member in Manchester? it would be nice to stay in touch with diving even when out of London. The pink tank web site is dead for couple of weeks.

Thank you all Alesh

When?
Thursday 14th August 2008 to Monday 18th August 2008, incl.

You can of course turns this into a week but please note you’ll either have to make your own way to/from St Maxime or meet us at Nice airport to benefit from transfers.

Where?
Sainte Maxime is on the South coast of France, between Toulon and Nice. Flights will be to Nice. You can also take the Eurostar & fast train but see comment above re transfers.

For more info on Saint Maxime in general and the diving in particular, go to: http://www.diamonddiving.net/destinations/stemaxime.htm

What?
The package includes: transfers to/from the airport as a group, half-board accomodation in a ‘centre de vacances’ (holiday centre) and 5 dives with tanks and weights. The holiday centre is a bit outside town and has a swimming pool and tennis courts. The food is decent wihout being wow (still better than a bacon buttie in Portland) and includes wine with your meal, after all, this is France!
Weather permitting, we will dive Le Rubis, a beautiful submarine lying upright on a sandy bottom. See this link for a short underwater movie of the wreck or look in the October 2007 Dive mag at page 49 for a nice piccie and a short description.

Who?
12 divers - 7 spaces already gone!
Le Rubis is not a shallow wreck so only well dived in Bsac Sport or Padi Advanced, and upwards. If you are less experienced and still wants to come for the fun and the sun, you may have to pay extra for a guide on all dives and/or not dive le Rubis. If you have any questions, ask and I’ll try to get more details of what is possible according to your level.

We may be able to accomodate a few non divers too but depending on the size of the group this may have cost implications if we need an additional people carrier so please ask. Non-divers should not be bored as on top of the pool and tennis court, Sainte Maxime has plenty of bars, restaurants, shops and beaches.

How much?
£259 for all the above (£154-£197 for non-diving partners depending on group size and whether we need extra transport), then approx £90-£150 for flights.

Flights are BA from Heathrow. There might be an Easyjet flight from from Gatwick but this is not certain and will involve waiting for BA flight arrival in Nice.

To secure your space, you need a) indicate your interest by adding your name on the event page; and b) send me an email at: adelinemmc- put the @ symbol here(this avoids spam)-yahoo.co.uk and I’ll send you my address for you to send a cheque for £78 for divers and £46 for non divers.

Question? Leave a comment here or call but please let me know ASAP if you want to go as this will open to non-Glug divers in my Bsac club (all Glug-friendly and well behaved) if this does not get booked very soon to save cost on flights.
Ads

Showing an uncharacteristic degree of forward planning, the subject of the Xmas Meal and AGM was raised at this month’s club meeting.

It was agreed that we should return to Strada at St Pauls again this year for the Xmas Meal. The AGM will, as usual, be held beforehand, at a venue yet to be determined, and we’ll move on to the Restaurant in the evening.

The date has also yet to be agreed - and that’s where you come in. On the GLUG website, you’ll find a new Poll in the Right hand column. Please log in to the website, using your Username and Password - you’ll then be able to vote in the Poll. You can choose from the first 3 Saturdays in December - and if you can make all three, then you can vote for all three! However, if you have a preference, then please vote for the one or two dates that you prefer.

Once you’ve voted, you’ll be able to see the current results.

Note: If you can’t remember your username & password, your username is quite often your first initial followed by your last name, all in lowercase - so try resetting your password using that first. If that doesn’t work, then please email me using the Contact Form and selecting “website problems”.

Sark on Starfish of Sark - May 2007
by Fred Wynn

Fantastic – that was agreed by everyone who attended this weekend in Sark.

Having had great sunshine and weather for the week, the forecast for the bank holiday weekend did not look too good. On Friday afternoon an unwelcoming blanket of fog kept Guernsey totally enclosed from air traffic which meant that nothing was going to get in or out of the island. Sitting in the airport terminal in Guernsey, I started to become more anxious as I could not even see the runway! The first flight with two guests from Exeter – “plane circling overhead” on the airport monitor was not a good start. However, slowly but surely, the fog started to lift and two planes from Gatwick managed to land, although a bit late. Eventually, after circling for some time, the Exeter/Guernsey plane was diverted to Jersey.

