What’s new in the land of spotted dicks and fairy cakes? Gay marriage of a sort. Civil partnerships for homosexuals is now recognized in Britain. Gay couples will be able to enjoy some of the benefits formerly available only to breeders, though the benefits seem mostly grim ones: next-of-kin rights in hospitals, the right to receive a dead partner’s pension, exemption from inheritance tax on a partner’s house, and option to dissolve the union. But you better be workin’ it, girl, before you step into the registrar’s office, because this sweet deal is open only to gays; it’s not available to hets who want a loose alternative to marriage.

Boyfriends Elton John and David Furnish have proven to be gay enough, God knows, and John has announced that he and his special guy of 11 years will marry – or partner, or whatever they’re calling it – before Christmas. Said John: “There will be no honeymoon. I’m on tour.” (BBC News)