Pop back to Chelmsford to join mum at our by-now-annual ritual of attending Essex Pride (www.essexpride.org.uk) - now in its 6th year, and too big for the towns gay venues to contain, so its now spilled out into Central Park! Entry to the community areas free of charge; and its just a 5 wristband to infiltrate the over-18s bar and cabaret marquee. Lots of young guns from the sixth forms of local schools nothing like this way back in my day, I muse! Trip only mildly marred by Sue not letting me take my little Toby along, she claiming Essex Pride was a contradiction in terms; and by sis Kerry showing up late, wrecked, only to herself wreck the tiny little lesbian marquee, before cavorting naked through the city centre, some of the more impressionable young lesbians in tow - much to the joy of the local newspaper, mum later said.

Nutty Neighbour fails to lure me along to a try dive event for absolute beginners at somewhat alarmingly-named GLUG (Gay & Lesbian Underwater Group, www.glug.co.uk), a non-profit scuba diving club for LGBTs and their friends including a few straight divers who allegedly find the club a refreshing change from the somewhat macho, hetero-male environment found in many other scuba clubs. We agree, instead, on GOC (Gay Outdoor Club, www.goc.org.uk) which has - for the past 30 years - been providing a wide range of predominantly open-air sports and recreational activities for LGBTs and co, including walking, cycling, biking, canoeing, caving, climbing, mountaineering, skiing and swimming. GOC now boasts 1,500+ members, including quite a few fresh-faced young hotties. Very bracing!

One weekly Monday morning mews meet gets especially animated when Kev brings along Inges not-so-little son, Sven Thunderclapper: since Em frankly - needed a break, and childcares so pricy these days. Boss far from amused - not least when the tear-away toddler knots two of her blessed Burmans tails together, the formerly purring pair then proceeding to well nigh tear each other to shreds.

Usual crowd at informal Circa do at judges in Hampstead. Ever doting couple Josh n Karl soak up the high celeb calibre dose being administered in one corner by out resident tabloid hack: apparently, Michael Jacksons unofficial biographer claims the late megastar was gay, and to have identified at least two of his former male lovers - one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor. In another corner, Charlie, Boy n Inge as ever, trolling for trade are strangely left well alone: I later gather, at our legal hosts behest he seemingly being on edge on hearing his colleague, 60-year old senior Welsh circuit court judge, Gerald Price QC - who reportedly had a 9-month relationship with a 25-year old sex worker, letting him sit in court and have sight of confidential documents - has been formally suspended, pending the results of an investigation. The opportunistic escort even phoned Prices wife to tell her of the relationship - before spilling his beans to the News of the World, for an undisclosed sum.

Busy Switchboard stint, mid-month. Seem to spend half my time suggesting callers get themselves tested for HIV, in which task Im thankfully aided by a new campaign by Terrence Higgins Trust, to reduce levels of undiagnosed HIV, by encouraging gay men - particularly younger gay men - to start regularly attending sexual health clinics. Key campaign messages include: 9 out of 10 gay men whove used a sexual health clinic would recommend it; sexual health clinics keep your details confidential - they arent shared with anyone, even your GP; you can use any clinic in the UK, not just the nearest one; tests and treatments are free for everyone no matter how long youve lived in Britain; you dont need your doctor to send you to a clinic, but you can go with a friend if you wish; and, if you have symptoms, say so - you should be seen sooner. For info on their nearest sexual health clinic, I bid callers call THT Direct on 0845 12 21 200; or visit www.betterclinics.co.uk

Use my weekly Circa-branded Capital Queer column to discus the Pink Papers being forced, like its stable-mate AXM magazine previously, to suspend print production due to the economic downturn - instead, continuing online at PinkPaper.com and through its weekly e-newsletter, Pink Paper Xtra. Elsewhere, the New York Blade - one of two major gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City - has also suspended publication. Part of a trend, I punt?

Very nearly pop down the gym - for the first time in months. But find self engrossed in my habitual lie-in-troll of mags, assisted by that perpetually paper pawing pair, Mous n Cous. Read that The Queen has apparently endorsed a homophobic church faction by sending two letters of support to the devoutly anti-gay Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, Peter Tatchell commenting, “The Queen has insulted lesbian and gay people and breached royal protocol by embroiling herself in an issue of religious and political controversy; and also spy that lesbian couples can now purchase a Spanish holiday package that includes not only a marriage ceremony and built-in honeymoon but insemination treatment too!

