GUM Clinic

Yay! I’m a fan. But really, I’m not. I mean, how does one review such an invasive place that you only go to because you really really have to, because you really really should, for your sake and for the sake of others? I’ve been, as I’m hoping most people in Edinburgh have. The experience was exactly what I expected it would be (except they seemed to have trouble getting my left arm to give blood willingly).
The deal with this place, if you’re not organised enough to get yourself an appointment, is to get there at the crack of dawn. By that, I mean 8 o’clock. Because that’s when the drop-​in is, and the earlier you get there, the less time you have to wait.
What I’ve done in the past is get there excruciatingly early, and then go to the Two Thin Laddies down the road and get breakfast. Everyone in the waiting room is just too zombified for my liking. You have to do the usual paperwork there, though there’re always the hilariously invasive questions, such as: have you ever had sex with someone bisexual, or someone from Africa. If you answer yes to both of these, chances are they’ll send you to a shrink before you get tested just to make sure if you get positive HIV result, you won’t throw yourself in front of a bus. Which is, kind of, fair enough.
Go there. Not for fun. But because you should. Now.