Pharmacists in Hampshire are gearing up for a mammoth cycle ride to drum up funds for a local children’s hospice.

Hampshire & IoW LPC’s Deborah Evans and Mike Holden are both planning to follow in the tyre marks of last month’s Tour de France in an epic trip from Paris to Geneva in September, to raise money for Naomi House Children’s Hospice.

In fact, Deborah’s so keen she even took to an exercise bike outside Sainsbury’s in Winchester (pictured below) to raise money for the hospice, notching up an impressive 75 miles in four hours. And despite a recent tumble, Mike’s training for Switzerland is also coming along.

Sponsor Mike or Deborah for their endeavours.

Cast your vote for the greatest pharmacy innovation.

Hot on the heels of custard powder making the cut for the greatest pharmacy innovations of the past 150 years, fans will be pleased to hear it’s been hailed as one half of the UK’s favourite dessert.

More research carried out by Gaviscon Double Action Tablets, which previously revealed the ultimate celeb couple to be Gordon Ramsay and Kylie Minogue (C+D, May 23, p30), has found apple crumble and custard to be the nation’s dream “dessert double act”.

Strawberries and cream came in second in the poll of 1,302 adults from around the UK. In Northern Ireland, lemon meringue pie and cream was crowned top dessert.

Fascinating stuff, we think you’ll agree.

Spanish dentistry was the subject of choice in April 1860’s issue of C+D, when a visitor to Cadiz witnessed a feat which would have impressed even Zorro.

The scene was a crowded public square, where a “pain-stricken muleteer” rushed over to an dentist, who happened to be trotting by on a horse, and begged for some help.

“The grave quack did not dismount…but with one experienced, far-sighted, keen glance at the cavernous tooth, drew a long Toledo rapier…slipped the point under the muleteer’s black fang, and scooped it out with a single twitch.

“With military precision he wiped his sword, slipped it back into his sheath, held out his hand for the twopenny fee, touched his sombrero, and rode gravely off.”

PostScript thinks it’s found its new hero in this Andalusian tooth-fencer. Although we’re not so sure we’d like to experience that particular treatment any time soon…

Postscript was chastened to receive the following letter this week from GRM Chisman, of Cornwall.

“I wish to point out an error in your publication (C+D, July 11, p4). In ‘The answer is… 1859’ box, you mention that Big Ben ticked for the first time in 1859. I say: impossible!

“Although everyone thinks of ‘Big Ben’ as the clock, or even the tower, the truth is Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell – which struck for the first time on July 11, 1859. The clock is Great Westminster Clock, and the tower is St Stephen’s Tower. So, Big Ben can only be struck!

“My father was a horologist, and instilled this fact into me as a small child – every time the clock was referred to as Big Ben, he would become agitated at the ignorance of the newspaper or television reporter!”

It’s good to know C+D readers are so well informed. If you have any suggestions for ‘The answer is... 1859’, please get in touch.

Death by lip balm. It might sound like an episode of Poirot or House, but this was the true tale of Miss Meredith, as reported in C+D’s April 1860 Notions and Chips section.

Miss Meredith, of the wonderfully named Mogtree Limekiln, died “in the greatest agony, from the effects of applying some tallow to her lip, which had become chapped by the wind”. According to C+D, the balm contained “some poisonous matter or fat that had been much decomposed”, resulting in Miss Meredith’s tragic end.

Fortunately, the Notions and Chips section wasn’t all doom and gloom. “An enterprising physician from Warrington,” reported C+D, “has originated a new system of accommodation for pedestrians, in the shape of stone seats placed at intervals along the highways.”

So a bench, then. At least future generations would have somewhere to sit down when playing Russian roulette with their lip balm...

Cricket’s Ashes series kicked off once again last week, but while the Aussies and Poms are tussling over a small beige pot full of charcoal, a new health campaign has launched to help raise impotence awareness.

The groan-inducing Bowl Your Maiden Over campaign (get it?) hopes to raise awareness of impotence treatments in men over 40. Fronted by former England bowler and I’m a Celebrity star Phil Tufnell (pictured, right), the campaign hopes to encourage men to, as King of the Jungle Phil puts it, “get down to your GP and make sure your kit is in order”.

Postscript can’t help but think of other bad cricket euphemisms. Sticky wickets, playing with balls and gripping your cricket bat all spring to mind. In fact, cricket seems to have a lot of euphemisms tucked away: you wouldn’t want the windies or runs either. Find out more about the campaign here.

Two Milton Keynes pharmacists will next week give up the comfort of their pharmacies to drive halfway round the world in 10-year-old VW Polos.

In what they describe as “a moment of collective madness”, Ash Tosar of Rainbow Pharmacy, Milton Keynes, and Dinesh Tosar of Unidrugs Pharmacy, Northampton, have signed up to the Mongol Rally 2009.

With no set course to follow and no en route support, Ash, Dinesh and six fellow drivers of their Bharat Express team will be left to their own devices to navigate the 10,000-mile drive to Mongolia via 17 other countries. In doing so, they are hoping to raise money for several charities, including two local hospices.

To donate, click here.

A new invention got Chemist+Druggist sweating in the April 1860 issue: the invention of a hot air bath for the treatment of colds.

The strange device, called a laconicum, was basically twelve wicks stuck in a tin filled with coca stearine. The user just stripped off, shoved a lit laconicum under a cane-bottomed chair, and then sat down while hiding couple of blankets. The result was part sauna, part sweat lodge and part making a tent out of your mum’s spare duvet.

Never one to miss out on a chance to experiment, C+D decided to try it out.

“We have tested the invention,” C+D reported, “and find that it acts efficiently and pleasantly; the watery vapour produced by the combustion of the stearine producing an abundant perspiration.”

Unfortunately for soap-dodgers, the hot air bath never replaced the traditional soak in the tub. PostScript, for one, is glad – where else would it get to play with its rubber ducky than in a nice bubble bath?

Last month we asked Postscript readers to name and shame users of gobbledygook phrases, and Wensleydale pharmacist Angus Carmichael responded with zeal.

Top of his hit list are those “just calling to touch base”. Angus says: “Usually issued over the phone by a pen pusher who can’t be bothered to get out of their seat and come to see you.” His dream response? “Come anywhere near my base and I’ll knock you into the middle of next week, pal!”

Also the subject of Angus’s vitriol are those who ask him to think outside the box. “This might actually be part of the mission statement for the executive committee of the local PCT,” jokes Angus. Again he’s got a message for users of this phrase: “Don’t put yourself in the [insert suitably rude adjective here] box in the first place!”

A C+D goody bag goes to Angus.

Welsh pharmacist Hywel Jones is the proud owner of the inaugural winner at the first turf racecourse to open in Britain for over 80 years.

Mr Jones’s horse Plunkett took the first race at 15-8 when the Ffos Las track opened in Trimsaran, West Wales earlier this month.

Mr Jones told Postscript his long working hours as director of T H & L Jones pharmacies meant he rarely got to see the horses run “in the flesh”. But he added that his extracurricular passion was not so different to running a successful pharmacy.

“Like any business to succeed you have to have highly capable and motivated staff,” he said, “you must employ the best and in the trainer Evan Williams I have a great stockman.”

For several months, PostScript has been mining only the first few issues of the massive C+D archives for gleaming nuggets of the bizarre. But while walking past the dark and dingy section that houses the August 1878 issues, we struck comedy gold.

A medicine pipe – for horses.

The picture explains it all: some deranged chemist thought squirting medicines into a horse’s throat was too complicated, and figured forcing a pipe down an equine gob would more effective.

Through an elaborate system of pulleys, cogs and valves, any medicine placed in the pipe’s bowl would eventually end up in the horse’s stomach.

PostScript would tell any doubters to put that in their pipe, but given the look of sheer terror on the illustrated horse’s face, perhaps it wasn’t such a bright idea after all…

It’s that time of year again and as usual Postscript has been poring over the motions put forward for the annual conference of local medical committees (LMCs). And, happily, this year’s batch do not disappoint.

The customer may always be right, but West Penine LMC doesn’t think so. The committee suggests that “the bias inherent in the government’s obstinate commitment to a website where patients can comment on their GPs should be redressed by a similar site where GPs can rate their patients”.

