Six months have flown by, and today really does mark the end of an era as it is St Ives' financial year end and therefore Brian Edwards' last day at the group.

I shall miss him and his dulcet tones terribly, especially the always enjoyable bouts of verbal jousting around results time - not least because Brian always has so many wonderfully colourful ways of telling you you're an idiot. It was a typical piece of St Ives understatement to describe his contribution to the group as "unsurpassed" when his departure was announced in January - the industry is losing one of its most knowledgeable managers, sharpest brains and a person of the utmost integrity to boot.

By my reckoning Brian's retirement means that chairman Miles Emley is the last remaining member of the management team that was hand-picked by founder Lord Gavron. That said, "new broom" Pat Martell is actually only just behind Edwards in the long service stakes at the group, and one could posit that St Ives has been bloody fortunate to have a person of Pat's calibre come up through the ranks.

So, bye-bye Brian, happy retirement and all that. Here's hoping it is more like au revoir as it would be delightful if this industry could retain your talents in one way or another.