The group this year consisted of myself, my non-diving partner Richard (he comes for the food and social entertainment), Ray the “Chef”, Val, Debbie, Allan, Brian and a guy from my local dive club in Guernsey. We were also to be joined in Sark by a diver who is known to my club – so, eight divers in all, a nice number for the boat, “Starfish of Sark”. It should be mentioned that I have dived from this boat many times, it being very strong and robust, and a great boat to dive from.

Ray the “Chef” and I ferried all the guys from the airport to Guernsey harbour, to be met promptly by our Sark skipper, Andy. An hour or so later, we were in Sark, tanks, luggage and us all loaded on the tractor and on our way to our thatched cottage accommodation in the north of the island with panoramic views over Guernsey. What a team, all unpacked in no time at all, with Ray the “Chef” already starting to prepare dinner for us all. Ray the “Chef” and I had already done the ‘shop’ for the weekend the previous Thursday evening, getting all of the food for the weekend – at a cost of some £12.00 for each person (bargain !). The cottage itself has a lovely feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, a turkey and its young chicks on the front lawn, geese not too far away and the wonderful Sark fresh air. A three course meal, washed down with wine and beers provided by our skipper, we all caught up with each other, and new people were soon felt part of the weekend group.

With the weekends weather forecast not looking good, Andy (Skipper) informed us that Saturday morning was our ‘window’ to do a good wreck dive off the coast of Jersey. The SS Heron, is arguably the best wreck dive in Jersey, rediscovered in 2003, the Heron sank in 1961 on the Paternosters Reef. This wreck sits in approx 25-30 metres of water and lies upright in a pristine condition, sheltered by the nearby reef. Internal navigation is easy with lots of swim-throughs, the floor of the galley has its black and white tiles and sinks still intact. As Dive Manager, buddy pairs were agreed to ensure that local guys were matched with people from the UK. I have never had the opportunity to dive this wreck, but Ray the “Chef” and my club buddy had done so, and were excited at having this opportunity. Our first dive of the weekend, I would say that this was the best wreck dive I have done in UK waters. Andy dropped a shot line for easy descent and ascent with the first dive pair going in to make sure the shot was in place and secure. My buddy, Debbie, and I agreed our dive plan, to dive the outside of the wreck and if we felt comfortable to penetrate the hold. Going down the shot line, most of us know the feeling when a wreck comes into view – it was incredible with excellent viz. Debbie and I “dived the plan”. You could have sat in the hold for much longer, watching the sea life swimming past you. It was a relaxing dive with lots, probably far too much, to see and a wreck that needed to be dived a few times to fully appreciate it.

Back at Creux Harbour in Sark, we spent the next couple of hours in the harbour café which had opened especially for us divers. Lunch went down well with mugs of tea.

Second dive of the day was in a sheltered location, Gouillet Mass, near the island of Brecqou – well known for the castle owned by the Barclay brothers. I have dived this site before and have never been disappointed – it’s a good second dive.

Saturday evening – I decided to book us all into a local restaurant together with our Sark diver, her husband together with our skipper and his wife. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, lovely food and a bit of entertainment as my partner had spent that afternoon having lunch with visiting Guernsey friends. Needless to say, he was in excellent form!

The weather again was planning our diving for us on Sunday. It did not look good, but we soon learnt that we were in the “eye of a storm” and we had a good window to get a couple of dives done. After having breakfast, prepared by Ray the ‘Chef’, arriving at the harbour, it initially did not look good, with the sea having a fair amount of swell. However, skipper Andy confirmed that it was diveable, with all but two divers deciding to go for it. That’s exactly what we did – to do two fantastic dives. The sea was like a pond, the viz again excellent. What about the cuckoo wrasse ? Didn’t they come up close to us when you click your fingers – very inquisitive. For those who have not done any diving in the Channel Islands – it has to be said that Sark is the jewel of the islands, rich with soft corals and sea life; fan corals, beadlet and jewel anemones to name just a few. As the viz was so good on Sunday – the ocean floor brought back memories of easy diving in the Red Sea. You don’t find such beauty in waters of 14 degrees !

Monday. Some of us were kept awake due to the storm overnight and the severe rain outside the cottage. The general feeling was that we had had two days of good diving and we would use this day to chill out and explore some of the island. Showers turned to sun, although the wind had not dropped. We braved the gusts and had a walk around some of the cliff paths and then into town, a small street with a few shops on each side with the road itself only used for pedestrians, tractors and bicycles. I have been to Sark many times, and nothing ever seems to change! Most of us indulged ourselves with a nice cream tea with Sark cream!