Others were more frustrated with MPs, with Salford and Trafford LMC suggesting they take some of their own medicine and let their pay be affected by constituents’ views of their work. Very timely.

And Postscript can’t help thinking that GPs in Northamptonshire were on to something with their suggestion that the DH inform general practices about new relevant initiatives “before informing the BBC”.

But best of all PostScript likes the GPs in Glasgow, who suggested the motion that the conference entertainment committee “arrange a disco after the conference dinner”.

Suggestions for next year’s LPC conference motions start here.

Nelsons has won a national award for family businesses.

The natural remedies manufacturer was named Best UK Family Business in the £25m+ turnover category of the 2008/09 Coutts Prize for Family Business.

The judges commented that Nelsons had “displayed an impressive level of growth and produced a business that will flourish regardless of the economic cycle”.

The prize is a choice of: attending a four day course on ways to develop the business; producing a portfolio of photographs conveying the essence of the business; or creating a video diary.

Nelsons’ business leaders, brothers Robert (behind) and Patrick Wilson, are pictured with their trophy.

An East Sussex pharmacist has scooped the singles title at the 2009 Alliance Healthcare Golf Week.

Delegates competed in two days of qualifying rounds at the Royal Seville and Motecastillo Golf Clubs in Spain before the final at the Antequera course.

Shammi Radia, of Hastings’ Laycock Chemists (pictured, right, receiving trophy), overcame long-time leader Jas Thind, of Lyminge Pharmacy, Folkestone, to take the championship and win a trip to Callaway Golf European headquarters for a fitting of custom made golf clubs.

Postscript gets all manner of quirky correspondence, but we thought this request merited sharing. If anyone can help the stricken author, email us and we’ll put you in touch.

“I have for over 40 years enjoyed the use of Monsieur de Givenchy aftershave (the striking blue-coloured Lotion Après Rasage – not Eau De Toilette), but sadly Givenchy stopped making this product some years ago. Only Harrods in UK continued to offer it for a time, but their stock is now exhausted ... now I can find no trace – and cannot identify any other product that I like. Givenchy themselves cannot help.

“Does any stockist among your readers have some on their shelves? If so, I would be delighted to hear from them.”

Stop thinking if you want to live! Evidence dusted off from the March 1860 issue of C+D showed that exercising your brain cells too much is a quick route to the grave.

“According to a Professor Dickson, of America,” reported C+D, “men die ordinarily by the wear and derangement of the organs of which they make the most use.”

The evidence? “Adams and Webster made perpetual and unrelenting use of their strong brains, which at least yielded, fatigued and exhausted.”

Right. So two geniuses die of brain fatigue, and that proves the theory.

PostScript remains sceptical, but wonders how Professor Dickson would predict the demise of various celebrities. Would he see David Beckham dying of a stubbed toe, Brian Blessed of a strained larynx or Angelina Jolie of an overextended trout pout? The mind boggles.

Oh, and please don’t email in to tell us what you might die from. PostScript can already guess what you’re going to say.

C+D Awards compere Paul Thorne (right) brought the house down with his jokes at the glittering ceremony last week, but one part of his routine didn’t quite go according to plan.

At one point Paul decided to ask an audience member what he did for a living. “I run…” began the guest. Paul launched into a selection of jokes, before pausing for clarification.

“What do you run?” the Comedy Store star asked. The guest pointed to the stage’s backdrop, prompting Paul to ask whether he could make the lights flash from his dinner table

A grinning John Turk pointed to a sign depicting the Awards’ associated sponsor. “I run the National Pharmacy Association.”

The audience were suitably amused by Paul’s faux pas but it was only when John presented an award that Paul became aware of his gaffe. If only the photographer had caught Paul’s moment of realisation, Postscript would pay good money for it.

Fictional pharmacists are always moustache-twirling villains or mildly psychotic, it seems. Postscript has already mentioned the murderous pharmacist in Desperate Housewives, the slaverycondoning pharmacist in Family Guy and the zombie-slaying pharmacist in 28 Days Later. Now a new show from the USA has introduced another variation: the drugdealing sex maniac pharmacist.

Nurse Jackie is a new black comedy starring Sopranos star Edie Falco as the title character, who treats patients while zonked out on opioids supplied by her pharmacist lover, Eddie.

TV channel Showtime describes the pharmacist as a man who “showers Jackie with love and the painkiller Percocet”, adding: “Eddie is sleeping with Jackie in the pharmacy from time to time.”

So, another good role model for young pharmacists, then…

How do you solve a problem like the adulteration of medicines? A bill from March 1860 suggested the solution was to name and shame those responsible.

“Every dishonest shopkeeper who knowingly sells an article of food or drink…injurious to the health of the purchaser…is liable to be brought before two Justices of the Peace,” stated the bill. If found guilty, a first offence would have been punishable by a fine of several pounds and pence.

It might sound lenient by today’s standards, but the gloves really came for a second offence. “If convinced of a second similar offence, his name and crime will be published at his own expense, the choice of the advertising medium being left to the ‘two justices’.”

While PostScript likes the idea (and would choose a giant advertising balloon as its medium, in case you were wondering), C+D’s editor in 1860 wasn’t a fan. He slammed the bill’s designers as “unskilful though well-meaning” and refused to endorse it.

Spoilsport.

Last week, pharmacy was rocked by its biggest scandal since pharmacy minister Phil Hope announced he was to pay back £40,000 of expenses: someone may have tampered with C+D’s online Dispensary Talk poll.

We know. Shock, horror. Grab your pitchforks and burning torches. If the result of an online C+D poll isn’t safe, what is?

On the Monday, the poll for the most popular recent RPSGB president showed Steve Churton with a healthy 70 per cent of the vote. Gillian Hawksworth had less than 10 per cent. Then, in one evening, the number of votes doubled: all of them supporting Ms Hawksworth.

A voting race between the two fanbases gathered pace, and by the time the poll closed the number of votes cast were for more than the previous three Dispensary Talks combined.

Postscript isn’t suggesting either candidate was involved. And maybe they’re just really popular. And their supporters like to vote en masse. On a Tuesday. Perhaps while parading around with a little figurine of their fave president.

But Postscript thinks something smells a bit fishy, and will keep an eye out for any irregularities in future polls.

Worried about what to get for that special someone? C+D had the answer in its March, 1860 issue, with a list of “books for presents”.

Not that any of them sound particularly riveting.Widow Green and Her Three Nieces – pitched at the time as “a suitable present for domestics” – hasn’t exactly remained a perennial bestseller. It’s currently available to read online for free (if you’re  interested).

For the lush of the family, 10 different kinds of Publications for the Suppression of Intemperance were available from C+D.Never before had it been so easy to give a thoughtful gift and condemn a lifestyle choice at the same time.

And who wouldn’t want their kids to own Uncle John’s “profusely illustrated” Songs and Hymns for the Little Ones?

Then again, given the current crop of celebrity autobiographies, the adventures of Widow Green et al. might not be such a bad choice after all.

Doctors have rallied against the use of jargon in the health service.

Delegates at the annual BMA consultants’ meeting took umbrage at

those who call patients “service users” or “clients”. Another example of “gobbledygook” given was the phrase “proof of concept”, used to describe a pilot.

This struck a chord with Postscript, having recently been politely asked by a government spokesperson whether we’d mind not using the word “pilot” and instead  substitute the catchy “scoping exercise”. Quite what the vital difference is, we’re still not sure.

But we are sure there must be other great examples of jargon out there in the acronym-laden world of pharmacy. Is there a particular word or phrase that drives you crazy? Name and shame the perpetrator(s) by emailing postscript@cmpmedica.com.

… and for three members of the C+D team they did just that for 100 miles in a single day, when they all successfully completed the 100 mile Kent Castle Ride.

Tom Hawkins and projects director Patrick Grice had been persuaded by commercial director Ruth McKay that this would be a pleasant way to spend a Sunday – and raise almost £500 for children’s charity Action Medical Research.

After starting at Tonbridge Castle, by lunchtime at Headcorn the trio had completed 56 miles in strong headwinds and endured a two hour drenching. Oh, and after complaining she hadn’t had much practice fixing punctures, Ruth (pictured, right, with Patrick) had managed four by then.

