Gary

Travel information

I am currently

Description

I am interested in a simple life, learning new skills and meeting interesting people.

Recently, eating some wild raspberries and making tea from Linden tree flowers brought me a moment of great happiness!

I am interested in self-sufficiency, low impact living, appropriate technology and re-using and re-cycling. Being creative is what make me feel truly alive.

Interests

Plant care

Hiking

Gardening

Fitness

Farming

Culture

Cycling

DIY & crafts

Drawing & painting

Cooking & food

Camping

Architecture

Languages

Nature

Self development

Sustainability

Van life

Yoga / Wellness

Carpentry

Art & design

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent

More details about my language interests
I’d like to learn Spanish and maybe Turkish.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Being an elderly companion

Life at a Farmstay

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Eco Projects

Languages

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Helping around the house

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Able to teach about:  

Art Projects

More details about your skills

I am a fine artist and am a proficient oil painter although I did also complete an Engineering Degree many years ago!

I also have building skills in both conventional building and eco construction. With regard to conventional building, I worked in property renovation in France where I did a bit of everything. Projects ranged from loft conversions to new build houses. Towards the end of the 5 years, I did mostly plastering and tiling. I also got a City and Guilds qualification in plastering in the UK.

With regard to eco-building, I worked for about 6 months with a French eco builder. Here I helped build walls using hollow terracotta bricks and plastered walls with lime/hemp and lime/sand.

My biggest project was building my own eco tiny house in France. This was a timber framed building with hempcrete infill and clad with untreated Douglas fir. It has a solar electric panel and a wood powered water heater made from old gas bottles.

I also worked for 2 years for a French Mairie (village council) doing mainly grounds maintenance. This included hedge trimming, grass cutting, strimming and planting.

I can speak French fluently (I lived in France for 11 years).

On a personal level, I am a single father to 2 grown up children (their Mum died when they were young) and am a decent cook and comfortable with domestic tasks.

Age

52

What else ...

I used to sing in various groups, including a barbershop quartet and can play the guitar and ukulele at a basic level.

I have had other hobbies and pastimes but I struggle to find the time (and space) to do them all. For instance, I built my own pedal/electric prototype 3 wheeled car. I also built some small radio controlled aircraft from plans and used to be a keen sea-angler.

I like cycling and in particular fully enclosed recumbent bikes aka Velomobile. I’m also a firm believer in what the French call “decroissance” or de-growth.

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements
  I try to a avoid Gluten but I don’t have a severe reaction to small amounts.