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.
On a mild November day, after refuelling with delicious food, drinks and catch-up chats, the ITI East Anglia Network contingent arrived at the University of Essex to meet a group of students for the now bi-annual Meet the Professionals event.
Starting with a brief introduction of the ITI, the East Anglia Network and our individual professional experience, we then spoke to the various groups, answering all their questions.
The students were a mix of both postgraduates and undergraduates, studying languages, translation and interpreting, and linguistics. Their interests ranged from the best career moves and lifestyle choices for the future to very practical advice on day-to-day translation and interpreting practice.
We were asked if a Master’s degree in T&I is really needed to find work and what qualifications are best to have; if working in-house or freelancing is better at the beginning of your career; how working in-house first could help to establish yourself later as a freelancer; what it is like being self-employed with children, and how a career in translation could fit in with the digital nomad lifestyle.
On a more practical note, we answered questions about different ways of charging for the services provided (per word/hour/minute, or on a project basis), how the minimum fee rate is advisable but not always accepted, how to choose our specialisms (and how sometimes they choose us or we stumble upon them in any given moment), how to consider the professionals from other industries that are in our lives as consultants, or even proofreaders if they know our languages and have worked abroad in their field, and how hobbies and our knowledge can pave the way to a new specialism.
Finally, the inevitable AI/MT question popped up and curiosity about if/how to use AI for ancillary tasks, how to manage, leverage and control the online information available. We also touched on how to manage the widespread misconception that AI is good enough without a proper language professional’s intervention, and the pressure our industry is facing, focusing on the perceived positions of clients, agencies and LSPs, and translators and interpreters.
Underlying the importance of always providing the best quality, using the best resources, thoroughly researching the subject of every job at hand, and always honing your research skills for every university assignment now and for every job in the near future, we hope to have equipped the students with useful tools to start their career with the best foot forward.
Thanks to our member Donatella Fornari for her blog post about this amazing event and also a big thank you to Natalia Rodríguez Vicente from the University of Essex and our Outreach Coordinator Frances Clarke for their organisation!
On 15th October, the ITI East Anglia Network met in Norwich for our AGM. We met in the private dining room of the incredible YALM food hall in Norwich’s Royal Arcade, which meant that we also got to enjoy lunch together once the formal proceedings were over.
The first ITI East Anglia event I attended was last year’s AGM in Ely. Back then, I was just a new member but I left last year’s meeting so impressed by our local ITI community that I decided to volunteer on the committee when the chance to become website coordinator came up earlier this year. So, this year’s event was the first time I had a glimpse into all the behind-the-scenes organisation that goes into an AGM.
We are incredibly lucky to have a strong committee in East Anglia—made up of an events coordinator, outreach coordinator, social media and website coordinators and two co-chairs who also act as treasurer and secretary—so the workload of preparing the various reports was quite evenly spread. However, extra props must go to our events coordinator Katy Bryce for organising such a great venue and event!
Our reports showed that, while the turbulence within our industry is inevitably affecting some parts of our network, we are working hard to combat this with plenty of outreach work and events with the two universities within our region as well as a big push on our LinkedIn page and website. Our network is also very active and regularly hosts guest speakers on a wide range of topics relevant to our work. The hope is that we can line up some great talks for the year ahead. Attendees had the chance to suggest ideas for upcoming chat topics and event speakers. There was also talk of a potential wellness workshop in the new year, including tips on how to breathe!
Once we had wrapped up all the matters on the agenda, talk turned to the now-traditional topics of AI, how we use it or try to avoid it, and whether the bubble is going to burst or not. One of the many benefits of being part of an ITI network is remembering that you are not alone in the struggles of being a translator in this climate. Chatting to others in the same boat helps to relieve some of the pressure we may feel and is a great way of boasting morale if you’re in a bit of a slump.
Autumn often feels like a time to refresh with the start of the new school year, and so too, our AGM was a lovely opportunity to reflect on the success of the past year and look forward to exciting things ahead. And who can resist a chance to get out of the house, chat with other like-minded translators and enjoy some delicious food as well? If you are interested in joining us for one of our upcoming events, please get in touch via our Join Us page!
Whoever came up with this month’s topic, “Self-defence for translators”, deserves credit for choosing a subject that was bound to stimulate wide-ranging discussion on several fronts. The best topics are always those on which everyone present is likely to have an opinion, and we had lots of opinions to share, as well as some useful knowledge to pass on.
