CURRENT MISSION

Living life to the full, even in retirement. Keeping my mind open and youthful.

ABOUT ME

I am a retired teacher who is enjoying life in Melbourne, Australia. I spend my time travelling, reading, writing, , meeting people, helping overseas students with essays, assignments etc. I am broad-minded and open to all kinds of people and ideas; that is why I am on groups like Queer Couch-Surfers, Clothing Optional and Naked Sleepers). I am young at heart and enjoy hearing about people's dreams and plans.

PHILOSOPHY

Live life to the full; keep open to new experiences

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Civilised, friendly, sociable, thoughtful; interested in people, current affairs, politics, cooking, wine, travel. PLEASE NOTE THAT I CAN ONLY HOST ONE PERSON AT A TIME. (but curiously I still get lots of requests that begin "Me and my friend..." which I have to decline). I also generally host each person for a MAXIMUM of THREE NIGHTS only. My preference is for guys aged 18 - 30 but this is not inflexible. I am very happy for couch-surfer guests to be out on their own all day as long as they do not return too late in the evening.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have had quite a number of young people staying with me from time to time, especially during my years in London, (see references) and always enjoyed hearing about their adventures. I also used to travel a lot myself, and often undertook house-sitting assignments looking after the owners cats or dogs while they were away..

Interests

Travel, cooking, reading, music, ideas, politics, people. My own politics are not Conservative, Socialist or Social Democrat, but Libertarian. However, I enjoy interacting with people, especially young people, whose views may be very divergent from my own. Universities in the English-speaking world are increasingly intolerant of divergent views, with their "no platform" policies, "trigger" warnings, safe spaces etc. My home is a "woke- free" and non-politically correct (PC) zone, where everyone is welcome to express any view and have it taken seriously.

• culture
• literature
• cooking
• walking
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• music
• teaching
• history
• psychology
• gay friendly

Music, Movies, and Books

Very eclectic in tastes but I do prefer singers who do not need a microphone, i.e., classically trained! For me, folk music died when Bob Dylan went electric.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visiting the Soviet Union in the old days as a member of a university student delegation. This convinced me for all time that, even if I were not religious, there is such a thing as Original Sin! I became a Libertarian as a consequence. Attempts to create some kind of utopia on earth are doomed to fail and will cause untold suffering, and the presumption that we can do so is a contemporary form of the old Gnostic Heresy.

Teach, Learn, Share

English language; English literature; philosophy; psychology; current affairs; cooking skills

What I Can Share with Hosts

Anglo-Australian culture, politics, history. A glass of wine and/or Scotch whisky!

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, England, Scotland