CURRENT MISSION

Just being a groovy middle aged dude

ABOUT ME

I'm a 49 year old ex-college lecturer and ex-health food owner. Sally is a 50 year old childminder and ex-speech therapist. I'm currently doing bits and bobs to make ends meet and helping Sally with her business. Beyond that, we are enjoying a well-overdue and satisfying work:life balance. We enjoy simplicity in life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Sally and I share a similar philosophy which revolves around only doing work we enjoy, only doing as much of it as we need to, and making the most of the rest of the time we have. We like exploring, the outdoors, art in its many forms, travel, being spontaneous, giving & sharing, and living within our modest means.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed twice so far but only just started offering - maybe you will be our first! We live in a 5 bed house so usually have a couple of rooms free. My two kids come to stay usually once a week so the rooms would not be available then.

Interests

My main interest is cycling, using it to explore new areas, quiet roads and wonderful scenery. But a ride without some decent hills is sadly lacking for me. I love going on adventures, especially of the spontaneous type: getting lost, finding a new path and getting home safely (eventually). All the above is also true for Sally, but turned down a few notches! We also spend much of our spare time with our (combined) four teenage and one 8 year old children. We hope to travel a lot more, both here and abroad.

• arts
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• business
• tours
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I tend to like comedies and thrillers, Sally more dramas. One of our favourite films at the moment is 'Lock Stock...'. We've just started our first even box set, Breaking Bad. We never watch more than two episodes in one sitting though. I'm an ex-punk/new wave dude (Magazine, Rezillos, XTC etc) and Sally grew up listening to new romantic and heavy metal. can't say our tastes have progressed much out of the 80s! I don't read much (cycling magazines?) but Sally has an eclectic taste. Currently reading The Rosie Project.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The things I tend to remember is when I've gone out of my comfort zone, like hitching from Frankfurt Airport to my brother's wedding in Baden Baden. Or visiting beautiful new places (we may go to Croatia next year, for the third time in a row!). We've made a list of 50 things to do in our 50th year and, so far, some of them have been great fun (like going out cross-dressed for the day...).

What I Can Share with Hosts

A warm, friendly welcome, a large, spacious house with every modern convenience (minus the steam room and Jacuzzi!). Good home cooking. We're on the doorstep of the Peak District (literally 10 minutes drive away - plus there's a train station half a mile away - 7 minutes to the city centre, the same to Grindleford). Guided tours available or come and go as you please. It's all very relaxed round here! Requests for Thursdays and Fridays (when we don't have our kids) are much more likely to get a "yes" from us!

Countries I’ve Visited

Croatia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom