Emilie Declaron (Newcastle)

Hello, I’m Emilie, a French interpreter and translator, and adopted Geordie since 2005. I came here as an exchange student and never looked back!

In 2007 I completed a Bachelors Degree in contemporary language studies, which included studying Spanish and Polish, which I hope to integrate into my skills base in the future. In 2012 I completed Level 3 qualification in Public Service Interpreting and Linguistics, and I passed my Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) in 2013. I also joined the CIOL in 2013.

I started working as an interpreter in 2011, doing conference work for Northumbria University, as well as media work for NUFC. I now mostly work in Court, although I also work as a community interpreter for the NHS, in Police stations, and for private companies such as Nissan.

Most of my translation work involves legal texts, as well as a variety of other documents including commercial websites, government documents, medical reports… I occasionally do transcription work and I hope to do more fiction work in the future.

I teach French at ‘Blah, Blah, Blah – International Languages’, at the Commercial Union House in Newcastle http://www.blah-blah-blah.org/about/, and offer private tuitions.

What I like about Newcastle… 

Newcastle is such a lively city! One of the reasons that made me stay here was the art scene. There are so many lovely music venues all across the town, interesting art galleries, poetry and comedy events, there is never a dull moment in Newcastle. The football stadium is right in the centre of the city, which generates an amazing atmosphere. It is also a beautiful place to live, with the Quayside, the Ouseburm Valley, and of course Grey Street, which was voted the most beautiful street in Britain. And finally, it has to be the friendliest place I have ever visited!

My three favourite places: 

The Ouseburn Valley is one of my favourite areas of Newcastle. It’s a lovely place to go for a nice walk on a sunny day, visit the animals at Ouseburn farm, have some traditional pub food… The Valley is even livelier at night, with many music venues to choose from, whether you fancy an intimate acoustic gig at The Shipp Inn, to see a folk band at the Cumberland Arms, or something more electric at The Cluny. It is also home to the craziest comedy night you will ever attend, the Silly Billies, welcomes many poetry events, art happenings, independent movie screenings at the Star & Shadow cinema, and you will find Small Change, the largest vintage shop of the region here too. If you venture a bit further towards Byker, you will find the rightly popular Al Baik Lebanese restaurant, which serves some of the best food in Newcastle.

Bar Loco is also a firm favourite of mine. It is a restaurant/bar/art gallery owned by an Italian family. The food is beautiful and served until midnight, the company is very international, and best of all, they put on great events most days and they’re all entirely free. Music, poetry, belly dancing, all art forms have their place at Bar Loco. The SYSTEM art gallery upstairs always displays interesting works of art, often by local artists, ranging from sculptures to conceptual art installations, photography, and of course paintings and drawings. They have recently joined the Late Shows line up and have organised for the second year a very successful musical poetry night.

A lovely hidden place in Newcastle is Blackfriars Court. You can still see the cloister buildings of a 13^th century friary, which houses nice little craft shops and Blackfriars Restaurant. The courtyard is a great place to go on a sunny day, although it is situated right in the city centre it is very peaceful, and if you’re lucky you might spot bunnies hopping about!

I feel like I should also give a mention to the beautiful Quayside, with its many bridges, lovely scenery, Sunday market, and its very own Quayside Seaside 3 months a year.

My favourite Geordie word…

I like when people in shops or bus drivers call me ‘pet’ or ‘petal’! It sounds friendly. I also got in the habit of saying ‘dinner’ for lunch and ‘tea’ for dinner, which I guess may be very confusing south of Newcastle!

Natascha Jaeger (Newcastle)

 

As I’m from Germany, I can hardly call myself a “local” but my connection to Newcastle goes back to 2007, when I moved here to do my MA. However, this first spell in the Northeast was not to be long lived. After graduating, I spent almost four years in an in-house position in Basingstoke, but finally returned to Newcastle in 2013. This was also when I set myself up as a freelancer, specialising in English to German marketing translation.

What I like about Newcastle

Right from my first student days in Newcastle, I have always been captivated by the friendly and at the same time dynamic atmosphere of the place. It’s also great to be able to live in a city without ever being too far away from a green space. The best of both worlds!

My three favourite places

I make a point of paying regular visits to Wallington in Northumberland and its magnificent Central Hall with paintings by William Bell Scott.

The Town Moor: More of a field than a park, this is the perfect spot for a picnic on the hills! I especially like the cows that take up residence here in the summer.

