hello to you,

My name is Alistair.

I spend part of my time in the UK working as a bike courier and then I take off to paint (and get sunshine around me again!)I was born in cape town and after school ended up a caddy of the Pro Tour for a few years before heading to the UK. Never did settle on a career but instead worked (stock market,social housing,porter in a hospital,Ministry of Defense and a lot more than that) started to paint recently and am lucky to have the time and freedom to do this. I base myself in London to work as a bike courier and then take off. I usually go to turkey or the island of Sark near Guernsey but generally end up in SA when it's dark, cold and wet in london. no, it's not always like that,ha.

I know many put up personality traits within their profile but I don't feel qualified to define myself that way. It's tough when you are on the inside looking out, to say how you are for the people on the outside looking in. If we meet then you can do that for me

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Just to break the hostel cycle. Couch surfing does take you to places that a hostel life is just not set up for.

Interests

interest? hell ...mm. ok, picked up a trumpet 12 yrs ago then worked out 9 years ago that i prefer learning the piano. after working about 50 different jobs i decided that i don't mind being on the edge of mainstream society. its where i fit in. but i did love entering all those different worlds to see how people are getting by. ever wondered how it is that the largest flower in the world gives out a smell of rotting flesh to pollinate itself? and why not a fragrance more becoming of a flower? will i do, well sometimes i do. or why we never value that we as a people, we walked out of africa and found ways to live and survive in deserts and snow , before the time of jesus, moohammed or budda . we remembered to sail across oceans to islands by observing where the stars where. amazing that i think. or how western art seems to about form yet aboriginal art is about time. also the privilege of travel and eating a variety of different foods....i think i should leave it there cos i have more to say...

Music, Movies, and Books

this is tough. much i liked and much i wonder who i was to have liked it in the first place....but i like music that makes time stand still, movies that make me forget time and books make me see the world in a way i never had before.

more and more i think i like good editing (books n film 'specially)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

hitched a ride on a helicopter out of a town in the himalayas, flown by a russian crew that then took a detour to collect bags of marijuana from one of the towns I had hiked through 3 days previously...btw, i had no idea this was gonna happen...

What I Can Share with Hosts

I hope that we will both make the other see the world in a new way, have a good time together....also risotto to eat

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hungary, India, Italy, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom