CURRENT MISSION

Me and my philosophical friend Marcus are driving slowly south through France and Spain, hoping to get to Granada in about a week!

ABOUT ME

I'm a former economics lecturer at UCL and at Bristol University in England.

I sing when I walk, play the piano when I'm at home and dance whenever Stevie Wonder's on!

I love talking, eating and socialising: my dream evening is one spent in the pub with some loud, wonderful friends potentially followed by a late-night trip to some small dingy disco where they play up-tempo soul until late.

I can cook about four things really, really well, which makes people believe I can cook, but the shabby reality is that I don't know my marjoram from my mustard seed.

Despite what I tell people in job interviews etc., the only two things I ever really, really work hard at is music and learning languages. I'm a grammar bore and love finding out that you need an 'n' at the end of the plural dative (or whatever other crazy rules your language has!)

PHILOSOPHY

There's no fundamental law of the universe that says that living has to be a struggle. It's sometimes a bit of a struggle on this particular planet, but it's nice sometimes to remember that it doesn't have to be!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surfing around the world, and a smattering of hostings in Frankfurt, Germany.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Ahh, so many wonderful evenings. I'd say the time I spent in an appartment with two other couchsurfers in Bordeaux has to be my best so far. If you get the chance, go to the Café Des Jours Heureux in Bordeaux and say "hi" to the proprietor for me.

Interests

Singing
Playing piano
Dancing
Drinking
Wussy sports like volleyball, badminton and table tennis.

• books
• singing
• dancing
• cooking
• wine
• white wine
• drinking
• pub crawls
• music
• piano
• surfing
• sports
• tennis
• volleyball
• table tennis
• badminton
• languages
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

Stevie Wonder is my main obsession but I'm also keen on Prince, The Super Furries, Low and Magnetic Fields, Longpis, Pink Floyd, Early Queen, The Beatles, The Jackson 5. Yum yum. Films I've enjoyed include: Jackie Brown, Waking Life, Dancer in the Dark (Bjork), The Devil & Daniel Johnston, Wilbur wants to kill himself, Withnail & I (of course), Les Triplettes De Belleville, Goodnight and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale was pretty good too.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-One- amazing thing I've done in my lifetime? That's ridiculous.

I suppose I could say this: I've transformed from an embryo into a man using just simple proteins, carbohydrates, air and water in just under 37 years. Now *that's* amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

When making poached eggs, don't bother with that "whisking the water" crap they teach you in books. Just keep the water deep enough to cover the eggs plus a bit, have it just boiling (bubbles on the base of the pan) and put a healthy swig of vinegar in (I've used malt, white wine AND balsamic in my time, and never had any adverse effects). Gently crack the eggs directly into the water and bob will be your uncle in about 3 minutes.

Sweet.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United States, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, United Kingdom