But the weather looked up in the afternoon as the route reached its southernmost point at Bodiam Castle before heading north back to Tonbridge. It being the Garden of England, the route included the odd hill or two, so after 11 hours on the road the finish was a welcome sight!

C+D turned detective in its February 1860 issue, solving the deaths of 850 patients. Well, OK – 850 sheep.

Mr Elliot, a chemist in Berwick, had supplied some arsenic-containing sheep dip to a local farmer, Mr Black. Mr Black had proceeded to dunk his sheep, only to have 850 promptly kick the bucket from arsenic poisoning. Mr Black then sued the chemist over his deceased livestock.

“The action was unjustly brought to a conclusion in favour of the plaintiff, damages allowed £1,400,” C+D reported – more than £100k in today’s money.

But how did the arsenic enter the sheep’s digestive tract? C+D came up with a solution.

“Mr Black neglected (as directed) to wring the moisture well out of the wool,” asserted C+D. “The consequence was the solution containing the poison dripped over the pasture, and was together with the grass taken into the mouth and thence into the stomachs of the sheep that died.”

Elementary, my dear Watson. And not a bad piece of deduction, considering Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t be invented for another 27 years.

Aberdeen pharmacists had a ball, literally, last month to drum up £10,000 to support the Archie Foundation for the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.

A total of 160 people descended on the Douglas Hotel in Aberdeen for an evening of dancing organised by husband and wife team Brian and Fiona Arris, pictured right, with other pharmacists in their Aberdeen group.

A raffle and charity auction helped to raise £6,000 on the night, which was added to £4,000 raised by the pharmacy group through bingo nights, quizzes, raffles and a charity run.

Brian said “This was our first large scale charity event and we are very proud of the amount raised for the Archie Foundation. We really appreciate the hard work and effort put in by our colleagues and friends.”

Pharmacists’ little helpers took to the fore in the January 1860 issue of C+D, as a “poor, plodding assistant” bemoaned his “15 or 16 hours of incessant toil”.

Writing under the pseudonym ‘Synovitis’, the assistant highlighted the plight of those in his “wretched position”, who were paid just 20 shillings a week for their labour.

He wrote: “The working man begins and ends work at 6 o’clock. The assistant begins at 7 and finishes at 10, 11 or even later than that. On Saturday the working man finishes at 2, while the assistant has to toil on till midnight. On Sunday, the working man is at perfect liberty; not so the assistant – he must attend, some all and most the greater part of the day.”

Synovitis might feel hard done by, but PostScript takes a different view. If Synovitis had enough time to skive off and write letters, perhaps he wasn’t being worked hard enough after all…

PostScript will think twice about accepting drinks from strange pharmacists following the gleeful reminisces about Brompton cocktails at the RPSGB branch representatives meeting.

What might to the uninitiated have sounded like a naughty evening tipple akin to moonshine was quickly revealed to be something more poisonous in nature. The ingredients of the 1920s elixir were heroin, cocaine and alcohol, the idea being to ease the passing of terminally ill patients with pain relief that would also quicken their demise.

Once reportedly used to bump off King George V so that his death could be reported by The Times rather than the evening papers, the mixture is now banned. But that didn’t stop one branch representative recalling for the benefit of his audience how, as a teenager whose highest qualification was a swimming badge, he concocted the potion in the back of his dad’s pharmacy.

PostScript is getting on a bit now but, from we do know about teenagers, feel sure that giving them ready access to alcohol and mood-enhancing drugs is asking for trouble…

Tarnished honour, demands for satisfaction and pistols at dawn were the order of the day in Victorian Cornwall, according to the January 1860 issue of Chemist+Druggist.

In what was described as “a laughable occurrence”, the son of a pharmacist and the son of a “retired gentleman” in Venn, Cornwall fought a duel over a local girl who’d caught their eye.

According to C+D, neither of the frisky Romeos were willing to back down and take a cold bath, leaving the two dopes with no option but to try and blow the other’s head off. Or, at least, pretend to try.

“They fired two rounds each,” reported C+D, “neither wishing to hit the other, because they regarded their own lives better than to give them up for the person they were fighting for.”

And they say romance is dead…

If you were planning to visit China’s first safe-sex theme park, you’re in for a disappointment: the Chinese government has sent in the bulldozers before it could even open its gates.

Love Land, which was due to open in Chongqing, was to have offered workshops on safe sex and AIDS but the Chinese government has torn down the park, with officials reportedly describing it as “ill-minded”.

Park manager Lu Xiaoqing had said the park was “for the good of the public”, telling China Daily he would “pay attention and not make the park look vulgar and nasty”.

The entrance featured a giant rotating statue of a man in briefs, and the main attraction would have been a giant replica genital mounted on a wall.

Sounds tasteful enough to us…

Gordon Ramsey and Kylie Minogue should get together, according to Gaviscon. In one of the most tenuous links ever devised, the heartburn medication decided to celebrate its Double Action formula by working out which celebrity couple would be the most powerful if brought together. The Gaviscon team put a lot of effort into it. They had equations and everything.

Inexplicably, chef Ramsey and pint-sized Antipodean popstar Kylie topped the bill as the duo that would have the most “influence on the public if brought together”.

PostScript shudders at the thought of the strange post-apocalyptic world these two would rule if combined: a land of foul-mouthed tirades by women in hotpants and terrible attempts at acting by ex-footballers.

Wait a moment…

How’s your arithmetic, orthography and calligraphy, geography, geometry, Latin, Greek, French and German? If the answer is ‘a bit rusty’ or worse, you wouldn’t make the grade as a pharmacist, according to Mr Haselden in the January 1860 issue of C+D.

The subjects were part of Mr Haselden’s proposed syllabus for all pharmacists to study before they began their apprenticeship. Other subjects included “practical pharmacy, chemistry and toxicology, material medica and botany”.

But not all pharmacists thought making education compulsory was a good idea.

“We conclude such remarks are absurd and monstrous,” complained Mr T Anderson. “If Mr Haselden thinks it possible to carry them out, why does not he recommend the Apothecaries’ Hall as the asylum after all the expense and labour which he would necessitate?”

Mr Anderson continued to whinge: “It would not become the dignity of any man educated upon the system proposed by Mr Haselden to be a mere vendor of drugs, oils and paints.

“There is and always will be a necessity for a highly educated and intelligent, but necessarily limited class, who stand at the head of the profession… we have no faith in compulsory education for the large body of the profession.”

PostScript is breathing a sigh of relief Mr Anderson didn’t get his way, and that some sort of education is now expected for those wanting to practise pharmacy. That said, PostScript is also pretty relieved it wasn’t forced to study geometry and Latin at University, too…

PostScript avoided the cinema last weekend to escape the crowds of pudding-bowled, pointy-eared Vulcans and pasty-headed Klingons going to see the new Star Trek movie. Instead, it decided to check out the latest medical innovations… and ended up right back in the realm of doctors McCoy and Crusher.

In finest Star Trek technobabble, Imperial College London and Pfizer are currently working on a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detector, a nifty little gizmo that checks a patient’s genetic suitability to different drugs.

The hand-held device, called the Snip Doctor, will eventually be able to analyse a swab and rapidly churn out a result, helping GPs prescribe the most suitable treatment for the patient. It’s unknown if it will make little ‘whee-whoop’ noises during the scan.

Here’s hoping it will let the profession boldly go where no pharmacist has gone before.

England’s youths needed a good war to straighten them out, C+D’s January 1860 issue announced.

Despite professing that “like one of Dickens’s heroes, we have a strong predilection for ‘facts’, particularly for those which bear upon Chemistry and Pharmacy”, pharmacy issues were in the main relegated to a small mention in passing.

PostScript can only hope it doesn’t go quite so far off tangent in its weekly round-up.

Scorning the collapse of poisons legislation and other subjects relevant to pharmacy, the editor of the time decided C+D was the perfect soap-box to revel in the glory of war.

“We are glad to see the youth of England abandoning the billard cue for the rifle, and practising the ‘goose-step’ in lieu of the Varsovienne,” he declared in a bellicose rant about the Indian Mutiny, China and Italy.

