Hughie aka: Hugh, Hubles, Hughie McGinty, Cháng Kè, Sonam Wangchuk, Hugle, Spuge, Hugely, Ivor (Biggun), Shugi, Shugs, Jadu, Mr Irrelevant, Psaikido (there’s more..)
Born in 1964 in Merseyside to a third generation Irish immigrant Catholic family, Hughie writes and flies kites. In his youth he was a performer, playing in bands, doing juggling, acting, magic and stunts. He worked in New Circus as it was then called. He busked and performed in Europe and the UK for around ten years in the late 80s to early 90s. He taught guitar on and off, for many years, he started playing when he was nine. He has a distinction at Grade 7 in Classical Guitar.
A serious fall while performing a stunt during a rehearsal for Snapdragon Circus in 1991, left him with PTSD. The illness gradually morphed into ME/CFS which was eventually diagnosed in 2001.
After the accident, Hughie went into IT. He has a portfolio of many websites and considered himself a ‘full-stack web developer’ until the illness stopped him working professionally in 2018. The main software for the Western Chan Fellowship is built and maintained by him (also this site).
His deep love of Buddhism started shortly after the accident. He has attended over 40 week long zen intensive meditation retreats, mostly with the Western Chan Fellowship. He was a senior student of the late, great John Crook. He went on pilgrimage to Ladakh and the main Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. This trip is written up in Pilgrimage. He has also done two pilgrimages in China, visiting many of the original Chan temples and important locations. He ran a meditation group for twenty years and has undergone a three month silent retreat. He made an album of Buddhist inspired music, called Mantrasphere. He has carved many mantra stones, learning the ancient craft at Lamayuru Gompa in Ladakh.
He has written two volumes of poetry, Yarn and Sunshine & Shadow. He is a ‘Double Triple Master’ at Revolution Club38, a facebook group of fanatical quad-line kite fliers. He lives in the South West of the UK.
Hughie can be contacted at hughie (at) hugle.uk.
Technicals about this site
- Made in hugo
- Designed & built entirely in neovim by Hughie
- Hosted by the good folks at github
- 95% accessibility compliance
