Category Archives: News
My Magazine Debut
I hope you’re all enjoying this sunny Friday afternoon, I know I am. Sat out in the park with my iPad writing this blog post.
But then that’s not the only thing I’m writing at the moment, oh no. For my regular readers and those who follow me on Twitter you’ve probably seen me hinting (rather unsubtly) at some upcoming magazine work. Well yesterday afternoon I finally nailed down the particulars and I’m happy to announce that you can now to keep up with me on twitter, on my blog and from the end of May… at Attitude Magazine.
That’s right boys and girls. I’m going to have a monthly column in Britain’s biggest selling gay magazine, starting in their famous and incredibly hot ‘Naked Issue’ – out at the end of May (pictured is last year’s Naked Issue). 
I’ve been in talks with the Editor Matthew Todd (Stonewall journalist of the year, British Society of Magazine Editors’ Men’s Magazine Editor of the year) for the past couple of months, and I’m going to be using my column to show the gay men of Britain what life is really like with HIV.
Much like this blog I’ll be writing about the ups, downs, how people have made me feel, how I’m feeling in myself, how my treatment is going – and there’ll even be the odd interview thrown in here and there!
It’s not quite possible to put into words how overwhelmed and excited I am about this new project, but I promise to do you all proud – and make sure you all buy a copy of my first (double length) column, where I’ll be talking about my life with HIV to date. And for you tech-aficionados out there you can now get Attitude Magazine direct to your iPad with videos and everything!
Excited Giggles,
Sam
@UKPositiveLad
Happy Birthday MyHIV.org.uk
Launched a year ago MyHIV.org.uk (run by THT and funded by EJAF) has developed into an amazing online resource for people living with HIV in the UK, regardless of gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The site boasts a myriad of tools to help you manage your HIV and to make new friends, these include:
- The Forums. Now with over a thousand members the forums are a busy and lively place to make new friends, find peer support, ask questions, arrange social events and find out HIV related news – and coming soon a ‘Looking to meet’ HIV dating section.
- One to one online counselling, advice and health training. Speak directly, one on one in a private chat room with a qualified counsellor or HIV professional. Get honest, friendly and useful advice on relationships, benefits, housing, health and more.
- Text and email alerts. Get personalised medication alerts direct to your mobile phone or email account. We all lead busy lives and it can be very easy to let medication slip, so keep on top of it with text/email alerts.
- CD4 and Viral Load tracking. Input your latest clinic results directly into the MyHIV website to create a real time graph of your progress through treatment. This will help you see how your treatment is working over the long term, something that can be harder to appreciate with just numbers.
- My Life check. A set of four mini quizes that you complete every six months or so, that help flag up any gaps in your understanding or potential issues that you may not have noticed yourself.
- Your Stories. A section dedicated to video and written experiences from real people with HIV in and around the UK.
In the coming months MyHIV will also be launching its very own iPhone application, allowing you to access the online resources of MyHIV, as well as the forums, on the move wherever you happen to be.
Over 2,700 people have registered with MyHIV.org.uk since its launch. I’m proud to be one of those people, the forums enabled me to make contact with other HIV positive people for the first time, and the online counselling has helped me out of some very dark times. It’s free to join, so what’ve you got to lose. Sign up and meet some truly amazing people.
So please, join me in congratulating MyHIV.org.uk and the wonderful team behind it on this great success. Here’s to many more years to come.
Best Wishes,
Sam
UKPositiveLad
New Site
Just a quick blog post to welcome you all to my new website!
I’ve moved my blog from wordpress.com over to a fully hosted website, here at UKPositiveLad.com – I’ll be maintaining my blog as I have done in the past, and in addition you’ll see new content appearing, such as news articles, useful links, event listings, interviews, guest posts etc.
So have a mooch around the new site, and keep your eyes peeled for developments. Those of you who had subscribed will have to resubscribe to this new site.
Peace out!
Sam
UKPositiveLad