I'm Simon, I'm originally from the UK. I'm a web developer, based currently in Spain.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm looking to couchsurf :) I was thinking of couchsurfing earlier in the year but it proved unnecessary, but still keeping my options open :)

Interests

I love music, I play a bit of guitar. I love football, I've been a fan of Manchester City since I was young (I hate to use the word supporter because I don't get to that many games). I spend an awful lot of time on computers and end up tending to fix them quite a lot ;) My real passion is music though.

Apart from that - I have an interest in politics, particularly British and European politics. My personal politics are to the left but I'm happy to have friends from across the political spectrum. I don't believe in the need to agree with everything a friend says - difference of opinion is healthy. However I do have limits and prefer to avoid people who have issues with race, gender, orientation or other attributes that (I believe) people have no real control over. In much the same way you're born with the number of arms and legs that you're born with.

I like cooking. I've not had much chance recently to do cooking and sometimes my cooking sucks but I like doing it anyway (:S)

• cooking
• politics
• music
• guitar
• soccer

Music, Movies, and Books

I love music but I don't know that I have a favourite type of music. As a guitarist I guess one of my favourite guitarists is Nile Rodgers - the guy who played with Chic (and Daft Punk and a million other people). I love the way he blends jazz patterns of playing into disco and funk.

I love musicians who show a love and appreciation of the history, heritage and lineage of the music they play, who have taken the time and effort to develop some of that "feel". So Nile Rodgers using jazz in disco and funk; Led Zeppelin, for example, their style of playing contained a lot of blues and soul stylings - it's not just mechanical; the Beatles blending Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues and then bringing in aspects of British Music Hall and orchestral influences as well as the obvious eastern influences.

But then equally I like folk, love a bit of Fairport, I love rootsy Americana (however you want to define that), I love reggae, I love everything from Steely Dan to Tom Waits to Pixies to Primus to Leadbelly and all the way back to Snarky Puppy.

I confess I'm not much of a film buff. And though I was well-read in my youth, I've neglected literature in the last couple of decades. Still I'm always open to recommendations :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I saved someone's life once. I did CPR on a guy who'd had a heart attack and managed to save his life. That was reasonably amazing ;)

Teach, Learn, Share

My brother taught me the Delia Smith onion chopping technique. If you don't know it, demand that I show it to you :) you'll never chop an onion the old way ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can fix issues with your PC / laptop / home network although I imagine there's a fair few people on here who offer that. I can give advice about stuff to do with computers if there's anything troubling you on that front - I've been building and mending computers and laptops since I left university so I'm fairly good with them. I usually carry a basic repair kit with me, mostly for my own laptop.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Ireland, Spain, Thailand