I came to work in the Vale Council in 2009 as Ian's line manager. My first impression of him was that he was going to be tricky! I had a Mo Mowlam moment in my first week when I asked him, 'so what are your priorities,' and he responded, 'you tell me, you're the boss.'

I am glad to say that over time our relationship grew into one of mutual trust and once you had Ian's trust he was such a loyal person. He was so very supportive of Headteachers and always found a way to help and support schools and internal departments through financial difficulties.  He was a wizard with the money and passionate about the part he played in making a difference to the lives of children and young people in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Although Ian was dedicated to his work, it was always very clear that his family came first and so it came as no surprise when he said he wanted to retire early to spend time with the family.

I was recently thinking about Ian and wondering how he was doing so it was great to see the lovely photos on this site of Ian enjoying his dream retirement.