PostScript knows pharmacists will have heard health minister Alan Johnson denounce the use of face masks to defend against swine flu, and so is taking a strange delight in the myriad of bizarre gob-coverers on display around the world.

A quick glance on the internet reveals galleries of decorative surgical masks to protect against piggy flu that would put even Michael Jackson to shame.

Moustaches, butterflies, skulls, and even grins like Batman’s nemesis The Joker have been scribbled onto the protective gear by worried – yet style-conscious – patients around the world.

Even if swine flu begins to dissipate, maybe surgical masks are destined to become the must-have fashion accessory of the summer. It’s only a matter of time before a celebrity starts sporting one…

Congratulations to the London Chemist Golf Society (right), which celebrates its centenary this year.

The society, which was a sponsor of the inaugural Ryder Cup, is always looking for new members.

Since its foundation in 1909 the society has enabled members to network, playing around North and West London and holding society days at Sunningdale, St Georges Hill and Moor Park amongst others.

The trophies members continue to battle for reflect the changes in pharmacy, with prizes such as the Yardley Cup, Sanger Cup and Aspro Nicholas Trophy still up for grabs.

Arthur Daines, captain of the society, said: “In these days of gloomy predictions it is nice to be able to talk about a celebration.

“It is of some debate as to whether our society is the oldest of its kind in England, but we continue to thrive thanks to the support of our sponsors and have a current membership of 110.”

For more information see: www.lcgs.co.uk

A London pharmacist has been awarded a Mayor’s award for improving quality of life for local people, beyond paid-for services.

Inderpal Singh Birdi, of Arms Chemist, was presented with the Civic Award by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Mr Birdi’s proud wife told C+D: “Most weeks he puts in an average of 80 hours a week and has often travelled back to London from social engagements, some times as far as from Birmingham, to provide urgent medication to the terminally ill patients.”

With the recent sunshine inevitably prompting people to start booking their summer holidays, you may soon be inundated with an influx of people looking for advice on combating seasickness. But perhaps there’s a potential customer demand you’ve been overlooking in this market? Next time, suggest Mrs Bloggs takes home some extra of your recommended remedy for Freddie the Goldfish. Yes, that’s right: fish get seasick, too.

This is the conclusion of Dr Reinhold Hilbig, a German zoologist who took 49 fish in their aquarium up in a plane which nose-dived to simulate loss of gravity. Dr Hilbig said: “The fish lost their orientation, they became completely confused and looked as if they were about to vomit.”

PostScript would love to know what a fish looks like when it’s about to hurl – photographic evidence would be much appreciated.

Calling all chocolate-lovers. If the passing of Easter has left you feeling bereft of your favourite treat, PostScript has some good news for you.

University of Aberdeen researchers are calling for healthy volunteers to help them study how flavonoid compounds in dark chocolate might protect against heart disease.

In delightful irony, according to PostScript’s rusty German (spot the PostScript theme this week) the surname of one of the researchers, Luisa Ostertag, translates as ‘Easter day’ – coincidence, nein?

If you’re interested in taking part in the study, contact Luisa Ostertag on 01224 716693 or l.ostertag@abdn.ac.uk.

*That’s the University of the Bleeding Obvious. PostScript is aware that we’ve probably gone about this before but, honestly, we would like to know who dreams up some of the research that clogs up our inbox on a daily basis.

If osteoporosis suffers don’t take their biphosphonate treatment they suffer more fractures and money is wasted. You don’t say. Children with low self-control are more likely to become overweight in later life. Really?

And another of our recent favourites: patients prescribed hypnotics are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents. Well, yes, that’s why the packets advise patients not to drive while taking them.

In addition, in a in-no-way-comprehensive-or-scientific perusal of the cancer risk emails that also flood in, PostScript has concluded that it is safe to eat only raw broccoli and tomatoes. The possible effects of nutrient deficiencies from such a restricted diet are another matter altogether.

What do you call a Welshman dressed as a banana? Well, if you spot one in this Sunday’s 2009 London Marathon (April 26), it’s likely to be Asda superintendent John Evans.

John (pictured completing 2008’s race in his trademark costume) is running on behalf of three-year-old leukaemia sufferer Seth Mills, who is currently recovering from a stem cell transplant. John hopes to raise £2,000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust, to help children like Seth and their families.

John completed 2008’s race in a very impressive three hours 51 minutes, but of this year’s hopes he cautions: “I am a lot older this year…”

You can sponsor John’s effort’s here.

Did you run the London Marathon this year? Email us your stories and pictures.

Imagine a computer game about pharmacy. Now imagine it’s set in the wild west and you play a one-eared gunslinger-turned-dispenser. Oh, and make sure that, between OTC sales, you can date a sheep named Olga.

If, somehow, you can picture this bizarre combination, you’re probably coming close to a weird little computer game PostScript discovered while cleaning out its hovel.

Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist is a comic adventure game released by Sierra in 1993. The player controls the titular hero as he battles ruthless robber barons, resolves flatulence epidemics and saves the town from a snail stampede.

The game begins with a five-minute cowboy ballad, justifying pharmacy as the profession of choice for gunslingers: “He’d be better off, he reckoned; with the lifelong dream that always beckoned; pestles, not pistols, and pharmacology.”

Within an hour of play PostScript was totally bemused: the first puzzle involves sobering up the town doctor to clarify an illegible script.

You then need to resolve a prescribing error that otherwise results in a very hirsute brothel madam, before flogging pile cream to a prospector.

As the game’s plot unfolds, Freddy labours to save the town from a cornucopia of disasters in increasingly bizarre fashion: he extinguishes fires using playground swings and hurls sharpened prosthetic ears at bandits.

Even the game’s manual continues the quirky sense of humour. The back of the tome contains a completely fictitious pharmacopeia full of quack remedies and joke advice.

As an adventure game, Freddy Pharkas is average; as a pharmacy simulator it’s surreal. But it stands alone in promoting the profession to a different audience. Freddy, PostScript salutes you.

“Galvanism! Its salutary effects now brought within the reach of everyone,” screamed an ad in the December 1859 issue of C+D.

And what is galvanism, you ask? Basically, it’s casual electrocution.

Patronised by several European heads of state (Queen Victoria, the Empress of Austria and Napoleon III were apparently fans), “Pulvermacher’s patent galvano-anti-rheumatic chain-band” promised to bring the “miraculous power of galvanic electricity” into every home as some kind of panacea.

One hundred and fifty years on, PostScript can confidently say it failed miserably.

Whether it’s a slight sniffle or a bout of serious man flu, viruses are one thing we all have to suffer.

But thanks to brain boxes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, viral infections might just have found a purpose: reusable energy.

After convincing a virus strain to coat itself in iron phosphate, the team then persuaded it to latch on to a carbon nanotube – no, PostScript doesn’t know what one of those is, either – and form a rather fancy rechargeable battery.

According to researchers, MP3 players, mobile phones and even the cars of tomorrow could be powered by bacteria infected with strands of genetic code, providing a cheap and green energy source.

The future’s a scary place, isn’t it?

“I wish to caution the trade against an unprincipled scoundrel who is travelling the country, and selling a worthless trash called ‘Woolfenberg’s Vermin Exterminator’,” ranted one correspondent in the December 1859 issue of C+D.

The Woolfenburg salesman’s pitch apparently consisted of “the exhibition of a lot of dirty old newspapers”, closely followed by a promise that “his man will follow in about a week to well bill the neighbourhood”.

Sadly, as you’ve no doubt realised, the Woolfenburg formula was junk. “I gave it (as directed) to a mouse,” wrote the correspondent, “which appeared to relish it amazingly.”

It seems Dickensian rogues and rakes (as well as bounders and cads) were common in Victorian Britain. But if someone tried to flog you pesticide by displaying some scabby news cuttings today, what would you do?

PostScript can’t imagine many pharmacists would be suckered in.

Condoms for dogs. Really. Did they actually think PostScript would fall for that? April Fools Day was always going to throw up a few quirky news stories, but the supposed launch of the Condog was probably the best of the bunch.

The press release from condom manufacturer Pasante claimed the device was a veterinary breakthrough. It warned that masses of marauding canines “arrive at animal centres pregnant due to their owners not being able to afford fees for essential operations such as castration”.

