Saying bye to a colleague

One of my colleagues Ian was finishing work today today, after 24 years in the organisation. And all this coincided with his 40th birthday, so it was a day of strange emotions all round.

To send him off, we'd had the customary collections, and had bought him some vouchers for a local wine merchants, which included a leisurely visit to their extensive cellars.

But was it coincidence that his leaving was timed so close to the World Cup? We didn't think so, and so with concerns on how he might cope over the next few weeks, we also decided to create our very own World Cup survival hamper for him, complete with beers, crisps from the different nations, an England shirt, flags, football chocs, a giant flag and a guide to the competition.

He tells us there's lots of jobs to do around the home over the summer - he'll need something to help him burn all these calories off!