It goes without saying that 
bearded plutocrat Richard Brason’s enthusiasm for family planning is to be applauded. Especially as he did 
Mates Condoms on a not for profit basis, and literally marketing family planning and safer sex to a new generation. It would be nice to see similar enthusiasm from the 
Vatican. I must confess I have never worked out why we do not, how can anyone be against family planning? Perhaps an all male heirarchy is always a bad idea…..
Why 
Branson named his 
business empire “Virgin” is another mystery. I must confess I never liked it. The Cult of Virginity is another of those sources of human misery, second perhaps only to global capitalism and the related 
cult of monogamy. Likesay I am no fan of the 
Church of Rome. And my own loss of virginity came too late (but likesay even the phrase “loss of virginity” or even the word virginity implies it is something precious and loss is ipso facto a negative. If only we could all make our way to sexual awakening in our own time, neither too early or too late…. If only!).
It has been noted that the one area of 
his empire without the Virgin name, in England at least, was 
Mates Condoms. Would “Virgin Condoms” sound a contradiction in terms? Apparently not….

Perhaps something was lost in the translation (instructions and details on back look French, address is Paris). Perhaps it is in no way connected to the 
Branson Empire, though the logo looks like that of 
Richard Branson. Perhaps it was intended for marketing in the weird and wonderful world of 
Roman Catholicism.Likesay acquired said condom many years ago from a communal stockpile sourced from a skip for a conference at 
Cornerstone. No prizes for guessing who scored said collectivised johnnies. Hello 
Merrick and Annwen if you are reading this. Cheers!
Some words of wisdom from the 
Venerable Bluebell. It might not be wise to confess that you have used a skipped condom even if it was in date. Not if you are secretly sleeping with a self confessed control freak. I lived to tell the tale, no pregnancy scare (phew!).
Would you believe it though 
“Virgin in a Condom Provokes Outcry”. 
Est enim nulla pars mei quæ est nulla pars Deorum!