Our time in Sark for this visit had come to an end and out skipper was ready to take us back to Guernsey at 4pm. The sea looked rough – but we managed to all get back not suffering too many ill effects.

Much to the surprise of two members, who would never have guessed they would come on a trip and have training provided, my Guernsey dive club member, an experienced BS-AC National Instructor kindly provided them with NITROX training and did a PADI Divemaster crossover to BSAC Dive Leader !! That was not expected at all !

Monday evening was spent at my home (no floor space, as everyone stayed overnight to reduce hotel costs), with nibbles and wine, followed by a dip in the hot tub. An excellent way to end an enjoyable weekend. Watch this space, a future trip to France looks possible, using the services of our Sark skipper.

Sark Bank holiday weekend 25 – 28 May 2007

Fantastic – that was agreed by everyone who attended this weekend in Sark.

Having had great sunshine and weather for the week, the forecast for the bank holiday weekend did not look too good. On Friday afternoon an unwelcoming blanket of fog kept Guernsey totally enclosed from air traffic which meant that nothing was going to get in or out of the island. Sitting in the airport terminal in Guernsey, I started to become more anxious as I could not even see the runway! The first flight with two guests from Exeter – “plane circling overhead” on the airport monitor was not a good start. However, slowly but surely, the fog started to lift and two planes from Gatwick managed to land, although a bit late. Eventually, after circling for sometime, the Exeter/Guernsey plane was diverted to Jersey.

The group this year consisted of myself, my non diving partner Richard (he comes for the food and social entertainment), Ray the “Chef”, Val, Debbie, Allan, Brian and a guy from my local dive club in Guernsey. We were also to be joined in Sark by a diver who is known to my club – so, eight divers in all, a nice number for the boat, “Starfish of Sark”. It should be mentioned that I have dived from this boat many times, it being very strong and robust, and a great boat to dive from.

Ray the “Chef” and I ferried all the guys from the airport to Guernsey harbour, to be met promptly by our Sark skipper, Andy. An hour or so later, we were in Sark, tanks, luggage and us all loaded on the tractor and on our way to our thatched cottage accommodation in the north of the island with panoramic views over Guernsey. What a team, all unpacked in no time at all, with Ray the “Chef” already starting to prepare dinner for us all. Ray the “Chef” and I had already done the ‘shop’ for the weekend the previous Thursday evening, getting all of the food for the weekend – at a cost of some £12.00 for each person (bargain !). The cottage itself has a lovely feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, a turkey and its young chicks on the front lawn, geese not too far away and the wonderful Sark fresh air. A three course meal, washed down with wine and beers provided by our skipper, we all caught up with each other, and new people were soon felt part of the weekend group.

With the weekends weather forecast not looking good, Andy (Skipper) informed us that Saturday morning was our ‘window’ to do a good wreck dive off the coast of Jersey. The SS Heron, is arguably the best wreck dive in Jersey, rediscovered in 2003, the Heron sank in 1961 on the Paternosters Reef. This wreck sits in approx 25-30 metres of water and lies upright in a pristine condition, sheltered by the nearby reef. Internal navigation is easy with lots of swim throughs, the floor of the galley has its black and white tiles and sinks still intact. As Dive Manager, buddy pairs were agreed to ensure that local guys were matched with people from the UK. I have never had the opportunity to dive this wreck, but Ray the “Chef” and my club buddy had done so, and were excited at having this opportunity. Our first dive of the weekend, I would say that this was the best wreck dive I have done in UK waters. Andy dropped a shot line for easy descent and ascent with the first dive pair going in to make sure the shot was in place and secure. My buddy, Debbie and I agreed our dive plan, to dive the outside of the wreck and if we felt comfortable to penetrate the hold. Going down the shot line, most of us know the feeling when a wreck comes into view – it was incredible with excellent VIZ. Debbie and I “dived the plan”. You could have sat in the hold for much longer, watching the sea life swimming past you. It was a relaxing dive with lots, probably far too much to see and a wreck that needed to be dived a few times to fully appreciate it.

Back at Creux Harbour in Sark, we spent the next couple of hours in the harbour café which had opened especially for us divers. Lunch went down well with mugs of tea.

Second dive of the day was in a sheltered location, Gouillet Mass, near the island of Brecqou – well known for the castle owned by the Barclay brothers. I have dived this site before and have never been disappointed – it’s a good second dive.

