Here at Ipswich we are a predominantly health and Medical sciences campus. As such we teach and learn the seeking out of evidence when it comes to choosing between treatments to decide the most effective. In these days the evidence is organized and accessible, but this has not always been the case. For the ancient Celts the evidence may have been almost entirely contained within the mind of the "Wise Woman" and access to this bounty was cryptic to say the least. A poultice of Hemlock along with some lilting chants to remove a skin cancer, passing beneath the belly of a white horse to cure whooping cough, these and many, many other diverse treatments, hundreds of years in development were the Wise Woman's stock and trade. Each culture had their healers toiling in the fashion of the Wise Woman.

To celebrate Diversity Week and in deference to the "simpler" times, we are asking for your home remedies! Those time honoured procedures that have kept your family hale, hearty and happy for generations. All entries received will go into the draw for a $250 JB HiFi voucher. No empirical data or promises of efficacy are required, only a few notes about what they mean to you or your family, their cultural or generational origins and the scientific basis behind them (if any). Send your entries to ipswich@library.uq.edu.au by Monday May 20th.

The winner will be drawn at the Ipswich Campus Diversity Week celebration in Challinor Court at 12 noon on Tuesday 21st of May. For more information go to http://www.uq.edu.au/events/event_view.php?event_id=9301 or see the posters on display in Buildings 1, 8, 12 and the refectory.