West Midlands Group

ITI conference 2013 Thelma and Louise aka Bärbel McCloskey and Ulrike Nichols are on the road again Saturday, 18 May 2013, 6.40am. I check my phone and notice I’ve got a voicemail. Bärbel has called me to tell me she slept in and doesn’t know when she will be there to pick me up. I am only surprised because she left the message an hour ago! Five minutes later she is there and I remind her that we wanted to meet at 6.45am rather than 5.45am. All is well. Deep breath and off we go to London. 8.00am - A light is flashing on the dashboard. I am put in charge of figuring out how far one can go with a deflated tyre. An impressive 280km we learn from the car manual, and decide to stop at the next petrol station. 8.10am - We have stopped. Bärbel is checking the tyres, being careful not to get her white (!) trousers dirty. I am also in nicer clothes than my usual jeans and t-shirt; we are on our way to a conference after all. But I am a useless bystander here and I am deeply impre...

Last Saturday's WMG translation workshop at Aston University was enjoyable, interesting, and just a bit disgusting as we discussed how to convey the delights of "snail porridge" (from The Fat Duck Tasting Menu) in various languages. I think in the German group we decided that "Schneckenschleim" probably didn't sound very appetizing. Working in mixed groups with translators working in opposite language directions was fun. The English>German translators in the German group produced a fantastic back-translation to compare with the original German text that we German>English translators were looking at. Not only was it remarkably similar to the original, considering its literary style, but where it differed it was, we agreed, better.

The rescheduled ITI WMG winter walk took place on a glorious day with an exciting feel of spring in the air. A smallish group of WMG stalwarts plus newcomers Helga, John and young Owen made the most of the cloudless blue skies and warmth of the sun to enjoy the Warwickshire countryside. Many thanks to Mike Hanson for organising it, even though he couldn't actually make it on the day due to work commitments. And well done to Alan Mendy for being such a good strong walker! More photos can be found in the Photo section.

Jean-Pierre Mailhac talking on "Translating Cultural References" at Aston University on 1 December 2012 Jean-Pierre Mailhac is known for his engaging and stimulating workshops, and last Saturday about 12 MWG members and 4 Aston University MA students took part in another of his events, “Translating Cultural References”, which was really more about how to approach the process of translating cultural references. The very first thing is, of course, how actually to recognise a cultural reference in the first place – and, among the many cultural reference that cropped up over the day, the origin of some eluded even a few English speakers. Jean-Pierre used an array of sources, ranging from a French translation of “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾” and a promotional video of Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture 2008, to the Astérix books, a ketchup advertisement, an appliance manual and different gestures used throughout the world, and then to w...

Bookings are coming in for our next workshop on Saturday 1 December 2012, organised jointly with Aston University. This promises to be a practical and entertaining event. Dr Jean-Pierre Mailhac is a lively, engaging speaker and he will be presenting a framework for dealing successfully with tricky cultural references. You can find a flyer about the event and a booking form on our Events page .

Many thanks to Mike and Angela for organising a very enjoyable walk from Calke Abbey last Saturday. Click on Matt's grubby feet to see more photos!

This year's walk will be a joint event with the newly formed ITI East Midlands Group, at Calke Abbey, a National Trust property near Ashby-de-la Zouch, at the heart of its own large estate, on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border. See http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey for full details. There is a £2.50 admission charge (payable on entry to the park) for non-NT members, covering parking and use of catering and other facilities. Anyone who would like to come but not walk can spend the afternoon exploring the house and garden (extra charge payable). The walk itself is just over 5 miles long, around the Calke estate and the nearby forests and lakes, on undulating terrain. If you wish to eat beforehand, please meet at 12 noon in the picnic area behind the ticket office (no need to buy a ticket here unless you are going into the house or garden, so go through the entrance to the right of this office). There is a coffee shop kiosk in the picnic area selling lig...