The ITI East Anglia Network we rounded the year 2025 off in the best possible way: by getting together in Ely for our Christmas Crafts and Potluck celebration! As always, there was plenty of laughter, interesting conversations and a lovely chance to reconnect before the festive break.

This year we mixed creativity with good food. Alongside crafting sessions which included making beautiful origami stars and a hands-on introduction to weaving with mini belt looms, we enjoyed a truly international feast. The table was full of British, German, Turkish, Swedish, Italian and Hungarian dishes, with lots of vegan options too, plus a memorable bit of culinary fusion in the shape of Bombay potato focaccia. Naturally, no translators’ get-together would be complete without a linguistic detour, and we even found ourselves puzzling over a bit of Plattdeutsch along the way!

The afternoon was a perfect reflection of what we do as translators every day: building connections, sharing skills and bringing different worlds together – in this case, language, craft and community.