Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm an infernal fidget who finds it difficult to remain in the same place, doing the same thing for a prolonged period of time. For years now I have been building up the courage to go on a "real" adventure, but I have put it all off to go to University, thinking I would decide what I wanted to do as a career. That hasn't really happened for me yet, so I'm setting off this summer with my rucksack, some trusty boots and mean to see how far I can get along the coastal paths of Europe. I will be starting in Bilbao.

I've no house of my own, so I've never hosted but I've been a host in a chalet and cooked, cleaned and generally looked after 15 different people every week for 6 months. I'm excited for the future, when I can return the favour, but for now I can't host people unless they don't mind sharing my bivy bag! I personally would NOT recommend it.

I think I am quite easy going, but I guess that is subject to the opinions of others! I love to listen to stories and talk about peoples' childhoods with them. You can find out a lot about a person from the kind of stuff they got up to as a child, what their dreams were and how they looked at the world. I love walking (obviously), reading, a variety of different sports, listening to music and sharing a meal with interesting people. I love animals but they seem to know that I don't mean business and thus run rings around me, as do children! Bit of a soft touch, I'm afraid...

At the moment I am still in England, currently on the Isle of Wight, but if you'd like to walk with me for some of the road, I'd love the company. Hopefully I will meet you somewhere along the lines!

Interests

Skiing, anything to do with the water, reading, walking, drawing, military history (groan), how things work in general! Too interested in too much, no specific area of expertise...

• animals
• poetry
• cooking
• running
• walking
• reading
• drawing
• music
• skiing
• sports
• business
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
The Gaslight Anthem, Cat Empire, Bon Iver, Stereophonics, Isbells, The Walkmen, Old Crow Medicine Show, Bonobo, Arcade Fire, Josh Ritter, The National, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Wallflowers, Streetlight Manifesto, Nada Surf, Bob Dylan, Bedouin Soundclash, Jimi Hendrix, Willy Mason, City and Colour, Easy Star All-Stars...

A bit of everything, really. Love sharing bands with people because I don't find it easy to find non-English bands to get into.

Movies:
The English Patient, Requiem For a Dream, Lord of the Rings, Spirited Away, Fly Away Home, Into the Wild, Gladiator, The Pianist,The Lives of Others, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Constant Gardener, Up, Good Will Hunting, Pan's Labyrinth, V for Vendetta, How to Train Your Dragon, most X-Men films, The Killing Fields.

I am afraid I've got stupidly serious taste when it comes to films! I do watch other stuff, but I love films that move me to tears more than films that make me laugh.

Books:
The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, The Book of Disquiet, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Kim, Sense and Sensibility, Homeland, Lord of the Flies, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Stranger, Shakespeare's history plays, The Shadow of the Wind, the Sharpe series, Swallows and Amazons, The Bell Jar, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Wasteland, Watership Down. Lots of historical fiction and history too.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Faced down my fears and skied down the Tournier couloir from the top of the Saulire lift station in Méribel (Les Trois Vallées). There was fresh powder up to my thighs and it is supposed to be as steep as 38° at the top. The videos on youtube don't do it justice.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can show you how to throw together a website, fix up old photographs and am a bit of a whiz on photoshop but that isn't much fun, really. Can cook well enough but am a bit experimental.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A little bit of poetry, the charms of the English countryside and a few travellers' tales.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United Kingdom