Saturday evening – I decided to book us all into a local restaurant together with our Sark diver, her husband together with our skipper and his wife. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, lovely food and a bit of entertainment as my partner had spent that afternoon having lunch with visiting Guernsey friends. Needless to say, he was in excellent form!

The weather again was planning our diving for us on Sunday. It did not look good, but we soon learnt that we were in the “eye of a storm” and we had a good window to get a couple of dives done. After having breakfast, prepared by Ray the ‘Chef’, arriving at the harbour, it initially did not look good, with the sea having a fair amount of swell. However, skipper Andy confirmed that it was dive able, with all but two divers deciding to go for it. That’s exactly what we did – to do two fantastic dives. The sea was like a pond, the VIZ again excellent. What about the cuckoo wrasse ? Didn’t they come up close to us when you click your fingers – very inquisitive. For those who have not done any diving in the Channel Islands – it has to be said that Sark is the jewel of the islands, rich with soft corals and sea life; fan corals, beadlet and jewel anemones to name just a few. As the VIZ was so good on Sunday – the ocean floor brought back memories of easy diving in the Red Sea. You don’t find such beauty in waters of 14 degrees !

Monday. Some of us were kept awake due to the storm overnight and the severe rain outside the cottage. The general feeling was that we had had two days of good diving and we would use this day to chill out and explore some of the island. Showers turned to sun, although the wind had not dropped. We braved the gusts and had a walk around some of the cliff paths and then into town, a small street with a few shops on each side with the road itself only used for pedestrians, tractors and bicycles. I have been to Sark many times, and nothing ever seems to change! Most of us indulged ourselves with a nice cream tea with Sark cream!

Our time in Sark for this visit had come to an end and out skipper was ready to take us back to Guernsey at 4pm. The sea looked rough – but we managed to all get back not suffering too many ill effects.

Much to the surprise of two members, who would have known they would come on a trip and expect to have some training provided. My Guernsey dive club member, an experienced BS-AC N.I. kindly provided two members with NITROX training and did a PADI Divemaster crossover to BSAC Dive Leader !! That was not expected at all !

Monday evening was spent at my home (no floor space, as everyone stayed overnight to reduce hotel costs), with nibbles and wine, followed by a dip in the hot tub. An excellent way to end an enjoyable weekend. Watch this space, a future trip to France looks possible, using the services of our Sark skipper.

For those interested in coming along for the Birmingham NEC Dive Show and meal afterwards (see events) I have researched all the available hotels in and around Birmingham City centre and the Holiday Inn right by the station in the heart of the city stands out by far.
Rooms currently show at a good value £52 (for advance swift web bookings) for 2 people sharing (singles @ £44) and can be booked using the below link direct to their website:
The date for the planned stopover is the Saturday 13th October 07. to allow for sunday hangovers!

LINK: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/925/en/hd/bhxwm?ias=y

Note:Train travel up from London appears to be the best option so far and convenient as parking appears to be at a premium in the city. Checkout the National Rail website to Birmingham’s New Street Station (next to hotel).

I will research/reserve a suitable Balti Restaurant (if the vote is for a curry meal afterwards).

Regards to all and hope you’re getting back in the water!For those coming over diving for the weekend…pray for summer weather…if not bring plenty of asprins…Andy our host is stocking up for us I hear!Ray.

Apart from our year-round diving GLUG also organises regular social events so that our members can catch up, compare stories or photographs from recent trips and chat about… well, diving.

In addition to our monthly meetings in Soho we also have an AGM and Christmas party in December and a picnic or barbeque in the summer. We host stalls at Pride events, go shopping en masse at the Dive Shows and sometimes meet up with other gay social or sports clubs for joint social events. Our members have organised dry dives in a compression chamber and we have had clubs outings to evenings of lectures on subjects ranging from cave diving to marine life to digital underwater photography.

We also have GLUG weekends at inland dive sites for training and skill maintenance. Whilst not as exciting as real diving holidays these trips are essential in making sure that our openwater diving can be enjoyed safely and that our members have the opportunity to advance their training, should they wish to. These weekends also provide the opportunity for more club socialising and almost always include a few nights in a local pub comparing tall tales and chatting about… well, diving!

On this page you will find details of some of our past non-diving activities. Click on the pictures to be taken to the relevant gallery.
Details of upcoming events can be found on our Events Page.

