LAUSR

From the pebble beach sunny South coast of England in 2015, the annual congress of the “Triple E” society of Education, Excitement and Entertainment moved on to celebrate its 21st “coming of age” birthday in Granada, southern Spain. Delegates worldwide descended over arid terrain punctuated by neat rows of olive trees direct to Granada airport, or took a coach from Malaga airport on the Mediterranean, across the dramatic coastal mountains, inland to this historical city on the north-eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Some delegates, young myologists, arrived two days earlier for the pre-congress teaching course. Once again this had been very successful, thanks to the excellent organisation by the teaching team. It was fully booked, attracting 34 participants, keen to update and extend their expertise in their various muscle-related fields by means of hands-on practical training as well as talks provided by seasoned experts in the neuromuscular field. Once settled in the city, myo-delegates emerged from their hotels or tapas bars on the Tuesday evening as the heat and brightness of the day softened, and gathered at the Palacio de Congresos, the impressive shiny marbled congress centre, grand forum for sharing their latest explorations in the world of muscle science. Following a warm Andalusian welcome from our indomitable hosts, Carmen Navarro and Montse Olivé, myological guests and their accompanying friends and family enjoyed the now traditional inaugural welcome lecture. Medieval historian Federico Abril, graduate of the University of Granada, engaged his audience and guided them through the history of Granada from the early time of al-Andalus to the present day, drawing attention to the remarkable way that Muslims, Christian and Jews have co-existed and interacted through the centuries, and how this is reflected in the art and architecture and life in today’s Granada.