I was appointed Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Edinburgh in 2000 and continue to run a specialist service in hepatobiliary, pancreatic and liver transplant surgery. I consider myself fortunate that I now lead one of the strongest academic surgical groups in the country. I am a council member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and was Chairman of the RCSEd Quincentenary Congress (July 2005) and of the 7th World Congress of IHPBA (September 2006). I was President of the Association of Upper GI Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland and am currently secretary of the British Journal of Surgery Society and the James IV Association of Surgeons and Chairman of the Programme Committee of the European Surgical Association. I serve on the editorial boards of several major surgical journals am currently Associate Editor of the World Journal of Surgery.

Mandy and I have already celebrated our 30th anniversary before this year’s reunion. Stephen goes to Bristol in October to study engineering and Katie plans to study design when she leaves school in two years time. I look forward to being able to combine a little of my international travel with more leisure and perhaps with an opportunity to visit the overseas members of the year. I can be tempted by any good wine or golf course!

I append a photo but will try to fond a better one!

James