As the year draws to a close, many of us will be thinking about the good and the not so good developments of the last 12 months – in both our private and our professional lives.

When I took up my duties I was delighted to find that there were also vast bookshelves containing all the books that my predecessors had bought to support their initial training in the Ombud’s role and to continue developing the knowledge they needed to help them tackle interpersonal relationship

At the start of another new year, please allow me, as in previous years, to convey my very best wishes to you. May this year bring you satisfaction at work and fulfilment in your personal lives.

As 2019 gets under way, I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you a year full of good things:

Just this once, my article is not going to be about a specific subject. I simply wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all the very best for the New Year.

A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation in the cafeteria where a colleague was asked how it was that he was always smiling… his answer was immediate - “That’s easy”, he said, “I work in such a great place – great science, great people, great opportunities…”.