General Information
LanguagesGroups I Belong ToCouch Information
Couch Available: Definitely! Preferred Gender: Any Max Surfers Per Night: 20
Shared Sleeping Surface: No Shared Room: NoBack in May 2008 we hosted 10 couchsurfers one night (2 randoms, a group of 3 and a group of 5) and everyone brought their own sleeping bags and towels, but I do have spare ones if you are traveling light.
I've hosted people for up to 2 weeks. I'm hosting until 6th November 2009 - and then I'm off round the world for an indeterminate amount of time, no earlier than April 23rd 2010. I'm going to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, India and South Africa :-)
There are loads of touristic/historic things to see locally - old churches, nice rivers, big walks to the ridge looking over town are in walking distance, and the famous Poole and Bournemouth beaches less than 10 miles away. I don't mind if you turn up late at night, its sometimes the case with the coaches and so on, and it is no problem for me.
If no other couchsurfers can host you, you might want to stay in a hostel, and I can recommend one, but this hostel requires you to not be British - http://www.bournemouthbackpackers.co.uk - its £16/night, £26 for 2 nights, and longer stays like a month or so at special rates. You need your foreign passport with you and check-in times are ONLY between 5-6pm, though. There are tons of good old Bed & Breakfast places all over Bournemouth that are around £20-£30/night too, if that won't work out, and another CS guest stayed in the Roundhouse Hotel in the center of town and said it was clean, quiet and not too expensive.
Any questions about traveling in the UK, just ask :-)
Nationally there are a lot of very beautiful countryside areas, but you really need to rent a car because the public transport in rural areas is not so good.
For inter city transport there is the megabus.com and megatrain.com, which can be VERY cheap if you can be sure what times/dates you will be traveling; and then nationalexpress.com is also cheap national coach service when booked and also has Greyhound-style walk-on tickets if you are being more spontaneous.
If you are going to London, here is an excellent guide to the sites of the city - check out the Fried Chicken Gallery! :-) And I've heard that a great place to stay if you can't find a London CS host, only £10 a night, is Palmers Lodge in the north end.
For free stuff to do in Dorset, dofreestuff.com has a list, and the local governments run the Poole Tourism and Bournemouth Tourism sites that are good too.
Finally, if you are looking to live in Bournemouth for a longer time and wonder where a good place to look at adverts or post a request is, I recommend the Bournemouth Gumtree site. Friends (119)
XJENNIEX 23, Female Bournemouth, England United Kingdom Friends since December 2002 "We dated for 5 years." Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Dave Crossland
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Richard Davies 26, Male Bournemouth, England United Kingdom Friends since September 1996 "School friends" Friendship Type: Close Friend
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Alan Read 26, Male Bournemouth, England United Kingdom Friends since September 1997 "he's one of my best friends" Friendship Type: Close Friend
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Mary Crossland 20, Female Bournemouth, England United Kingdom Friends since July 1991 "my older brother" Friendship Type: Best Friend
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Canny Kwok 21, Female Lyon, Rhone-Alpes France Friends since 2006 "hosted him for a night. really interesting guy with a lot to say! outgoing, polite, intelligent!! slightly different views on colin firth, but hey its not the end of the world!"
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Indre Mikaviciute 26, Female Bournemouth, England United Kingdom Friends since August 2009 "the same interests brought us together.." Friendship Type: Good Friend
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Mike Lott 34, Male Kailua Kona, Hawaii United States Friends since September 2001 "From days at University" Friendship Type: Friend
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Brenda and Andy 27, Several people Guangzhou, Guangdong China Friends since March 2006 "We meet each year for a geeky conference that we're both passionate about" Friendship Type: Close Friend
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Michelle Thorne 24, Female Berlin, Berlin Germany Friends since November 2007 "I got to know Dave at an Open Translation Tools conference in Zagreb." Friendship Type: Good Friend
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Didi Hoffmann 24, Male Geneva, Geneve Switzerland Friends since March 2008 "through Internet and then trhough Bmth" Friendship Type: Good Friend
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Personal DescriptionA model eNTp: I talk fast, laugh loud, think quietly, love computers and people too, and I have various embarrassing habits like falling over when I laugh too much.
 How I Participate in CSWhen I'm at home, I host people as much as possible.
When I travel, which is too often, I am either couchsurfing, or surfing the couch of friends!
And, of course, I'm always telling people about the project. Sometimes I tell random people about CS and they turn out to already be members, but then I forget to note down their usernames :-(CouchSurfing ExperienceMy first couchsurfing was with friends from an online gaming scene (QuakeNet) when I was 16, although since then I've stopped wasting my life with computer games. As well as CS trips, I have enjoyed surfing the couches of my college friends in London when I was studying there, and also those of friends from other online communities I'm part of.
A week after joining this site in 2006, I surfed Lyon - that got me hooked. Since then, I've used hotels just a couple of times and traveled via CS all over the world; I go to a lot of conferences around the world, mainly those about typographic design and software freedom. I've met some really great friends here too! InterestsLife. Transition Towns. Free Software. Type and Typography. Design. Internet. Social dynamics. Art. Sailing. Drawing. Swimming. Photography. Philosophy. Wikipedia. History. Education. PhilosophyI like stuff with anarchic playfulness, like Discordia and Daoism - stuff that's not hierarchic or institutionalised. I had enough of that stuff in school.
