Meet Diaphel

When did you join onefinestay?

I joined OFS November 23, 2011

And what is it that you do?

I am an operations analyst working in the Central Operations department. I mostly work developing processes and systamitizing operations to make the business run like a well oiled machine.

Where do you live in London?

I live on the South West corner of Battersea Park, Battersea.

Where do you wish you lived in London?

In Battersea. I love it there, especially the park. It’s just the right blend of nice neighborhoods, local shops, and a great park to walk, jog, enjoy the tennis courts, walk in the subtropical botanical part (with palm trees!), visit the zoo, have a picnic, and chill with all the dogs next to fountains and plush grass! What more could you want??

Diaphel in the park

Who would be the guest of honour at your dinner party?

Isaac Asimov, an awesome scientist/science fiction writer who wrote the Foundation Trilogy. This book predates Star Wars or anything of the sort, yet blows it out of the water! It’s a great critique on many parts of our society. (As most science fiction novels always were: If you couldn’t critique your current government or society without reproach, just write it in a book, say what you want, and then say, umm… it takes place in the future… somewhere else… definitely not here! See, totally different ).

What is your favourite word?

Ubuntu is definitely worthy of having meaning I like. It means “I am because we are”.

I’m kind of an idealist at heart I guess.

Ubuntu

When did you last get lost?

The last time I was REALLY lost was in Turkey. I was driving trying to get to Antalya from Konya through a mountain range in the middle of the night and I can honestly say I was afraid of falling off a cliff as there were no barriers. We were also being chased by wild dogs.

And then my brakes failed. We (my girlfriend and I) found a small hut type house and tried to explain to an old couple what had happened (which did not go well as I don’t speak Turkish, and they definitely didn’t speak English!)

After a while people started showing up, drawn by us talking I assume. Soon the whole village was there. One of them called a friend of his in a town who “spoke English”. He could basically say: “tonight, you sleep, tomorrow, we fix”.

So we spent the night there conversing through pictures and charades. Once they found out I was American they wouldn’t stop calling me Obama.

They were some of the most hospitable people I’ve ever met, giving us the cheese, olives and bread that they had as dinner, and the next morning cooking us fresh eggs from the hens outside. I never had to look far for tea as one of them was always refilling it. I have to say, for people with so little, they never hesitated to give so much. In the morning we could see the beautiful mountain range we were trying to get through as the sun rose above them. Though I was very lost, I can’t say I minded at all.

What was the best experience you ever had on holiday?

I’d say the best experience I’ve ever had on holidays was traveling through China and  Japan. The trip itself was amazing, but meeting my girlfriend there was the highlight. I met her in an elevator in Kyoto.

The romantic and his lady in a desert

What is your favourite spot in London which you wouldn’t find on a map?

Let’s see…. Not sure I know of any place I couldn’t find on a map. My roof terrace during the summer time? That wouldn’t be on a map. I built a terrace outside my window on my slanted roof. I was sick of not being able to have barbecues and chill on the roof, so I made it from the wood in my courtyard. I now love lounging out there when it’s sunny, having a beer and frying up a few burgers.

Tell us a secret.

My Landlord doesn’t know about my roof terrace.Shhhhh….

Enjoying a sneaky bowl of cereal on his hand made roof terrace

What will the title of your memoirs be?

Not sure… maybe…”Diaphel’s life around the world” or something. Was never good at coming up with titles.