Colin was born in Lambeth, London, opposite the House of Parliament, but grew up in Dulwich, and then Croydon.
He started work at the age of 16 in an office environment and learnt the skills of becoming a design draughtsman.
Life was a little slow for Colin, so he joined the Royal Navy, where he learnt Radar and went on to become the Navigators assistant.
When leaving the Navy, he started an apprenticeship in the installation of sprinkler systems. He then joined a large fire protection company.
Soon, he decided to go it alone and start his own fire protection business in installing all aspects of fire prevention, eventually getting some major contracts like the Bank of England.
After many years he decided to move on, and with his lovely wife, Elaine, made a decision to leave London and move to Eastbourne, to start their own little Guest House.
This eventually led them a few years later to upgrade to a large seafront hotel. Today, they happily live in Eastbourne and Colin works in sheltered housing as a manager, which he enjoys very much.