I smirk at social convention, and don't do things simply because they are what everyone else does. This sometimes makes me original, or stubborn. Music, Movies, BooksFilm
I love films. I am not ashamed to say that my most favourite films are big Hollywood films, albeit the ones that I loved growing up: Back to the Future (must have seen it a hundred times as a kid), Terminator 2, Indiana Jones, stuff like that I can quote prolifically. When I was 16, having seen Fight Club film, I quit Physics for Art and dropped Maths. I loved "Pi," but I find almost no one else has seen this and liked it too, and I also loved "The Whale and the Squid." I love everything Kubrick did. I also have a love for silly comedy, although romcom chickflicks pain me because they are ridiculously unrealistic.
Music
"The problem with rock and roll is that the generation that created it is now the establishment. Rock pretends it's still rebellious with its video posturing, but who believes it? The stars are all either 45-year-old zillionaires or they endorse soft drinks! The 'revolution' is a capitalist industry! Give me a break! Fortunately, I've found some protest music for today's youth. This stuff really offends Mom and Dad: Easy-listening Muzak. I play it real quiet, too."
If you judge people on their musical tastes, we will probably not get along ;-) I used to listen to BBC Radio 1 or 2 or 4 while driving around, but I stopped driving in 2009. And I like to work without too much noise, so I basically don't listen to music any more. I like energetic music, whatever genre, and I like say like Red Hot Chili Peppers' old stuff, Radiohead's new stuff... but I'm so easy going, I like most stuff. I'm not very into music though, I'm really poor at placing genres... I also like older American classic stuff like Ray Charles and Chuck Berry, and I like jazz and some classical stuff, although I know nothing about either. Whatever, really :-) The last recently published album I thought was really good was Pearl Jam's Pearl Jam. And that was like 2 years ago! So, yeah, I really don't care about music very much :-)
Books
I rarely read fiction books, since I was about 16 I decided that real life is more interesting. I used to bring Calvin & Hobbes books into reading class instead of 'real' books. Maybe a bit of science fiction now and then, like Accelerando by Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow's stuff. Having said that, a few years ago I read all of Chuck Palanuick's books after reading Fight Club. But instead of fiction, I read a lot of curious non-fiction stuff from all over the web - gotta love Wikipedia. My favorite authors at the moment are Marshall Rosenberg, Mike Ruppert, John Taylor Gatto, and Marshall McLuhan. Look 'em up! :-)
Food
"FAT MAKES FAT"
I was a fussy kid, but not any more. My favourite is probably Thai Green Curry, although I don't cook that at home much. A good pasta is always good, and I try to eat vegetarian food more often and avoid fatty stuff. I recently saw the "Surfwise" documentary, bought Doc Paskowitz' book, and was inspired by his CRAZY WRITING STYLE to improve my diet a lot and exercise daily. Types of People I enjoyI like people who aspire to the same qualities as I do: having a handle on their own identity, feeling relaxed, unstifled, in the moment, calm and happy; having a positive attitude while acknowledging the negative; speaking my own mind and also being comfortable with differing opinions; not taking things too seriously; maintaining a reading habit; enjoying daily exercise; being spontaneous, and even happy when things don't happen as expected; expressing myself authentically but keeping a lid on being obnoxious.... And having a genuine curiosity about what others do, especially if I know nothing about it.
Most of all, being at ease in the world and with silent moments.Teach, Learn, ShareCurrently I have a passion for permaculture and transition towns and stuff like that, so if you're into that too then, hello! I also know a lot about the role of computers in maintaining a free society; typographic design, information design; the history and nature of compulsory state schooling; the effect of the Internet on large organisations and how people will make a living after their corporation collapses because of that; personality psychology, and all that jazz, and learning how to draw.One Amazing Thing I've Seen or DoneIn June 2007 I was involved in a nasty car accident. Unexpectedly, and by total luck, I survived without any serious injuries that are likely in such a tragedy. This effected me in profound and subtle ways.
"You have to know, not fear, that some day you are going to die. Until you know that, and embrace that, you are useless."Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org ProjectI love it! People like to share things; helping your friends and neighbors is a pillar of society. Couchsurfing happens anyway, but the web lets it happens more, and better. I think its a great example of how, generally, the web connects us all - now pretty much everything you could want is freely available - you just have to figure out what you want. Yet that is one of the hardest things in the world, because it doesn't stop.Locations TraveledTRAVELED: Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States LIVED: United Kingdom WANTS TO GO: Australia References
From AMANDAAP East Molesey, United Kingdom Oct 21 Positive Dave is an incredibly kind and smart guy. My friend and me were just surfing at Dave's for 1 night, and for me it was the first time surfing. I couldn't have wished for a better experience! Dave, I'll see you around. I hope you'll a an amazing time on your big trip.
If you are in luck of having Dave requesting a surf on your couch: take it, you won't regret it!
From Merel van der Vaart London, United Kingdom Oct 19 Positive Despite the fact that he was going to start traveling big time himself in just a couple of weeks and had a million things to organise, Dave was kind enough to host my friend and me. We didn't have much time to get to know each other, but we used the time we had well by talking talking talking and oh yeah, talking. Dave is an amazing guy, he has a passion for what he does and is incredibly kind and hospitable. I really enjoyed meeting him and if you ever get the chance to do the same, you would be crazy to not take it. I hope he will surf the world with hosts that are as great as he is.
From Jul, PAB and Biscotte Peynier, France Oct 19 Positive He’s an great guy, dispite the fact he were working hard in his house to redecorate it, he invited and lended us a room.
Moreover he is a good guide, he said us what we had to visit!
Great thanks to you!
From Arianna Cocucci Rome, Italy Oct 18 Positive Meeting Dave was surprising. Nice ambassador with great ideas and I really enjoyed meeting him. I hope to meet him again in berkley :P
From Giuseppe Cristina Bournemouth, United Kingdom Oct 15 Positive We went twice to Cs meetings organised by Dave,he is a genuine person,very good traveller ,very friendly.Good luck for your next experience in India!
