Wolfestone Translation Blog

Wolfestone Translation is proud of its Welsh roots and would like to share with you some Welsh Christmas and New Year traditions, both past and present.

Y NADOLIG (Christmas):
The custom in many parts of Wales was to attend a very early church service known as “Plygain” (daybreak), Men gathered in rural churches to sing, mainly unaccompanied, three or four part harmony carols in a service that went on for three hours or so. The custom managed to survive in many country areas, and because of its simplicity and beauty is being revived in many others. After the service, a day of feasting and drinking would begin.

GWYL SAN STEFFAN (St. Stephens Day; Boxing Day – December 26th):
The day after Christmas Day was celebrated in a way unique to Wales and included the tradition of “holly-beating” or “holming.” Young men and boys would beat the unprotected arms of young females with holly branches until they bled. In some areas it was the legs that were beaten. In others, it was the custom for the last person to get out of bed in the morning to be beaten with sprigs of holly. These customs died out before the end of the 19th century, thankfully!

NOS GALAN (New Years Eve):
In England in many places it still is the custom that a dark haired man should let in the New Year for good luck. The man leaves the house by the back door just before midnight on New Years Eve, walks around and on the strike of midnight, knocks on the front door. The householder opens the door, and receives from the man the following gifts: salt for seasoning, silver for wealth, coal for warmth, a match for kindling and bread for sustenance. In Wales the custom of letting in the New Year was slightly different in that if the first visitor in the New Year was a woman and the male householder opened the door, that was bad luck. If the first man to cross the threshold in the New Year was a red haired man, that was also bad luck.

Some other Welsh customs associated with the New Year were: “all existing debts were to be paid”; never lend anything to anyone on New Years Day else you would have bad luck; and the behaviour of an individual on this day was an indication of how they would behave all year!

The most popular New Year’s custom was one that was carried out in all parts of Wales: the Calennig (small gift). On January 1st from dawn until noon, groups of young boys would visit all the houses in the village carrying evergreen twigs and a cup of cold water drawn from the local well. The boys would then use the twigs to splash people with water. In return, they would receive the Calennig, usually in the form of copper coins. The custom, in various forms, survived in some areas well after World War II, at least in the form of the chanting of a small verse or two in exchange for small coins.

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Wales-History/WelshChristmas.htm

For a quote, contact us at sales@wolfestone.co.uk.

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when everyone celebrates the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ / goes mad buying stuff they don’t really need for people that they don’t really know and watching The Great Escape for the 37th time on Christmas Day. (Don’t laugh, in Germany it has been a tradition for several decades to watch a play called “Dinner for One” on Christmas Day). Yes, Christmas is celebrated very differently in other countries. Here are a few examples.

To start with, Christmas isn’t even celebrated on the same day everywhere. The national churches of, amongst others, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Serbia still use the Julian calendar as opposed to the Gregorian one. This means that they celebrate Christmas on January the 7th. The major countries of Central Europe (such as Poland, Austria and Hungary) go in the other direction, and their main celebration is on the 24th of December.

Then there is the meal itself. Turkey is not as universally common as would be thought. In the Czech Republic, carp is a popular meal to serve with the celebrations. In Finland, the dinner is most likely to be a Christmas ham. Greek families often prefer lamb.

Then there are the presents so beloved of children worldwide. Many South American countries give presents on 6th of January. Argentinean children are especially lucky. They receive presents on both the 25th of December and the 6th of January. German children also traditionally get an additional set of presents, usually small things, similar to our Christmas stockings. This happens on the 6th of December.

However, one thing unites every country that celebrates Christmas. It is the joy of celebrating a magical event with your family nearby, for those with children it is the pleasure that they get from playing with their new toys on Christmas Day (whenever that may be in any particular country) and simply enjoying a few days of well-earned rest and relaxation at the end of the year.

Offices to let ranging from small one man rooms to large ten man rooms in Walter Road, Swansea (St James/Uplands).

The offices are located in the traditional professional area of Swansea with most local offices being occupied by solicitors, accountants and similar companies.

The building is within a 10-minute walk from the train station, bus station and city centre. The Uplands (with stores like Spar, Tesco Express, Boots, Post Office and others) are within 5-minute walking distance.

