Alan Melvin

I left school without a mathematics qualification (sorry Huck) but got a job as an apprentice Quantity Surveyor. I have worked in construction and property all my life, in private practice, central government, the commercial sector and (currently) academia, where I run a post graduate course at Napier University. I had four years in Germany and ten in London before returning to Edinburgh in 1992. Apart from my academic role, I am also the National Training Adviser for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, helping employers get their money’s worth out of their trainees as they progress towards professional membership.

Jan and I have been married since 1970. (Jan née Geddes played hockey at Gillespie’s.) Our family are both married and live locally. We now have four grandchildren, who are a joy. My brother, Eric, recently retired as Headmaster of Currie Community School, and my older cousin Ian (another Herioter) retired to France a couple of years ago. I recently re-discovered the ukulele, and would rather be working with wood than sitting at a desk, but that is for the future.