CURRICULUM VITAE
Name: Christopher Alan Smith
Date of Birth: 17/10/1954
Place of birth: Nottingham, England.
Nationality: British / English
Address: 6 Glebe Road, Harrogate, N. Yorkshire HG2 0LZ, England.
Mobile: +44 (0)7867 636407
Land line: +44 (0)1423 560683
Email:
Marital status: Widower
Native Language: English
Education: Shire Oaks Grammar School, Walsall Wood, West Midlands. GCE 'O' level passes in English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Physics, Latin, History.
GCE 'A' level passes in French, German, Economics and General Studies.
University of Sheffield. Honours degree (2.1) in Political Theory and Institutions.
Postgraduate studies 1976-79 at University of Sheffield and European University Institute (Florence).
Career: November 1998-present: Self-employed as freelance Dutch-English translator. Passed Diploma in Translation examination with Institute of Linguists in November 2001. Translation work in a variety of subjects, including history, technical (civil engineering, mechanics etc.), legal, commercial, military/naval and art reviews.
October 1986-November 1998: Self-employed as podiatrist and reflexologist.
December 1985-October 1986: period of study and retraining. Also during this period translated 'Het Voelen Gevoed', a work on psychology by Margot Knaapen, from Dutch into English and assisted in translation of City of York tourist brochure from English into Dutch.
June 1984-November 1985: Manager, Wassing UK Ltd. Responsible for supervision of freight movements between UK and Netherlands and distribution/collection within UK. Resigned of own volition due to desire for career change.
February 1984-May 1984: Successfully undertook course in computer programming (BASIC and COBOL) at Northfield, Birmingham.
January 1980 - February 1984: Assistant department manager at Wassing BV international logistics company in Tilburg (Noord-Brabant). Responsibility for organising entire process of goods transport by road and Ro/Ro ferry from the Netherlands to Tunisia.
Courses successfully undertaken in this period: FENEDEX/Chamber of Commerce course on import/export transactions; Alliance Française/ Chamber of Commerce course in commercial French.
Dutch (main language), French, German and English routinely spoken at work throughout this period.
Relevant
qualifications: Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation, Dutch-English (Nov. 2001)
Languages: English (native speaker), Dutch (fluent), Afrikaans (reasonably fluent), German (moderate), French (moderate) and a little Italian. Currently learning Modern Icelandic and Old Norse.
Hobbies and
interests: History, folklore, travel and walking. I frequently combine these hobbies when visiting battlefields, museums and other sites of historical interest.
Other relevant
information: Ex-officer UK Territorial Army. Author of “Icelandic Magic: Aims, Tools and Techniques of the Icelandic Sorcerers” (Avalonia, London 2015)
References: Provided on request.