Bernie offered a warm welcome at SMRU when I first came in as a PhD student, in 1998. I struggled understanding his accent at first, and I suspect he was playing a bit with it; he also tried to convince me that Irn-bru was a fantastic local elixir, and that I needed to bring some back home (imagine the face of the seller when I asked some in a wine and spirits shop in St Andrews, on his specific advice). He later generously shared his field experience when catching seals in France a couple of times, and entertained the whole team with music (harmonica and singing) in the evening… Like many others who share their stories and feelings here, I was always very pleased to meet him again at each conference over the years. I will endlessly miss the man of big heart and big laughter…