The
Spring Meeting in the Highlands people pay to go on holiday in! Can you afford
to miss it? Surely not!
Aberdeen the venue for the 2003 Spring Scientific Meeting,
is the furtherest north the Society has ventured in the UK.
Aberdeen
on your doorstep
Nevertheless Aberdeen is easily accessible from
across the UK and several cities in continental Europe. It is Europe’s bustling
oil capital, a thriving and beautiful city, known as the ‘Flower of Scotland’,
surrounded by the splendour of the Grampian Highlands. The meeting itself will
be held just outside the city in the modern Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference
Centre in Bridge of Don, just 30 minutes from the airport.
It is estimated
that 90% of UK geriatricians live within driving distance of an airport with a
direct flight to Aberdeen, and several low cost airlines serve the city. Our colleagues
in the Netherlands also have direct flights from Amsterdam. The Society will contract
with a travel agency to ensure that all delegates have access to favourable, discounted
fares. Some delegates may prefer to fly to Edinburgh or Glasgow and hire a car
to reach the meeting and explore the Highlands.
| Something
for all tastes Aberdeen offers a wide range of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets. The Society’s meetings organisers, Hampton Medical will co-ordinate reservations and have negotiated favourable rates. Transport arrangements within the city are generally easy, and courtesy buses will provide a link between the city hotels and the conference centre. There is ample parking space for cars at the Conference Centre. |  |
Exploring
Aberdeen, the granite city
The City itself has much to offer with the Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Provost Skene’s
House (a 16th century house providing a glimpse of the grandeur of that period),
the Aberdeen Maritime Museum with stunning views over the harbour, reflecting
the city’s long association with the sea, the hands-on Science Centre, the
Botanic and Winter Gardens, not to mention the scope for an invigorating walk
along the sandy beach.
Gateway
to the Highlands...
Gateway to the Highlands, Royal Deeside and
the only Malt Whisky trail in the world!
Drum Castle lies close to Aberdeen
in the picturesque Dee Valley, or driving on through Ballater one can visit Balmoral
Castle. Follow the Malt Whisky Trail with a wide range of distilleries which welcome
visits, such as Strathisla at Keith or Glenfiddich. If you feel like adding on
a day’s sightseeing after (or before the meeting) Urquhart Castle at the
eastern end of Loch Ness is well worth a visit
To
business
And
there is the Scientific Meeting itself, a feast of medical information!
In
addition to the presentations by members of the Society and an extensive programme
provided by the Special Interest Groups, the programme offers an unrivalled opportunity
for members to add to their continuing education on subjects less frequently covered,
– with updates on psychiatry ( Professor Alistair Burns, Professor of Old
Age Psychiatry, Withington Hospital), on respiratory issues (Dr Graham Douglas,
Physician in Chese Medicine, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary), on Medical Opthalmology
(Dr John Olsen, Opthalmologist, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary) and Carcinoma of the
Prostate, (Professor Freddie Hamdy, Professor of Urology, University of Sheffield)
in addition to key note lectures, the Genetics of Osteoporosis by Professor Stuart
Ralston, Professor of Medicine, University of Aberdeen, and on Secondary Vascular
Prevention by Professor Gordon Lowe, Professor of Vascular Medicine, University
of Glasgow.
Quality
all the way
It is hoped to arrange a satellite symposium on the
Wednesday evening; details in the January Newsletter. The Saturday morning multidisciplinary
session is well worth staying for, the Masterclass on Seating, Posture and Spasticity,
and the review of community care as perceived from the perspective of primary
and secondary care respectively (the interface between the two is an area in which
Scotland is
pre-eminent).
A
sparkling social programme...
complements the scientific programme, with a civic reception on Thursday evening
in the Aberdeen Art Gallery. This will be followed by a traditional Scottish Ceilidh,
complete with Caller at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Aberdeen. Dinner on Friday
evening will be held in Ardoe House (modelled on Balmoral).
Golf
for the intrepid
The traditional seaside links course at Newburgh provides the setting for the
annual BGS tournament on the Wednesday. The course was founded in 1888. Details
on their website www.newburgh-on-ythan.co.uk; membership is still available!
The
weather - generally dry and mild
In keeping with the British Spring
the weather can be variable, but is generally dry and mild, although the occasional
snow is not completely unknown, but this is more than offset by the warm hospitality
of the Highlands and there is always the whisky to offset any outer dampness!
Steve
Hamilton
Chair, Organising Committee
Richard
Lynham
Administrative Director