Translators are confronted by plenty of challenges – and probably always have been. Our discussions ranged from how to protect ourselves against the imposition of unreasonable deadlines, whether professional insurance is really needed by all translators, and how to spot (and thus avoid) scams, to questions about contract terms and conditions. To paraphrase Dr Johnson’s phrase (and why not?) that “when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather”, it’s probably true to say that when two translators meet it’s not long before the question of rates comes up, so we had a side-chat about that too – there’s certainly a discussion to be had about rates in the context of “self-defence”, if you think about it.
Here’s a summary of the discussions:
Deadlines: shorter deadlines are perhaps part of a trend, encouraged by AI, which leads people to think that everything can be done at breakneck speed. It’s important not to be afraid to push back occasionally, especially if, for example, a deadline of Friday evening is imposed – is it really likely that the client will be looking at your work over the weekend, or might they be ok with you asking for an extension to Monday morning?
Terms and conditions: don’t forget the “Model Terms of Business” document on the ITI website. Remember that some clients will have a standard set of pre-agreed Ts & Cs from which they are not allowed to deviate.
Scams: there are various tools that you can use to check if a particular domain name is registered or not, such as WhoIs (whois.domaintools.com). Also: if something arrives and it’s not addressed to you by name, it pays to be suspicious. And if something simply “feels” a bit fishy, it quite possibly is – trust your instincts! Unfortunately, some fake companies may prey upon translators’ desire/need for work. We were also reminded of Atlas Translations’ fairly recent identity fraud experience – see https://www.atlas-translations.co.uk/blog/beware-of-wordscup-identity-fraud/ – and there may well be others too.
Insurance: not everyone has it, and it may well depend on the types of text you translate as to whether you need it. Some clients will specify the level and type of insurance cover needed. Various insurers were mentioned, such as Towergate, Trafalgar (recommended by CIOL) and Hiscox. Translators may need insurance cover against, for example, cyberattack or loss of earnings, as well as the more obvious professional indemnity cover.
There’s a continuing problem over transparency among translators on these questions.
No “Monthly Chat”in October, as the Branch AGM is on 15 October in Norwich. The next Monthly Chat, in November, will look at “The future of our profession”.
Blog post written by our ITI East Anglia Network memberJohn Wagstaff
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Enjoying the summer? Our July monthly online chat was an insightful discussion about taking time off.
Some members said how, early in their careers, they were more hesitant to take time off for fear of losing clients – especially when working with some larger agencies who just assign the work to someone else in their absence. However, many found that trying to work while on holiday only led to stress and made it difficult to properly unwind.
If work can’t be avoided, different time zones can sometimes work in our favour – such as allowing for work in the evenings while enjoying daytime activities. Some also find that checking messages near the end of a holiday helps ease the return to work.
One member shared their experience of combining work and leisure by taking a few “workcations” working while abroad, often while visiting family. This can be especially helpful when balancing work with childcare. It was also mentioned, however, that attending translation conferences and industry events can feel like a little working holiday, offering the perfect opportunity for CPD, networking, and perhaps even combining it with a family break in some of the lovely locations.
This led to a side discussion around cybersecurity and the importance of not using public Wi-Fi when working with confidential client data. Members highlighted the need for secure email platforms, VPNs and other safeguards, and the conversation naturally progressed to the need for Professional Indemnity Insurance.
Everyone agreed on the importance of taking time to rest and recharge – and that most clients do understand this. Some members said they recommend a trusted colleague to their clients to cover for them, and that smaller agencies are often happy to plan ahead, if given enough notice.
Self-employment definitely requires flexibility, but it is a careful balance.
Ultimately, we all felt that clear, proactive communication is key when planning time off. It not only helps maintain strong client relationships but also supports our wellbeing and professionalism.
On the subject of taking a break, we will be taking a break from the online chats in August here at the ITI East Anglia Network, but we’ll be back chatting online again in September – next topic is ’Self-Defence for Translators’.
“2nd July? We’re bound to have some nice weather!” we naively thought, back when we were planning our summer social, a walk and picnic from Manningtree train station to Flatford Mill. And it was nice weather – for the ducks, at least. For the humans, it was probably slightly more on the damp side than ideal, but still we set out, undeterred!
The walk from Manningtree train station to Flatford Mill takes you through some of the most beautiful countryside in the East Anglia region, if not the whole of the UK – not for nothing is the area called “Constable Country”. And indeed, Flatford Mill is closely associated with the work of John Constable, whose father inherited the mill in 1764. It is now owned by the National Trust, and on more summery summer days, is a very popular spot. Along with the mill itself, there’s all the amenities you expect from a National Trust property, including a café and second-hand bookshop, along with a few more unusual features, like the historic cottage and boats for hire so you can paddle up and down the River Stour a little.
