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Kate Peden and Sandra Hall describe the making of a multimedia resource on the benefits of learning for people with mental health difficulties, in which service users themselves played a key role.

This index covers all issues between February 2005 (Volume 9, Issue 1) and November 2008 (Volume 12, Issue 4). Numbers in bold refer to yolume, numbers in brackets refer to issue, with subsequent numbers to pages.

It may be remarked that the area immediately concerned is about 1,700 square miles, or somewhat greater than the area of the County of Kent. We say immediately concerned, as the Governments of St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and others submitted samples for examination, but these related to criminal investigations and call for no comment. In Trinidad itself what may be called the upper classes are of European origin—British, French, or Spanish. There is a high proportion of East Indians, i.e., from Asia, and the lower classes are of mixed negro origin. It is, perhaps, as well to remind readers of these facts. The records of criminal investigation undertaken by the Department at the request of the police authorities suggest by their number and nature that we are here concerned with people who in general are in a somewhat lower state of social culture than that which is found, for instance, in an English district. This would tend to react on the Health Administration generally by increasing the difficulties already existing that arise from a tropical climate and a sparse population very largely engaged in agricultural pursuits, or in industries closely allied thereto. The Port of Spain, the capital, contains perhaps a fifth of the total population and a higher proportion of persons of European origin than elsewhere. The Health Authorities of the city, however, still seem disinclined to avail themselves as fully as they might do of the resources of the Government Chemist's Department. Few samples appear to be sent for examination, though it hopefully stated that more samples of foods and drugs may be sent in when the new Food and Drugs Act replaces the existing one. The Medical Officer of the Port of Spain sends in water samples from the main sources of supply every week for chemical examination. The results of examination are satisfactory, but even in the British Isles water is not the chief form of sustenance, and the need for a due examination of foods and drugs—especially the last—is shown by the facts that while the number of food samples submitted for examination has decreased, the number found to be unsatisfactory has increased. As to drugs, it is sufficient to quote the words of the report, “No samples of drugs were submitted under the Ordinance, so that it is not possible to offer any opinion as to whether or not adulteration is practised of these important articles which are sold to the public. We believe this sin of omission to be one of long standing. The total number of samples and exhibits of all kinds was 4,950. Of these, 4,359 were official and 548 were unofficial, a decrease of 437 and 131 respectively. Out of this total 1,058 were samples of foods, or baking powder, vinegar, and so forth. The number found to be unsatisfactory was 131, or 12·4 per cent. This is a high percentage of failures. It is due almost entirely to cows' milk of poor quality. Three hundred and eighty‐five samples were examined, and 12·4, or 32·2 per cent. were reported against. Out of 163 samples of butter and cooking butter 2·5 per cent were deficient in fat. Having regard to the tenor of this report, the distinction here made between “butter” and “cooking butter” seems to be a rather unfortunate one. In the shops and kitchens of this country the distinction used to be accepted. But why a substance which is, by implication, inferior or unpalatable and unfit to be eaten with bread, might still be used in cooking, has never been clear to us. The unaccepted defence of a baker—convicted over here of putting bad eggs in his pastry—“The stink goes off in the baking,” comes to mind. The fat deficiency ranged from 6·10 to 3·63. Out of 128 coffee samples three were adulterated with burnt sugar. The general position with regard to food—especially in the case of milk—seems to be very unsatisfactory. The remarks of the Govern‐ment Chemist are unquestionably fully justified.

The institution of food and cookery exhibitions and the dissemination of practical knowledge with respect to cookery by means of lectures and demonstrations are excellent things in their way. But while it is important that better and more scientific attention should be generally given to the preparation of food for the table, it must be admitted to be at least equally important to insure that the food before it comes into the hands of the expert cook shall be free from adulteration, and as far as possible from impurity,—that it should be, in fact, of the quality expected. Protection up to a certain point and in certain directions is afforded to the consumer by penal enactments, and hitherto the general public have been disposed to believe that those enactments are in their nature and in their application such as to guarantee a fairly general supply of articles of tolerable quality. The adulteration laws, however, while absolutely necessary for the purpose of holding many forms of fraud in check, and particularly for keeping them within certain bounds, cannot afford any guarantees of superior, or even of good, quality. Except in rare instances, even those who control the supply of articles of food to large public and private establishments fail to take steps to assure themselves that the nature and quality of the goods supplied to them are what they are represented to be. The sophisticator and adulterator are always with us. The temptations to undersell and to misrepresent seem to be so strong that firms and individuals from whom far better things might reasonably be expected fall away from the right path with deplorable facility, and seek to save themselves, should they by chance be brought to book, by forms of quibbling and wriggling which are in themselves sufficient to show the moral rottenness which can be brought about by an insatiable lust for gain. There is, unfortunately, cheating to be met with at every turn, and it behoves at least those who control the purchase and the cooking of food on the large scale to do what they can to insure the supply to them of articles which have not been tampered with, and which are in all respects of proper quality, both by insisting on being furnished with sufficiently authoritative guarantees by the vendors, and by themselves causing the application of reasonably frequent scientific checks upon the quality of the goods.