Alan Michael Skippins, known as Al or Skippy, was born in Hackney on 6th November 1959.
Al was a very intelligent and talented man. After graduating in Computer Science from Leicester Polytechnic in 1982, he went on to work for The Financial Times, The Stock Exchange and Reuters as an IT consultant. He was very proud to have written much of the code for THE BIG BANG when trading on the stock exchange changed from being open outcry to electronic in 1986. He retired from Reuters in 2002. Alan retained his love for computers, technology and gadgets throughout his life and stayed up to date with the latest equipment in all his homes. There was very little about computers Al didn’t know and he was often called on to help sort our friends and neighbours IT problems.
Alan married Jan in London Colney on 3rd October 1987. They shared a love of travel, skiing, scuba diving, formula 1, cricket and fast cars. Alan was not far away from achieving his goal of visiting every country in the world and was just a “Sudan” away from getting to every place in Ian Dury’s song “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”. When Jan met Alan he drove a Lotus Elan and between them they have shared many fast cars over the years including two Aston Martins.
He was a member at Surrey Cricket club for many years and his love of the game led him to follow the England Team on tour in South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and The Caribbean. He very much enjoyed seeing England, skippered by Paul Collingwood, beat Australia to win the T20 World Cup in 2010 in Barbados.
He was a fine chef, preparing many elaborate dinner parties. He enjoyed good food and loved to visit Michelin starred restaurants. He particularly liked “The Fat Duck”, “L’Enclume” and “El Cellar de Can Roca” near Barcelona. He often tried to recreate their recipes. There is no gadget for the kitchen that Alan didn’t own.
Alan loved astronomy and geology and, after retiring, started a degree in geology at Birkbeck College. One of his most treasured memories was of observing the night sky from Sipadan Island and explaining all the constellations to Jan.
Alan battled with alcoholism for many years and finally lost his battle on 31st August 2016 in Stamford, Lincolnshire a place he loved and where he spent his final two years.
Alan is survived by his wife Jan, his mum Ileana and his sisters Penny Franklyn and Kay Skippins.
May he rest in peace and be in a better place.