From Isabelle Griffon Bournemouth, United Kingdom Sep 21 Positive Dave organised a great meeting, he was really friendly and trying to have a chat with everyone of us! thanks Dave!
From MIRELLA Bournemouth, United Kingdom Sep 21 Positive I finally met Dave in a Cs meeting and it was really nice to have a chat with him, nice guy! definetly a great Ambassador :-D
From Struan Whitbread Bournemouth, United Kingdom Sep 20 Positive Met Dave when he organised a CS meet-up in Bournemouth. He's a fun and lively but also very chilled out fella. Thanks to Dave I met more nice people in Bournemouth in one night than I'd met in the preceding year! Will hope to catch him at the next meeting.
From Indre Mikaviciute Bournemouth, United Kingdom Sep 19 Positive Dave is simply amazing!!
Smart, optimistic, and superduperactive, warm person, inspiring others and shining charm everywhere he goes! He is a good specialist and teacher and good friend. If you'll host him, or will be hosted - you are lucky! ;)
From Katie and Charli Poole, United Kingdom Sep 13 Positive What a great guy! energetic, open and very welcoming... We had some good chats, hung out, cooked dinner, and I tagged along to the cinema with his friend during my stay. Thanks for everything, you and your sisters are wonderful people! If you wanna come see my new pad give me a shout.. Im just down the road :) xx
From Julia Pröller Augsburg, Germany Sep 2 Positive Dave is a really friendly person. When I met him, he picked me up from the station, we went to parties and something else. I hope, I will meet him again.
From Mark Chilvers London, United Kingdom Aug 30 Positive My CS experience got off to a great start with my stay at Dave's. He was great company and a good host. We ate together and enjoyed a long and interesting chat.
From FRANZISKA200 Berlin, Germany Aug 27 Positive Dave was my hero, offering a place when I was desperate, sharing his excellent knowledge with me, softening my troubled senses by being relaxed, friendly and helpfull towards me. Thanks a lot to you and Jo. Hope I see you.
From James Cooke Manchester, United Kingdom Aug 26 Positive gettin the hang of the CS Thing and Dave just made me so welcome had a party and not to forget that nice walk back to his place only took me 3 hours but it was worth while thanx for everything your the men
From Fernand Schmitz Berlin, Germany Aug 26 Positive and another great CS Experience and all 2 u Dave Thnx 4 takin me to yur friends party cheers for the lift to Poole anymore chilled and relaxed as Dave u gonna die u take care and hopefully c u again
From Flora Zsemlye Bournemouth, United Kingdom Aug 22 Positive Dave and his CS friends showed me the shiny side of Bournemouth, and now I have to admit this city can be even better as I thouhgt. I'm looking forward to hearing of them again.
From Susanne Boese Cottbus, Germany Aug 18 Positive Dave was a really nice host for nearly 3 days and we are grateful for applying 'last-minute'. :)
He cooked a delicious and healthy dinner for us.
One day we got to know Poole.. more or less. :D
And the other day we had the marvellous opportunity to take part in a sailing trip. :)
Thank you for the amazing time !!
See u. :)
From Aysegul Artemis Celiksan Istanbul, Turkey Aug 16 Positive He is really so kind and friendly person.
thank you for your wishes..
I hope to see you again..
From Julien GODEFROY Louvres, France Aug 13 Positive I surfed Mr ambassador couch in his spanish english inn, but I forget to brought Ferrero rocher, but Latvian couch surfers brought something like that... Mr Crossland is cool, interesting, and a full time militant, totally opposite of geek... See you one day my... cheers
From JVSSVJ Halle, Belgium Aug 11 Positive Dave was full of energy! He arranged a huge CS meeting so we met some really nice people in a traditional english setting - the pub! You're always welcome in my place. Hope we'll be able to have some real conversation then! Cheers
From Paoletto Cavasin San Zenone, Italy Aug 7 Positive Dave he's amazing! Lot's of friends and full of vitality! Really hope the best for him! Hope to see you again man!!
From Claudie Bousquet Marseille, France Aug 4 Positive I met Dave at the CS meeting in Bournemouth, he hosted me too. I appreciated his friendliness, his calmness and his simplicity to help people. Merci Dave et à bientôt !
From Laurie Yans Poole, United Kingdom Aug 4 Positive Dave has been a wonderful host during these two days !!!
I couldn't have hoped better for my first couch surfing experience !!!
I really hope I'll see him again when I live here !!!
From Kristin Botes Poole, United Kingdom Aug 3 Positive I didn't have much of a chance of speaking to Dave at the Poole CS meeting, but he is a great guy & a true ambassador for the Bourmemouth group organising meetings, getting members involved and hosting lots of travellers! ;-)
From Ekaterina Konioukhova Montreal, Canada Aug 2 Positive When I got lost, Dave went to look for me on his bike when it was raining. I'm sorry for that. :)
He was a very nice host! And thanks a lot for bringing me to the cs meeting in Poole!
From Zbyněk Vyhlas Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic Aug 2 Positive Dave is really nice, polite and friendly person. We met at cs meeting and I had great time talking to him. There should be more people like him...
From Steve Randall Poole, United Kingdom Aug 2 Positive Dave's a good guy, outgoing and friendly. As the CS meet organiser went out of his way to make every one feel welcome. Would be good to catch up again in the future.
From Jonathan Rappe Brooklyn, United States Aug 2 Positive OK, so has David got the record for most CS references or what? Will add my voice to the chorus just to say that David brought together a very random group of people last weekend in Bournemouth and made everyone feel right at home. He embodies the true spirit of CS better than anyone I've met. An he has his own font too!
