Welcome to the alternative section of my web site - which basically gives a slightly more complete run-down on me and my life. Since I've given you the URL for this site, or you got it from someone I gave it to, you'll know that I'm gay. The reason that I've kinda kept this part of the site secret is that I'm not completely out - not to my family or some friends, although my closest friends know all about me :-)

A quick run down on me - some of this duplicates the info in the About Me section of the main site, but there's a bit more in this.

I'm 18 years old, 5'9" tall, and with brown hair and blue eyes (quite difficult to see in the photo). Here's a fairly recent picture of me (July 97), along with a pretty gormless expression! (I'm not always like that, honest!)
I recently got a newer pic of me scanned in (Jan 98), and you can find more pictures of me and some of my friends at uni here. (I'll get around to making a page for these pics at some point!)

In my spare time I enjoy playing my computer, having a look round the web, chatting on IRC (nick Colin18), writing Visual Basic programs, writing OPL applications on my Psion organiser, reading, swimming, popping along to the gym (not often enough!), listening to music, playing the violin, blah blah blah.

I live in Cumbernauld, which is a small town just outside Glasgow in Scotland (see map below). Here, I went to Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld, and studied Maths, Physics, Latin, Computing and French, amongst other subjects. I was never out at school, although I knew who and what I was at the age of about 16. I kinda worked it out well before then, but admitting it to yourself and accepting it isn't easy - and it took me until April 1997 until I actually plucked up the courage and came out with it.

For two years (Sept 95 - Sept 97) I worked in a computer shop in Glasgow, called The Computer Depot, and one of my friends there was gay and pretty open about it. At his birthday party in April 1997 I decided I would tell him, so I got drunk on his notorious home-brew and told him. It was definitely the best thing I've ever done and I've never regretted it. From then on, talking to Scott and meeting people, I became increasingly comfortable with myself.

About this time too, I got a modem for my PC and discovered IRC - the chat network on the 'net. After discovering #Gay-Scotland and at the same time, gordy, I suddenly had a whole load of people at the other end of a phone line in the same situation as me, and now a lot of my friends were first discovered over IRC.

In October 1997 I went down to Durham University, just outside Newcastle, to start a four year course studying Physics with Astronomy at St Aidan's College. At the time of writing this, I'm on Christmas holidays at the end of the first term, so there's not really a lot to say about it just now, except that it's a really nice city, and although the course is pretty hard, I've made some good friends, met a lot of people, and I'm definitely enjoying student life!

When I'm out with friends in Glasgow, I'm normally to be found in Sadie Frost's or The Polo Lounge, or sometimes Del's... rarely, you'll see me in Bennet's - probably sitting chatting to people - dancing at clubs isn't really my thing - I prefer to have a drink and a laugh with my friends. :-)

Why not check out the alternative Links section, for some links I've found useful or use fairly often. There's also some of my friends' home pages too.