What a hectic month, or so it seemed at the time! In fact, so hectic that some of you did not receive your September Newsletter. Still, we are making amends now and sending it with this one.

A late decision (a week before the event) to exhibit at G-MEX in Manchester necessitated frenzied activity. What to take, where to stay, and how to transport everything? As some will know, we rarely exhibit.

Hard on the feet, demanding on the larynx, and questionably economically viable, I do not like exhibitions! However, I was assured that this would be different. Thus, donning suitable trucker's gear, I clambered aboard our hired Transit and headed up M6. Tremendous! I cannot wait to get my hands on a 40' artic'. Deep down, all men are still small boys or, at least, I am!

Great show! Great weather! Great crowd! Easy parking! Highly recommended! Manchester is still where it's at!

Frozen in exhibition mode, we were due to exhibit in London a few days later, but owing to unforeseen events had to cancel at the last minute. A pity. However, no sooner had I returned the Transit and I found myself aboard the overnight sleeper (without sleeping berth) for Aberdeen. Not recommended as, due to travel errors, I was decanted at Crewe at midnight! Freezing cold and wet, I shall drive next time!

The object of my sojourn north of the border was to ensure the safe installation of Wells Junior (i.e. to make sure that he was actually there) at St. Andrews and to attend the launch of Lawrence James new book, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. Costly, but a well researched and entertainingly written account of the days when much of the World Map was pink. All a far cry from aromatherapy but, nonetheless, a significant contribution to the essential oils we use today.

Having successfully established that Justin was in situ, and thoroughly enjoying himself (when doesn't he?!), Jan and I took a brief tour around the aromatherapy outlets. Already aware of the burgeoning interest in aromatherapy in Scotland, it was heartening to note the broad spectrum knowledge of the subject.

Meanwhile, back at Churchill the walls had gone up, the heating was installed, and I had little excuse for not leaving the comforts of home! And so here I am whilst Jan mans a table at the IFA Annual General Meeting. There we go, exhibiting again! ISPA is in a fortnight!

As we hope to sneak off in December, this may be the last Newsletter of the year and so I have increased the DISCOUNTS on some items until the next Newsletter is out and so GET YOUR PRICE LIST OUT NOW! If you have lost it, misplaced it, or the dog has chewed it up, CALL US!

Midst this gadding about, we have been working to prepare EOL for the end of the millennium. What on earth does that mean, you ask! Well, bluntly, how are we going to cope! Expansion is all very well, but we cannot spend the whole of our lives on the ragged edge! As a small family business, we can ill afford (with the ongoing expenses - do they ever end? - that all families have) to fund the increased credit and stock that expansion demands. Banks (and I hope our Manager is not reading this),although well intentioned, seem to lack empathy and are more hindrance than help and solely financial partners and therefore a partner from within the industry was required. Business Dating Agencies are few and far between and so it was down to personal stealth!

Fortunately, I did not have to stumble far: just down the road at Abingdon. At the time, neither party had any intention of an association - a bit like meeting one's future partner - but the more we talked, the more we realised that we had in common and the more a merger of our endeavours made sense.

F. GUTKIND & COMPANY, established in 1904, is a family business that has long specialised in the importation of wholly natural products from similar family businesses around the world. Long established in the essential oil industry, they are particularly strong in the provision of products from the Spanish speaking world but, unlike us, in tonne lots! Decades of association with growers and distillers around the world will, we believe, provide the guaranteed provenance that we seek. Further, they handle an enviable line of wholefood products.

Keen to supply aromatherapists, and not quite knowing where to start, we loomed out of the mist! Similarly, we were seeking sources of ever-diminishing stock and the opportunity to shorten the supply chain. It all began to gel!

