Born March 29th 1945 in Stamford, Lincolnshire

Three brothers; David, who is older than me and used to be a keen bridge player; Frank who has no interest, and Robert who “knows the moves”.

Met Amy at the 1992 Brighton meeting, (where else?) and we have been together ever since. She is my regular bridge partner as well, although I have never really forgiven her for being just one quarter green ahead of me in the long chase to Grand Master! I have one daughter, Julie, by a previous marriage. Produced by Julie (reasonably enough), just the one grandchild, Neve, who happens to share her birthday with her mother. We live in a village called Sharnbrook, about 9 miles due north of Bedford. This leads to a round trip of about 86 miles going to and from work at the EBU each day.

I was educated at Kettering Grammar School and University of Nottingham, where I read Mathematics. Among the more interesting previous jobs I held were London taxi driver, Bridge teacher and, my favourite, computer games programmer. Games players of the 1980’s may remember “Head over Heels”, “Operation Wolf” and many others on their trusty Commodore 64 or Atari ST !

Whilst I would no longer place myself amongst the “totally addicted”, we still play bridge quite a lot. Our local bridge is played at Kettering Bridge Club (actually about 20 miles away!) and we also play in County representative matches, as well as congresses and national events that appeal to us. Scarborough is a particular favourite, and we go every year. We both reached Grand Master a few months ago.

At the EBU, after several years running the Bridge Shop, I moved in 2001 to take over the position of Master Point Secretary. I joined the EBU on a full time basis, (having done beginner’s events at Brighton etc. earlier) in May 1994. My primary task is to ensure that all the awards received from members and direct credit sources are accurately recorded onto their records. The move towards more and more clubs using direct credit facilities is a very welcome development – counting and registering the millions of pieces of paper that land on my desk is very labour intensive. I also monitor those clubs that print certificates, as well as liaising with the other bridge unions when their players play in EBU events and vice- versa. My assistance is also frequently sought on general bridge matters such as bidding, scoring or rulings.

Click here to see Colin's favourite bridge hand

As far as hobbies are concerned, I am a very keen (but unfortunately very poor!) golfer, generally playing most week-ends and several evenings during the summer. I haven’t played quite so much this year since Amy, who usually beats me, has had a back problem preventing her from playing. I get a great deal of pleasure out of playing the organ, which I taught myself, and also enjoy reading, (thrillers mostly,) crosswords, Su Doku and music, especially classical. A few TV programs grab my interest – ER, The Bill, University Challenge and Mastermind amongst them.

If I happened to be stranded on a desert island, my preferred companions would be a
ulumberjack, a boat-builder and a sailor !

If I could come back again as an animal I would choose a giant tortoise. They live for
a long time, and in such beautiful surroundings.

If I were not employed by the EBU what job would I like? Another easy one - 
Coronation Program seller !

With money no object, my dream holiday would also require me to go back many
years to when I was in a condition to be able to enjoy scuba diving on the Great
Barrier Reef.

I have always had a great admiration for Isaac Asimov. Not only was he a great
science fiction writer, he also wrote an enormous number of essays based on Physics
and Chemistry, presenting his subjects in a most interesting light.

I am currently re-reading “The Man in The Brown Suit” by Agatha Christie, (one of
my pet authors) and have just purchased “The Essential Simon and Garfunkel” –
purely for nostalgic reasons.

If I could invite anybody to a dinner party, my choice would be four members of the
Italian Blue Team. They were such an influence in world bridge affairs for so long
and the book of some of their performances never ceases to amaze me. I assume they
could be persuaded to speak English?

We have recently found a delightful pub about seven miles away where the most
perfect food is served and we consider it a real treat to start an evening there. Follow
that with a “Steeleye Span” concert, and there you are!

Something that no-one at the EBU would know about me?  I once borrowed a bass
Guitar from the Kinks, when mine broke at a gig in London, and I broke that too!