ABSTRACT
Large annual conferences of this type 1 are a comparatively recent phenomenon; and a great deal of time, although surprisingly little research, has gone into the study of how to end such a conference. One favourite method is to select someone, and to ask him to sum up what has been said during the conference as a whole. This would be a difficult task in itself. But it is made more, difficult because the participants, who are obviously aware that the conference is coming to an end, view this fact with mixed feelings —sometimes with relief, but more frequently with regret. Half their concentration and thoughts are on which train they are going to catch home, on the sort of problems which are going to be on their desks, or in their clinics, when they get back there. One of the devastating events in any closing session is that a certain number of people always get up and walk out; and, although the speaker is intellectually aware that the legitimate reason for this is because they have to catch a train to Aberdeen or Penzance, the analogy of rats leaving a sinking ship is a very forceful piece of imagery for any speaker.
