CURRENT MISSION

Thinking seriously about shipping the boat over to France....

ABOUT ME

Born in London, worked overseas for 20 years, technical side then general management. Lived in USA, India, Turkey, Beirut, Nigeria and South Africa.

Having lived in various parts of the world, I usually get on with people from different cultures.

I have a son who recently graduated from Loughborough University and is now enjoying an exciting job in engineering.

I'm officially an OAP but I don't feel like it - and some are kind to say that I don't look or act like my real age. I keep fit walking and boating (more often single-handed - I did 600 miles and 350 locks on my own last summer).

PHILOSOPHY

I was brought up as Methodist and, by accident, attended a fairly conservative Baptist college in the Bible Belt of East Tennessee. I now consider myself to be an agnostic, but the roots of the christian upbringing still linger in my sub-conscious.

I believe that one of greatest dangers facing the world is associated with fundamentalist religious conviction. Sadly this includes factions of three of the world's greatest religions, those of Christian, Islamic and Jewish persuasion.

I have no argument with anyone wishing to practice any form of religious belief provided it respects the right of others to have differing views without trying to impose one's own culture and beliefs on others.

I am not so naive to think that we don't need to be ready to defend ourselves with force if necessary but I am optimistic enough to believe that most disputes can be handled by negotiation and respect for and understanding of different cultures.

I am optimistic that the power and scope of the internet will bring about dramatic political change, but first we have to learn to stop hating each other.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Sharing my mobile, water-borne couch with easy going people who enjoy fresh air, exercise followed by a few drinks and a discussion about anything of mutual interest and amusement.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have swapped use of boat for use of overseas flat and over the years I have slept in bunks, on sofas and floors (a few times in mud huts) in many countries but not through Couchsurfing.

Interests

Hobbies include canal boating, walking, geocaching, fine ales and good, unpretentious food from varied cultures.

I enjoy popular and folk music, international politics and having a good laugh. Not a fan of over-wrought classical music or opera but anything to please in moderation. One of my fondest memories was an all-night performance of classical Indian music in Bombay - Ravi Shankar was just an also ran on the programme.

• culture
• performing arts
• dining
• exercise
• running
• walking
• drinking
• boating
• politics
• technology
• tv
• magic
• music
• classical music
• folk music
• opera
• muslim
• sports
• communications
• engineering
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Dire Straits, traditional jazz, canal folk music. Books: Shantaram, The Kite Runner, Millennium Trilogy, Dark Materials.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was UK Race Director of Sport Aid's Run the World which raised $30 million for Bob Geldof's Live Aid. We sold 600,000 TShirts in the UK alone and million's of runners took part in simultaneous, real time, 10 km runs around the world. On the day I was Race Director of the Hyde Park run where over 250,000 people ran - it took over an hour to get everyone over the start line which was 300 metres wide.

The view from the gantry where I was above the start was amazing as was the world-wide live TV transmission. We had installed a giant screen at Hyde Park so that the tens of thousands of runners waiting to get over the start line could see aerial views of other races taking place simultaneously around the world. The atmosphere was quite magic and not a single incident of trouble was reported despite there being over a quarter of a million people being there.

This brilliant mix of technology & global marketing was conceived by Chris Long & Simon Dring. Millions took part, and it was all organised in the '80s before the electronic revolution. The internet was in its infancy and the mobile phones we used to communicate with our senior stewards around the course weighed several kilos. I often wonder how much bigger the event would have been if we had social media like Facebook, Google, Twitter and even SMS.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am spending much of my retirement trying to use the skills and knowledge I have acquired to make a modest contribution to a better society.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, China, Cyprus, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Lebanon, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

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