40 years of X-ray bursts: Extreme explosions in dense environments
</a> This June the terrific people at ESAC hosted a 3-day workshop to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the discovery of X-ray bursts. The workshop featured a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art of burst physics and phenomenology, and plenty of opportunities for productive discussions. The organisers included a conference dinner at the fantastic Rstaurante Zerain which was a terrific (if very late) night out. It was also wonderful to spend some time in Madrid, and enjoy some sunshine! On behalf of my SOC co-chair, I had a lot of fun presenting the conference summary.