The beginning of a new calendar year is usually the time to think about conferences. Calls for abstracts are about to open – or in some cases even to close. I haven’t made up my mind yet about which conferences to attend, except for two for which I have an invitation (Scand-LAS and World Congress on Alternatives and Animals in the Life Sciences) which I will honour and one I know I won’t attend (ISAE – I usually attend when it’s in Europe and this year it’s in India).