Epilogue Day 2: Santiago de Compostela to Brighton. 1200km.
I start writing this sitting on the cold stone of Santiago in the morning, waiting for an old cafe to open, waiting for a plane to fly me home.
Personal Page
James Torr
I'm a professional software developer with a healthy number of side interests: walking, photography, cooking, brewing, photography, writing, gardening, foraging, cycling, music, singing, guitar.
About me
I'm a settled nomad these days. I've lived overseas for five years or so, then came back to take over a family business 15 years back. Since selling the business, I've moved career into software development, just in time for LLMs to completely change the market.
Living in different cultures has given me perspectives on my own behaviour and culture. I'm trying to do my best to iron out those kinks, but changing yourself is hard enough, let alone your society!
I'm a curious mixture of technical and creative, engineer and empath, scientist and sensitive.
If that sounds like someone you'd want to work with, get in touch or follow me:
Work experience
Software Developer
Freelance, Datadiviners Ltd.
2021 - Present
Full stack development
Python, Javascript, Svelte, Wordpress, Shopify, Docker, Linux
Managing Director
AV Plastics
2010 - 2019
Injection moulding plastics manufacturing company.
Walked into an empty office in 2010 and had to pick up the reins.
Zero handover or previous experience, that was a fun year or so...
English Teacher
Self-Employed, Various Schools
2003-2010
Working in Warsaw, Granada and Lisbon teaching English as a second language
Education
Biology Undergraduate Degree
Southampton University
1996-1999
Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
1989-1995
Skills
I know...
Software Development
A few years ago, trying to learn everything in software would have been a very foolish idea. I went down that path, and now find with LLM assistance it stands me in good stead.
Docker
Proficient at Docker - compose and standard Docker deployment.
Svelte
Reactive frontend design using the Svelte reactive framework.
Wordpress
Deployment, backup, optimisation, basic theme development.
Shopify
Full site creation and customisation.
Python
Python usage, as well as familiarity with various libraries including Flask, Pandas, FastAPI.
Project Management
Various methodologies - Kanban, Getting Things Done.
Linux
VPS box setup, user management, all that jazz.
Foreign Languages
Italian - B2/C1 level. Spanish - rusty B1/B2. Portuguese A2.
Sample Projects
Cool stuff I made.
Vanilla Cookbook
About:
Open source self-hosted recipe manager. It is designed with complexity under the hood, keeping the user experience as uncluttered, simply vanilla as possible.
Brewbat
About:
Stripping back the complexity of brewing applications to a clean, uncluttered and visual interface.
Let's work together
Get in touch about developing your next project
Blog
View all posts »Stories, nature, food projects.
Epilogue Day 1: Santiago Rest Day. 0km
Today is my Santiago rest day. My chance to rest, relax, recover from the hundreds of kilometres that have passed underfoot in the last 16 days. I should have a lie in. Instead, I'm awake before six.
Day 28: O Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela 19.8 km
The last day. The final 20 km. 675 km walked in 28 days, two parts, over two years.
Day 27: Arzúa – O Pedrouzo 19.4 km
I awake in the dorm, my mind skips around in the dark, the muffled light snoring entering my ears through my plugs is a comforting sound, but not enough to send me back to sleep. The last few days have seen our little group become very close. Tomorrow is the beginning of the end of that particular form, and the end of 28 days of walking for me. The thought of this starts some waves of overwhelming emotions.