We live on a narrowboat on the Rochdale Canal in West Yorkshire, England. We have two smallish dogs and a sofabed, great firestove and living near the brilliant towns of Todmorden and Hebden Bridge.

I'm a musician, toured globally, and also run a community orchestra in Todmorden- the Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra. Sammy is a poet and works for the Arvon Foundation.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's a great way to meet people, stay in interesting places and now that we've got the space, albeit a sofa bed on a narrowboat, looking to host some people.

Interests

Music and percussion playing, and instruments, the odder the better.

• arts
• performing arts
• rio carnival
• marathon
• running
• music
• logic

Music, Movies, and Books

Music- Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Hermeto Pascoal, Steve Winwood, James Brown, James Booker, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Dr John, Cyro Baptista.

Movies- Dancer in the dark, Cool Runnings, El secreto de los ojos,

Books- The picture of Dorian Gray, Don Quixote, A Confederacy of Dunces, Black and British,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I ate, slept, drank and played with a samba bateria in Rio for the Rio carnival. It was a great experience staying in the favelas and in a house in the forest living with a great group of people and then to perform in the Sambadrome at the end was a real priveledge.

I ran the 2010 Amsterdam marathon in 3:37, a real achievement for me, and I definitely didn't decide to run my first marathon in Amsterdam because of the flat route....

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach drums and percussion to children and adults, I also run a Community orchestra and we play an eclectic range of music, from David Bowie to Morricone, Hendrix to Donna Summer. It's open to everyone so you're welcome to join us

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Peru, Spain