Blyth might not be known for its culinary delights but I wholeheartedly recommend the ice cream shop on the seafront, particularly if you like more “unusual” flavours.

My favourite Geordie word

This will have to be “yous”, the plural form of “you”! How does the English language survive without it?

Kim Sanderson (Hexham)

I am ‘officially’ a Geordie according to the definition I know, as I was born in within reach of the ships hooting on the Tyne, in the suburb of Jesmond. I lived there until I was 11; as this area is close to the university, I went to school with people originating from all over the UK and further afield. I never really developed a Geordie accent, although I kind of wish I had!

I went to secondary school in Brampton, Cumbria, then spent periods in Tanzania, Paris, Bristol, Réunion Island, Munich and Edinburgh before finishing my education and translator training. I studied French and German, then translating and interpreting, at university.

After a year working in-house in York, I moved to a job in London and worked there for four years before going freelance. In London I worked for two government departments: agriculture/environment and trade/industry. I continue to translate material relating to the environment and to international development. My other specialisms have developed since I went freelance: I enjoy creative challenges such as advertising and marketing texts, and have branched out into architecture and planning.

I now live in Hexham, twenty-odd miles to the west of Newcastle, and still enjoying visiting the Toon! I work from a home office, a welcome change from commuting by train in London.

• What I like about Newcastle…

Newcastle is self-sufficient in terms of entertainment, culture, shopping, sport, and has a strong sense of identity. This helps counter the impression you sometimes get in the UK that everything revolves around London.

• My three favourite places:

Central Arcade is a lovely shopping arcade rebuilt in the Edwardian era, with mosaic floor and tiled walls. It’s also home to J.G. Windows, a music shop where I bought my first 7” single!

Jesmond Dene has a lot of maintained green space to walk in, a burn (the Ouseburn), an imposing bridge across it (Armstrong Bridge), and even a Pets’ Corner and boating lake.

As a child, I was excited about the prospect of going to the Hoppings. The Hoppings is a huge funfair held on the Town Moor. It seems the name probably comes from the Anglo-Saxon word hoppen, meaning a fair.

• My favourite Geordie word…

It’s hard to decide, can I have two?

‘Howay man’ is a very satisfying way of saying ‘come on’. It can also be used to address women, or you can expand it to ‘howay man, woman’!

‘Sneck’, as in a latch or catch. I use to ‘put the door on the sneck’ meaning to engage a Yale type lock but without using the key to lock the door. A very useful term.

 

Lloyd Bingham (Alnwick)

I’m another non-native Northeasterner but the region has been my home for seven years. I studied French, German, Spanish, Dutch and Catalan at Newcastle and moved straight into an in-house translation position in Northumberland for three years afterwards. I’ve spent the years exploring the North East on my bike, following the Tyne westwards to Hexham or eastwards to Tynemouth, and along the North Sea coast southwards to Sunderland and the River Wear to Durham.

I’m an Associate of ITI currently applying for full membership. I love meeting up with colleagues from the North East, but you can also find me at certain ITI events and TweetUps across the country. Although I’ll be relocating to Cardiff from July 2014, the North East will still occupy a very special place in my heart and I look forward to telling you about the magic of Newcastle at the conference.

What I like about Newcastle…

Its neoclassical architecture. With no fewer than 244 listed buildings, Grainger Town is absolutely gorgeous and contains the city’s finest structures such as the Theatre Royal and Grey’s Monument, where Earl Grey stands 40m high, watching over Newcastle. Cobbled streets that are reminiscent of medieval times lead down the steep slope towards the Quayside, where the dramatic Tyne Bridge towers above the pedestrians. It’s very much a city of bridges. The newest addition, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, is spectacular when lit up at night.

I love zipping around town or out to Whitley Bay on the Metro too. Having been an industrial centre, many of the former railways have been electrified and made part of the city’s efficient light rail network, which larger UK cities could only dream of.

My three favourite places:

Jesmond Dene is hands down my favourite. A narrow yet dense area of woodland with footpaths running along a small stream that begins no more than a mile from the city centre. It’s the most tranquil place in the city, perfect for a jog or walk on a Sunday morning. I also like Newcastle City Library. It’s a modern steel and glass building, only about five years old. There aren’t many tall buildings in Newcastle, but at six storeys high, it’s tall enough to offer a reasonable view to the south over the city’s rooftops and towards the Tyne. Lastly, there’s my favourite pub, The Cluny. It’s an area called Ouseburn, about a 20 minute walk east of the city centre. Its range of English bitters and canal-side location make for a great summer evening there. Plus, it does my favourite German beer, Erdinger Weiß, on draught.

