I studied German and French at Magdalen College, Oxford, obtaining First Class marks in three out of four of the final translation papers. As my first job, I worked for RWS Translations Ltd (now a listed international company), checking the accuracy of translations of scientific patents and other legal and political documents. My career path then moved in a different direction, working for several years in the classical music industry and eventually setting up my own agency for soloists, conductors and chamber groups. I used my languages in my dealings with German and French promoters and record companies, and also occasionally translated programme notes and presented concerts in French. For the last five years, amongst other things, I have been doing freelance translation for a French publishing company with bilingual magazines in the tourism sector (ski resorts and the Cote d'Azur.)