CURRENT MISSION

Write, take pictures, make music - Blues, Ragtime, Flamenco, Classical Indian (Tabla) Classic rock (Stones, Dylan, Beatles, etc. and my own songs)

ABOUT ME

I am a friendly person who loves meeting all sorts of people. I have travelled widely. I speak Swiss German and Indonesian as well as French and some Spanish. I now live in Bristol, in England, a glorious city where I work most days at the Skipchen )http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/08/bristol-restaurant-skipchen-ingredients-binned-supermarkets). I've always hated the fact that so much perfectly good food gets thrown out.

PHILOSOPHY
Life is good. That's it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I still correspond with my wonderful host in Paris in 2011. An amazing generous man he is now living in Thailand and has a young son there. I enjoy meeting hosts. I loved hosting people at our wonderful farm community in New Zealand.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed around France in 2011, then hosted several fantastic folk when I was living on the Coromandel in NZ. Both hosting and surfing have been memorable experiences.

Interests

Everything. I mean it. I am interested in literally everything in the universe, including the universe itself.
I suppose I could say I am more specifically interested in, for starters, writing and publishing; music of all kinds – if it's good, it's good, regardless of its label; nature and the environment, of course, specifically the wonders of nature and human culture; travel - goes without saying; all the performing arts; humour, because I made a living as a clown/magician/stand-up for almost ten years; festivals and big events, since I was in that business for fifteen years.
I love genetics and read everything I can find about it. Neuroscience is becoming very interesting since the development of Functional MRI.
Oh, this is hopeless. I'm interested, period. I'm reminded of that great line in 'The Wild Ones,' a late 5os movie about motorcycle gangs starring Marlon Brando. A citizen asks Brando 'Just what are you rebelling against?' to which Brando replies 'Whaddya got?'

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• performing arts
• festivals
• flamenco
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• boating
• traveling
• music
• blues
• surfing
• business
• genealogy
• neuroscience

Music, Movies, and Books

For seven years I was the film critic for the NZ Listener, so as for movies, it is useless to start picking and choosing because I love all kinds.
Music - see above; I love anything that's good. Recently I have been listening to a new-era flamenco group called Bari, who have a player of Indian tabla (one of my instruments) as part of their regular line-up. I have moved through Mozart and Beethoven and all that push to the more modern composers, particularly Mahler, Orff and Bartok.Doing Rachmaninov at the moment. I have had The Waif's newish album on high rotate on my iPhone. I'm also listening to the new Maori singers and bands who are really coming up with some glorious stuff in ther own language.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Let's see.. surviving a Thai jail was a biggie. My three kids being born into my hands, two of them at home in our own bed, was totally special. Then there was losing my virginity, of course. How about jumping from a burning boat into a crocodile-infested river in South Sumatra? Definitely a moment in time. Maybe the best is yet to come... having written the novel (www.themusketgirl.com) which was festering inside me, I am now completing my list of lifetime ambitions. I want to go surfing again.

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't like to boast (truly) but I have accumulated a ridiculous amount of information about a ridiculous range of subjects, from genetics to music to Eastern philosophies through paleobiology and onwards in that vein.
I only know two things for certain:
1. Always read the manual. ALWAYS read the manual.
2. When dealing with bureaucrats, help desk people, any office funcyionary on the phone who is telling you something important: ALWAYS ask for their full name, and tell them you are making a diary note of what they are telling you. At least 60% of the time, they will stop bullshitting at that point and put you onto their manager/supervisor who, if you repeat the name thing, will tell you the real truth about your complaint/enquiry. This is the most valuable practical tactic I have ever discovered.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Cooking with passion. Music. An understanding that we all like good food, conversation, being interested the lives of the people meet.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Afghanistan, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Switzerland