This is the first of my posts about my big, much-postponed interrailing adventure. If you’re following the WhatsApp group, this is more or less live for you. If not, this is in the past (as it is unwise to advertise on the internet that your house is empty), so consider it a historical document.
Continue readingHow to be an interpreter
23 AprMany of you will know that as well as being a writer and editor, I also interpret and translate Albanian to English. Since the war in Ukraine began, I’ve already been asked how someone can become an interpreter, and I expect there are a lot of people asking the same question. As more Ukrainians arrive, there is a greater need for Ukrainian interpreters, and there are Ukrainians with good English who would like to plug that gap.
But although non-linguists assume that to be an interpreter you just need to speak both languages, there’s actually a bit more to it than that. Obviously, speaking both languages very well is the baseline, but this post is about all the other stuff that professional interpreting involves. Please share it with anyone who might find it helpful.
Continue readingTasty deconstructionism
29 Mar
I’m in the throes of moving house at the moment, and as the new place started out as an empty shell, there’s a lot of work to do. All the to-ing and fro-ing is having a detrimental effect on my diet, since I have very little time to cook, let alone plan meals. (As an example, on the day I started writing this, my lunch consisted of a packet of crisps and two squares of chocolate. Very balanced.)
Continue readingModern Theology for Modern Slavery: Review of Slavery Free Communities by Dan Pratt
25 Feb
Another book review for you this time. Slavery Free Communities was kindly lent to me by my friend Joan, and I took far too long to read this, considering there were other people waiting in line. I’m fairness, my tbr pile is insane. Anyway, I’ve finished it now, I’m passing it on to the next readerg hopefully today, and I’ve used the remainder of my time with it to write a big long review.
Continue readingThe Wisdom of Friends
3 Feb
The passage of time is a strange thing. You’re only slightly aware of changes to yourself taking place, but in other people it is more obvious, especially children or people you don’t see that often. So my squidgy little lump of a baby niece is now a leggy, bespectacled eight-year-old who occasionally comes out with profound insights on life (shared on the family WhatsApp, of course). And the naïf American ingénue with the amazing name whom I knew at University is now a mother of three who is not only cultured but also wise, to judge by her latest book.
Continue readingWave your hands in the air like you just don’t care
31 JanThe Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things – our vocabulary (go back in time and try telling your past self that you’re not sure whether to take a PCR or an LFT because you may have caught Omicron from an anti-masker even though you’re double-vaxxed), our workplace habits (hello, Zoom), our travel and our priorities. One of the very minor things it has changed is my mind about songs with actions.
Continue readingMy Year in Review – 2021
29 Dec
It’s been an up and down sort of a year. It started during a miserable winter lockdown and has ended with lighter-touch restrictions back in force and the threat of more (thanks, Omicron), but there has been quite a lot of good stuff in-between. I found a lovely wee flat and moved back to Glasgow, which was great (because however nice East Kilbride is, it’s not Glasgow) but then got new neighbours with some seriously anti-social dogs. The year was bookended by failing to get two writing/editing jobs that I wanted and that would have paid decent money, but on the other hand I finished the novel I was working on and had a few smaller pieces published.
Continue readingIt’s Chriiiiiiissstmaaaas!
23 Dec
The race for Christmas number one is being fiercely fought between Ed Sheeran & Elton John, and Ed Sheeran & Elton John (with Ladbaby). The tension is entirely bearable. However, although I’m not a fan of Ed or Elton, I am a bit pleased that Christmas number one will be something Christmassy this year. It rarely is.
Continue readingChristmas Mythbusting
22 DecI am hoping to get another post written before Christmas about my favourite Christmas pop songs, but with my current workload I’m making no promises. Fortunately, a couple of articles I wrote last month have just gone live, so you can enjoy those instead.
Continue readingSmashwords end of year sale 2021 – your go-to for free presents!
17 DecAll my books on Smashwords are free in the Smashwords End of Year Sale (as they usually are), and there are also many other books by inferior writers (kidding!) that you can get for free or cheap too.
BUT…
this year they’ve introduced the ability to give them as gifts! Meaning you can now give all of your friends and relations my books without spending your own cash. So what are you waiting for??
Have a lovely Christmas, and don’t forget to read.
K C Murdarasi 