Hang on a minute. Pregnant because the dog wasn’t castrated? PostScript can’t remember much anatomy, but it’s pretty sure dogs with dangly bits don’t get knocked up.

Still, it was a nice try for an April Fools joke.

Shark-surrounded water slides, James Bond, night time camel rides, and chocolate-coated flumps for breakfast... the Numark conference in Dubai had it all this year. Hosted at the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island built in the shape of a palm tree, the conference was never going to be a low-key affair.

PostScript couldn’t help but fall in love with E P Hornby’s 150-year-old article “Boiled bones and guano, which is the best and cheapest fertilizer?”

The feature, taking pride of place in the December 1859 issue of C+D, billed itself as tackling a matter that “none exceed in importance” – a claim that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration.

Still, Mr Hornby was so dedicated to this burning question he felt the need to launch into a full cost-benefit analysis, happily waxing lyrical about the effect decomposed remains “moistened with liquid manure” can have on the garden.

The author ended by explaining how to apply his excrement-bone mix (“a good dressing is required for grass or seeds”) and advising the reader “manufacture for himself” the strange fertilizer.

PostScript will pass, thanks.

Most people would get the sack for spending their days navel-gazing, but Austrian chemist Georg Steinhauser has turned it into a science.

In a painstaking study of belly button fluff, published in Medical Hypotheses, Dr Steinhauser plumbed the depths of his navel to collect 503 pieces of lint, a total weighing in at almost 1g.

After thorough research and CHNS elemental analysis, he concluded that the fluff matched the shirt he’d worn that day.

Believing his barbed tummy hair trapped shirt fibres, Dr Steinhauser proceeded to shave his belly; the offending fluff soon failed to materialise, supporting his theory.

“Questioning male friends, colleagues and family members supported the hypothesis,” Dr Steinhauser asserted confidently.

It’s good to know science is dedicated to answering the big questions…

The Co-operative Pharmacy is celebrating after raising £7,500 in a charity auction for the Donna Louise Children’s Hospital.

The auction was held during the Co-operative Pharmacy’s annual supplier conference at Alton Towers. Guests were invited to bid on everything from laptops and Rolex watches to a box at Old Trafford, home ground of Manchester United.

Presenting the cheque to the charity were The Co-operative Pharmacy's Rachel Croft, Gordon Farquhar and Marc Shilton (pictured, left to right, with Sylvia Pearl, fundraising manager for The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice).

This year is C+D’s 150^th birthday. Join us as we explore the stories that interested pharmacists back in 1859.

Given the title of this feature, PostScript finds it fitting to kick off by echoing the warnings of Mr P. Rolfe of Gravesend, who fell victim to the mysterious ‘Dr Jones’.

‘Dr Jones’, Mr Rolfe explained, was “a man in advanced years and of gentlemanly appearance” who claimed to be setting up a practice in the town.

He wrote a prescription and asked Mr Rolfe to dispense some supplies, promising money to follow.

After a month without payment, Mr Rolfe chased up his visitor, only to discover “he had, to use the landlady’s expression, ‘bolted’, and is a regular swindler.”

Mr Rolfe signed off with a request for other pharmacists to let him know if ‘Dr Jones’ struck again.

Dr Jones sounds like a real snake, but PostScript loves the story; as a slightly mroe famous Dr Jones would say: "It belongs in a museum."

Congratulations to Tesco pharmacy assistant Deborah Bonwick, who has won an iPod Classic courtesy of cold sore treatment Cymex Ultra.

To celebrate Cymex Ultra’s launch, manufacturer Actavis ran a competition in C+D last October, in which pharmacists and pharmacy staff asked to answer three questions about cold sores and the product.

Ms Bonwick beat off competition from over 200 other entries to claim the prize.

There is no such thing as a bad medicine, and there is no drug like victory.

These were the sentiments that triumphed at The Great Pharmacy Debate, a national competition for secondary schools held at the RPSGB museum on Friday, March 13.

Over 50 science students aged 14-16 from 10 schools competed in four rounds of debates on medicines and health, under the critical eye of the judges – eight pharmacy students.

A trophy based on a copy of an 18^th century drug jar in the museum’s collection was won by St Francis Xavier College, Liverpool, which proposed the motion ‘This House believes there is no such thing as a bad medicine’.

Winning team members Daniel Keely, Matthew Handley and Matthew Oldham said: “Today has been a fantastically positive experience – there’s no drug like victory!”

Some would say it’s barking mad to put a pet’s health ahead of your own, but this week Postscript came across a new study that puts a whole new spin on the old ‘me or the dog’ dilemma.

The study, published in the BMJ, put the fact that second-hand smoke affects animals to smokers with a pet, asking if that would make them quit. Around one third of participants, previously unfazed about their habit, said they would try and give up to save their animal companion.

Postscript predicts this study could be a useful angle for pharmacy smoking cessation services. With the number of pet owners in the country, the initiative couldn’t hurt, and perhaps a puppy poster would have more impact than the deluge of medical information available… who can resist those eyes?

The Six Nations Championship is always guaranteed to excite good-natured national passion, but one pharmacist has taken the fun to the streets.

Rob Davies has hung up banners in front of his pharmacy near Maesteg in South Wales to celebrate Wales’ matches in the rugby union tournament.

Mr Davies told PostScript the banners, which started out as a bit of fun, have been embraced by the local community. He said: “The local populace love it. It’s a talking point.”

Mr Davies’ latest banner, black with a commiseratory “C’est la vie…”, came after the coq gaulois of France defeated a Welsh team chasing back-to-back titles.

Whether Wales win or lose their remaining games against Italy and Ireland, PostScript can’t wait to see what messages festoon Mr Davies’ pharmacy.

Postscript reveals what went on beyond the business sessions at the Sigma Conference in Mombasa, Kenya

Bradford tops league table

Twenty-plus generics manufacturers lined up to sponsor the event, and were enthusiastically thanked by Sigma MD Bharat Shah at every available opportunity. But no amount of money can buy the kind of exposure one institution got in Mombasa. Starting with Dr Karanja Ngugi, chair of the Kenya Pharmaceutical Society, speaker after speaker got up onto the podium to declare their allegiance to a particular UK School of Pharmacy, leading Mr Shah’s son (and yet another fellow alumnus) Hatul to declare the conference’s theme to be: “You are nothing if you didn’t got to Bradford.”

Hidden talent

A certain IPF chairman earned himself some admirers when the conference chair let slip that he was a British rally champion. And, at the risk of Emerald Isle clichés, anyone hoping to find the Irishman to discuss hill-jumping and handbrake turns probably didn’t have to look far, if his waxing lyrical about the bar sunken into the pool was anything to go by.

Wanted: pharmacy’s Aishwarya Rai

A Bollywood-inspired show by the Baobab resort’s entertainment group elicited such rapturous applause from delegates that they were treated to back to back performances – and a third the following evening. Then it was our turn, as event organisers Citibond Travel offered two flights to Dubai for the best dancing couple. PostScript spotted one NPA boss giving it his best shot, but the prize was stolen by Mr and Mrs Sharma, of Niti Pharmacy in Waltham Cross.

Conference charity

Conference delegates left some goodwill with their host city by donating clothing, bedding and stationary to the local Kwale School for mentally and physically handicapped children, after a plea by Citibond. The response was “huge”, with some delegates arriving with “casefuls” of donations. “The pleasure on the childrens faces was the most satisfying outcome,” Citibond said.

Yet another duo of on-screen pharmacists has joined our rogues gallery of fictional dispensers.

First we have Russell Norton, confidant of main character Grace in US sitcom Grace Under Fire.

But Postscript is more impressed to add Selena, the machete-wielding pharmacist in Danny Boyle flick 28 Days Later, to the collection.

After surviving a zombie apocalypse with barely a hair out of place, Selena – played by actress Naomie Harris – then takes on a British Army unit led by former Dr Who Christopher Eccelston.

At the end of the film, Selena is still standing; the zombies and Eccelston are not.

Thanks to Robert Fox of Gomersal Pharmacy for alerting Postscript to these glaring omissions.

Postscript regularly updates this column, and so is a little concerned at recent comments suggesting the hours spent tapping away on the web are affecting its health.