My favourite Geordie word…

Not a word but a phrase…shy bairns get noot! It simply means you won’t get what you want if you don’t ask, but I love it because it epitomises the confidence of Geordie personality.

Marga Burke (Newcastle)

I’m a specialist medical and pharmaceutical translator from French and occasionally Italian into English. The main areas I work in are clinical trials, journal articles and evidence-based guidance. I also provide a subtitling service, and was very excited to be offered my first book translation this year: an academic text about traditional medicine in Madagascar. I previously taught audiovisual translation at Leeds University, but these days I stick closer to home as I will be expecting my first baby this summer! I’m a qualified member of ITI and an alumna of the Professional Support Group. My website (badly in need of updating) can be found at www.margaburke.co.uk.

I have lived in the North East for most of my adult life: first Durham and now Newcastle. In my spare time, I sing soprano in a church choir, and I have recently started learning Farsi.

What I like about Newcastle…

Its versatility. Newcastle has all the amenities of a big city, but the Northumbrian countryside, the seaside and the picturesque city of Durham are all within a 30-minute car or train journey.

My three favourite places:

Durham is one of my favourite places in the North East and I could spend hours walking along the river paths or the cobbled streets, looking at views of the cathedral and castle. I also love the island of Lindisfarne, accessible by causeway at low tide only, off the coast just north of Bamburgh. Finally, in Newcastle itself, the formerly industrial Ouseburn Valley has been regenerated as a cultural hotspot with some marvellous pubs and lots going on.

My favourite Geordie word…

“Clarty”, meaning dirty or filthy, particularly in a sticky or muddy way. As my partner says, it does exactly what it says on the tin!

 

Laura Ball, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Hi, I’m Laura, not a born-and-bred Geordie, but I’ve been in Newcastle for nearly five years now, and it’s beginning to feel very much like home. Like a lot of people, I originally moved here to study and have stuck around ever since! After completing a research master’s degree in German, I worked in various language-related roles before setting up as a self-employed, freelance translator and language trainer. I work from German into English (and teach German and English), and most of my work involves business and financial texts, although I also have some music clients and vary my workload with some transcription work for a news agency. I joined the ITI as an associate in 2011 and the CIoL as a member in 2012. I am hoping to sit the MITI exam in June this year.

What I like about Newcastle…

One of the reasons I stayed here was the opportunity that Newcastle offers for getting involved in local arts - music, drama, art installations, folk music and much more. The city’s regeneration has seen a lot of the old industrial spaces being turned into creative spaces for artists of all types. This generates a lively feel to the city, and there is always something going on. An example of this is given in the free Crack magazine, which details listings of all the events happening each month. It’s well worth checking out the online version if you’re ever heading up to Newcastle: http://www.thecrackmagazine.com.

My three favourite places:

There are so many to choose from, but one of them must surely be the Quayside. There is no better way to spend a Sunday morning than strolling along the quayside, enjoying both the market and the genuine German Bratwürste that are sold there! The Millennium Bridge is a favourite sight, and I enjoy crossing it to have a look round the latest exhibition in the (free) Baltic art gallery.

Another favourite locale is Bar Loco, on Leazes Park road (http://www.barloconewcastle.com). It features a Bohemian mix of art deco furnishings, some European beers on tap and an eclectic, artsy crowd to pass the time with. There’s a cafe/bar area downstairs, a large lounge area upstairs and even an art gallery on the third floor that exhibits works by local artists. Not to mention the incredible Italian food - did I say that the place is still owned by the Italian family that originally opened it? It’s generally just a great place to hang out in, as there will always be a couple of interesting people to talk to, but it doesn’t get overcrowded with drunken idiots who might spoil the atmosphere.

A third place I like is the Holy Jesus Hospital on City Road in the town centre. I volunteered there giving guided tours before it was largely shut to the public (some visits possible by appointment). The 100-year-old facade looks a little incongruous amid all the modern buildings, but inside it is full of unlikely history. Originally an Augustinian friary, it became essentially a retirement home for freemen in the seventeenth century and then an industrial-sized soup kitchen was added to it in the Victorian era. It’s just one of the hidden historical treasures that Newcastle - unexpectedly - has to offer.

My favourite Geordie word…

… is “hoy” as in “Hoy it here, will you?”, which means “throw”, like throwing something across the room.