All you need is love, so the famous song goes, but let's face it, love’s just not that easy to find. Casual sex? No problem, but real, proper relationship moving in and getting hitched stuff? Well, that's a different matter.

You can spend your life waiting in vain to be hit by Cupid's arrow, but there comes a point in every man's life when he has to give up waiting for things to happen and become a bit more proactive. So here are GaydarNation's top tips on how to snare the man of your dreams - it can't be that hard, can it? 

Get Out On The Scene
Let's face it, no one ever hooked a bloke by sitting around at home pouting into a mirror, so get your glad rags on and get out on the scene. The only problem with gay bars is that they tend to be geared more towards what you might call a 'short term encounter' (ie. they are full of heartless slags just after one thing; guys who stay the night and never call you back - bitter, moi?). But it can happen - I've met a couple of my best boyfriends in dodgy bars and clubs. I was even reasonably sober when I pulled one of them - so it's definitely worth a try. Perhaps best to go on your own - as friends are a bit of a distraction - get yourself a stiff drink or three and then get schmoozing. You never know who you might meet and there's plenty of men on offer, but it's important to remember that if at first you don't succeed then try, try, try again. After all, finding a life partner is a bit like reading a Barbara Cartland novel - you've got to wade through a lot of rubbish to get to the happy ending.

Networking Groups
For the more discerning gay man who sees pubs and clubs as not quite the thing for them (or, more realistically, those of us who are too old to wear tight T-shirts and catch ourselves saying things like, "I can't hear a thing above all this racket"), there are now plenty of networking clubs which hold regular meets and events. Let's not beat around the bush here - you can forget any idea that these guys are thinking about their careers; these groups are just an excuse to go sharking in your best suit! If talk of how many air miles you collect in a year and what kind of bonus you are in line for turns you on, then this is the place for you. However, if your idea of smart dress is ironing your vest top and wearing your best Burberry baseball cap, then probably best to look elsewhere. How about...

Speed Dating
For the man who doesn't have time to waste, what better solution than speed dating? You get to peruse a plethora of talent all in the space of a couple of hours and then pick the best of the bunch -  or, at least, that's the theory. Talk yourself up a bit here - most of us can make our lives seem vaguely interesting when it's condensed into a two minute monologue and he doesn't need to know that you actually live with your mum and spend most evenings working on that giant jigsaw puzzle of a puppy in a basket of flowers. After all, there's plenty of time to reveal the true you once he's fallen for your ample charms. You have to be pretty outgoing and confident to carry this one off, but if you're more of a wallflower (or just too lazy to get off the sofa), then why not try...

Internet Dating
Now where would we be without good old Gaydar? Hampstead Heath mostly, but there's more to gay internet sites than just plain old sex - there are some guys out there on the web who are looking for something more long term than a wham-bam-thankyou-Sam. But how to sort out the tarts from the lonely hearts? Avoid men who seem keen to include more intimate parts of their body in their profile photos - if you couldn't show his piccy to your mum, then assume he's definitely not a potential partner. Make sure that your image shows your best qualities and if that means it's actually ten years old and slightly out of focus, then what the hell - faint heart never won fair fellow, or something like that. If you do find someone interesting and fancy taking it a bit further, then make sure to meet up in a busy public place - partly for safety reasons, but more importantly because it makes it easier to run away when he turns out to be the human equivalent of a valium overdose.

Personal Ads
When I was naught but a lad - way before most of the above options were ever even thought of - personal ads were the way to find true love. With their own secret language - SWM WLTM similar with GSOH POBOX 123 etc - there was always something intriguing about these ads, probably largely due to them leaving a hell of a lot to the imagination. Of course, in reality this meant that the, 'Young, well built, tall guy', turned out to be a 58 year old 20-stoner with stack heels, but one could always dream. Nowadays, these printed ads are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, tending to exist only in the more sofisticated sections of the quality press (and no I don't mean QX - charming as they may appear, those gentlemen with the rather, erm, saucy photographs at the back of free gay mags are definitely not boyfriend material). 

So come on chaps, there's no time to lose! Leave no stone unturned and ignore what anyone else might think - after all, one man's 'desperate' is another man's 'determined'. If Elton John can do it then anyone can, for Pete's sake. Somewhere out there your prince awaits and if finding him involves kissing a lot of frogs then so be it, or that's what I keep telling myself anyway!

Good luck and make sure to send me an invite to your Civil Partnership - a 'plus one', of course, for me and my lovely new boyfriend!

Want more? Buy Dave Singleton's The Mandates: 25 Real Rules for Successful Gay Dating online now and save!