With the festive season fast approaching, around 25 members of the ITI’s German network gathered at the Kipferl Kneipe and Kitchen in London on 28th November 2015 for Gernet's annual Christmas get-together. The Kipferl is an Austrian coffeehouse in North Kensington, slightly tucked away in a side street off Portobello Road. It has gained a fine reputation for its excellent food and Viennese coffee varieties, served in a contemporary Austrian setting.
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| Kipferl Kneipe and Kitchen in North Kensington, London |
It had been decided, after many years of meeting at the Barley Mow pub on Horseferry Road for this occasion, to try a new venue for this year’s event. Personally, I think the Kipferl was a great choice: the (German-speaking) staff were welcoming and friendly; the food was delicious; and the surroundings were both comfortable and stylish. Good company and conversations made for an enjoyable afternoon, with conversation topics ranging from the challenges involved in translating a novel via cycling in London to the availability of real Advent wreaths in the UK. And since we had the whole restaurant to ourselves, it was (relatively) easy to mingle and circulate around the room.
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| Vanillekipferl |
Given that most of
us work in isolation, this get-together provided another wonderful opportunity
to connect with fellow professionals in person and exchange work-related or
other experiences. There was ample time to share tips on working habits,
compare notes and talk in a relaxed social atmosphere. And I even met a couple
of translators whom I had previously only known as Twitter names!
It’s true that quite
a lot of us translators – due to our natural temperaments – tend to prefer
smaller “doses” of socialising; so events of this kind can be energy-sapping.
I, for one, am certainly not used to chatting for many hours. However, I
definitely think it was worthwhile making my way into the capital for this
meeting: it was a convivial afternoon that offered a chance to spend quality
time with like-minded people.
Sadly, the afternoon
drew to a close quite quickly, and at around 5 o’clock it was time for us to
leave – after the 5 hours had just flown by. I love walking through London and
enjoyed my walk back to Paddington Station afterwards to catch the train back home
to Bristol. The experience of meeting at the Kipferl was enhanced by Twitter interaction as it allowed us to
stay in communication for a while longer even as we were making our way back
home.
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| Walking back to Paddington Station |
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