From Tristan Weaver Woking, United Kingdom Aug 2 Positive Met Dave at a CS meeting he organsed. Realy nice guy, always willing to go out of his way to make everyone welcome.
I also have a sneeking suspicion that he may be to blame for the every growing bournemouth CS scene.... Keep it up mate!
From Vit Stefanovic Nejdek, Czech Republic Jul 30 Positive I met Dave on CS meeting in Bournemouth, he has been cool to talk to and I hope we will meet again!
From Ondrej Pekacek Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Jul 30 Positive We met again with Dave in CS meeting. He wisely picked up pub called The quay which was really nice. Besides his interesting job which he seems to enjoy, Dave is really friendly, positive and laid-back guy with lot of ambitions and responsibility. And he is a brilliant player of billiard! Defo see you again - either in Bournemouth or somewhere else!
From Craig Minshall Bournemouth, United Kingdom Jul 29 Positive I really enjoyed chatting to Dave, he's a very nice intelligent friendly guy. See you again soon.
From Kate Attrill Portsmouth, United Kingdom Jul 26 Positive Dave is the epitome of a perfect English gentleman, whilst also managing to be exceedingly friendly, hospitable and interesting. Definately a top chap. Hope to see again.
From Tom Penny Poole, United Kingdom Jul 26 Positive Dave organised our most recent CS meeting in Bournemouth. He is full of energy, enthusiasm and a very welcoming personality. Hope to see him again!
From Caro Stamm Berlin, Germany Jul 25 Positive I surfed Dave's couch (or rather comfortable bed) with two friends in June. The first night was so pleasant that we invited ourselves for a second night. Unfortunately the man was super busy so other than breakfast in the beautiful garden we didn't get the chance to hang out much. He's a great host, interesting conversation partner, easy-peasy going and a peak oil freak - funny enough we had both read different versions ;)) Cheers Dave, hopefully our paths will cross again!
From Samuel Sherwood Scarborough, United Kingdom Jun 23 Positive Dave kindly put three of us up in his Wimbourne residence, allowing us to stay an extra night and sacrificing his right to be somewhat waspish when we woke him up at half past midnight.
We didn't really get much chance to hobnob but occassionally on CS you meet people like Dave who omitt a kind of candescent glow of all things intelligent and alive.
From Mike Lott Kailua Kona, United States Mar 27 Positive Another top fella. Highly intelligent and highly interesting - I'm always learning things from Dave, and they are good things to learn. Really sound bloke but hard to pin down as he always seems to be shooting off somewhere haha!
From Kyungah Woo Seoul, South Korea Feb 6 Positive We met CS meeting in Bournemouth and had a good and tough time because of understanding English for me. haha
But i think i am lucky i met nice ppl
It is shame we didn't go to Casino ;)
From TAIANE SILVA Brasilia, Brazil Dec 12, 2008 Positive I met Dave on a the "Ice Skating" CS meeting here in Bournemouth. I couldn't join them to Ice Skating but I did joined them to a drink on the Pub right after were I had the chance to talk to Dave. He is a very nice guy, very friendly, and he made me think about how I'm going to distribute my future films! :)
From Nick Maile Poole, United Kingdom Dec 11, 2008 Positive i meet Dave at the Dec meeting we went ice skating A good guy who gave me a lift to my mates house. I am sure he would help anyone in need a really great guy.
From JAKE AND JENNY Cambridge, United Kingdom Dec 6, 2008 Positive We met Dave through our housemate Stephen when he came to visit Cambridge. He stayed over two nights, lunched with us, and introduced us to the world of Couch Surfing. We can only hope that other members are as friendly and entertaining as he was.
From Murat Alibaba London, United Kingdom Nov 23, 2008 Positive Heard alot of positive things about Dave before I met him as he is the Bournemouth Ambassador and met at a recent CS meeting. He enlightened me with his knowledge of open source software and had a chance to discuss things from fonts to design:) He is a really cool guy that one feels delighted to meet! Hope to spend more time together.
From Ross Lennon Broadstone, United Kingdom Oct 13, 2008 Positive Dave and I used to go to school together and despite not knowing him directly we shared a few freinds. Looking forward to seeing how he has faired over the years.
From Blanka Bareza Split, Croatia Aug 3, 2008 Positive Dave hosted me and my boyfriend in his house 2 nights. He is really interesting guy who knows much things about everything...We went in pub with him and his friends from school and they are so nice.We enjoyed in his place, with his sisters and his friends. Dave, thank you so much...
From James Roberts Bournemouth, United Kingdom Jul 28, 2008 Dave is easy to talk to and very friendly. I didn't know anyone when I first arrived but he made me feel welcome from the start. Have met a few times now and I've enjoyed chatting with him. Really cool and smart guy, worth getting to know.
From Alan Read Bournemouth, United Kingdom Jul 26, 2008 Positive ive known dave for 10 years or so. he's an extremely intelligent guy with a great personality.
From Olivier Sarrat Maisons-Alfort, France Jul 21, 2008 Positive We met while attending to a Free Software meeting in Mont-de-Marsan, because the same host welcome us.
If you want to meet a highly positive, sound, active and smart fellow, you'll be very pleased to cross the path of Dave !
From Thomas Kamm London, United Kingdom Jul 14, 2008 Positive Dave hosted us for 2 nights and it was great meeting him. He had excellent local knowledge and was happy to show us round. Certinely felt at home. Thanks again!
From Deepika Yerrakalva York, United Kingdom Jul 2, 2008 Positive Met while meeting mutual friend, Jennie, whom I climbed Kili with. Dave has a wonderfully wry sense of humour and was very easy to talk to!
