CURRENT MISSION

Finding a way of being able to get around without paying silly money for hotels (Not a cheapskate, just a poor student!)

ABOUT ME

Friendly, laid back, prone to occaisonal silliness - also quite 'studenty'

PHILOSOPHY

I'm quite an ambitious person, but take a fairly Viking/Fatalist approach to life - Do what you can, but don't stress out when things go bad, you can't change the past. One of my favourite quotes is from the Old English poem 'The Wanderer' - 'Wyrd bið ful aræd' (Fate remains fully inexorable).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I haven't yet - This is my first time!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

No formal experience - But I have got a few friends whose houses I crash out at occaisonally (Except for my girlfriend, she lets me have a real bed with pillows and everything!)

Interests

I'm obsessed with history - I'm reading Viking Studies at University of Nottingham, and I spend a lot of time reenacting. So far I dress up and play soldiers as; a C10th Viking, C12th Welsh warrior, an Anglo-Norman Soldier and a Welsh Archer from the 100 years war.

I also love water. I've lived by the sea all my life and have massive family connections to it (My Dad was in the Navy and is now a Lifeboat Coxswain, and basically all of the rest of my family have some sort of maritime connection), I volunteer for my local RNLI Lifeboat station on Barry Island as part of the Education and Visits team, basically teaching kids and members of the public about the RNLI, more importantly giving out sea and beach safety information so that people can stay safe by and on the sea.

Up until recently I was a Civilian Instructor with the Barry Sea Cadet Unit - TS Cossack, but had to leave because of uni commitments. While I was there I was an instructor for Drill, Expedition Training, Powerboating, Sailing, Canoeing, Kayaking and general boatiness. When I wasn't teaching I would often take up safety boat duties for the sailors or kayakers. Even though I have left the cadets, I still help out at a local Youth Club, and I go sailing regularly on the Bristol Channel. I'm also considering becoming an instructor for a youth watersports organisation.

I'm also quite a crafty person and quite like woodworking, leather working, making historical clothes (Usually by hand), jewellery and I'm slowly getting into blacksmithing.

• diy
• education
• instructor
• clubbing
• boating
• clothing
• reading
• traveling
• woodworking
• cycling
• canoeing
• kayaking
• sailing
• swimming
• cartography
• teaching
• history
• languages
• military science
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love to watch silly 'historical' films, and laugh at horned Viking helmets, but I especially love the ones that don't try to be accurate but somehow get it spot on (A Knight's Tale is my favourite).

My taste in music is a little eclectic; I'm a die-hard metalhead, and always will be. But I also listen to a lot of folk (Especially Irish, or historical folk music), classical (The Romantics are the best. Nothing like a bit of Grieg or Wagner), and more obscurely, I am in love with Russian/Soviet music - The Red Army Choir is amazing. - I may occaisonally dabble in the teensiest bit of dubstep if I am so inclined :P

I tend to read quite widely too. I'll read anything from the back of the packet of biscuits, to 1000+ year old Viking sagas to Terry Pratchett, and the odd instructional website on how to dismantle a Lee Enfield No4 rifle or how to make a pair of brogues by hand...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I see a lot of things that I would call amazing, from a display by the red arrows, to a particularly pretty husky or an awesome landscape, but one thing that will always stick with me was a rescue that my dad was part of with the RNLI Lifeboat.

It was in the middle of the summer, when lots of people come to the beach at Barry Island. Very often the people that come to the beach take on a 'holiday' attitude, and basically nothing bad can happen to them because they are on holiday, which always leads to disaster. Two guys decided to go swimming out to sea, (They were about 18) but hadn't anticipated that the Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world, and they got swept out to sea with the ebbing tide.

They were spotted and reported in difficulty to the Coastguard who requested a launch from the lifeboat. The first of the two was picked up fairly quickly and was transferred to hospital by helicopter, but the second couldn't be seen. So the boat started a set of search patterns to try and find him. In the meantime this guy had actually gone under the surface and had drowned (He was clinically dead), but by sheer luck, one of the crew spotted something in the wake of the boat as they were travelling at about 25 knots. They turned around to check it, and it was actually the body of the second lad - The lifeboat had driven directly above him, and the turbulence of the props had thrown his body up to the surface (Miraculously, he wasn't pulled through the props and torn to pieces). They pulled him onboard and started resuscitation, and the boat powered at full speed towards the main beach, where the Coastguards and Paramedics were waiting. They kept up the speed and ran the boat aground onto the beach, risking both injury to the crewmembers and massive damage to the £1m+ lifeboat, all for some random guy that they didn't know and they had essentially pronounced dead.

In the end they managed to revive him on the grounded boat, and then ran him ashore to go to hospital. He made a full recovery, and is now a massive RNLI supporter. He's one of the luckier call-outs that the crew have had. But they regularly drop everything to go out on a 'shout' (Often for hours at a time), for complete strangers for no pay, and often putting themselves into danger, and I admire them massively for it.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love history in general, but Vikings are my forté. I can happily talk for hours about all things Viking - So if you have any Viking related questions I can probably answer them, or have fun finding out for you (and myself of course). I also love being proved wrong, if you disagree with something I say, then as long as you can back up your arguments, please correct me!

I have a few crafty/practical skills that I could teach; sewing, leather work, woodwork, jewellery making, reading maps, general boat stuff, basic car/bike/boat maintenance, general DIY skills and how to chop wood with an axe or to sharpen a knife. Again, if I don't know I'm always happy to have a go at finding out for you!

I'm also really interested in languages. I'd love to learn more, but I never got on with the way that they taught language in school. So I'd love for someone to be able to show me a few things in their language. I really want to get fluent in Welsh (I can just about hold a conversation when serving someone in work, but not much else other than 'hi, how are you?'. I also really want to learn Polish because it sounds really nice, and in my experience Polish people are awesome! I'd love to learn any of the Scandinavian languages too.

I'm always happy to learn new things, so if you have a skill, please share it! If you can't teach me anything, I'm always happy to teach you.