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logy. Nevertheless, he was always able to maintain withinhis department an active group of research workers. and tothem he gave considerable help and encouragement. Manyof us-A. W. Downie, D. T. Robinson, S. T. Cowan,D. G. Evans, H. G. Pereira, N. W. Preston, to mentiononly a few-will always remember, and be grateful for, theprofound and lasting influence which Maitland had onour work, especially on our approach to research."

Diary of the Week

JANUARY 30 TO FEBRUARY 5

Sunday, 30thMANCHESTER ROYAL INFIRMARY

10 A.M. Dr. Morton I. Grossman (Los Angeles): Clinical Assessmentof Gastrointestinal Hormones.

Monday, 31stROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL, Hammersmith Hospital,

London W.12 24.30 P.M. Dr. J. D. H. Slater: Renin-angiotensin.

Tuesday, lstINSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGY, St. John’s Hospital for Diseases of the

Skin, Lisle Street, London W.C.24.30 P.M. Dr. R. S. Wells: Genodermatoses.

Wednesday, 2ndROYAL COLLEGE OF PATHOLOGISTS

5.30 r.M. (Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London S.W.I.)Dr. John Paul: Molecular Pathology of Cancer. (Kettlememorial lecture.)

ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, 11 St. Andrew’s Place, Regent’s Park,London NW1 4LE

5.35 P.M. Dr. T. R. C. Fraser: The Metabolic Disorders in DiabetesMellitus. (Humphry Davy Rolleston lecture.)

ROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL4 P.M. Prof. S. J. G. Semple: Acid-base Problems in Clinical Practice.

INSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGY4.30 P.M. Dr. Ronald Marks: Cutaneous/intestinal Relationships.

INSTITUTE OF DISEASES OF THE CHEST, Brompton, London S.W.35 P.M. Dr. Raphael Balcon: The Investigation of Patients with

Coronary Artery Disease.INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY, National Hospital, Queen Square, London

W.C.17 P.M. Prof. John Marshall: Measurement of Regional Cerebral

Blood-flow in the Human Subject. (Sandoz Foundationlecture.)

INSTITUTE OF ORTHOPEDICS, 234 Great Portland Street, LondonWIN 6AD

8.15 P.M. Mr. E. O’G. Kirwan: Operative Techniques of LumbarSpinal Fusions.

INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, LondonS.E.5

5.30 P.M. Prof. M. G. Gelder: Psychotherapy Research, 1972.INSTITUTE OF UROLOGY, 172 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W.C.2

5 P.M. Dr. R. C. B. Pugh: The Pathology of Urothelial Tumours.ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray’s Inn Road, London W.C.1

5.15 P.M. Dr. H. A. Lee: The Role of Intravenous Nutrition in ClinicalPractice.

THE MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH8 P.M. Mr. Peter Edmond: The Infertile Male.

UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE5 P.M. Dr. M. J. Purves: The Possible Mode of Excitation of Arterial

Chemoreceptors.

Thursday, 3rdROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL

4.45 P.M. Mr. J. M. Rice-Edwards: Raised Intracranial Pressure.INSTITUTE OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY

5.30 P.M. (Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LondonWC2A 3PN.) Dr. L. H. Capel: Airway Resistance in theUpper and Lower Respiratory Tract in Health and Disease.

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL MEDICAL SCHOOL, Mortimer Street, LondonW1P 7PN

5 P.M. (Windeyer Building.) Dr. D. B. Gower: Role of CytochromeP450-Control of Steroidogenesis.

Friday, 4thROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL

11 A.M. Prof. R. Y. Calne: Donor-specific Immunosuppression.INSTITUTE OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY, 330,332 Gray’s Inn Road,

London WCIX SEE5.30 P.M. Dr. Leonard Sinclair: Parents and Children Who do not

Communicate.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF EDINBURGH

3 P.M. Mr. Andrew Logan: The Surgery of the (Esophagus.

Notes and News

HOUSING THE ELDERLY

ONE of the most pressing problems that elderly peoplehave to face is housing, and it is a problem which is liableto recur as they become older and less able to manage witheveryday living on their own. Many old people in their60s and 70s wish to remain in their own homes, and,where possible, and provided help is available, this shouldalways be encouraged. However, for those with no homesof their own, or homes beyond their capabilities, and forthose in their 80s and 90s, sheltered housing of varioustypes is needed-and needed now in increasing quantitiesas the elderly population in Britain grows in numbers andage. Old people’s homes (particularly those run by localauthorities) are traditionally thought of as large, griminstitutions where the elderly are allowed little privacy orindependence. Local-authority homes are, in fact, oftenovercrowded and have to refuse many applications for

admission, both because of long waiting-lists and becausethey cannot provide the attention that a great many oldpeople, though not requiring hospital care, need; inaddition, these homes are often situated in rather isolatedplaces where contact with the local community and visitingby friends and relatives are difficult.

Voluntary groups have been quicker than local authori-ties to experiment with different types of housing for theelderly, and there are now a number of voluntary housingassociations which try to provide the elderly with accom-modation which is both convenient and congenial andwhich allows them the maximum possible amount ofindependence in relation to their age and degree of handi-cap. One such Association is the Bedford Citizens HousingAssociation, Ltd., which was formed in 1957 with thepurpose of housing elderly people of limited means. Withloans and grants from Bedford Corporation, the Associationover a period of years converted 8 houses into flatlets for oldpeople, with warden supervision in each house. It becameevident to the Association that, while the tenants appre-ciated being able to look after themselves in their ownrooms, some of them needed more attention than could be

given by the wardens, despite the provision of home-helps, meals-on-wheels, and the services of the districtnurse. As a result the Association asked for, and eventuallyobtained, a loan from the borough council with which tobuild a residential home-not only for the Association’sown tenants, but also for others in the Bedford area whoneeded such help.The home-Bedford Charter House-was opened in

1970 and provides accommodation for 48 elderly people.The building, which is two-storeyed and has two wings,contains 32 single rooms, for married couples 6

double rooms, and 4 2-roomed suites with bathroom andlavatory. All the rooms have their own ventilated lavatoryand wash-basin cabinets and, no doubt as a result, incon-tinence has proved to be no great problem in the home.There are 6 communal bathrooms; all the baths have

safety poles, and there are facilities for showering residentswhile they remain seated in a chair. The walls of thecorridors are painted in panels of different colours, so thatresidents can easily recognise the doors to their own rooms.They are encouraged to bring their own furniture, and asa result the rooms all look different, though basicallysimilar in structure. The residents do, in fact, appear tovalue their privacy greatly, making full use of their rooms,but also meeting in the lounges when they feel like com-pany. There are two lounges on each floor, and a laundry,sewing-room, library, television-room, hairdressing-room,and hobbies room. All meals and other services are pro-vided, but residents may use electric kettles in their rooms