Owen, you weren’t just my manager or colleague, you were a truly incredible friend. I’ve now realised how incredibly lucky I was to have you as a mentor, and I have so much to thank you for!

I miss our Monday morning “work” catchups on the weekends football, how our fantasy football teams had done (it was usually you complaining that Cat was beating you again) and how Celtic got another dodgy decision to win their game and how Aberdeen were always hard done by. Although I do not miss that dossier of yours and trust me it would be pages long now with the introduction VAR and all the dodgy handball decisions.

You’ll be glad to know that I haven’t changed much when it comes to handing work over for review as Alison always needs to tell me to update the dates lol. But I do have a bone to pick though as you had always promised me that macro for excel you used to make life easier, so I have had to take matters into my own hands and follow excel pages on Instagram (yes Amy slags me for being a geek just the same way Cat probably slagged you).

I just want to say a massive a thank you for being a great boss, teaching me everything I know about Deferred Tax (your favourite subject), excel formulas & how to fit a certain swear word into most sentences haha! Most importantly, you’ve been a great mate and I will cherish all the memories we had together, from skiving off to the Distilleries up north (I mean for business), nipping into the pub for a quick pint on the way to the bus stop after a work dinner, and the best one, taking one for the team and travelling to Madrid on your birthday so we could get the afternoon off and go see the Bernabeu, now that was a birthday that I’ll never forget!

It really isn’t the same without you in the office listening to your terrible jokes, rambling on about politics and complaining when someone sent you a skype message just as you put your jacket on to leave but when I do come into the office, I now wear your high-vis which gives me a bit of comfort knowing that you still have my back as you always did when you were here. You were one of a kind mate and I am sure Cat will tell your girls what an incredible dad they have!

Rest easy Gaffer!!