The mis-selling of ‘cottaging’ holidays.

http://dustpiggies.com/2011/02/08/the-mis-selling-of-cottaging-holidays/

Britain’s public lavatories are vanishing fast

Name a lavatory Emerald Isle and you might expect to be derided. Public conveniences rarely invite allusions to precious stones or sun-kissed atolls. Those on Notting Hill’s Westbourne Grove are an exception. Housed alongside a florist in a building designed with the sleek lines of a Victorian steam yacht, they are some of the more inviting loos in London.

Walk inside and the cubicles and urinals are nothing out of the ordinary. But clean and fully functioning public lavatories are becoming rare in our towns and cities. This week’s news that Manchester is to slash its number of conveniences from 17 to just one came as the British Toilet Association predicted that up to 1,000 are likely to close across the country this year.

While some conveniences have recently been celebrating wins in the association’s Loo of the Year Awards, its director, Richard Chisnell, predicts the decline will continue. “The floodgates are now open,” he said. “We have lost 30 to 40 per cent of our public toilets in the past 10 years and we estimate there are only 4,000 left. There are more sexy things in life than a public toilet but we all need to go for a pee.”

The Emerald Isle provides a model that could keep the nation’s loos flushing. Under an arrangement devised by local residents, the flower kiosk was included in the design to channel rent towards the upkeep of the lavatories, and the employment of a full-time attendant.

The building’s architect, Piers Gough, said: “Public loos are a necessary part of a civilised world. They should be something that gives civic pride, as well as something that provides some income and other things such as benches and rest spaces.”

Mr Gough said the florist had made the toilet a memorable landmark credited with helping to revitalise the area. The full-time attendant, who works six days a week and starts at 5am on Saturday mornings, works hard to ensure that they are kept clean – and her efforts are certainly popular with cab drivers.

One said “I’ve not found many elsewhere,” he said. “What do you do? You either destroy your kidneys or end up peeing in the street.”

Gay cruising zips up nudist beach

British naturists claim their rights are being stripped after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) closed a nudist beach area in Cornwall because it was allegedly attracting gay sex near the military training camp.

The MoD along with the Perranzabuloe parish council and Haven Holiday Park decided to close the area claiming it had no problem with homosexuality but wanted to eliminate the “bad elements.”

The complaints regarded reports of cottaging in the area close to where children were playing and training

The commandant of the neighbouring Penhale Camp, Major Michael Pawlak, told the Press Association, “The overriding factor is the Ministry of Defence’s responsibility for the welfare of young persons in its care.

“The MoD has a duty of care for all persons at Penhale Camp, especially those on cadet and school trips.

“Naturists are not the problem, it is the perverts they attract that are the problem.

“Homosexuality is not the issue, but we have gay single men cottaging for business in dunes where there are children playing and training.”

The British Naturism group expressed their opposition to the decision, “We

are replying in no uncertain terms that such a ban has no foundation in law and that, in fact, banning naturists would not solve the problem.

“The “ban” has arisen since the MOD run a training camp at Penhale Sands, just behind the beach and young cadets have recently been approached in inappropriate ways by naked people as well as observing sexual activity – and therefore nothing to do with the genuine naturist users of the beach who merely wish to relax in the sun.

“In addition, part of the training camp in which these activities have taken place is a live ammunition firing range, with disused mine shafts, and anyone straying into these areas is putting themselves in danger.

“The beach has a long history of naturist use and so we are suggesting working with all parties to have the beach made official, with a designated area created, so that it will be easy to spot anyone naked outside that area, who may have visited the beach for the wrong reasons.”

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2193.html/

Plymouth Cottaging alert – police clampdown

 Police officers are clamping down on cottaging in Plymouth however one senior source told us that ”barristers and solicitors are the main culprits and still at it”.

Let’s stop the double standards not just in Plymouth but across the Country and the rest of the world

What Cottaging fans are checking you out?

As you know, we’re continually adding new features and functionality to the Let’s Go Cottaging website and we’ve rolled out a brand new feature today that allows you to see who has viewed your profile.

Hopefully the new ”Viewed Me”  development will help you see who has been checking you out and who might be interested in a little bit of Cottaging action.

Sign Up today or login to your account to use this new feature

Paypal payments live on site

Today we’ve added Paypal to the list of payment providers we accept when upgrading your free account

Integration with Paypal complements our existing debit, credit card and SMS payment systems nicely. Anyone looking to take out a full membership they can do it via a variety of conveinent payment methods and we’re always looking to improve this and add new ones.

If you haven’t yet signed up to the site (for free) do so today at www.letsgocottaging.co.uk

Gay cruising hotspots

It seems that London and Essex are the two hotspots when it comes to Cottaging or Cruising, that is if you are to believe the membership stats from Let’s Go Cottaging UK – an online dating  site dedicated to the gay community in the UK.

Feedback following our launch has been fantastic so thanks to everyone who has contacted us. We’re continually making changes to the site and hopefully gay men from all around England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales can get involved.  You never know your luck, you might get lucky and find Cottagers and go Cruising in your town tonight

New kid on the block

We’re live!

After months of testing and tweaking, the newest website on the Gay scene has finally arrived. Let’s Go Cottaging is aimed at people who have an interest in Cottaging and Cruising. Not everyone can claim to be an expert or a regular – you’ve got to start somewhere. Let’s Go Cottaging allows you to sign up for free, browse fellow Cottaging and Cruising enthusiasts, share some fun, laughs and you never know – a meeting might be on the cards.

Our coverage is across the whole of the UK so if you want to find someone who likes Cottaging and who lives in Berkshire, we’ve got it covered. What about Shetland … no problem. In fact, pick a major county in England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland and we’ll show you a good time!