It just gets harder to make new friends as you get older so I’m grateful that so many of my old friends and colleagues going back over the last 40 years are still in touch. Well, at last, I’ve almost retired. I’ve finished teaching, and I’ve got a few bits and pieces to complete and then it’s time for my novels. I’ve been promising myself for many years that I would take up novel writing as well as reading. The book walls litter my house so it’s time to make a dent in them.

I have been so fortunate that my job has allowed me to jump into many established networks. And, thank you to those who have awarded me lifetime achievement medals. Such recognition brings a warm glow. I hope you will enjoy the gobbets, and even recognise some of them as shared experiences of horrifying behaviours that we have had to sort out. I think we made, on the whole, quite a good fist of it. It has been a pleasure working with you.

And to all my fellow conference attenders, welcome. It has been great fun getting to know you and how you have coped with your difficult organisational problems. I have learnt much from our discussions, and, as a retiree, I hope I can still join you in the future as a conference junkee. I hope you enjoy the gobbets, and, when you have time, let me know your vignettes and I’ll weave them in.