CURRENT MISSION

Finding and meeting kindred spirits as I travel and as they travel. Travelling and exploring by road the West Coast from Panama to Patagonia

ABOUT ME

Looking forward to meeting a whole lot more people, and helping them enjoy New Zealand.

I was brought up in the English countryside on a farm with a salmon river flowing through.Caught my first salmon on a fly which was a Silver Doctor. 12lbs and fresh run. Joined the Royal Navy as an officer cadet, and read my engineering degree curtesy of the RN. Got married, left RN and became Engineering Manager for a shipping and container-leasing company. last major project was to be the engineering manager for the restoration of the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. This project spread across France, Germany, Belgium and UK.
Came to New Zealand to be together with wife and two sets of twins, to be a united family. I develop markets overseas for power electronic equipment and road repair equipment all designed and built here in New Zealand.
I speak fluent French and Italian.
I like art house films, most genres of music, Live theatre, particularly fringe, live concerts, art history and exhibitions.

My wife died about 6 years ago after suffering MS for many years.
I went on a a most enjoyable tour of Sicily last Sept,led by two architects. We explored 2000 years of architecture, and a couple of active volcanos. I do not need to see any mopre roccoco churches, but the Norman and Greek architecture was stunning. Highlights weree Taormina, Agrigento, Cefalu, Palermo and the Duomo on the hill above. Was very lucky and found Guy de Maupasant's Viaggio in Sicilia, in hte original French, with the Italian translation of each page opposite. Taormina and Agrigrento did it for him as well.

Have built a replica Cobra, and sail a Laser dinghy.

Kids now 30 (Boys) and 33 (Girls)

Say good by (Au revoir) to a homestay, Dan, who is going back to Royal Holloway University to continue his geology degree. Homestay Mike is here till mid December, and looking for tutoring jobs in French and German. (His degree subjects. He worked in France and germany for a year each.)

PHILOSOPHY

Learn to ask for help in good time, and in turn, recognise when others need help but find it hard to ask. One good turn deserves another.
Have always found the engineering /construction/ yacht racing and seamanship to be the easy parts. Managing the people concerned is far more complex and unpredictable. I live for now and the future.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

CS visitors from school leavers onwards are very welcome. New Zealand is a destination for those active and body and mind. It is a destination for getting out there and exploring, skiing, tramping, water sports.
I would be happy to help and prospective CS visitors to fulfill their dreams in this respect.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

New, and so have no news.

Interests

All of the above, hold a private pilot's licence but have not done the biennial flight review as hearing bad in one ear. I enjoy exploring new parts of the World, developing new engineering/marketing projects, cooking and giving parties. I am a very good cook, having learned from my Mum from about age of ten onwards.

• arts
• architecture
• concerts
• cooking
• running
• partying
• flying
• yachting
• news
• movies
• traveling
• restoration
• music
• sailing
• skiing
• sports
• art history
• engineering
• geology
• history
• medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

French Italian and UK prizewinning films, Patrick Wolff, Blondie, Joy division, New Order, Johnny Cash Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond (DB's Lead Sax player)

Most orchestral and choral music ex Schtokhausen and Weburn.

Non fiction, biographies, but cried laughing over "Don't tell Mum I work on the Rigs: she thinks I play the piano in a whorehouse".

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

First solo flight in a light plane, piloted a Sea Venom, flown in a helo from Queenstown to Milford Sound, down Milford Sound and back to Queenstown over lake Whakatipu. Drove my newly built and road licensed Cobra for the first time.

Teach, Learn, Share

Can't argue with the below.

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