From Tom Arlidge Bournemouth, United Kingdom Jun 29, 2008 Positive Dave Crossland changed my life. He wrote a CS refernce for me( after our first meet) and mentioned that I am an ENTP (Myers Briggs psychological profile)he recognised the symptoms of the disease because he is one too. Intrigued (we ENTP's are naturally very curious...) I learned all aboutit....now so many aspects of my life make absolute sense for the first time! brilliant deduction Dave.
From BLAKESHEAVEN Birmingham, United Kingdom Jun 21, 2008 Positive Dave has a lot of energy and is a great ambassador for Bournemouth. We found out that we had met in our past as lecturer and student around 6 years ago at Art College. What a small world!
From Angie Sue Roy Quebec, Canada Jun 16, 2008 Positive Dave was an awesome host for me and my friend Marie!! He helped us a lot with the transport in Dorset and also brought us to the nice folk music festival in his town Wimborne. We had the opportunity to meet his friends and learn a lot from Dave, who is an amazing person to discuss with.
From John C. London, United Kingdom Jun 15, 2008 Positive Dave was telling me that there's this couch surfer in Bournemouth who lives in a big mansion and has a massive swimming pool.
That sounds a fantastic place to stay. So if I am ever in Bournemouth I'll probably stay there. If Dave is around maybe I'll give him a call and he can buy me a beer ;)
From Merav Ratner Be'er Sheva, Israel Jun 11, 2008 Positive saw him only once, and for a very short time - but he managed to make a deep imppresion on me - as he was so friendly and knowledgable. hope to see you again sometimes,maybe in your quiet town in the south...:)
From Carolina Disegna de Souza Porto Alegre, Brazil Jun 9, 2008 Positive Dave is such a friendly person that after only 2 seconds we were talking, i felt like old school time friends.. He seems to be a wonderful host and has great stories to tell. Oh! And he agrees that South America is heart-shaped! =)
From Ela Chodyniecka London, United Kingdom Jun 9, 2008 Positive We meet randomly from time to time (once every 16 months ;). However they are always very positive meetings. Dave is a very intersting companion in conversations. He is a bright and intelligent person with unforgettable voice ;)
Probably we'll meet up by chance again in a while :)
From Kirk Morrison London, United Kingdom Jun 9, 2008 Positive I had a really good chat with Dave and I left him thinking that I had learnt something valuable. I wish you only the best things with your future and life in general.
From Tom Coady Brighton, United Kingdom Jun 2, 2008 Positive Dave is a very bright, honest, agreeable and tolerant person who was a pleasure to provide hospitality for.
From Pierre Huyghebaert Brussels, Belgium May 30, 2008 Positive Dave is the guy that has make me discover CS, when he was couchsurfing in Poland! And now, 4 days after having join, he's my first friend on it. Knowing him a bit, and reading about CS, he totally fit with the perfect Csurfer guy silhouette: highly attach to open values, traveler, dynamic, passionate and extremely brilliant in the typographic field and gifted with a big smile!
From Kamila Tomkiewicz Wroclaw, Poland May 28, 2008 Positive My friend sent a massage to Dave asking him if we could stay in his place during our trip to England. It turned out that earlier he was planning to go to Wroclaw on the conference. So we arranged meeting with him in Poland, and than we arrived to Bournemouth to live with him for a few days. He is very intelligent, hospitable guy, having his home open for every couchsurfer. Really nice man!
From Alyson Lefrancois High Wycombe, United Kingdom May 28, 2008 Positive First couchsurfing experience! loved it!
From Dominika Pyrzak Wroclaw, Poland May 28, 2008 Positive Dave is an extra guy! First we've met in Wroclaw, when he came to conference. We had a wonderful time talking, laughing and drinking in nice pubs with few of my friends. We've seen Big Bug Bunny cartoon, it was hilarious. He's intelligent and really open- minded. He has HUGE sense of humour. Love your loud laughter!:)
Two weeks later we came to Dave's cute house in England, where was about 12 couchsurfers! Amazing experiance:) Dave painted some special maps for us if we didn't know how to get somewhere. He was really super nice and wanted to help us with many things. Hope to see You soon Dave! You are welcome in Wroclaw anytime!:)
From Ania Jaworowska Wroclaw, Poland May 28, 2008 Positive I met Dave when he was for a few days in Wrocław. We talked a lot about his job and hobbies. He is really interesting guy! And thanks a lot for movie. Big Buck Bunny was wonderful :)
After that I with my 2 friends were hosted by Dave in his house. There was a lot of fun and a lot of kind people! Thanks a lot for everything. It was a pleasure to meet you and your friends!
From Dean McLeod Sydney, Australia May 27, 2008 Positive I had a mega awesome time at Dave's place. He let me stay on very short notice, picked me up from the station, & was just an all round good host & good person. I had a great time at Dave's with him & all his many friends & fellow couchsurfers!
From Brenda and Andy Guangzhou, China May 26, 2008 Positive Dave is a fantastic bloke.
He actually introduced me to couchsurfing in 2006 and since then i've hosted, surfed and loved the community around CS culture.
Dave's always got new CS stories to share. I very much recommend meeting him.
From Anna Glowacka Wroclaw, Poland May 20, 2008 Positive I hosted Dave for 2 nights. He's a damn smart and very friendly guy! He's a perfect person to talk with about any topic! If you are somewhere around him he can put you in a very good mood:) I hope we will stay in touch and that we can meet some day again in Wroclaw, Bournemouth or...:)
From Ania Booth Bournemouth, United Kingdom May 6, 2008 Positive Dave's an awesome guy: he always has something interesting to talk about - even the smallest conversation with him can open your eyes to new ideas and possibilities, or offer new perspective on your own knowledge of a subject (and he's a very tolerant host!!)
