Water water everywhere

There was a certain aqueous theme to today’s events, the first of ECE 2014.

The buffet itself had no fewer than six different kinds of fish. The River Odra/Oder has provided the people of Wrocław with food for generations, and those on offer last night included the salmon, sturgeon, and trout, all locally smoked with the addition of red caviar and lemon. They certainly were magnificent creatures!

What better backdrop to the freshwater feast than a spectacular fountain display? The photographer was spoilt for choice, so keep an eye on the ESE Facebook page where snaps from each day will be posted.

And what of the science? Well with pituitary and adrenal pathology featuring highly on the programme with prize lectures from Ashley Grossman (UK) and Martin Fassnacht (Germany), we were never far from the glands which govern our bodies’ need for this simple compound. Without providing a single calorie water remains the most important element of our diet, yet an excess can be lethal, as described in ESE’s recent hyponatraemia guidelines. How strange water is!

ECE 2014 delegate Ayse Zengin (UK) had this to say:

"The opening ceremony of the ECE 2014 was brilliant! Anna Spada explained that the ESE wanted to promote gender equality. For ECE 2014, 1 in 3 invited speakers were women. Delegates were also welcomed by the ESE President, the Rector of Medicine of Wrocław University and the Deputy Mayor of Wrocław. The evening came to a close by a fountain light show-celebrating Polish National Day. It was quite a spectacle!