Dr Jean Horton will give the Blessed Chloroform lecture 'Heads for Medicine' during the 2012 Summer Scientific Meeting at the Hilton St Anne's Manor Hotel, Wokingham, Berkshire.

John Beddoes and Rachel Eley are in the process of compiling for publication an edition of letters by their relative Dr Thomas Beddoes M.D. (1760-1808).

Dr Thomas Beddoes was a medical pioneer and political radical who counted among his friends and correspondents Erasmus Darwin, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey and James Watt. Recent biographies have brought deserved attention to his life, but a collection of his correspondence has never been published. Beddoes was an excellent writer and the letters he exchanged with leading figures of the day provide fascinating insight into the events, discoveries and personalities that drove the political and intellectual revolutions of the late 18th century. It is John and Rachel's intent to present an engaging collection of these letters, along with explanatory notes to make their significance accessible to the general reader.