CURRENT MISSION

Life is a cabaret, and I want to be in on every act before time nails me to a hospital bed.

ABOUT ME

Appearance: crumbling academic.
Scopophile, nepotist, misocapnist and chasmophile.

Quoting Christopher Hitchens: Religion Poisons Everything.

PHILOSOPHY

In a few years, I'll be a lean and slipper'd pantaloon, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. But before that, there's life to be lived: fabulous places to explore, gorgeous people to know . Yes, I'm 60, I'm in my prime, and I do not intend to devote my prime to petrification! After all, I'll eventually be a corpse, so I may as well be a happy one.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I do not see CS as a charity for tight-fisted backpackers. Rather, it provides encounters which enrich the lives of both the host and the guest. I'm happy to host people if I think both of us can enjoy and benefit from the encounter - each of us getting more out of it than we put in. In particular, it's a way to meet and make friends with people quite different from myself, people I wouldn't normally come across in my everyday life. But I'm not interested in hosting people who are just looking for a free bed.
(And I do get lots of requests from people who have obviously not read the profile carefully, but they get short shrift.)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've had around 30 CSs stay here so far, for between 2 and 5 days each. All have been very pleasant encounters (except one ghastly Filipino), and several were truly lovely guys. I learned something from each of them and they would all be welcome again if they were in Tokyo again.
I've also had the pleasure of meeting CSs when travelling in Sydney, Ushuaia, Tirana, Addis Ababa, Rwanda and Helsinki, and they have made my visits special.

Interests

Travelling, reading, writing, hiking, films, concerts, cooking, photography, ... and certain manly pursuits which I won't go into.

• writing
• photography
• concerts
• cooking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• lgbt

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite films:
All or Nothing, Vera Drake, Kes, Secrets & Lies, Crying Game, Mona Lisa, My Beautiful Laundrette, East is East, History Boys, Brazen Hussies, A little bit of lippy, Stand By Me, Iron Lady, Cabaret, A Mother's Son, The Evacuees, Harry Brown, Yolngu Boy (well, we all like a bit of fluff, don't we?)

Favourite Fiction:
by Alan Bennett, Ruth Rendell, Patrick Gale, Sara Waters, Peter Bailey

Worst fiction: The Bronze-Age Semi-Nomadic Tribes' Book of Ancient Myths and Prejudices (usually called The Bible, for short).

Non fiction:
by Dawkins, Grayling, Ben Goldacre, Dervla M,

Favourite musicians:
Sting, Pet Shop Boys, Whitney, the Belter from Tiger Bay, Chopin, George Winston, Elaine Paige /SuBo, Pink Singers, Hollies, Annie Lennox, Air Supply (oops, showing one's age there), Patti Smith (in small doses)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The rear view of King Nog! Oh, the sweetest dreams are made of this!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom

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