EXCLUSIVE: Round 2 with Mr Dispenser

Who hides under a hoodie
like this?

Yes, the world's most talked about pharmacist is back. Since my last encounter with the man behind "Pills, Thrills and Methadone Spills" earlier this year, he's brought out a second version of his much celebrated, talked about and read book.

"Pills, Thrills and Methadone Spills 2" is a sequel to the original. He launched it at the recent annual Pharmacy Show in Birmingham and overwhelmed his fans with a delightful presence in the NEC. Once again, anecdotes and much hilarity is shared in the second version of this successful book.

The reader is once again taken in the world of a dispensary but in a way that entertains and informs with much hilarity. Already since it's launch, it has received positive feedback and much has been made of the comedy element of the book. This is a must read for anyone who is a pharmacist and for those who work in a pharmacy, regardless of their role in the dispensary.

But, arguably, the biggest winning point about this book is the unifying force it has to bring many people within the profession together and to relate to the experiences shared in the book. Never has such a phenomenon achieved so much in common between people, especially within a profession where inter-connectivity between people within the profession across a local area or nationally can be limited.

I had the pleasure in talking to the man behind "Pills, Thrills and Methadone Spills 2":

Q1: So I remember all those months ago you and I chatting away with anticipation over the release of the first edition of your new book - you are back again for more with a second edition now. What are you aiming to achieve this time around?

MR DISPENSER: I am aiming to make people laugh again and raise more money for the Pharmacist Support Charity. The first book caught people by surprise.

Q2: There's no doubt that you were very popular at the recent Pharmacy Show in Birmingham. Apart from all the positive appreciation shown towards your first book, what kind of feedback did you receive?

MR DISPENSER: At the Pharmacy Show, feedback mainly consisted of ‘I thought you’d be taller’.

Q3: Your identity must have been obvious in Birmingham, surely?

MR DISPENSER: Well clearly, people saw my face but my badge said Mr Dispenser on it. In the majority of photographs that were taken my back was to camera. I was surprised that most people didn’t actually ask my real name.

Q4: Are you planning to take up new initiatives or activities such as a national tour so that pharmacists everywhere can see you?

MR DISPENSER: It’s not quite a national tour but I am planning to visit a few universities. I attended the Huddersfield University Oath ceremony on Friday and gave a short speech to all the students. It was one minute inspirational and four minutes of stand-up. I can generally be found at most pharmacy conferences too.

Q5: Will we see a third edition of your book?

MR DISPENSER: I genuinely don’t know at the moment. I promised myself whilst editing the second that I wouldn’t do a third but I normally lie to myself. If I think that I can make it as good as the first two, then I will do a third. At the moment, I can’t guarantee that.

A major thank you to Mr Dispenser for answering more of my inquisitive questions. His book is now available to buy as a paperback or on Kindle. 

And, yes, the mystery remains. Who is the person behind Mr Dispenser?

The beauty of the Basket Brigade at Christmas!

Image courtesy of Chris Sharp / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Christmas is not too far away now and many people will be waking up looking forward to the festivities of tomorrow, the presents underneath the tree, the juicy turkey and, in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's speech on her Diamond Jubilee year.

But for many people, Christmas will be a bitter, difficult and lonely experience. With the global economic crisis taking its toll on individuals and families, many people cannot afford to fully take part in the celebrations. With the loss of loved ones, many older people will be alone this festive season. With the threat of re-possessions and the occurrence of other unfortunate circumstances, many people will be homeless. Such obscene injustice. Such inhumanity. Such sadness.

However, a group of heroic individuals across these islands and beyond have played their part to ensure that they can put a smile on those people's faces. During my time in Birmingham, I had the pleasure and joy of attending the Birmingham Yes Group. Running on the first Thursday of each month, individuals from many walks of life get together to engage in positive thinking and building a positive style in their lives so that they can move forward.

The group is run voluntarily and every month a speaker provides a talk in front of the audience - there are a variety of styles and topics of speeches, from how to see life in a positive way, how to adopt techniques to make life more enjoyable and productive, how to adopt techniques to handle potentially negative and difficult situations and how to achieve sustained happiness in life.

Every year at Christmas time, the Yes Group in Birmingham run the annual Birmingham Basket Brigade. Basket Brigade is a phenomenon initiated by motivational speaker Tony Robbins and since it began it has grown! In 2011, the Birmingham group helped 300 families, delivering food hampers to each of them. Robbins himself once said:

“Everyone has a need to contribute. It is one of the six human needs. If you give from your heart, it will come back to you tenfold.”

Tony Robbins


Many other Yes Groups all over the country and beyond run very similar events. This really is the symbolic of what an event like Christmas should be all about. Thinking about others. Putting yourself in other people's shoes. Humbling yourself. The world is full of so many problems that should never have existed in the first place and Christmas should be a time when people should put their own priorities aside and think about others.

These people are an absolute asset to our planet and I salute them enormously.

Happy Christmas!