Well OK they are not that new. To tell the truth, I have been here a year now but I needed to make sure it was working and permanent. It is definitely working and it is definitely permanent as far as I am concerned. Rather than working full-time from home, which was proving a little fraught amid three children under 13, I am now working in rented studio/office space a ten-minute walk up the hill. It is brilliant. The buildings used to be part of the Victorian brewery and look like this:
Category: Life as a freelance translator
Crimefest
In which some people enjoy spending a sunny afternoon arguing about punctuation. At the end of May I went to Ros Schwartz’ translation workshop at Crimefest in Bristol, which was brilliant. I decided I might as well go for the whole day rather than just the workshop in the afternoon so went to 2 morning panels, one… Continue reading Crimefest
That’s the way to do it
Yesterday a client had questions about a translation. Normally an agency coming back with questions from the client results in a feeling of horrendous dread, especially when the e-mail is accompanied by a file in which the end client has completely rewritten the entire thing in a strange version of English which is entirely their… Continue reading That’s the way to do it
New routine
Finally, the now 2 year-old is sleeping all night rather than waking at three, and I am getting back to the work routine that suits me best. 5.30 – 7.15 a.m. Work 7.15-9.30 a.m. Breakfast with children, get everyone dressed, hunt for nursery bag, book bags and shoes that have unaccountably vanished since the night… Continue reading New routine
The paper is encroaching again
When I moved out of my office in March 2007, I had to remove cardboard magazine files containing print-outs of every translation I had ever done since I started freelancing in 1997. That’s a lot of paper. I moved them here to our new house, transporting them from the car in a wheelbarrow, and stacked… Continue reading The paper is encroaching again
Summer in Scandinavia
I’m back from four weeks driving from the West of England to Eastern Finland and back again via Dover-Calais, Amsterdam, campsites in Germany and Sweden, stops with various Finnish in-laws, a weekend in a Swedish cottage in the Stockholm archipelago, 2 days with my non-Swedish-speaking cousin whose husband has suddenly been relocated from Grimsby to… Continue reading Summer in Scandinavia
I like agencies…
…who send me a PO with a deadline a day later than the one I offered “so that you’ve got enough time to do a really good job”. …who pass on positive feedback from end clients (though I am bemused as to why the European Commission gave me a tick for “command of style and… Continue reading I like agencies…
ITI Conference
I managed to attend the second day of the ITI conference last weekend, they having appositely timed a conference on sustainability and work-life balance to coincide with my husband’s 40th birthday. So in keeping with the work-life balance theme, I attended half of it. The day started with Philippa Hammond and Sarah Dillon’s joint presentation… Continue reading ITI Conference
And never the twain shall meet – incompatible holidays
If you live in the UK and work for clients in Sweden and Finland, from the end of April you are constantly missing each other. This Friday is May Day. For my clients, this is a public holiday and you won’t hear much from them from lunchtime on Thursday, i.e. about 11 am., and as… Continue reading And never the twain shall meet – incompatible holidays
Invoicing day
End of the month and invoicing day. I know that not invoicing every job the instant it is finished means I am giving my clients free credit, but a) they are nice clients and I don’t mind and b) there are some very good reasons why invoicing monthly makes sense for me. To whit: I… Continue reading Invoicing day