Well, its more than the Irish lassies who are looking in safes and cupboards for passports, dusting them off and slapping them on the counters of travel agencies, grabbing the polite sales girls by both collars and shrieking "Take me out of here, tell me the sun is not a figment of my imagination, that the sky is really blue, that the earth was not really meant to be inhabited only by mushrooms, ducks, snails and frogs. Two tickets to the Sahara Desert for 4 weeks .....NOW !" 

But really, this is not just weather talk. This is serious. Summer in Ireland 1998 fell on May 17th to 22nd. Pharmacists sold the legacy of four previous years of suntan lotions, in five beautiful days blue, tee-shirts and shorts, tar on carpet tiles, sweaty armpit, days. (And proceeded to order in another stash of stock to hide away in the store until the next sunny spell hits, in five years time.. !) Well they say, money is made round to go round, so lets look on this exodus of lily white bodied Celtic Tigers as our way of spreading our feline punts around the globe, giving something back to the world in thanks for our good financial fortune of the last a few years.

One farmer confided to me recently that he took the incessant damp weather as a sign from God that he should get into snail farming, and then proceeded to buy 2 x 1litre Trodax. 

The unfortunate fact is, though, that for many among us, access to the suns rays is not just a luxury, but a necessity. Need I say more than to advise any of you, who take note, already spent your millions in search of sun drench shores, to invest in the shares of the makers of Seroxat, Lustral, Prozac et al. And it is not a deficiency in Vit. D3 I am referring to, if you get me drift. 

It brought me back to my college days to find myself at the Great Greyhound Event, hosted by
Pharmachem and co-ordinated by pharmacist Jim McCormack recently. One of my flat mates in college had several weaknesses. The Evening Press crossword; always missing the sink with his tea-bag, spoon-catapulted from the arm-chair; and greyhounds, to mention a few. His enthusiasm for the latter, led a gang on a fact finding mission to Shelbourne Park on a November Saturday evening in 1978. Once inside the entrance he disappeared in the crowd leaving the rest of us to fend for our selves. Right, so there's ten races, and each lasts about 30 seconds, and there's 15 minutes between for betting, and there's a tote, but better odds with the bookies, but they only take minimum £5.00 bets, and buy the race catalogue study the form, check the times, over-hear a tip, watch what traps they're drawn in, then pick a number between one and six, and place your bet. It all came back to me, and like an old dog, I remembered all I had learnt in Shelbourne Park 20 years ago - and lost even more money. In fact, I think I personally sponsored the Pharmachem 500 stakes! And I've still
to get an explanation as to why all those men stand on boxes in trench coats shouting and making rude gesticulations at each other! Aqueduct Annie how are you !. 

On a more academic note, I have been contacted by several members recently who are interested in sending staff to do the AMTRA course in the UK. It seems to be the most comprehensive course around. I am in contact with the course organisers with a view to adapting the course to the needs
(legal etc.) of Irish students/staff. If you have been wondering how to give that staff member a
broader base of veterinary knowledge, raising their qualifications and your veterinary business in one fell swoop, give me a bell, fax or email. The more prospective applicants I have, you never know, they might just move the general block requirement to an Irish lecturing venue, rather than our students travelling to the UK. Anyone interested out there ..............? 

                        Brendan Hayes,MPSI Portumna, 

          Phone: 0509-41025 Fax: 0509-41856 email: benny@cyberclub.iol.ie 

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PHARMACHEM PLANNER 

This year saw the successful launch of "The Pharmachem Planner". It was very well received by Pharmachem members and their customers. In the run up to Christmas, members gave all their customers a little (but much appreciated) gift. For those customers missed at Christmas it was a nice surprise to find their presents were not all received on the 25th. Some members posted Planners to some "Finge customers" (thrice a year) with excellent results. This year "The Pharmachem Planner" will take the same format as last year.

There will be seven advertisements only. They will portray the wide range of animal remedies
available from Pharmacists. Featured on the Planner are two Holiday prizes, which will be raffled among the farmers who enter through their local Pharmachem supplier, two perforated entry coupons are provided on the Planner. The farmers will be encouraged to display their Planner in their office or kitchen, the two most prominent positions on the farm. Either of these places would give Pharmachem members maximum positive exposure for 12 months. 

