Simon has been my long-suffering co-author of the community care updates in Legal Action since March 2010. He was head of Ben Hoare Bell’s community care department when he first started writing for Legal Action. However, he subsequently qualified as a barrister and is now at Dere Street chambers, where he specialises in Court of Protection personal welfare and community care. During these career changes, he still found time to produce four substantial updates a year for this magazine.

Those of you who have tried it will know that the end result of co-authoring is often a bit like someone’s first-ever experiment with wallpaper: the differences in opinion and style are the joins that always show. It may be amusing initially but, before long, it becomes extremely irritating to readers and co-authors alike. However, from the start, working with Simon was a conflict-free zone, which is entirely attributable to his good humour, humanity and utter reliability when it came to meeting the ‘drop-dead’ deadline.

Sadly for us, Simon has decided to call time on his contributions, resisting all attempts to persuade him otherwise. This month’s community care update is therefore his last (though he will contribute to the seventh edition of LAG’s Community care and the law, which is due to be published later this year). His expertise and commitment will be much missed. If the joins show in the future, you will know why.