I have had the enormous privilege and opportunity to step into the very large shoes of Aidan professionally some 23 years ago. At the time I was completely unaware, as a young newly qualified dentist. Aidan had retired I believe in March 1997 and another dentist bought his practice for whom I started working for in August of that year. As I began to meet the many long standing loyal patients of Aidan I realised I stood in the shadow of a truly exceptional person and dentist. Every one of his patients spoke so fondly of him sharing great memories and experiences. I soon got to learn that not only was Aidan a fine operator, he was a well respected educator at Guys and a fine sportsman outside of dentistry. In 1999 I was offered the ownership of the practice and before making such a commitment I thought it only best to consult with the person who had spent 25 years practicing at this dental surgery. I thank Aidan with all my heart for that day, for his words of advice and encouragement. Since then I have been honoured to be his dentist for all these years. He has always astounded me with his incredible memory for all his patients and most recently gave me a detailed refreshers course in dental anatomy. I together with my longstanding team will miss his larger than life personality so very dearly. My deepest condolences to Brenda and all the family x