My week: Brexit and building a villain’s lair

I went to see Dunkirk at the weekend, which got me thinking about Brexit (obviously).

A combination of bucket cola and spitfires meant I left the cinema feeling ready to fight the federalists on the beaches, the landing grounds etc. … plus I needed a pee quite badly.

Two gin and tonics before Sunday lunch calmed me down and I found my position on Brexit hasn’t changed in the last year or so: I didn’t want it but where there’s change there’s opportunity — and we can make it work, we just need to be aggressively positive.

Anyone who has been ‘in’ translation for a while will know that almost every economic and political shift creates its own language-specific breaks (and pitfalls).

Translation follows economic growth wherever it is in the world. In fact, I’m surprised investors haven’t cottoned on to this: all you need to do is track the shifts in the languages market to spot trends in manufacturing, defence, oil … you name it.

We’re seeing an upswing in the Eurozone economies, which is good as we need more euros in the Bennett Group coffers; and this could be the kick we need to develop business elsewhere.

To that end, we’ve already opened pied-a-terre offices in New York and Berlin and this week I am turning my attention to Aktuel Translations (EIRE) Ltd. My instinct is to open somewhere in Dublin: something with lots of chrome and glass but near one of the few proper pubs left in the city. That said, I’ve been wanting to purpose-build a translation office for a while. I want dead quiet for our internal proofers and translators, a secure room, a sound recording booth and underground parking. We stayed in an eco lodge last year (= house with grass roof and tufts of vegetable matter sprouting from the walls). It was educational in so far as it’s really not expensive to build something comfortable and practical with zero (or virtually zero) carbon footprint. Any architects listening feel free to get in touch.

So, I think we can afford to look at the West Coast of Ireland: I want something on a peninsular overlooking crashing waves and dramatic rocks tumbling down to pristine sand.

Basically, I am looking to build a Translation Lair.

Robin

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Aktuel Translations: ISO9001 quality-certified for translation into over 400 language combinations