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Overview

  • 135 references 67 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, Scots; learning English, French, Greek (modern)
  • 68, Male
  • Member since 2006
  • IT Analyst (Skills Development Scotland SDS)
  • HIgher Education (Diploma Level / Degree equivalent) IT
  • From Glasgow / Kinross
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

I am the 2,761,910,495th person to be born on planet Earth so I MUST improve my Guitar playing

ABOUT ME

Work as IT Suport Analyst in Glenrothes Fife

PHILOSOPHY

Life generally gives you back just about what you throw out there ..

There is not one big cosmic meaning for all,
there is only the meaning we each give to our life,
an individual meaning, an individual plot,
like an individual novel, a book for each person

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Was previously City CS Ambassador for Glasgow, Scotland and volunteer on the "New Member Welcome" Team - giving help and information to 1,000's of new sign-ups

NOTE:

Weekends only at present..... sorry but the earliest I can host you would be from Late Friday afternoon / early Friday evening until Early Monday morning at the latest

PLEASE - check my availability and DO NOT email me directly or via CS requesting a couch or otherwise if I am NOT available unless I know you personally already - VERY rude - unsolicited messages from people I DO NOT KNOW will be reported as 'Spam' email

IMPORTANT !! Tell me something about Kinross, Loch Leven and Mary Queen of Scots (From reading my profile) And SAY MY NAME !! (My actual name)

OR I May NOT HOST YOU !!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfed many a couch all over Europe a few decades ago before there was a name for it. (Or an Internet, God how old am I ????) Also surfed in USA, Netherlands, UK and Hungary as well as hosting countless people and attending / organizing CS Events

Was pleased to be CS City Ambassador for Glasgow for some time, and was always trying to involve people in CS

As 'New Member Welcome' working group member on CS I offered hints, tips and advice to people

Interests

Playing and listening to Music, reading Books, Travel, Cooking, swapping stories, Cycling, walking, swimming, Beer, Wine, Food and good conversation

(Ethnic Indian Chinese Tex-Mex Greek & Italian Carnivorous and Veggie / Seafood and Comfort Food)

I enjoy Cycling and have taken Surfers out with
me around Loch Leven. I live near a Cycle shop however, and he can advise on Bike Rental for longer trips if you haven't brought a bike with you

Please Click on the Bold Highlighted Words below for Cycling Routes near me and use the 'Back' arrows
on your browser or close any new windows to return to this page: (The same goes for all of the highlighted links on my profile)

Cycle Routes near Me include:

Loch Leven and the Heritage Trail which begins right behind my flat as well as the Fife Millenium Cycle-way routes and some national routes in my area:

Dunfermline to Culross

Howe of Fife

Fife - the East Neuk

Details of many more routes at Cycling Scotland web site and on the Sustrans (Sustainable Transport) Cycle routes pages and at Cycling Perthshire Site

You can also visit Scotlandwell and the birth place of the gentle poet of Loch Leven Michael Bruce who was a contemporary of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns

Burns offered to donate one of his most famous poems Tam O Shanter to a publication by the Kinross poet while Bruce was suffering financial hardship, such was the national poet's admiration of him

In addition to Loch Leven Castle you can walk or cycle to nearby Burley Castle

I live close enough to Scotland's capital Edinburgh and the ancient capital of Stirling that you can easily make a day trip to Edinburgh Castle or Stirling Castle

If Castles really are your thing, then Kinross is right in the heart of Scotland's Castle country with many magnificent examples in the nearby counties of Fife and Perthshire I LOVE history and nature and will do my best to show you around if I can (work permitting) but you can take off on your own as there's always plenty to see and do

  • culture
  • books
  • poetry
  • concerts
  • festivals
  • dining
  • seafood
  • cooking
  • wine
  • beer
  • walking
  • shopping
  • reading
  • traveling
  • restoration
  • music
  • guitar
  • blues
  • cycling
  • swimming
  • history
  • volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Enjoy many types of music, reading most films

Total Motorsports Nut

(Usually get to one F1 race per season somewhere)

Musical stuff I'm particularly into right now includes:

Government Mule Just the BEST Rockin EVER

Ry Cooder
Buena Vista Social Club
Mary Gauthier
Chip Taylor And Carrie Rodriguez
Neil Young
KD Lang
Joni Mitchell
Mr Edward K (The "Duke") Ellington
Jackson Browne (Original composer of "Take it easy")
Warren Zevon
Art Tatum (Check him playing Dvorak) . . . YAY !!
Thelonious Monk
Jacco Pastorious (Joni Mitchell's Bassplayer of choice)
Pat Metheny (The guy on guitar in the above YouTubes who's own band are pretty hot
Dixie Chicks
Rufus Wainwright
AC/DC
Al Di Meola
Donald Fagen and Steely Dan

Jack Bruce "God" . . (Obviously, Glasgow's finest son) Graduate of the "Rock and Roll Hall of fame" AND Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)

Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Robbie Fulks
Stevie Wonder
Classic Motown (Anything with James Jammerson on Bass)
Flaming Lips
"George Ivan" Van (The Man) Morrison
Uncle Tupelo (Van's Uncle?)
The Thorns
Michael Hurley
RL Burnside
Devon Sproule

Eric "Slowhand" Clapton
(Well, I AM learning guitar on a Strat called "Layla")
And YES . . that IS Andy Fairweather-Low on 2nd Guitar . . "Wide Eyed and Legless" Uh Huh

Eric's no "Slowhand" when it comes to Bassplayers either . . .

Check out his "1st Call" Regular Bassist "Natan east" with his own band Fourplay

(Lee Ritenour, Bob James and Harvey Mason make "Four" - while Nathan plays "Six")

Ohrenfeindt (German Rock n Roll Sex Gott's Par Excellence)
Prince
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Lucinda Williams
Cream Ultimate 60's Supergroup
Manu Chao
Calexico
Ojos de Brujo (Spain) Excellente
Weather Report (Jazz Supergroup) With THAT Bass-Player (Jaco) again

Keith Jarrett

KJ was the Best improvisational musician who ever lived

Check out this for Making it all up as you go along

The above, James Marshall Hendrix who shares the same middle name as me - and other music that continues to excite, challenge and inspire me :-)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Was Bass Player for 30+ years, the last 10 or so with Roost one of Scotland's top Blues-Rock bands on the UK Festival circuit . . played a tribute gig for Frankie Miller that was a who's who of music with Joe Walsh of the Eagles heading the line up . . also played on the Frankie Miller Tribute album

Have hitch-hiked all over Europe when I was a little bit younger and visited most countries. Often 'Couch Surfed' before there was such a thing.

Have met and shook hands with Pope John-Paul II at the Vatican and was able to visit Pompeii at it's best ever stage of restoration (Before the last eruption of Vesuvius which was a major set-back)

ALSO . . shook hands with Ladysmith Black Mambazo Lead Vocalist Joseph Shabalala which was just wonderful, especially after being so enthralled by their music and being a proud posessor of Paul Simon's Concert in Central Park DVD

Rented a Ferrari 355 GTS for a long weekend and toured Scotland

Teach, Learn, Share

Stories, Laughter, Opinion, Culture, Music - and of course the lovely Kinross and Loch Leven where I live

See the links in my Couch Section . .

I can show you around a little bit of this stunning corner of Scotland. It really is the most gorgeous place imaginable

I will do my best to make you feel very much at home

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom

Old School Badges

  • 47 Vouches
  • Pioneer Badge

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