Dear Linda, Liam, Dan, Alex and Jack I am very sorry for your loss; please accept my deepest condolences. Although I hadn’t seen Alan for a number of years following our collaboration and his retirement, I did think of him often and looked forward to catching up when I would next be up in the north west. It saddens me to think that this won’t now be possible. As well as having a great intellect, Alan had presence and his talks and conversations were always fun and engaging. He also got me involved with CARA for whom I have subsequently done a bit of work. I looked forward to our visits to Liverpool and Alan and Paul’s trips to Plymouth when we worked together. As a fellow Irishman we had a connection, though cricket wasn’t my sport, and he joked about how he was called a culchie growing up, being from Dunmurry which is now part of the urban sprawl. We also had a good conversation by phone when his father died, and we talked about his life in Belfast. I will remember those times fondly and think of Alan with a smile.