Stop that! It tickles...

Who is this Merlin character?

My name is Ian Hillbeck most of the time, and John Smith if I've done something wrong ;-) Friends call me " Merlin " and I can't spell what enemies call me...

I was born on 14th May 1960 (work it out!) and I live and work in Barrow In Furness, Cumbria, UK. (Though my boss may want to argue the last bit :)

I'm a Senior IT Engineer for the IT Department at BAE SYSTEMS formerly known as Marconi Marine (Barrow) formerly known as VSEL, formerly known as Vickers, who are best known as builders of nuclear submarines for the Royal Navy

I have a wife called Ann and three children. Two boys called Gareth and Daniel and an alien female named Tyne. My Mother got quite annoyed at my reference to my daughter being an alien, but any father of a young girl will know exactly what I mean.

When I'm not on my PC I like to read Terry Pratchett, listen to Meatloaf or play on someone else's PC. On Saturdays you may see me supporting my local soccer team Barrow AFC or cruising down the Lancaster Canal on my boat.

submariners.co.uk

Barrow-in-Furness has was granted the honour of opening the Submarine Services centenary celebrations in the year 2001. To this promote this, a web site was launched in the late nineties which I still host & maintain for our local branch of The Submariners Association.

poet.la14.co.uk

I have put together a site of my poetry. If you are feeling brave you might like to visit it by clicking this link, Lousy Poems On Morbid Themes.

lctrust.co.uk

The family and I are members of The Lancaster Canal trust and I provide the trust with this site based around the Website Baker Content Management System.