Seasonal treatments and prevention will also be highlighted, as a reminder to customers of their
requirements for the month ahead. The Pharmachem planner will be your Personalised Customer Planner. It will contain your Pharmacy name, address and phone number in a 30sq inch attractive advert. 

The very important aspect of the Professional Advice available through Pharmachem Pharmacists will also be highlighted. The entries for the Free Holiday are confined to the months of April and August, thereby ensuring a lot of customer traffic during these two very valuable sales months. This is a very exciting countrywide promotion. It is the opportunity for each member to maximise the benefits the Planner can bring to his or her business for the coming 12 months. 

The Planner measures 25" across by 18" down, an ideal size for the back of the kitchen door. The average net cost of each Planner is 50p, a small investment with huge potential. 1999 will be a challenging year for Pharmachem and it's members. Your "Pharmachem Planner" could be one of the links in the chain which will help you meet this challenge. It is important to use every available opportunity to enhance your relationship with your customers.

Be sure to order your "Planner 1999" now. 

                             Vincent Breen, Slane. 

                      Order form and sample planner enclosed. 
 

Holiday draw coupons should be collected during August and returned to Boileau & Boyd. Draw for holiday will take place during first week in September. 

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                     April Pharmachem Planner Holiday Draw 

Seamus Maguire(Schering Plough) presented Trevor Kellett with the first holiday prize of a week end for two in the Slieve Russell Hotel which he won on his "Pharmachem Planner" supplied by Breens Pharmacy, Slane. 

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COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT 

EPOS: Pharmachem continuted to look at EPOS systems presentations  - from Fergal Leahy,
Loughrea, Systems Solutions and McLernons with a view to assessing their ability to meet the needs of veterinary pharmacy and advising them of our requirements. All three are now considering our requirements - so more anon. 

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Legislation: The Committee are very appreciative of the extent of the support of pharmacists for
the legislation campaign. POM(E) is now being pursued once again. 

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Greyhound Event: The Committee were very pleased with the running of the greyhound event and a more detailed report will be provided at a later date.

Pharmachem Greyhound Sweepstake 

The winner of the Sweepstake was O'Learys Pharmacy, Mallow. The Sweepstake prize is on the way to Cork. Many thanks to all who participated. There will be a full report on the Greyhound event in a special edition during August. 

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Inspections: The Committee also discussed implementation of the regulations and the differing
approaches being taken within different counties. In some counties a very even handed approach is being taken and where the regulations are being implemented some vets are writing
prescriptions.Three members now boasts in excess of 100 scripts this year. There were concerns in some areas about particular inspections. 

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Internet: The Pharmachem site has recently been updated and now includes a link to Uniphar
http://indigo.ie/~pchem. Members are requested to send e-mail addressed to pchem@indigo.ie. 

                                    *** 

Vet Courses: There are three courses in veterinary medcines and information is available from the Pharmachem office. 

1. Queens University Course for Pharmacists - distance learning. 

2. Course for responsible person for Licensed Merchants - 2 day residential course. 

3. AMTRA - UK course. 

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                    GOLF OUTING DRUIDS GLEN 

Twenty nine people played in the Schering Plough sponsored Pharmachem Golf outing in Druids Glen on the 15th July, ten days after the Irish Open. In a year when the endless chat is about bad weather Druids Glen was the exception. However, neither the good weather nor the hordes Rory has dispatched to walk down the rough ten days earlier, made the course any easier. The Longford man with the English accent Brendan Feeney managed a creditable 33 points which brought him to the top of the Golfer of The Year leaderboard (jointly with Padraic Staunton). Robert Dolan of Moate was second with 32 points and also won nearest the pin on the 9th, Frank McAnenia was third with 28 points. The leading lady was Dolores Kilgarriff with Frank Reen having the longest drive (which maybe is the reason why he left early !!) This very tough course porovided a most stimulating challenge, and while some came away with their self esteem shattered others were keen to get back and take on the challenge again. We are indebted to the support of Schering Plough for their sponsorship of such an enjoyable day. 

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                               BALLYNEETY 

                          GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB 

                          Wednesday 26th August 1998 

                               Tee Off: 3.15pm 

Now is the time to plan for Ballyneety- Wednesday 26th August (note change of date). 

All golfers in the South East are encouraged to make a big effort to support this C & M sponsored golf outing - venue for the final of the golfer of the year event. 

               To reserve a place please contact Yvonne on 1-890-503458