From Martina Hanakova Ostrava, Czech Republic Apr 27, 2008 Positive Thanks a lot, Dave! For me it was a pleasure to meet you, your sister Mary and your girlfriend too :o) All of you are great!
From Yaël Hupert Brussels, Belgium Apr 25, 2008 Positive Yo D.O Double G! ;)
It was great being your host and meeting all your friends!
I really had a great time even if i didnt get to see u that much!
You're a super interesting guy and enjoyed all ur stories :)
Good luck with everything you're doing and hope i'll see you soon! let me know when u're back in antwerp!
From Mathijs de Jong Amsterdam, Netherlands Apr 23, 2008 Positive Dave was a very nice person to meet. He looked as a very responsible person who cares about others a lot. Hope to meet him again soon!
From Annelies De Bruijne Amsterdam, Netherlands Apr 23, 2008 Positive Although we did not see him too much we had a good time with Dave. I had no idea what he and Mathijs where talking about when they spoke about programming and stuff but it was still fun listening to it and trying out the "one laptop per child""-laptop. Dave is a very friendly and polite guy!
From Allen Wright Bellevue, United States Apr 18, 2008 Positive I met Dave a couple times during his visit to Seattle. He is a damn smart guy with some great stories. I hope our paths will cross again down the road.
From flohfish Wedding, Germany Apr 16, 2008 Positive First a very very big "Thank You" to dave and his both sisters for hosting me for such along time and especially to Dave for driving me every morning to my bus so I could get to work.
What Dave did as a "long-term-host" was just perfect for me: not too much and not too less.
He was not organizing the guests day like other people sometimes but there was enough time we spent together to find out a little aboout each other. Cooking and eating together, going for bowling and long and great conversations in the evenings. Especially those conversation which sometimes ended up in discussions is sth. every guest of Dave should have. For topics and themes he is talking about he can develop such an enthusiasm that it is nearly unbelievable. he can be really happy and fascinated about things like I know it only from children... but in contrast to the most kids he really knows what he is talking about.
Even if our lifestyles maybe a little different (for a good reason!) I must admit that I enjoyed the time in his home very very much! Smart, caring, friendly and a real good soul!
Hope we have the opportunity to spend much more time together in future.
Cheers mate!
From Didi Hoffmann Geneva, Switzerland Apr 15, 2008 Positive Really fun guy to hang out with. A GNU and Computer Guru. A must meet. And he has an OLPC and he will let you play with it.
From Joe Heffernan Kaohsiung City, Taiwan Apr 14, 2008 Positive dave is a wonderful host, could not have imagined a beter place to stay in bournemouth.
i am sure l came to visit at inconvenient times but he accepted me as if we were old pals.
thanks, dave - good luck with those fonts
and thanks for the info on libre software
From Derek Minneapolis, United States Apr 14, 2008 Positive Not sure what to say about someone who calls me a "nerd" -- back in the day, that was kind of an insult! But oh well, if Dave's a nerd then it can't be all that bad and I guess I'll be one, too.
I had a great time hanging out with and talking to Dave, and have to offer up kudos to him for having the energy to meet up with our Seattle group so many times in the week he was here. When I (finally) make it the the UK, it'll be a treat to hit him up for a couch in Bournemouth, and I hope he returns to Seattle sometime soon, too.
From SUKHDHEER Bournemouth, United Kingdom Apr 9, 2008 Positive I met Dave in the Bournemouth Town Centre where we had planned a mini-CS meeting - 2 of total 3 present were CSers :) Dave is an extremely warm and polite person who is really into the free software movement, though he still listened patiently to other side of the argument :) And, he seems inquisitve about India and other things...hope we get to hang around more and exchange ideas.
From Michelle Radecki Seattle, United States Apr 6, 2008 Positive It was my pleasure to meet and host Dave when he visited Seattle. I could tell very quickly upon meeting him that he is a guy with a large heart (I think it was his big warm smile). He is friendly, outgoing, intelligent, and a truly respectful, and easy-going guest. Definitely host, travel, stay or hang with him if you can.
From THSAOFME Seattle, United States Apr 5, 2008 Positive Dave's praeternatural disposition to free software is much preferable to the more ubiquitous culture of one car per person.
Proof: his current work is font freedom for a language with no prepositions or articles and sentences which, if with at most one subject, object and verb, are complete with only 1 of 3 and finish always with the verb. But even this is not rigid.
WARNING: In Vitamin Water©, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) masquerades as Crystalline Fructose®.
From SATSUMA Seattle, United States Apr 4, 2008 Positive Dave's a trouper! He had flown into Seattle a mere 24 hours prior but still managed to make the multiple-bus ride from his host's home across town to our CS bi-weekly gathering. Jetlag didn't even phase him! Seems a well-traveled guy. It was a pleasure chatting with you, Dave (long live free software ;)!
From Jack Pearce Poole, United Kingdom Mar 25, 2008 Positive hes a dude, got alot of interesting stuff to talk about and is generous in the lending of places to sleep!
From Eduard Torres Bournemouth, United Kingdom Mar 17, 2008 Positive Dave is a really nice guy ;D we meet up for dinner and some salsa lessons. The experience was great!! I will repeat hehehe.
From Djali Vesela Prague, Czech Republic Mar 16, 2008 Positive Dave confirmed my couch request almost immediately after I had requested. He was a wonderful host willing to show me around. He wouldn't mind me being curious about local delicasies and he would appreciate my openness and humour. We had a good laugh and various enriching discussions about the English and other matters. We stayed in touch and became friends and I came to see him again 9 months later.