Manage to get away across the Atlantic for a few days, month end. Born out of Canadas own Wild West - where outlaws, traders and trappers moved amongst local tribes before the British Empire took hold, naming the province after Victoria and Alberts daughter Alberta has emerged from its Mounty-tamed past to become tourist-beckoning home to the majestic Canadian Rockies, readily reached from the oil-and-money boom high-rise that is Calgary: itself crammed with a third of Albertas 3 million-strong population and dubbed Cowtown - Canadas answer to Dallas! By contrast, as you leave scraper-brimming Calgary, the horizon unfolds and then soon lifts you thousands of metres via the hilly Kananaskis foothills where they shot Brokeback Mountain - way up into the peaks and lakes above 3000m!

Is our male-dominated gay community chauvenist? Adrian Gillan asks leading lesbians about the rise of the girl bar and gender dynamics out on the scene.Clare Summerskill, comedienne - www.claresummerskill.co.uk

Of course the UKs LGB scene is male dominated! Especially if youre talking about gay bars in central London or Manchester, then yes, youll find many more male-run and owned venues. But in the last ten years Ive really noticed an increase in women-run events for lesbians, which are maybe womens equivalent of the scene. These days Im getting asked to perform at book and music festivals, lesbian-themed conferences, as well as in theatres and cabaret venues around the country. There is also an age issue here because bars often attract younger lesbians whereas older women over thirty find themselves creating other groups for socializing, like Kenric (www.kenric.org.uk).Whilst there appear to be very few women running gay businesses there are many gay women working in businesses generally. Unlike ten or twenty years ago, loads of dykes are now extremely well-off financially but you only have to attend a Stonewall fundraising dinner to see that, as reflects straight society, proportionally it is rich men who far outnumber rich women.

I wouldnt say it is chauvinist and I dont feel threatened, but male dominance is even more concentrated on the gay scene than it is in wider society: I imagine straight men generally want straight women around, even if only to try and pull them!Im an integrationist, definitely not a separatist. Its great to have the odd women only venue but gay men and women have more in common than we have to divide us. In the end, its all about atmosphere, about feeling welcome. At Duckie weve never had a door policy baring anyone, either for their gender or their sexuality. Of course there has to be some limits - you dont want hoards of hen parties - but, despite all the hype, straight people dont generally want to hang around in gay venues.

The gay scene is incredibly male-dominated, especially bars and clubs. However, I think the girl scenes in major cities have branched out and are finding their own formula. Lesbians seem to be breaking away from the shackles of their stereotypes - thank god! Dykes are finally being individuals, with a variety of images, tastes and styles, demanding a variety of club nights to visit. This has encouraged a more diverse girl scene, and how refreshing.In big cities the scene has always had some degree of segregation between men and women - after all some of the nights are based entirely on sex or cruising - but there are enough punters to warrant different types of gay bar, and this includes bars that are delineated by gender. In some suburban areas however, this is completely different: where there is only one gay bar stuck out in the sticks, a handful of women are usually found in one corner surrounded by hoards of blokes, that is if they have bothered to visit their local gay bar at all.

Mum up from Essex for the day, early July. Take her to Gay Icons - a photo show celebrating the contribution of LGBT people to history and culture - running at London’s National Portrait Gallery (2 July to 18 Oct), and timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York. The 60 icons featured – not all of whom are gay - have been chosen by selectors ranging from pop star Sir Elton John to tennis champ Billie Jean King; and include Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Joe Orton and Will Young. Mum says sister Kerrie’s lesbian mag, LABS (Lesbian And Bisexual Stimulation), has finally folded - she’s hit the bottle again; and refuses to join us today since seemingly staunchly against gay iconography - or the creation of “dykons” for that matter.

