Its congress time again and I started to think about how this year's congress will affect my thinking. How do we use these few days of intense activity marked by long days and late nights?

Some of us will try and get to everything possible, some will seek to widen our knowledge and look for new ideas we can take on board, for others it is an opportunity to renew acquaintances and enjoy the social aspects while others love to work the exhibition and collect bags of ‘stuff’. In practice it is probably a range of these.

For me the conference used to be a place where I kept in touch with developments in my specialty—more often than not attending medical rather that pharmacy meetings. …

Correspondence to Professor Phil Wiffen, Pain Research Unit, Old Rd, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LE, UK; phil.wiffen{at}ndcn.ox.ac.uk