Ipswich Science in the Pub people are meeting at McGinty’s for a pre-Uncaged Monkeys drink. Look for the table with a copy of New Scientist on it.

[]( http://www.suffolkhands.org.uk/files/1/SH&S News May 2011.pdf “SH&S May 2011 news”)Our May newsletter is available now for you to download. [Click here](http://www.suffolkhands.org.uk/files/1/SH&S News May 2011.pdf “SH&S May 2011 news”) or on the image for your copy. For help with pdf files, click here. Read about our next meeting (on recommended reading), what a SACRE is, the Uncaged Monkeys in Ipswich, a good woman with green fingers, our healthy finances, what we thought about the burqa ban, the BHA’s new president and his book, and plans for the next three months, which include a visit from Prof.

I hope you haven’t made any plans for the end of October onwards, because we’re all going to fry, apparently, on the 21st October. The world will be destroyed by fire, say those who hope to be “God’s elect people”, but they’re not expecting to be here after the 21st of this month, when The Rapture happens and they’re all swept up into heaven to leave us unbelievers behind. Our webmaster was planning to spend six months in Ghana from the beginning of next month but now he’s beginning to wonder if he should change his plans.

The Big Questions on BBC TV on Sunday was amusing. It was supposed to be about “The future of British Islam”. Nicky Campbell lost control of a bunch of Muslims all shouting at one another, while Dame Anne Leslie kept chipping in with comments prefaced with “When I was in Pakistan/Iran/Afghanistan…”, etc. When she referred to the burqa as a “bin bag”, that really fanned the flames of indignation. I had to Google Dr Taj Hargey, whose posture indicated his contempt for most of the opinions being expressed by sitting right back in his chair, while others leant forward as they tried to outshout one another.

Professor Edzard Ernst, who was a guest speaker at a recent Ipswich Science in the Pub meeting, has announced his retirement as Director of the Complementary Medicine Research Group. We’re hoping that he’ll come and talk to us soon. Zeno, aka Alan Henness, has published an interview with Prof. Ernst on his blog. He ended by asking what Edzard would do when he fully retires, and the professor replied: Become really outspoken about quackery and charlatans.

Usual time, usual place…

View Larger Map Our webmaster, Nathan Nelson, is flying out to Kumasi in Ghana for 6 months on the 8th June, where his other half, Harriet, is being sponsored to work with an organisation called Millennium Villages, while Nathan finds some other ways to make himself useful. You can follow their adventures on their blog, Ghana 180.