Please choose from the following:
London Zoo Gay Sunday - September 2008
London Aquarium - August 2008
London and Brighton Prides - 2008
Christmas Dinner - December 2007
Picnic - August 2007
Dry Dive - 2007
Dive Show dinner at La Tasca - March 2007
Cardiff Mardi Gras - 2004

London Zoo Gay Sunday - September 2008

Thanks a million to Brian Broadbridge for bagging Glug a free stall at last weekend’s Gay Sunday at London’s Zoo.
The day was a great success with several new members signing up on the day and 30+ potential gluggers signing up for information on local training.
A special thanks to Brian, Steven, Doug and Chris for lending a hand on the day!

London Aquarium - August 2008

Mother nature had other plans for the GLUG summer picnic this year so, instead of eating our packed lunches in the wind and rain, we decamped to the London Aquarium. The displays and tanks were great and it was lovely to see the fish of the British Isles to well-represented (and with good vis, for a change).

London and Brighton Prides - 2008

GLUG had stalls at both London and Brighton Pride this year. Thanks to all the hard work put in by our volunteers on the days we managed to find a number of new members, both experienced divers and non-divers eager to learn!

Christmas Dinner - December 2007

We concluded 2007 with our AGM, kindly hosted by Gerhard at the Gray’s Inn branch of Konditor and Cook. We then wandered down to Strada St Pauls for our Christmas dinner. Some of us may have gone out in Soho afterwards too… luckily by then the cameras had been put away.

Picnic - August 2007

We finished up the year’s dive season with a picnic in St James’ park. Over two dozen GLUG members turned up and we had enough food to ensure that fitting into our wetsuits at the start of the 2008 season may prove rather challeging.

Dry Dive - 2007

Eight intrepid GLUG members undertook a (loggable!) dry dive to 50 metres in the London Dive Chamber.
We were very impressed by the professionalism of the medics and technicians who run this important facility. During the course of the dive they provided us with a series of cognitive tests and also gave us information on how to recognise and respond to DCI symptoms.

Dive Show dinner at La Tasca - March 2007

After a day of strenuous shopping at the London International Dive Show (during which GLUG members must have poured a few thousand pink pounds into the coffers of the dive industry) two dozen of us met up for a tapas meal at La Tasca. We showed off our new gear, boasted about the bargains we’d found and drank enough sangria to refloat the Scylla.

Cardiff Mardi Gras - 2004

A big “Thank You” to those who came along to help at Cardiff Mardi Gras: Ceris & her partner, Paul & Sian, and most especially to Rob & Neil, who not only stayed for the whole afternoon, but also brought along all sorts of nibbles: chicken legs, sausages, smoked salmon pinwheels, and a particularly nice cheese & bacon flaky pastry concoction. What with all that, plus the Metropolitan Community Church handing out cakes from the stall next to ours, we didn’t need any dinner!

Once again, there was a lot of interest in GLUG, and although we only signed up one new member on the day, we gave out almost 300 leaflets. The encouraging thing was that although by the end of the day there were hundreds of other leaflets lying discarded on the ground, we didn’t see a single GLUG one that had been thrown away.

Finally, also a special thank you to Ignacio, Neil’s partner, who has been tireless in helping to promote the club, even though he doesn’t dive!

I’ve contacted La Tasca in St Martin’s Lane about an evening meal on March 10th. (Note: I’ve realised that it was previously on the Events Page as March 11th - apologies).

They’ve suggested that we choose one of their Party Menus (click the link to see them). The Menu Sevillano is only available at lunchtimes, while the Menu Valenciano is £17.50 per person, and the Menu Madrileño is £21.95 per person. The two menus are identical except for two additional meat tapas on the more expensive one.

(BTW - we get all of the dishes on the menu!)

My suggestion is to go for the Valenciano menu (and not just because I’m married to a man from Valencia!). However, if the majority is set on the additional tapas, then we can probably work something out. The vegetarian dishes are a little limited, but if we get enough people, we may be able to arrange to have an extra vegetarian dish or two.

We need a minimum of 8 people for the Party menus. I need definite names ASAP, please, so please leave a comment below if you definitely want to come. Please also indicate if you’re vegetarian.
I’ll be making the booking on 16th February, so please leave your comment before then. If others sign up after that, it will be subject to the restaurant having space available.

Please note that if you sign up below and then don’t turn up, you will be liable for the cost of the meal!