Participate in this year’s Pride London (Sat 4 July, http://www.pridelondon.org/) parade – as ever, setting off from Baker Street and proceeding down Oxford Street and Regent Street before taking in some of the major London sites and swinging round through Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square, for the usual mix of speakers and stalls. Initial plan had been to proudly trundle my little Toby around the route in the Parent & Child section – along with Kev ‘n Em ‘n not-so-little-Sven - but Sue insists she take that honour, so am relegated to marching with Nutty Neighbour amongst his leather and bondage contingent, who have this year forged a special alliance with LGBT Bikers of the Ukraine, who seem to have sent over dozens of fiercely rev’ing reps. Kick self for not bringing Mous ‘n Cous along, to march in the Pets &/or Pet-owners group – although have second thoughts after spying Boss in the thick of that crowd, flanked by hissing Burmans… she done up like Cleopatra, transported - bethroned and aloft - by four hand-picked besuited homo hunks, shirts undone, revealing dutifully Circa-branded chests. Also spot Charlie, Boy ‘n Inge in the Gay Escorts section, handing out business cards – somewhat aptly trailed, methinks, by the Inland Revenue Intersex Group.

Bump into old friend and veteran activist Peter Tatchell when am on way to informal Circa do, mid-month. Says he’s been awarded a Blue Plaque by his local Southwark Council - to be placed on his flat, in recognition of many decades of human rights campaigning - following a vote by local residents in his South London borough. Long may his new plaque remain shiny, blue and graffiti-free, I muse, on parting! Meet up with mutually doting Joshua ‘n Karl, plus other Circa pals, to watch Grace’s Cricket Club (http://www.gaycricket.org.uk/) - the first, and, to its knowledge, still only, gay cricket club in the world – play a match. Founded in 1996, Grace’s currently has over 50 members, plays around 25 games per season, in and around London - a mix of league and friendlies - and has its home ground in North East London. Owzat! Hooray for the queer crack of leather on willow and the shining of gentlemanly balls!

Busy stint on Switchboard. Several newly diagnosed HIV+ guys just wanting to speak to others with more experience of living with the condition. Refer them to Terrence Higgins Trust’s excellent “What next?” website (www.tht.org.uk/whatnext) which provides information and support specifically for newly-diagnosed gay men. 

Focus latest Circa-branded Capital Queer column on the scandal that 1 in 6 (17%) UK psychotherapists and counsellors are willing to help gay and lesbian clients try to eliminate their homosexuality, according to disturbing new research by University College Hospital, London. “Homosexuality is not an illness and thus not curable,” commented Tom Warnecke, of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

Typically shocked and amused in equal measure during one of my regular Sunday morning newspaper trawls, sprawled in bed with Mous ‘n Cous. Read that 42-year old Celia Duncan from Aberdeen has been fined £250 for screaming homophobic abuse at her own 16-year old son. Miss California, Carrie Prejean - the beauty queen who criticised gay marriage during recent Miss USA heats, thereby becoming the darling pin-up of the American religious right - has now been forced to defend topless photos of herself, taken when she was an innocent teen. And councillor Michal Grzes, a member of Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party, has criticised Poznan Zoo for acquiring a young male elephant - who just might be gay. After rumours emerged that Ninio preferred male company, and might not procreate, snorted Grzes: “We didn’t pay 37 million zlotys (£7.6 million) for the largest elephant house in Europe to have a gay elephant live there.”

Escape to Copenhagen World Outgames and Pride (25 July – 2 Aug 2009, http://www.copenhagen2009.org/, http://www.copenhagenpride.dk/) towards the month end. Oslo, Helsinki and Stockholm I love. Reykjavik I adore. But – all said – Copenhagen gets my vote. It’s simply so walkable and combines the canals and palaces of the Swedish capital with the cosy intimacy of Amsterdam; and the boys are drop-dead stunners to-a-man – all doubtless legally enjoying sex since the age of 15, whatever their persuasion. The 2nd World Outgames’ three main strands are the Sports Festival itself (38 disciplines, from Country & Western Dancing and Bridge to perennial gay favourites like Water Polo and Wrestling); a Culture Festival (including “OutCities”, whereby Mexico City, Tel Aviv and the like showcase themselves in public spaces around Copenhagen); and a 3-day Human Rights Conference (27-29 July 2009) - all set against the raucous backdrop of Copenhagen Pride! I must confess to taking frequent bracing “exercise” during the Games myself - joining local gay gents to “take airs” in the vast, bushy and aptly-nude-male-statue-crammed, Ørstedsparken.