From Emma Satyagraha Toulouse, France Mar 13, 2008 Positive We met at a CS meet in Bournemouth. Even if we didn't talk together for a long time, he seems to be a very interesting person with a lot of knowledge to share. We have to talk about education next time!
From Matej Zitnansky Brno, Czech Republic Feb 28, 2008 Positive Dave is that kind of smiling person, whose smiles spread energy to other beings around him. He loves his computer (well, he loves any computer) and tries to help people. That's what I recognized during short time meeting him in Richmond. Good job, good life. Keep laughing.
From Janina Zimmermann Tübingen, Germany Feb 28, 2008 Positive It was a pleasure to meet Dave at a CS meeting in Richmond. I was fascinated by his commitment and his passion for all the things he told me about. He has so many interesting stories to tell and things to say. I hope to meet him again, once I have read thousands of books to continue the interesting, entertaining conversation.
From Alex Fritz Freiburg, Germany Feb 23, 2008 Positive Dave was a great host, we went to a nice Pub in Wimborne together and had a really interesting conversation about educational systems; hope the OLPC will have success.
From Patrick Dubuc Lac-Sergent, Canada Jan 25, 2008 Positive I met Dave a couple of time and I must say he has a friendly and positive attitude which makes him one hell of a great company. I enjoyed all discussions we had together and he is always ready to help and even go out of the path to come to give you a hand. Great spirit!
From Michelle Thorne Berlin, Germany Jan 22, 2008 Positive I got to know Dave at an Open Translation Tools conference in Zagreb. He's an incredibly bright person & a great conversationalist. He's a very warm person and an active endorser of Couchsurfing. If you meet him, ask about fonts vs. typefaces. :-))
From Isabella Schiele Augsburg, Germany Oct 30, 2007 Positive I had a great weekend in Bournemouth! Dave is a perfect host, we had nice converstions, it was nice to go out with him and meet some of his friends, he even gave us a lift to get to his house!
I definitley recommend Dave as a host and couchsurfing friend! Hope to see you sometime in Reading, Dave!
From Jenny Jaffe Oxford, United Kingdom Oct 12, 2007 Positive had pizza and drinks in town with this sweet and enthusiastic couchsurfing aficionado. and now i know the difference between 'free' and 'open source' software...i think! ;)
From Simon Jureša Slovenska Bistrica, Slovenia Oct 10, 2007 Positive After a long journey home he picked us up in the middle of the night and drove us home. We had some interesting conversations about various topics.
He is really great guy. Highly recommended. :)
From Franziska Langosch Halle (Saale), Germany Oct 7, 2007 Positive It was a pleasure to meet you.Thank you for the chocolate bar.The next time I'll be in Bournemouth I'll keep one for you. :-)
From Amy Bellamy Oxford, United Kingdom Oct 5, 2007 Positive Only met for a short time but long enough for Dave to convince me that designing typefaces is interesting. Must be cool.
From John Short Sturminster Newton, United Kingdom Oct 1, 2007 Positive Dave is an interesting guy with a passion for software freedom and all that it entails. A really good bloke with his heart in the right place. You are welcome whenever you fancy venturing out in the sticks Dave.
From Fanny Robichaud Rawdon, Canada Sep 28, 2007 Positive Dave was really nice and even though he was out of town when I arrived he did everything he could to help me find a place to stay. He brought me to a meeting and I had the chance to meet a few people from CS in Bournemouth (some were even speaking french!!!). He also intoduce me to many of his friends, we have had long discussions on many topics: psychology, environnemental and social issues until quite late at night. He and his friends will be welcome in my house anytime!
From Richard Macilwaine Brussels, Belgium Sep 21, 2007 Positive Dave is a trust worthy, kind and organized guy. he will go out of his way to make sure you're comfortable. He is also interesting and intelligent and gives sound advice. His computer skills are unmatched. Friendly and easy going guy who recommended couch surfing to me
From Matthias Hatzak Berlin, Germany Sep 18, 2007 Positive He sent me a Couchsurfing meeting invitation which I missed unfortunately, but we met two days later and had a entertaining and interesting evening out at a pub. He and his friends are really cool people and I think I will meet them again soon -> Definitely a very nice guy you should not miss! We met again twice before I had to leave Bournemouth and we had a fantastic time rocking the dancefloor and playing billard like experts ;-)
From Mira Blumhagen Nottingham, United Kingdom Sep 13, 2007 Positive Dave was the perfect guest: sensitive, sweet, funny , intelligent, and extremely well read (he even charmed my flatmate) who swept my laptop effortlessly into the 21st century. And now, the next chapter in the HISTORY OF THE FONTS IN 10 1/2 CHAPTERS: Again, invaluable reading lists, lessons about goldfish etiquette, a missing pet duck and sister, an amazing lush collection and A BEACH. Bansky - we're coming! Giants beware!
From AMERICAIS1984 Mackinac Island, United States Sep 5, 2007 Positive Dave is good people, He's a clever and considerate chap, and I'm glad our paths crossed in Boston. This is the kind of guy you'd want to have around, talkative, and yet considerate enough to let me babble incessantly!
From Marion Deppermann Hiddenhausen, Germany Aug 31, 2007 Positive We couldn't have had a better host to start our couchsurfing experience. We stayed with Dave and his sister for one night. We had a very interesing chat about lots of different things and cooked supper together in the evening. Dave also gave us a few tips what to see and what to do in the area the next day. Thanks again, it was great to stay with you.
From OCEANWAVE Leipzig, Germany Aug 22, 2007 Positive Dave's a fun and smart guy so watch out, maybe you get the chance to stay over at his house and feed Jimmy the duck.
I was lucky to stay with Dave and met some really nice and interesting people through him, so thanks for that...
Remember it's all about a good laugh.
