Gordon's passing is tragic news.. I had the good fortune to work with him closely during my PhD, during the time when we were beginning to learn how the p21 family bound to Cyclin D. He welcomed me into his lab to learn techniques Gordon and his lab had so painstakingly developed- a time of huge excitement as his team were unravelling the intricacies of the G1/S checkpoint. This was the beginning of a long friendship, talking science in his office, canteen or the pub. He was a great mentor over the next 15 years as i tried to get back into science and then later as tenure loomed- always patient and encouraging.