Unfortunately, hiring a boat would probably have been pushing it a little given the weather – intrepid we may be, but not foolhardy. It probably would have been a bit of a squeeze to get all seven of us in the boat anyway. Instead, we sat under some very dense trees and ate our picnic, with hot tea from the café. We talked about all the things translators and interpreters talk about when we get together – the state of the industry, technological developments, the challenges of starting out in the current climate. We also discussed other important issues, like which shape of crisp provided the best combination of flavour and texture, and we also all tried some limelon provided by one of the attendees. It’s too complicated an issue to get into the details of here, but let us say, opinions are divided.
The ITI East Anglia Network’s most recent online monthly chat (on 21 May) was a brainstorming on how our work as language professionals is changing, how the group members got to where they are and how they are adapting to the industry’s new normal. This was a follow-up to our last session “How (not) to make £100k as a freelance translator: a fresh take on advice for newbies” by Sarah Bowtell.
We discussed how we are positioning ourselves in terms of rates, both in resisting downwards market pressures and trying (sometimes successfully) to put our rates up occasionally to reflect rising costs. We also talked about the importance of investing our time in marketing in the broadest sense, by identifying our USP, as well as using all avenues available to us, including wider industry networking events. Face-to-face meetings allow us to meet people from our communities and business sectors and can bring all kinds of opportunities. When we think about networking, we most often think of selling, but actually it can be more effective to ask for help from contacts with questions like “do you know somebody who needs x?”
We agreed that it is now more important than ever to be ready with our response to the AI question. We should be prepared to counter the sceptics and clearly communicate why our work as translators and interpreters is still needed and what AI can’t do for our clients.
We also talked about how we need to feed back to clients on the workflow, and how this is even more relevant as processes change with MT and AI. When something does not work as we are expecting, or when it takes longer, we need to tell clients in a clear and timely way. If a job was meant to take three hours and took ten, we shouldn’t quietly absorb the costs for that. We recognised that this becomes easier with experience, when we are more confident in how long something should take.
We are looking forward to the next monthly chat on “Managing expenses and keeping costs down” on 25 June.
Blog post written by our ITI East Anglia Network member Catherine Fox
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On a gloomy late-October afternoon a couple of years ago, seven brave East Anglia Networkers clad in Halloween costumes gathered in front of their screens for a wicked online workshop, Don’t Be Afraid of Writing.
They might have expected some kind of trickery but they were actually in for a fun treat. They were about to summon the spirits of famous horror authors for an afternoon.
Once the courageous attendees split into two teams (no limbs were harmed in the splitting), they spun the Wheel of Doom.
The mighty Wheel decided on their fate and gave each team the name of a well-known author. The teams had to look at a sample of their author’s writing, analyse it with the help of some witchery (i.e. a handout with pointers), then call upon the scribbling spirits and write a piece of their own in their author’s style.
Team A’s destiny was to channel Stephen King, team B had to capture H. P. Lovecraft’s essence.
As the event’s main organiser and an attendee, Anikó Pető-Mordovski had some scary good fun with this workshop!
When preparing for it, she had a chance to come up with some corny Halloween puns and cram them all in the event’s “Spooky Styles” handout. This is essentially a quick guide for analysing an author’s writing style, looking at different aspects, such as vocabulary, poetic devices, sentence structure and the voice of the narrator.
Besides preparing for the event, she also got to participate in the collaborative writing exercise. It was amazing to bounce ideas off each other and observe how others’ minds work in a creative scenario. She was in the team that had the challenge of trying to think as the Victorian author, Lovecraft. The other team had to tackle King’s very American way of writing and cultural references.
As Holly-Anne Whyte, one of Team King said: “I think we worked together really well and even though progress was slow because we played around with all the different ideas, we made a very creative, well-written start on our horror story.”
Alanah Reynor, her team mate enjoyed the atmosphere: “Our Halloween costumes may not have won us any prizes, but the ambiance was perfect. Stephen King’s mysterious writing was the eerie focus of a fun and scary workshop, organised to the finest detail by Anikó. Working with colleagues to craft a spooky backdrop to our story was an enriching, yet spine-chilling, experience. We never finished, but the ominous feeling was certainly there.”
For Laura Elvin of Team Lovecraft collaboration was one of the fun – and useful – aspects of the workshop: “Writing collaboratively in a small group provided a great opportunity for teamwork. The workshop was a fun and entertaining way to round off the working day in congenial company. Not only that, it was a useful exercise in analysing and identifying different styles of writing and then imitating them, a valuable skill for all translators. All in all, a very enjoyable event!”