Managed by a bubbly Colombian, RUTH WILLIS, Gutkind will cater for all essential oil requirements in excess of FIVE LITRES and we shall continue to tend to smaller needs. Jointly, we shall tackle the task of developing the Gutkind HUMMINGBIRD range of aroma cosmetics and wholefoods. All exciting stuff, which should keep us busy for quite a while! The dreaded computer will arrive and, more excitingly (for me!), a bottling machine (thank goodness!).

The result, I hope, will be an improved service for you all. Above all, neither Jan nor I wished to lose touch with what is essentially a very personal business and, on the basis that many hands (or a bottling machine) make light work, we are now confident that we can maintain that personal touch rather than becoming bogged down in corporate waffle.

Well, what else? I have not had much opportunity in the last month to do my usual delving into the odd and esoteric and, therefore, shall have to limit myself to more general observations.

I have often mentioned the need to divine consumer demands. Well I am still being caught out! However, one item (which I believe we introduced into the UK originally) has really surprised me, and I suspect the publishers, is the DECODER. Flushed by the success of the Aromatherapy and Reflexology Decoders, the publishers have now introduced decoders for subjects as diverse as Poisonous Australian Snakes (which we do not stock) and Runes.

Colourful, gimmicky and informative (but not always

correct according to one or two better versed in the individual subjects than I), decoders about Home Use Aromatherapy, Face Reading, Colour Therapy, Flower Essences, Herbs, Spices, Iridology, Feng Shui, Dreams, Astrology, Chinese Astrology, Palmistry, Numerology and Tarot, walk off the shelves wherever we go! Whether it is because of their handbag-size ready-reference virtue or people are shopping early for stocking fillers, I do not know. Frankly, it staggers me!

Hot on their heels comes the HOLISTIC CALENDAR. At first glance, I wondered if it was published by the same company - there are similarities - but no. Featuring six therapies, including reflexology and aromatherapy, it is an ideal gift. Not only does it provide colourful and relevant decoration for any practitioner, it tells the date as well! In fact, judicious trimming off of the calendar part provides six of the cheapest wall charts that I have yet come across! Perhaps you should have two!

Bearing in mind that the Newsletter often gets interminably delayed after I have written it, I shall press on with my Christmas sales pitch (I detect that it is going to be early this year!) and give you all ample opportunity to indulge!

I continue to grapple with the ideal therapist's wooden box and so, unless the designer comes up with something brilliant, they will have to wait until 1996!

An accoutrement of aromatherapy upon which I have never truly concentrated is the humble fragrance burner. Confused by the plethora of designs, colours, and materials, I have found it difficult to select the ideal. However, with gifts in mind, I do think that we have one or two attractive items. Just ask!

Whilst we have stocked ALOE VERA for some considerable time, I realise that I have rarely written about its attributes. Now, confronted with a 200 kilo drum of Best Aloe fresh from the United States, the time has come to redress the omission. To avoid confusion, this product is 96% pure aloe vera gel with only Xanthan Gum added as a stabilizer and not the clear, watery aloe extract to which a gelling agent can be added.

Referring to Leung's Encyclopaedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics, I learn that the chemistry of aloe vera has been investigated for several decades. It is commonly believed that the moisturizing emollient and healing properties of aloe vera gel are due to the polysaccharides present, the major one being glucomannan which is similar to guar and locust bean gums. However, there is evidence that it is not this alone but the synergistic blending with other substances within the gel that provides the healing effect.

Interestingly, there is also evidence that aloe shares a few basic constituents with DMSO (Dimethylsulfonic oxide), which was the best solution for rheumatoid arthritis and, also, is a constituent of Herpid. Two constituents aloe and DMSO share are lignin, which has the remarkable ability to penetrate the skin, and an alpha amylase related enzyme, which may explain aloe's reputation for temporary relief of arthritis. There is dermatological evidence of its effectiveness in treating chronic leg ulcers. In fact, the bibliography abounds and there is substantiated evidence for its effective use on burns, scalp disorders, bed sores and, in vapourizers, the aloe extract can be used for breathing difficulties.

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