Camping was a major hobby and source of enjoyment for Colin (as well as us! ).  
In our early camping days he would gladly leave cooking to others and instead volunteer to do washing up. He enjoyed meeting people and would talk to anyone he met on the campsites. 
One memorable quote, (or was it a chat up line?) from a Jersey holiday, Colin was overheard to say to a young dutch lady who was using an adjacent  washing up sink, "What lovely crockery you have got!" 
He enjoyed regular visits to Jacksons, a camping store near Coventry. Every time he would buy new tent pegs, saying these were an improved design to those he got on his previous visit. 
Occasionally, he would buy another new tent to go with all his pegs! 

On camping weekends we awaited his arrival, to see what tent he would turn up with. Colin had by this time, acquired a variety of tents for all occasions,. He always enjoyed the challenge of putting them up, often in the dark, without instructions. It wasn't many minutes before we had to join in to help him get a roof over his head. Strangely, at the end of the weekend, his tent never seemed to go back into it's original bag ! At this point, pegs would get mislaid and hence an excuse for another trip to Jacksons! 

Years later when Beryl and I owned a campervan, Colin would come over to us from his tent at breakfast time, with a cheeky smile and ask
 "Any chance I can put 2 slices of bread in your toaster" or say "If you've got the kettle on, can I scrounge a mug of water for my tea...  Oh and a drop of milk." 
Colin continued his camping lifestile with four Fiat Doblo miniature camper vehicles. Never knew whether the Doblo would be the red, white, blue or black one! Eventually he bought a Talbot campervan

Everyone enjoyed his jovial cheeky (if not always organised) company on numerous camping excursions and holidays. I recall many happy evenings spent under canvas in the evenings, putting the worlds to rights over a drink or two, or three!

These make up some of my happy memories, of Colin who was not only a long standing friend from school but best man at my wedding and for years, my Thursday night drinking buddy.

Martin Barber