Taking a poke at Facebook and other social networking sites, psychologist Dr Aric Sigman has claimed the reduced face-to-face interaction caused by goggling at the computer all night is playing havoc with the nation’s physiology.

Reduced social contact, Dr Sigman concludes in his article in The Biologist, can lead to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality.

Postscript intends to use this information wisely; it’s the perfect justification for more trips to the pub.

Postscript called for your examples of TV pharmacists, and the profession has answered. Step forward Mort Goldman, cartoon chemist in hit show Family Guy (with thanks to PS reader Stella Shaw).

Mort is a Stat Com just waiting to happen. He chases deaf people out of his shop with a broom, sells vats of vomit-inducing ipecacuanha syrup for fun and even accepts daughters as payment.

And as if running a dispensary with flagrant disregard for law and ethics didn’t keep him busy enough, he lists his hobbies as bowling, medieval jousting and hanging out with actress Jennifer Love-Hewitt.

Other readers have pointed out a sketch from the Micallef Programme, which reveals the struggle of day-to-day practice. “When a prescription comes in,” explains the pharmacist, “we have to type the patient’s name on a label. Traditionally we use two fingers and try to complete the task in 10 to 15 minutes.”

If only they knew…

Are we forgetting a fictional pharmacist? Email us

Valentine’s Day either sends your heart aflutter with joyous romance or makes you sick to your stomach as you’re force-fed a saccharine glut of chocolates, cards and bow-toting angels. And, as you would expect for a day fuelled by passion, Postscript has been inundated by scientific revelations centred around the magic of love.

The pick of the bunch of this one was a video by Professor Martyn Poliakoff of the University of Nottingham, who treats web users to an eight minute video unravelling the mysteries of why chocolate melts in your mouth but not in your hand, and how roses manage to bloom in a deep, romantic red.

The video opens with a admirer delivering a bouquet of roses and a box of choccies. Being a romantic sort, the Professor proceeds to dunk his presents in liquid nitrogen.

Find out what happens next here.

PostScript is confident globe-trotting pharmacists know where Tristan Da Cunha sits on the map, but admits it had to embark on a quick web search to find it. The volcanic island in the south Atlantic – accessible only by boat – has now received a helping hand in the form of an up-to-date pharmacy system from a Northern Ireland company.

Learning of the island’s need for a pharmacy system after an acute outbreak of viral-induced asthma, Belfast-based McLernon Computers donated the software through NI-CO, an organisation financed by the Department for International Development.

The remote island’s only doctor is scheduled to fly to Belfast in March to receive training on the system, which NI-CO said would highlight “the important role the pharmacist plays in the delivery of healthcare”.

C+D’s October 1859 issue may lie a-mouldering in our archives but pharmacy’s soul keeps marching on, PostScript has found. The opening editorial of the issue – which came out the day before John Brown’s Harper’s Ferry raid – brings to life the opinions of its readers and the range of issues that bothered them.

Foremost was the Pharmaceutical Society, the subject of withheld letters that “contained attacks which appeared to us to be too severe”. C+D’s editorial staff still chipped in with their own thoughts, though, slamming the Society’s Council and stating that their experience was “not calculated to raise our opinion of their freedom from cliquism…nor indeed of their attributes as gentlemen”.

Harsh words indeed. PostScript wonders whatC+D's first editor would have to say on the future professional body...

C+D gained an unusual fan last week – a 6ft snow-pharmacist.

This boost to our readership was created by the team at Boots’ Burnham branch as the country stuttered to a halt under the worst snowfall for almost two decades.

Pharmacist Bobby Mehta (pictured, left, with our new friend and trainee dispenser Josie Aldridge) thanked delivery driver Ray Smith (just seen behind) for holding up C+D for the snowman to read.

“What pharmacist could possibly be seen without the one and only C&D?” asked Mr Mehta.

“He seemed fascinated, ironically, by the edition with the front cover headline regarding climate change!”

A clear-out at the offices of wholesaler Ambe Medical Group has unveiled a surprise find – the 1914 Chemist&Druggist Summer Issue.

Published just one week before the outbreak of the war to end all wars, the antique tome – more of a book than a magazine – was around long before Ambe was in operation.

So quite how it found its way to the wholesaler’s offices is something of a mystery. Ambe owner Sandeep Patel said: “I guess we have collected all these things over the years and then we just dug it out.” Some long-forgotten Pfizer share certificates were among the spring cleaners other finds.

Jokes Sandeep of his C+D heritage discovery: “I don’t know what we should do with it, really – frame it?”

Northern pharmacists have raised more than £11,000 for Mesothelioma Research.

Gateshead & South Tyneside and Sunderland LPCs joined forces to host a charity dinner, where local MP David Anderson presented a cheque to Gateshead mayor Maureen Chaplin, who suffers from mesothelioma.

“The publicity we have generated and the money we have raised show the extent of pharmacy’s influence within our communities,” said Sami Hanna, vice-chairman of Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC (pictured, front, with LPC colleagues).

The dinner was a culmination of a series of fundraising events (C+D November 22 p38) during Lung Cancer Awareness Month, including a bike ride and a sponsored walk. In total, the activities starred a staggering 135 pharmacies, 170 walkers, 40 cyclists, 12 young children, a few dogs and one horse.

A gruelling two half-marathons, a mile’s swim, a sky dive and the Three Peaks Challenge is no small task, but that’s exactly what a UniChem pharmacy development manager intends to complete.

Jo Baldwin (pictured, centre) and pharmaceutical industry friends Lauren and Bryn Winder are planning the exhausting regimen to drum up funds for Malawi healthcare.

“Appreciating our NHS, we feel very strongly about helping a country like Malawi, which has very little in comparison,” Jo told C+D. The sponsorship money raised will be used to support healthcare surveillance assistants, fund drugs purchases and buy bicycle ambulances.

Three pharmacies in Jo’s Birmingham and Wolverhampton area have already registered their support for her efforts by placing posters and collecting tins in their stores. To add your support and sponsor the group, go to www.justgiving.com/supportmalawi

Dollar Rae has celebrated the career of one of its longest-serving employees with a retirement party.

After more than 40 years of service, Ian Dawson has retired as contracts manager at the pharmacy design and shopfitting company.

Ian (pictured, right, with Dollar Rae MD John Hilditch) is now looking forward to winding down and focusing on the important things in life: DIY, walking, cycling and his family.

Girls are choosing careers in medicine because they love hospital programmes such as ER and Casualty, newspaper The Times has reported a leading head teacher as saying.

Which got PostScript thinking there may be a lack of pharmacists on mainstream TV. C+D news editor Max Gosney has previously bemoaned the lack of pharmacist superheros in the comic books (C+D, November 15, page 3). And where are the pharmacist heroes – or even just regular characters – in the lives depicted on the box?

Why aren’t the residents of Eastenders and Coronation Street bemoaning their various dramas at the chemist’s counter, while picking up EHC or chlamydia testing kits? In fact, the only pharmacist TV character PostScript can think of is the evil one on America’s Desperate Housewives.

If you can think of other examples, let us know – or tell us who you’d have playing the pharmacist in your favourite show.

postscript@cmpmedica.com

Rugby star James Hook caused a ruckus by visiting a Bridgend pharmacy for a blood pressure check.

The Ospreys and Wales fly-half received the test from pharmacist Ahmed Mansaray at Co-operative Pharmacy’s Pyle store.

C+D celebrates its 150^th birthday this year, and Postscript will be squinting back through the mists of time and taking a look at the first issues of C+D, published in 1859.

Back then, C+D was a monthly circular. As well as delivering trade news, it also provided notice of world events, music festivals and even the movements of Queen Victoria.

There was one complaint, however. “Do you not think that, instead of a monthly, it should be a weekly paper?” wrote RH Lowe. “If the surgeons can support two, if not three, weeklies, surely the Chemists – quite as numerous and respectable a class – can support one?”

As the Editor at the time stated: “We shall be happy to supply a weekly paper if the demand justifies the experiment.”

Postscript is relieved to see the Pope is still alive and well, despite concerns raised in the BMJ.

Noting that rugby union is followed religiously in Wales, a team from Cardiff University investigated the correlation between Welsh grand slam victories in the Six Nations tournament and papal demise.

