CURRENT MISSION

To lower the barriers between travelers and local people.

ABOUT ME

(Español en "My Home")

I am retired after a mainly teaching and scientific career.

I live with my wife. Any requests for a couch will be decided by us jointly on the basis of your profile.

I am very interested in environmental and energy issues. I have a particular project in mind - building a home from waste materials - one which would stay warm in the winter by capturing heat from the sun.

Please feel free to communicate with me in any of the languages listed ("learning"="intermediate" in my original version).

PHILOSOPHY

My favourite proverb comes from Turkey: "Kusursuz dost arayan dostsuz kalır." = "The one who looks for a friend without faults remains without friends." What I like about CouchSurfing is that it encourages us to look for the good points in each other.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have reluctantly closed my "couch" because I haven't the time to spend checking for last minute requests. Nevertheless you are welcome to send a personal message with a request. I may be able to respond but I can't guarantee it.

This is what I wrote previously ..

NB. I don't spend a lot of time on the CS site - hence for late requests I am probably not the best choice. It is not likely I will be able to respond to requests which are not at least one week in advance. I expect to see a profile covering all surfers - i.e. for 2 people either a joint profile or two separate profiles. CS profile "track record" important.

Given the changes in CS I prefer surfers to contact me via my mailbox. You can make a formal request if we agree that it is OK to stay. (You can read the reasons for this in my post in the Over50 forum.) Equally when I am looking for a couch I prefer to make contact this way.

If I am hosted I intend to do the following:

- Once arrangements have been made I will follow them, unless there are problems, in which case I will make efforts to contact you.

- I have my own sleeping bag and travel pillow. I will not need sheets or pillowcases.

- I am not a late night person. I will adhere to agreed times.

- I do not smoke. I drink alcohol only in small amounts.

- I will make every reasonable effort to fit in with your way of life.

- I will try to help you in any way which is reasonable. I can help if you have problems writing in English, or need things translated (see language list). I can do routine things like shopping. Your boring chore may be a new experience for me!

Please let me know if I can help.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My use of CS is best observed from the references. So far every hosting/couching experience has resulted in a reference. (I consider it to be reasonable that hosts should be given credit for their contribution.)

I have attended a few Cardiff CS meetings - and one CS meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria.

We have a low rate of CS requests (less than 10 per year). So far we have never had to decline due to "double booking", but have declined for reasons such as vague profiles, no references, travelling with non-CS friends. We are most inclined to help those who make a positive contribution to the system - eg. by acting as hosts.

I suppose my most unusual experience has been being interviews for the Swedish magazine "Veteraner" regarding the experiences of older couchsurfers.

Interests

Travel

I have travelled in almost all European countries. I have also worked in Algeria.

Recently I have taken an interest in Eastern Europe, with trips to Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

I usually travel independently. One element of that independence is having at least a "street survival" knowledge of the language of the country.

• writing
• acting
• cooking
• drinking
• shopping
• traveling
• survival
• track and field
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

My books are mainly about travel, languages, computing and science. I have more books than time to read them. But that doesn't matter, they still help insulate my house.
Music - Dafydd Iwan and Heather Jones - Welsh folk singers. They are good nationalists - proud of who they are without any sense of superiority over others.
Film- Central do Brasil (=Central Station). Perhaps because I have known a few Brazilian people - all of them good fun - but never been there myself. This film to me represents Bazil in all its contrasts.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I found out how easy it was to learn Esperanto.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am interested in computers and languages - and especially the two together. I am prepared to find out things on my own, but it is more interesting to discover things with other people.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can do some cooking - not much variety!

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