Gerard And Laraine (64)

Volunteer since
2018

Speaks

Learning Spanish

Last seen online
more than 6 month ago

About me

Our big passion now is travelling and meeting people from all walks of life.
We are very fair minded people who treat everybody with respect.
We have made many firm friends of all ages since our journey began in May 2017
We are on a journey through life, and are trusting that the universe will take us to whereever we are meant to go, and lead us to where we are destined to be.

Preferred location

Well here goes everybody.................. We are now actively looking for some opportunities, please contact us whereever you are in the world, if you think we would be a good fit for you
Firstly we have no real plan we will travel anywhere we feel like going we want to see the world
We are probably not your typical volunteer backpackers, we are a mature married couple in our mid/late 50s but extremely young at heart, we have lived and grown up in Oxford UK for all of our lives.
In recent years we have both felt an increasing yearning for adventure and travel
This year we both quit our jobs, and retired early, this is the start of our adventures.
Ged was an award winning construction site manager for 30 years after starting his working life as a carpenter.
Ged is a great organiser and natural problem solver and commits 100%
Thanks to Ged's skills we always had a nice modern home to live in, his skills include most aspects of the building especially carpentry, painting,plumbing and tiling, he can turn his hand to hmost things he sets his mind to.
Ged is also a keen photographer,a qualified first aider, and computer literate.
We were both keen gardeners and spent a lot of our spare time creating and cultivating our lovely landscaped guarden which including decking, fountains, terracing, and vegetable plot and raised beds.
Laraine worked for most of her career in Oxford University as an accommodation officer.
This involved arranging/organising accommodation for over 400 students living on campus and over 150 students living in Oxford in privately rented properties,
Laraine dealt with general day to day issues that arise from looking after and maintaining properties and rooms, her role was really one of a hotel manager within Oxford University.
The tasks include liasing with outside contractors, co-ordinating property maintenance, working closely with the events team, Laraine is computer literate and is comfortable with Excel spreadsheets etc.
Outside of work Laraine is extremely passionate about gardening and home improvement and was the driving force in turning a large scruffy yard into an immaculate landscaped garden, as previously mentioned.
Laraine enjoys getting stuck in and does not mind getting dirty as it is so different from the day job.....also a dab hand at a builders labourer, including wall paper stripping, sanding and painting.
We are both very hardworking and tend to do more than expected of us.
Laraine is an accomplished cook, constantly complimented by friends on her culinary skills, as we often hosted dinner parties at home, a dab hand at traditional English, Chinese and Indian cuisine.
We have one son who is an Electrician who loves to travel and has done so extensively and continues to do so!
We are animal lovers and in the past have had our own dogs, parrots, chinchillas and tropical fish.
We love all aspects of nature and wildlife, it is a huge interest of ours, our bucket list includes helping at an elephant sanctuary in Chang Mai, Thailand and we would also like to help out with a turtle project, after seeing the projects in Cape Verde,
In the coming months we both want to lean more about and get involved in conservation, bioconstruction and permaculture, also hoping to learn some Spanish and French.
We have a large family network and have many, many nieces and nephews who we enjoy spending time with, and have helped out with their upbringing and lots of babysitting
We are entirely adaptable, and would relish any challenge.
We are both fit & healthy, (except for carrying a bit to much weight,) and take no medication.
We have adopted a healthier lifestyle since retiring we love to swim and snorkel, we are both non smokers, we both love good wine and good healthy food.
We plan to travel, meet nice people, see new sights and have some adventure,
We have no real plan, we can go anywhere the mood take us, but we want to be active
We own a holiday home in Spain, and have travelled previously around Europe, Caribbean, and Asia, but always on cruise ships, we now want to see more of the places we have been, and see lots of new places.
We really want to see new sights and experience different culture and immerse ourselves more in the local life and customs, ( wherever it may be) working closer with nature if possible.
We love to be near, in or on the ocean we have done a number of cruises, and would love the chance to sail or work or spend time on board a ship
I would like to think if our friends and family were asked to describe us briefly, I feel they would say that we are both kind, thoughtful, and generous people, who are funny, good company, and always willing to lend a hand.
We are both 100% trustworthy and very clean and tidy, we both make friends very easily.
We have been a host family in Oxford for foreign students and travellers for over 15 years we have had young people from all over the world stay with us many of them have remained friends and look upon us as second parents we are very in tune with the younger generation, we believe it keeps us young at heart
We have also both worked in 3 different pub/restaurants for over 10 years and ran and looked after them when the owners took holidays, Laraine cooking in the kitchen and helping in the bar and Ged running the bar and cellar, we have always been hardworking and for much of our early working life we both worked 2 jobs
If you think we can help you in whatever project you are undertaking, regardless of where you are in the world, please get in touch, this may help us make some plans for our travelling, maybe we are destined to meet, who knows ?.
We are happy to spend anything from 1 week to 6 months or more anywhere in the world, there is no real plan, we are making it up as we go.
We both thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.
Kind regards

Skills

Plenty of handyman and house maintenance skills Ged was a carpenter by trade.
We both love cleaning,organising, painting, all maintenance and gardening work.
We are both very hands on and need little or no instruction, we generally can see what needs to be done and can just get on with it unsupervised.
Carpentry work needs the host to have the required tools.
We would love to learn any new skills as we pick things up quickly.

Additional info

I am not a smoker, I have a drivers license, I am not a vegetarian and I have no allergies.

We like to take a turn at cooking for our hosts