The evidence was compelling: the previous three Popes have all died in a year when Wales won a grand slam (two dying in 1978, when Wales were really good). 

Fortunately for Benedict XVI, the current pontiff, there was no evidence that Welsh rugby victories increase the chance of smoke puffing out of the Vatican chimney.

The news no doubt comes as relief to a Wales side chasing a consecutive Six Nations title, especially to Gavin Henson, who already has one Church to worry about…

PostScript is delighted to welcome Chris Chapman to the C+D editorial team. Chris joins C+D as a reporter.

Chris initially trained as a pharmacist and, after pre-registration placements with both Tesco Pharmacy and Scarborough General Hospital, graduated from the University of Bradford in 2006.

However, he decided not to sit the pre-reg exam and instead joined The Practitioner, a monthly clinical journal for GPs. After two years as a sub-editor and most recently assistant editor, he has now returned to his pharmacy roots.

To contact Chris with your stories or comments, send him an email at cchapman@cmpmedica.com or give him a ring on 01732 377503.

It can claim to be the longest-running advert in C+D, but it has finally been canned by soup manufacturers Campbells.

For years the monthly Pharmacy Update MCQ form has pictured a graphic with the catch line Eradicate Tuberculosis. Update sponsor Genus Pharmaceuticals (and particularly its managing director Peter Ballard) are long-time supporters of this most worthy mission.

But a copy of the advert has finally found it way to the kitchens at Campbells. They think the picture looks a bit like the labelling on their eponymous cans of soup, and have got the hump.

It might have been different if the picture had been drawn by Andy Warhol …. but it wasn’t.

Update MCQs will be carried weekly on the C+D website from January 2009. Sign up for Update 2009 now!

As pharmacists try to get the measure of the all-new professional body and decide whether they will sign up or not, PostScript was interested to hear the views of a pharmacist writing in C+D in 1902. 

The comments began strongly: “Well, I should say that the Society in Bloomsbury Square is not doing that amount of good which Providence has placed within its compass.”

The writer explained: “The examinations which men have to pass under the present dispensation are unnecessarily severe on the technical side; while the side on which the main chance lies - the trade side - is left severely alone. The Society I think should strive to make tradesmen of those who pass under their portals, as well as chemists, and not leave it to chance whether they sink or swim in the struggle for life.”

He went on: “Their policy appears to be essentially the one of “laissez faire,” seeking nothing beyond the landing of bullion in the shape of entrance fees.”

And the author suggested a solution, saying: “My remedy would be transfusion of new blood at the Square, and a medicining to sleep of all the familiar prophets and duffers who now are held up as patterns for our imitation.”

Déjà vu, anyone?

With thanks to Dr Stuart Anderson, associate dean of studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

PostScript is delighted to see that the Chemist+Druggist brand is continuing to expand into international markets.

A recent visitor to Mumbai, India spotted at least two pharmacies sporting the name (right) but sadly did not ascertain whether the owners were true fans or inadvertent supporters of the magazine.

The sighting also begs the question: where next for C+D?

If you spot the C+D logo in any unusual spots, email your photos to: postscript@cmpmedica.com

Weldricks has been recognised for its employee support with a national award from the British Chambers of Commerce.

The northern chain received the Excellence in People Development accolade at the 2008 Chamber Awards, celebrated at the National History Museum.

“Weldricks shows how developing a workforce to the highest standards can give a business a real competitive edge,” said Sharon Forton, director of business services at the Learning and Skills Council (pictured, right, presenting Weldricks training manager Marilyn Jones with the award).

Pharmacy assistant Genine Royal has won a luxury spa day for her “creative feedback” on Periproducts’ Hands First range.

Genine, of Earls Hall Pharmacy, Essex, was the first pharmacy staffer to win the brands’ competition, aimed at educating independent pharmacies their staff about the products.

A midwife used to cutting umbilical chords recently took time out to cut the ribbon on a new pharmacy.

Lee Eland, a community midwife for Barnsley District General Hospital Foundation Trust, was reunited with some familiar faces when she joined staff to unveil The Co-operative Pharmacy’s new branch in Cudworth, near Barnsley.

Dispensing assistant Catherine Sykes (pictured right) was delivered by Lee (centre), as were the children of her colleagues Janet Finean (left) and June Pritchard (third left).

The opening day was used as a chance for holistic therapists to help customers tackle the stress of shopping by providing free massages at the pharmacy. The Co-operative Pharmacy also celebrated by donating £200 to Barnsley Hospice, a charity chosen by staff.

Hiten Patel recently welcomed Dr Keith Ridge to his Mattock Lane Pharmacy in Ealing.

Dr Ridge (pictured left), the Department of Health’s chief pharmacist, held a wide-ranging discussion with Hiten (right) and Ealing PCT chief pharmacist Beryl Bevan (centre) during his visit.

The trio discussed current and future challenges and opportunities for pharmacists, in particular those raised in the pharmacy white paper.

University of Bath alumni made use of the Society’s newly-refurbished dining room at a dinner hosted by Sigma Pharmaceuticals MD and former student Bharat Shah (left).

The reminiscing and networking event was attended by the former head of the university’s pharmacy department, Richard Guy, and the current president of the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, James Davies.

The managing director of supplements company Lifeplan Products has been crowned British Canoeing Champion for the sixth year.

With paddle partner Simon Wright, Jamie Christie won the Classic Title and Sprint Championship for the fourth and third year running respectively, despite being “the granddaddies of the team”!

Buying group Cambrian Alliance presented Latch, a charity supporting children with cancer in Wales, with a cheque for £1,000 at the pharmacy group’s annual trade show.

The show, held in Cardiff, saw 185 pharmacists and guests mixing with suppliers and keeping their fingers crossed for a raffle win.

Roy Noble OBE, a popular broadcaster in Wales, attended the night and handed out the raffle prizes.

He is pictured here (left) with Mark Griffiths (right), chairman of Cambrian Alliance.

A Manchester pharmacy has raised over £700 for breast cancer research with a pink pyjama party. Staff at the Tims & Parker pharmacy at Poplars Medical Centre, Swinton, held a raffle at the in-store event, with top prizes of tours of Manchester United’s Old Trafford football stadium, spa days and Sunday lunches. Pictured, back, from left: Deborah Kelly, Deborah Lawton, Janet Cardiff, Deborah Hyams, (centre) Carol Fogartaig, (front, left to right), Karen Trimble, delivery driver Andrew and Fiona Worrall.

Northern pharmacists have joined forces to raise money for Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November). Gatehead & South Tyneside (G&ST) and Sunderland LPCs organised a sponsored coastal walk and a 40-mile sponsored bike ride to raise awareness of the disease, and pharmacists across the area will also be selling key rings in support of the cause.

“Community pharmacists have always been at the heart of patient care and events like this show how we go that extra mile (or several miles in this case!) to help patients,” said G&ST LPC chair David Carter, pictured, back, starting the sponsored walk with, from left: G&ST LPC communications officer Sami Hanna, Sunderland LPC chair Umesh Patel, NHS South of Tyne & Wear CEO Karen Straughair, Sunderland LPC treasurer Gillian Cucchi and G&ST LPC secretary Louise Lydon.

The Stock & Lindsay pharmacy in Redditch’s Matchborough Centre raised over £400 for cancer research with a “day of silliness” last month.

Staff dressed up in “really daft” pink wigs and feather boas – the men were especially keen, according to dispenser Clare Poultney – sold cakes, held a raffle and ran games with prizes of credit to spend in the store.

“It was really fun,” said Clare, pictured far left with (from left to right) shop assistant Sue Edwards, manager Jon Worton, shop assistant Ange Byford, dispenser Sarah Jones and delivery driver Peter Hunt. She added: “And there’s still money coming in.”

Congratulations to three lucky pharmacists who can put their feet up for a day and enjoy locum cover courtesy of C+D and Pharmacy Partners. Mr B Lakman, N Waidhofer and Gill Mott were the winners of C+D’s prize draw for finance survey respondents.

The following 10 winners will each receive £25 Marks and Spencer vouchers: Mrs A C Garrett, Chris Nicholls, Aisling O’Brien, Keith Walker, Glyn Ratcliffe, Mai Wah Fan, Gina Moreland, Bhavic Patel, Eric Brown and C E Jay.

