C Drew Language Solutions

🚩Instagram Imposter 🚨

There is an account on Instagram (under the name Benson Williams) that has cloned my profile and started offering translation work to other freelancers.

Please note:

🔺I almost never hire translators myself
🔺I would not arrange work or contracts via Instagram

I have reported the account in question but, as always, would like to remind fellow translators to be suspicious of such accounts and offers through Instagram, Facebook, etc.

At least, as they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery…

🏉 I went to the Rugby World Cup! 🏆

As some of you may remember, I was really looking forward to my trip to France for this year's Rugby World Cup, even if I didn't hold out much hope for Wales before the tournament.

Well, now I'm back, I can happily say not only were my expectations of the trip itself exceeded, but so were my expectations of Cymru's performance against the Wallabies in Lyon!

So, here are just a few of the highlights of my trip:

⚽ Visiting Musée National du Sport in Nice, which had a great collection of exhibits ranging from a shirt once worn by Pelé to a Formula 1 car.

🏛 Exploring the old towns of Nice and Lyon, with all their sights, sounds and, crucially, tastes!

🏎 A day trip to Monaco - home to probably the most famous motor race in the world, seeing the famous tunnel and turns up close.

🚆 Travelling across the country in a comfortable, affordable and punctual train - who knew such a thing was still possible!?

🏟 Watching Italy v Uruguay - a great contest between two less-favoured teams - and Wales v Australia - a fantastic, unexpected blowout that saw Wallabies fans leaving the stadium well before full time!

Now, back in the Manchester rain, I'm already thinking about upcoming sporting tournaments overseas that I might be able to attend in the not so distant future...

In the meantime, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the tournament as we approach the knockout rounds.

⚽ Women's World Cup Previews 🏆

I'm going to be providing brief previews of the Spanish and Arabic speaking teams competing at this year's Women's World Cup.

With the tournament just days away, I'm kicking off today with Spain.

After a disappointing exit at EURO 2022, La Roja went through considerable turmoil, with 15 players withdrawing from selection due to concerns about playing style, management and conditions in the team. Although the initial hostilities seem to have calmed, even if all the issues raised haven’t been fully addressed, just three of Las 15 have been selected for Australia & New Zealand.

They will be captained by Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas, Spain’s most capped player (102), who missed out on EURO 2022 with an ACL injury. Regarded by many as the best player in the world, she returned to action with her club in April 2023 and will surely play a key role in Spain’s campaign.

What do you make of Spain's chances this year?

⚽️ World Cup Roundup 🏆️

🇦🇷 ¡Argentina Campeón del Mundo! 🇦🇷

The FIFA World Cup came to an end in thrilling style yesterday, with Argentina looking to have sealed the deal late into regulation time and again late into extra time, only for France, through Mbappé, to come back on both occasions to take the tie to penalties.

Ultimately, la Albiceleste won the shootout and (most of) the world got to see what we wanted: Messi lifting the biggest prize in world football, just reward for a career defined by scarcely believable skill.

On a personal note, it was the biggest sporting event I have worked on in my career, and I thought I’d offer a little roundup of my World Cup.

🇬🇧 🇪🇸 🇯🇴 I worked with three of my languages - English, Spanish and Arabic
📰 I translated more than 18,000 words from Arabic into English
📺️ I transcribed, translated and/or subtitled more than 60 videos and audios
💬 The content ranged from informational videos to player interviews and from match previews to fan reactions
🐉 Most importantly, I had the chance to cheer for Wales at a World Cup for the very first time

I’m sure there will be more work related to the tournament over the coming few weeks but, for now, it’s time to wind down a little and settle back into a more normal routine before a small break over Christmas and new year.

Finally, thank you to all my fellow football translators! It has been a pleasure to work with so many of you again, and, even if our paths didn’t cross, I know just how much work you will have put into the last couple of months. Well done!