Welcome to the Tom Thumb podcast, this is where I amalgamate a few different podcasts I do - that's Road Junky Travel Stories where I reminisce on some of the crazier situations I got myself involved in around the world in my 20's, and Storytelling of Tom Thumb which is the collection of the magical realist short stories that I sometimes perform in parks, cafes and festivals.
I'll also be starting a third podcast at some point, provisionally called, Tell me Something, where I take a book from my shelf and talk about it, weaving in all kinds of other stories to expand the topic.
And I'll also be posting here performance poetry, songs and essays into the human condition, maybe even some comedy - not all of it will be your cup of tea but it will always be creative, original and personal. This is the Tom Thumb podcast...so who am I?
I got the silly name, Tom Thumb, when I published my first book about hitchiking to India in 1999, it was a gimmick to sell books and I've been stuck with it since then.
I've written 6 or 7 books in total - more travel memoirs, a book about the rainbow gatherings, two novels for kids, a popular science book called Science for hippies, and I'll be sharing excerpts here every now and then.
I grew up in England and left as soon as I could in 1995 and have been on the road since then. I'm currently living in Prague and have set a personal record for being in the same place for 2 years in a row. I even bought a sofa a few months ago.
I organise events for a living - retreats in the Sahara Desert in the winter, the festivals of creativity and sensuality in the summer, which means the rest of the year I'm free to write, read, create and look after my little daughter who has given meaning to my life.