CURRENT MISSION

Helping poets with their work and getting my own published.

ABOUT ME

I'm a colloquial poet. More like punk or hip-hop than flowery romantic!

I'm non-materialistic, though I like new things occasionally (such as this computer).

I'm not too new-agey, or reactive; I like this world!

PHILOSOPHY

I like the word 'Humanistic'. I'm a secular Buddhist too, which doesn't mean anything to do with beliefs -- but if you stay I'll be sitting quietly each morning after some yoga stretches -- only for twenty minutes though! Actually, I can do it later in the day, or some days I miss it. Buddhists don't preach(!), which is part of its attraction for alternative-minded westerners.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

April 2024:
I just logged in again after a gap of almost seven years! The pandemic and parenting closed things down a fair bit, and we're just opening up again now.

I had around a hundred people staying with me between April '07 and 2013, and met some people for drinks and Indian meals. I've participated in several groups, too.

We've just reopened ourselves to 'Maybe' hosting.

I CouchSurfed in het Nederlands at the end of February '08, and it was a positively memorable experience. Since then there have been Liverpool, Portugal and London CS trips. Plus Spain and Portugal again; and again. Then there was the Praha-Dresden-Berlin trip, and Eire (Ireland) too.

In 2017 we stayed with Azzaree near Kuching, and met with Cindy Chee over there and others. It's been great!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I used to stay here & there while hitching around Europe years ago, informally and spontaneously. Once I was hitching in South Germany and then stayed in a Swiss commune for three days, milking goats; that was nice. Then in Austria I stayed up through the night and was half asleep when this guy stopped. I got in his car and I asked him if HE'D been waiting long, before falling asleep.

I CouchSurfed around Europe a fair bit, including Holland at the end of February '08, and it was a positively memorable experience. Portuguese hosts were great too, as were ones in Madrid and Britain; there's something about CSing that switches people's uplifted sides on!

Interests

Poetry, languages, yoga (sometime teacher), meditation, massage, cycling, dance, walks, radio, chocolate, music (Bjork, silence, Kate Bush, new music on BBC Radio 6, hip-hop, indie, classical, all sorts except rave), foreign films (Kieslowski, Tarkowski etc) and, of course, travel.

I have been a teacher of Buddhist meditation practices on and off (about to do some more training in April 2024).

I used to organise Focusing workshops -- a simple technique for listening to our own body of knowledge.

• literature
• poetry
• dancing
• dining
• chocolate
• yoga
• meditation
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Dead Man, The Legend of Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Il Miglior de Juventu, Three Colours, La Vie Double de Veronique, David Lynch, Tarkowski, Donnie Darko, Funky Forest, Amelie, Coen Bros, Kundun, and many more, inc. Betty Blue. Music: lots, ranging from Led Zeppelin to Bjork; poetry (Wallace Stevens, Simic, Tonks, Donaghy, Nina Cassian, Durcan, Farley, Pascale Petit, Holub, Muldoon, Paterson, Doty -- contemporary stuff, mostly), European novels (Hrabal, Skvorecky etc), alternative/diverse. I'm interested in European language/original language culture -- books and films (Tarkowski, Kieslowski) with English subtitles. I like to learn languages from films. Tell me some of your favourites?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Getting married to my darling, twice, and moving to Malaysia all within one month! And then getting used to my new Chinese family and Malaysia!

Going overland to India, alone at twenty years old, and riding on the roof of a bus through the Himalaya to Katmandu.

Seeing Ted Hughes read Pike and Hawk Roosting at Bath Lit Fest, and gatecrashing an interview with him afterwards (he didn't give interviews).

Reading my poetry aloud in public with Michael Donaghy.

Seeing Bjork at Bercy (Paris) and Led Zep's last gig in England at Knebworth.

I heard a leopard barking outside my window just now... or perhaps they were Thought Foxes.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach the absolute basics of Behasa Melayu (Malay language) and Mandarin Chinese.

If I'm not too busy-headed I can learn from most other people. I'd like to learn/improve my languages: Mandarin, Malay, Deutsch, Italiano, Espanol, Francais, Portuguese, Gaeilge (Irish) etc.

I like to share literature, conversation, languages, cycling, walking, Qigong, yoga, silence, presence, lots of things. I used to teach English.

What I Can Share with Hosts

All of the above plus some international food.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Spain, United Kingdom

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