CURRENT MISSION

I don't have a mission, or maybe I do and I've just lost it...

ABOUT ME

I'm a vegetarian musician who works at the University of Leeds. I like watching a lot of different sorts of music (trad, acoustic, rock, indie, jazz, even opera and classical). I'm originally from Cambridge, so obviously a keen cyclist! I also enjoy a walk in the countryside. I seem to have traveled a lot of places one way or another. I joined CS summer 2012. I'm always up for meeting new people with similar interests. I sometimes go walking in the Dales etc. at the weekends with folks from work. Random extra people always welcome! I spent September to Christmas 2013 in Bordeaux, and January to April 2014 in Auckland, then went travelling in SE Asia, so couldn't host for a while, but I'm back in Leeds (sort of) now.

PHILOSOPHY

There are peoples, and there are peoples, and there are peoples [The Muppets]

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting and (hopefully sometime) surfing. Always happy to meet up with folks.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have hosted a few people so far (Julien from Taiwan, Graeme from Scotland, and Mete from Turkey, Francesca from Italy, Petra from Slovenia, Helena and Guillem from Spain, Doriane and Pierre from France, Andrea from New Zealand, Patrick from France (via Belgium), Noemie from France, Yan from Hong Kong, Juul and Rob from the Netherlands, Sara from France, Mia from Israel and Evelina from Sweden) - apologies to the folks I couldn't host as I travel a lot! Julie from Denmark also stayed with me, but that wasn't 100% through couchsurfing (although in the spirit). I also met up with 1 couchsurfer in Galway on my travels. Additionally, my friends Hannah and Roger came to stay as soon as I joined CS in response, but I'm not sure that counts! I met lots of couchsurfers while living in Auckland and the CS drinks there is to be recommended! Also the couchsurfing language exchange in Bordeaux is worth checking out.

Interests

Music (playing and watching), gardening/growing veggies, cycling, walking, watching football (Leeds Utd. for my sins), very occasionally climbing, veggie cooking.

• walking
• music
• folk music
• jazz
• cycling
• countryside
• punk

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Delicatessen (in fact anything by Caro and Jeunet), Catch 22, George Romero films, Quentin Tarantino films, Fargo (in fact any Coen brothers film), Ghostbusters, The third man, Casablanca, La vita è bella.

Music: Old school, Indie and Rock: Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, New Model Army, Metallica, Trad: Lunasa, Bothy Band, Shooglenifty, etc. Gipsy Jazz: Bireli Lagrene , Angelo Debarre, Rosenburg Trio, etc. Early Jazz (Swing and some BeBop): Louis Armstrong, Ela Fitzgerald, etc.

Books: Midnights Children, Roddy Doyle books, Ian Banks books, Two Caravans, Guns Germs and Steel, Shock Doctrine.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walked on the great wall of china. Pretty much everything on the south island of New Zealand!

Teach, Learn, Share

I play a lot of Irish traditional music (on the fiddle), and a bit of Gipsy Jazz (on the guitar).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, New Zealand, United Kingdom

•