Ben, circa 1963

• Name: Ben Hammond

• Date of Birth: 07.03.1978

• Star Sign: Pisces

• Eyes: Green

• Ears: Pixie

• Childhood Hero: Neville Southall

• Current Occupation: Citizenship Teacher, Deptford Green School, South-East London


• Likes: Potato cheese; Getting to the top of a hill; Dancing; Campaigning on issues I believe in; Sewing & making clothes; The outdoors; Friends, people; Positive vibes; Playing football (goalkeeper); When you (the preverbial, ubiquitous you) force yourself to do something you’re massively apprehensive about and you come out smiling; Good films, good books; Having a person destroy people's/my preconceptions about them for the better; Water; Fresh air; teaching; Deptford Green school; Nightstriding!


• Dislikes: Car fumes when I’m cycling up a steep hill; Liver; Determinism; When the needle on my sewing machine goes through my finger; Bad films; Too much indoors; too much Nightstriding pain!


• Jobs through life (in no particular order): Paperboy; Waiter, Squirrel; Barman, Convenience Store Supervisor, Weekend Baker, Master of Ceremonies, Polar Bear; Chairperson, Podium Dancer, Fairtrade Co-ordinaror; Schools outreach worker; Banana; Street outreach worker; Kitchen Porter; Event Organiser; Classroom Assistant; Covert Fairtrade Campaigner; Vampire; Fairtrade Fortnight Co-ordinator; Stripper (of cardboard) Funkathon Co-ordinator; Tape-maker; Stationer & contraband (fizzy drink) salesman, English language teacher; Nightstrider; Citizenship teacher.


• Favourite word / phrase...

• Favourite character played in amateur dramatics: Walter in 'The Grey Tags'


• Personal theme tune: Listen here.


• Future Vocation: To work in education and development - for the next chunk of life this means teaching.


• Favourite Glastonbury Moment 2004: Disco Saturday with the Sister Sledge BBC TV moment & Earth Wind for Hire in the dance tent; Belle & Sebastian and the sun, the rain & the rainbow; the Banana tree team and beer tent busyness; the first night exploring my first ever visit to the festival; Sunday night outside Radio 1 dance tent; the total mixture of people there; that there’s something for everyone out there; the (giant statue) mushrooms.


• Why Burma? Because of chance and luck, because of Beth at UEA, because of kids at schools visited here in the UK, because of me wanting to leave and learn; because what's going on is a microcosm of things being played out on a wider scale; because what's happening IS happening and it contrasts so much with the world I saw as a privileged kid growing up - one I thought was only filled with sense; because I figure people have got to do something, somewhere.