Proofreading, Translation and Other Things

Lest We Forget I, like many others, have been deeply moved by the commemorative display of 888,246 poppies at the Tower of London. Each one represents a British or colonial soldier who fell in the First World War. Today, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month will mark 96 years since the armistice, after four long years of fighting, the collapse of the Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and German empires, and the deaths of over 37 million people. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. ( For the Fallen - Laurence Binyon ) And today I took the opportunity, during the two-minute silence, to think of five fallen soldiers in particular whose stories have captivated, intrigued and/or touched me in some way. Sgt/Warrant Officer Thomas Harper Bond   (1886-1920) My great grandfather Thomas, photographed in Febru...

“The only good thing to do with good advice is pass it on; it is never of any use to oneself.”  Oscar Wilde For my sins, I have been known to stop by Internet forums from time to time to offer my "two penneth" on various subjects. While there is, of course, no obligation to follow my advice, I'd like to think (without wishing to appear arrogant) that I'm pretty knowledgeable. Where the topic of travel is concerned, I am fortunate enough to have been to a number of countries around the world, and have met people from all walks of life.  Germany is probably the place that I am best qualified to comment on. I first visited it almost 20 years ago, and, like Geoff Hurst, have had a kind of "love affair" with "Deutschland" ever since. I went on to study German as part of my degree and have lived/worked there for the best part of a decade. Thus, my responses to Germany-related queries have been selected as the best answers on occasions.  ...

Introduction I first read this book back in 1998. I happened to be at the library of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, looking for a novel in my mother tongue. It was one of the few things on offer and I picked it up, not initially expecting much. I've always enjoyed English literature, but you do have to be in the right frame of mind to tackle it - as language can change quite substantially over the course of a century or two. However, if you can get past the dated prose, there is a real "gem" to be discovered. I, for one, absolutely loved it and (if you'll forgive a second pun) it remains a mystery to me as to why Collins's work is not more widely known today. During his lifetime, he produced a number of ' sensation novels'  - the most successful of which was probably "The Woman in White". His work was originally published in installments in " All the Year Round ", the magazine founded by Collins's friend and contem...

Last year I had the privilege of being able to combine two of my passions, when my friend, Amancay Tapia , asked me to proofread the first draft of the screenplay for a film she was making. I first met Amancay when I was an exchange student at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , where she was studying English Philology. Even back then, she was a highly creative individual, who regularly wrote and performed in various plays. I always thought that she would go on to have a career in the arts, and indeed, she has since become an independent filmmaker with eight short films and a full-length feature, Campo de Batalla (Battlefield) - now available on You Tube , under her belt. Rescue Me is one of her latest projects and was partly funded via the Kickstarter website. The inspiration behind it comes from Amancay's wish to explore how the financial crisis has affected people on a more personal, human level. It's a subject that many of us can relate to - as I'm prett...

Well, it has been several months since I started this blog, so another entry is long overdue. Just before Christmas, I decided I'd better make use of some cinema vouchers which I'd bought c/o Groupon. I have to say that there wasn't a great selection on offer, but I did get to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" - or, as it was the German version, "Wolkig mit Aussicht auf Fleischbällchen 2". The sequel follows the further adventures of intrepid young inventor Flint Lockwood, who - as viewers of the first film will remember - designed a machine that converted water into food with terrifying results.   ( It's behind you! ) Part 2 picks up to find that Flint is working for super-inventor Chester V, whose task it was to clean up the island which had been wrecked by the food storm in the first film. Until it turns out that the machine which caused the chaos has survived and what it produces has mutated into food-animal hybrids. It...