Thank you to all readers to completed the survey.

Supermodel Yasmin le Bon officially opened Putney’s rebranded Alliance Pharmacy this week.

Renamed ‘your local Boots pharmacy’, the Upper Richmond Road branch has a new look and extended range of products following a refit.

Manager Susana Ansah-Anie said: “Putney will see the very best of community pharmacy in its new store.”

A Phoenix employee has raised £2,500 for charity by completing the Berlin Marathon.

Management accountant Kathryn Roberts was supported by colleagues, who held various fundraising events throughout the year, as well as contributions from a local tuck shop. The money will go to Phoenix-nominated children’s charity NSPCC.

Kathryn said: “All I had to do was get around the course. It was the fundraisers who were amazing.”

More than 3,000 Boots staff at the multiple’s Nottingham and Feltham support offices are attempting to break the world record for the largest number of people involved in a secret Santa on one day.

The planned record attempt has been inspired by Boots’ 2008 Christmas advert, which features office workers trying to choose the perfect secret Santa gifts for their colleagues.

The advert features girl band the Sugababes’ single Girls, and Boots is donating 10p to the White Ribbon Alliance – a childbirth deaths charity – for every copy sold in its stores.

Pharmacy students and academics across Britain have been urged to wear blue to unite for World Diabetes Day this Friday.

Pharmacy students will be manning information stalls in some of the country’s major cities – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff and Leicester – on November 14, aiming to raise public awareness of diabetes.

The event is being co-ordinated by Roohil Yusuf, student exchange officer for the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA). It has also been supported by the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) and youth volunteering project Junction49.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 Day Lewis awards:

Pharmacy Manager of the Year - David Slattery

Professional Services Pharmacist of the Year - Rachna Chhatralia

Non-pharmacist Employees of the Year - Jane Hume, Lynn Bagnall, Lin Wakefield, Carol Matthews

Extra Mile Award - Jo Hargreaves (pictured collecting her award from England's chief pharmacist, Dr Keith Ridge)

Unsung Hero Award - Marie Riley

Head Office Employee of the Year - Joshita Sukes

Branch of the Year - Colchester

To see more pictures of the winners collecting their awards, click on the headline above.

Pharmacists from all sectors of the profession in London came together last week to celebrate the life of much-loved colleague Nickos Efthymiou, former associate pharmacist director at Lewisham PCT.

The inaugural London Pharmacy Charity Ball was attended by 160 pharmacists from all sectors of the profession and raised £2,500 for Nickos’s favourite charity.

Organiser Navin Sewak presented Nickos’s wife and daughters, Tasmin and Nicole, with a cheque for The Children’s Society (pictured) at the buffet and dance, held at Guy’s Hospital.

Further donations can be made to The Children’s Society in Nickos’s honour.

Boots customers got a celebrity surprise last week when they were served at the tills by the Sugababes.

The girlband put in an hour-long stint at the multiple’s branch in new shopping centre Westfield London, to raise money for the White Ribbon Alliance, which aims to prevent deaths through childbirth.

Boots has promised to donate £5 to the charity for every customer Amelle, Keisha and Heidi served, and is currently counting up how much cash it will have to cough up for their efforts.

The Co-operative Pharmacy’s Swanley branch has raised more than £300 for a breast cancer charity.

Staff dressed the part for Breast Cancer Care’s annual In the Pink day and raised money with a raffle and games inviting customers to guess the number of sweets in a jar and the name of a cuddly horse. Prizes were donated by staff and local businesses.

“It was hard work getting everything organised but it was well worth it,” said dispenser Alison Martin, pictured far right with (from left to right) colleagues Maureen Guest, Dani Korzanowski, Sammy Wilkins, Joe Hamilton, Georgia Carpenter and Alice Walsh.

“We had a great day, the atmosphere was really good and our customers got involved as well,” Alison added. “We were delighted to raise so much money.”

A former C+D pharmacy champion has been named Weldricks Pharmacist of the Year.

Paul Chatterton was chosen out of the northern pharmacy chain’s 62 pharmacists by its directors, for his commitment to MURs, improving service levels and co-developing a summer programme to help equip students for their pre-registration year.

Weldricks MD Christopher Alcock said Paul was a “prime example” of a modern community pharmacist.

“He is keen to develop services within his own branch to meet local needs, whilst having a commitment to assisting in the development of less experienced pharmacists,” Mr Alcock said.

Paul received his award at a presentation evening in a Doncaster restaurant.

You already knew you needed that daily coffee to turn yourself into a human being in the morning, but Yale researchers are now suggesting you may not even have to drink it to feel the magic – just holding the warm mug could make you a nicer person, as well as viewing others as nicer, too.

Psychologists at the esteemed US university have shown people were more likely to judge others as generous and caring if they held a mug of hot coffee than those given an iced drink to hold. People given something hot to hold were also more likely to give something to others rather than keeping it for themselves.

So don’t wait until cantankerous Mr Patient has stomped out of the pharmacy to make yourself a calming cuppa – grasp that hot brew now, and maybe he won’t seem so unreasonable!

Action man
There was one UniChem delegate whose boundless enthusiasm endeared him to all comers, from roaring his team to victory in the kayak tug of war to jumping on stage and performing a faultless dance routine to the Macarena. Step forward NPA chief executive John ‘redcoat’ Turk. Butlin’s loss is pharmacy’s gain.

A note on Wiki-fiddling

Even the press were reaching for their dictionaries when Sue Sharpe uttered the word ‘Wiki-fiddling’ during her convention address. The term refers to people who

deliberately vandalise entries on the internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia. However, the use of the phrase was no accident. C+D can reveal that several of the pharmacy top brass had entered a challenge to drop a selection of random phrases or words into their speeches.

Pharmacy does The Poseidon Adventure

UniChem has yet to announce the destination for its 2009 conference, but you can bet your bottom dollar it won’t be a cruise. Company chiefs will have crossed it off the list after this year’s boat trip threatened to follow in the footsteps of disaster movie, The Poseidon Adventure. Delegates were all smiles as they left the calm

waters of the harbour aboard local dhows. It didn’t last. The same faces returned a shade of seaweed green after encountering heavy swell on the Arabian

sea. A boat full of pharmacists but not a sea sickness remedy in sight.

For more pictures of UniChem's 2008 convention in Oman, click here.

Ever dreamt of having your artwork grace the walls of one of London’s great galleries? Well, it’s not quite the Tate, but head down to Lambeth next Saturday, October 25, and you could see your scribblings go on display at the RPSGB Museum.

The Society is running a drop-in day for The Big Draw, a national initiative to encourage people to express themselves in pencil. Visitors will work together to produce a “collective masterpiece” based on microscopic images and with an experienced artist to create “gruesome beasts representing different illnesses”, based on the Museum’s caricature collection, which includes Ague & Fever, pictured above.

Museum keeper Briony Hudson said: “We’re very excited and hope that members of the local community as well as our members will come along and have fun drawing.”

A Warwickshire pharmacist has cycled the French coast to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Jon Porteous (pictured left) covered the 890 miles from northern Calais to Mediterranean Montpellier in two weeks with friend Rob Gullen (right). Along with sponsorship for Stratford-upon-Avon’s annual Macride, he has raised over £20,000 for the charity. Jon’s efforts can still be supported at www.justgiving.com/robandjon-france .

This week’s strangest email in the PostScript inbox honour goes to a notification of “the world’s first ‘sausage and potato’ festival”. The local tourism board for Lincolnshire wrote to inform us that the festival is “the biggest celebration for sausages and potatoes ever held in the UK”. What part pharmacy will play in the proceedings is anyone’s guess. What weird and wonderful things do you find(inappropriately) landing in your work inbox? Send them to postscript@cmpmedica.com

Chandra Gohil has proved himself the Tiger Woods of community pharmacy. The Coventry-based contractor from Gohil Pharmacy was crowned winner of the UniChem Golfer of the Year 2008 tournament in Ayrshire, Scotland. The prize was a Golfer of the Year trophy, leather holdall and traditional Scottish quaich (drinking cup). Go to www.unichemevents.co.uk to enter the 2009 event.