Mark

Back in 2019, I left my floating home, my community, my partner, my business, my geese, ducks, and swans, to care for my mother for a few months after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I anticipated mother residing safely in a care home and me being back on the river by the spring with life returning to normal.

But then, of course, the pandemic happened.
Four years later, everyone is gone and everything has changed.

I'm currently in a transition period, having finally sold the house, paid all the care fees, and laid everything to rest. I'm now making a plan for what might come next. I'm in no particular hurry as I need a bit of time to process what's just happened over the last few years and heal a while before I begin my next project.

I've always travelled extensively and will do so again shortly. I've been part of a number of travel networks for a while so usually stay with hosts when away and have hosted many travellers when based in London. House and pet sitting seemed an obvious evolution :)

I've had cats (nine) and dogs (five) and lived with a range of other animals from horses and geese to reptiles and mice. I've also cared for many different properties over the years, including a medieval inn in Cumbria, a 16-bedroom country house and grounds in Buckinghamshire and a Selby barge in London.

I am a gentle giant, quiet, reserved, non-drinker, non-smoker, out of shape after too long stuck inside caring for my mother, but still ambitious to realise my next project; attempting to cycle and sail to New Zealand. I have a lot of reading and writing and planning to do, so taking care of homes and animals and walking dogs whilst I'm doing that makes good sense.

I don't have a vehicle and my bikes are in storage at the moment so I'm reliant on public transport and lifts, but I always get to where I'm going so that's not a problem.

Unshackled and unburdened, I’m about to embark on the next phase of my life. Let me know if you think we might be able to help each other and I look forward to our paths crossing.