Those of you close to PNE will by now have heard the very sad news about Ian Thompson, our Company Accountant for eighteen years, who died recently.

For those of us in PNE, Ian was more than just a respected, long-term colleague, he was a trusted friend, and someone who often provided a great deal of personal and moral support at challenging times.

His easy, informal manner belied his excellent technical expertise in finance and grant management. We routinely received praise about the way PNE administered and managed our finances from clients, funders and our auditors - the credit was all Ian's.       

Despite his technical ability, Ian often said he thought accountancy was boring. He was a joker, with a range of standing jokes for colleagues and partners. Ian really came into his own during partnership work - he seemed able to connect easily with each partner on a personal level, irrespective of their nationality or background. Working on European projects with Ian, we were left in no doubt by partners that the person they most looked forward to seeing was Ian - and not just because he was paying them.

We have collated some photographs and memories of Ian into a book, which you can view here.

It is our hope that this book will help keep Ian's memory alive and remind us of how lucky we are to have had him as a colleague and a friend.