Take care and you'll always be welcome in my house, so keep in touch.
From Matt Kendall Verwood, United Kingdom Aug 19, 2007 Positive Very friendly talkative guy with interesting things to say. We'll probably hook up again soon! Come to my leaving party!!!
From Thomas Gibert Blangy-sur-Bresle, France Aug 16, 2007 Positive A fond of Software (free code source obviously). I am glad to have learned the copyleft concept with him. Very hospitable and nice person.
From Adrian Vargas San Luis Potosi, Mexico Aug 4, 2007 Positive He's such a cool person, Is good that I finally got to meet him properly before leaving England cuz my last reference about him was so boting. Dave is very cool, nice, talkative, friendly, etc. See you again sometime, mate!
From AJ123 Bournemouth, United Kingdom Aug 2, 2007 Positive Dave is intelligent, funny and a real individual. He makes a great travelling companion and is even willing to drive on the wrong side of the road!
From SOFA_SO_GOOD Birmingham, United Kingdom Jul 23, 2007 Positive Dave stopped over while visiting a conference in Birmingham. We had some interesting chats and he's friendly and interesting. Great guest, recommended.
From Vangelis Laios Birmingham, United Kingdom Jul 22, 2007 Positive He is one of the people that I can easily make friends with, inspiring, good discussionist, open minded, a rebel in his own ways...Seems to enjoy the details of life and I admire him for that. Thanks for coming man...
From Karoline Schneemann Berlin, Germany Jul 13, 2007 Positive Dave´s been really nice to Franzi and me when we stayed at Floh´s house in April. He shared a chocolate bar with us the very best reason to like him;)
From Jeroen Langedijk Delft, Netherlands Jul 2, 2007 Positive Dave stayed in our dorm for a couple of days. He's a real nice guy with lots of interesting stuff to tell.
From Laura Cerquera Hangzhou, China Jun 26, 2007 Positive I had never been to any coushsurfing meetings before, It was my first one and it was great, I spoke with Dave for about an hour i realy enjoyed talked with him about our own experience.
From Eamonn Stewart Bournemouth, United Kingdom May 22, 2007 Positive Dave is one of the nicest guys I have met through cs, he has a zest for life that makes him a pleasure to be around!
He can talk about everything with passion and belief, but can still play a decent game of pool!
I think he's a great guy!
From Eli Barnes Boston, United States May 1, 2007 Positive Dave has braved crossing the streets of boston, boogied down to bluegrass, bar hopped in cambridge, built friendships with countless strangers, brushed elbows with the big boys in the free software movement, breezed through the contemporary art museum, and always brings a positive attitude with him. He was an outstanding guest. Respectful, clean, kind; everything i could have hoped for.
From Jena Fiamingo San Francisco, United States Apr 29, 2007 Positive I hooked up with Dave for a few drinks with some fellow couch surfing people. He's a great conversationalist and probably the coolest font designer I've ever met. Hopefully our paths cross again in the future!
From John Resig Cambridge, United States Apr 29, 2007 Positive I ran into Dave at the Boston Indie Film Festival and we went out for food. Ended up talking about Free Software, fonts, and all sorts of fun stuff. I hope to see him the next time I'm in the UK!
From Gerben Nap Utrecht, Netherlands Mar 22, 2007 Positive I had a good time with Dave. Amazing program and things he showed me on his laptop, gave me a new look on typography! He's welcome anytime at my couch:) (when my flatmates have calmed down a little:()
From Rachel Machicado Columbus, United States Mar 12, 2007 Positive it was definitely cool... i couldn't have asked for more. had a lot of interesting conversation (i learned many things). had a good time hanging out with him and his friends (hope to make it to one of his sister's house parties sometime, haha). but ya, dave is a very cool, very generous guy.
From Dave van Roon Amstelveen, Netherlands Mar 4, 2007 Positive Dave (cool name though) is a really nice guy. He is like an exact copy of some old school friens of mine (well, an english version at least), since his odd/'non-main-stream' opinion about computers, communication, education and such. That leads (and has lead) to some very interesting conversations and discussions. I can just say he is a really nice guy
From Kyokata Kaburaki Delft, Netherlands Mar 2, 2007 Positive We had as much fun hosting Dave as he had couchsurfing here ;-)
Everyone has had something to talk about with him and he's ability to sleep through everything around is amazing
From Michael Afanasyev Rotterdam, Netherlands Mar 2, 2007 Positive This guy is really chill. Very intelligent conversations and sharp insights. Perfectly gentlemanish and a school example of "britishness".
From Jessica Liang Guangzhou, China Feb 23, 2007 Positive He is a chatty and very kind person, we shared many of our travelling experiences.
BTW, what will you do with the duck?
From Mary Ashman Birmingham, United Kingdom Oct 27, 2006 Positive Dave is a really interesting guy, with lots of energy and enthusiam. We spent lots of time discussing various topics. Enjoyed hosting him. Try not to leave your charger mext time! HEHE
From Elee Kirk Leicester, United Kingdom Oct 23, 2006 Positive Dave is incredibly enthusiastic and interested in everything - a great guest!
From Will Buckingham Leicester, United Kingdom Oct 19, 2006 Positive Dave stayed one night with us in Birmingham - a very friendly guest, simply overflowing with ideas...
From VEERA Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Jul 24, 2006 Positive Dave was an extremely nice host, me and my friends Judith and Andrea felt really welcome on the first minute we got into his house. It was great that he was able to accommodate all the three of us even though it was quite a short notice (I think I contacted him a few days in advance). We had an enjoyable evening with him, his girlfriend and his little sister (and the evil pet duck, haha). Thanks for everything Dave, if you ever come to Finland let me know! |