And this year, our brave East Anglians are ready to repeat the terrific experience: we’re coming together to tackle AI and its interpretations of great authors on 30 October, during our GhoulGPT event.
Name: Crystelle Mills-Smith Services offered: Translation, editing and proofreading Language combination(s): French to English Specialisms: Legal, Technical (Defence & Railways), Corporate communications Location: Colchester, Essex Website: www.crystellemillssmith.co.uk Contact info: crystelle@crystellemillssmith.co.uk
Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?
I studied French and German at the University of Sussex, before moving on to the University of Bradford to study for an MA in Interpreting and Translating. After completing my master’s dissertation, I applied for and was offered a job as an in-house linguist at the UK Ministry of Defence. After 10 years at the MoD, I took up a post as an English translator at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. I stayed there for a year before returning to the UK to set up as a freelance translator.
What services do you provide and in what areas?
I offer translation services from French to English in the legal and technical fields and I also translate corporate communications (newsletters, training manuals, etc.). In addition, I provide editing and proof-reading services to a small number of clients.
What makes you stand out?
I have a French background (my mother is French and I have family in France), I speak, read and write French on a daily basis and spend as much time as I can in France. Being immersed in the language helps me to really understand the idiomatic expressions and cultural references that crop up in the texts I work on.
What do you like most about your job?
The variety! I enjoy the challenge of working on different types of text and the intellectual exercise of translation. For example, over the past couple of months I’ve been translating website copy for a bed and breakfast business based in Burgundy. This is totally different to the technical manuals and legal documents that make up the bulk of my work. I love really getting to grips with a French text and producing an English version that reads naturally.
What do you do when you’re not working?
I run a successful trampoline club and I coach trampolining for 11 hours each week. As well as travelling to various venues in East Anglia for regional competitions, several of the gymnasts I coach also compete at national level so we travel around the UK for competitions too. I’ve been to Cardiff and Sussex so far this year, and will be travelling to Durham, Birmingham and Sheffield later in the year. I also enjoy gardening and reading.
What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?
I love Dedham Vale, and Constable Country more generally, and I also enjoy spending time on the coast around Mersea Island and Tollesbury. Colchester itself is a great place to live too: we have some fascinating history right on our doorstep with the castle, the Roman wall and circus, Gosbecks archaeological park and many other places of interest in and around the city.
Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?
I studied French and Spanish at university but then decided to go to law school. That led to me working as a lawyer in a busy and well-respected Cambridge firm for 18 years, before and after qualification as a solicitor. Much of my work involved handling property transactions for university clients. Later on, I became a professional support lawyer, providing in-house advice to colleagues, creating precedent documents and editing client newsletters. In the end, though, I couldn’t resist the urge to work with languages again and so re-trained as a legal translator about 12 years ago.
What services do you provide and in what areas?
I translate legal documents from French into English. This can cover anything from judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU and decisions of international tribunals to employment contracts, confidentiality agreements, terms and conditions of sale and personal documents such as wills, divorce settlements and powers of attorney.
What makes you stand out?
My years of hands-on experience in legal practice give me a thorough understanding of why legal documents are drafted in the way they are, how transactions are structured and judgments arrived at and, ultimately, what makes lawyers tick!
What do you like most about your job?
I love being able to work with both law and languages. The combination of the two ticks all the intellectual boxes in my brain and I find it immensely satisfying. I also love the fact that no two days are the same and there’s always something new to learn. But more than that, I really appreciate the feeling of camaraderie among translators, both in the East Anglia Network and further afield, who never hesitate to provide help and support when needed. More generally, I love freelance work for the flexibility and work–life balance it offers.
What do you do when you’re not working?
If I’m not walking the dog or doing Pilates, I’ll be singing! For many years I’ve been involved in barbershop singing, a hobby that has taken me all over the UK and even to Honolulu and Las Vegas. I’m also in a pop choir which is a lot of fun. I find singing to be a real tonic and perfect antidote to sitting at a desk for hours.
In addition, I volunteer once a week through a charity called REUK, helping a young refugee with his English and Maths homework, which is very rewarding.
What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?
Despite having grown up in Oxford, I really love Cambridge. There is something special about wandering through the ancient streets and watching the punts on the river, while areas like Mill Road have a great vibe. I also have a soft spot for Ely, where my daughter lives. There’s a fantastic market and of course the cathedral is spectacular. I also enjoy holidays on the North Norfolk coast and especially love seeing the seals at Blakeney Point. But East Anglia is so varied that I know I still have a lot more to explore!