Serviced Office: fully furnished, with all the facilities inclusive in the price such as 20Mb broadband, IT connections, telecoms, managed reception, business rates, service charges and utilities all included. You also get access to an 8 person boardroom which you can pre-book. Another benefit is access to our IT team and a free cleaning service.

We have fantastic options available to you now with offices starting from £250 per month.

On Site:
24 hour access
24 hour CCTV monitoring
Double Glazing

Limited dedicated parking available (plenty of free roadside parking available locally)

Additional Benefits:
Shower
Kitchen
Receptionist from 9:30am – 5:30pm

If you have any questions or would like to view our offices please email us at mandy@wolfestone.co.uk with your name, telephone/mobile number and your requirements, and a member of our team will get back to you very shortly. You can also give us a call to arrange a viewing on 0845 000 0083.

Our office opening hours are 09:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday.

Wolfestone Translation Director Anna Bastek has dominated the recent Swansea Bay Woman of the Year awards, winning her category for Swansea Bay Business Woman of the Year for Wolfestone Translation and then going on to take the overall title of “Swansea Bay Woman of the Year 2009” at yet another prestigious ceremony, in the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea.  This was the 6^th time the awards have been held, and she is thus adding her name to an elite group of very talented high achievers.  The awards were hosted by Sara Edwards, and the hugely anticipated guest speaker was Ruth Jones, of Gavin and Stacey fame.  All of Wolfestone’s female employees and Anna’s business partner Roy Allkin were present, and they elevated the noise levels considerably upon the announcement of this year’s winner.

Miss Bastek came from Poland to Wales in 2004, initially to write her thesis for a Masters degree in Marketing.  Upon completing this, she decided to pursue a business career in South Wales.  She undertook a 10 week GO Wales placement which resulted in her host company, Quantum CAD, immediately taking her on as a permanent employee.  She eventually became the Marketing Director, presiding over a growth of approximately 700% in turnover and an expansion in staff from 2 to 20.  This was not sufficient for her ambitions, though, and she decided to concentrate on building her own business.

Miss Bastek and her business partner Roy Allkin undertook in-depth research into several potential areas of business before deciding that the business sector with the most potential was translation and language services.  This area is on course, according to expert projections, to be worth an estimated £15 billion pounds by 2013 versus the current £9 billion.  Wolfestone Translation was founded, run at first in their spare time whilst they held down their day jobs.  3 years later, both are now full-time directors of the company and it is exceptionally well-placed to tap into the huge growth potential of the global translation market. Translation is the core business; however the company has developed a series of complementary language services that add to the diversity of operations. More recently, Wolfestone has developed a bespoke software package for translation companies which will help the company expand internationally as well as grow its team in Swansea.

As well as its 15 strong team in its Welsh HQ, Wolfestone has additional staff working from its US and German offices plus a network of 4,000 translators across the globe.

They have also been astute enough to recognise complimentary business opportunities which are fast becoming substantial money-spinners independent of the main company.One example of this is Bluestone Systems, which came into existence when Bastek and Allkin realised that there were unrealised possibilities not just in translating company websites, an area fast developing, but also construction and maintenance of these sites as a precursor to the translation project.

So, which of her many achievements is she most proud of and what does Anna Bastek see as her future?

“I am extremely proud of how I have built a successful international and award winning business from scratch, in the worst recession since 1930s” she said.  “I have only been in Great Britain for a few years, and there have been significant challenges to overcome, but I now have a young, dynamic and successful team. We have offices in Germany and the US, purchased our own premises and more than doubled our turnover year on year. I am currently focussing on developing the Wolfestone brand still further, as there is still a huge opportunity for growth in the translation industry, and I want to make sure that we take full advantage of this.”

“In the longer term, we want to expand our overseas operations.  Our office in the US has just opened, again with phenomenal potential, our German office is growing and I view it as imperative that we have a presence in all regions of the world as quickly as we can sensibly accomplish this.  We are currently looking at India, the Middle East, China and Russia, but those will be the starting points, not the end.”

“On a personal level, I am looking to gain complete financial freedom, which would help me travel more and, possibly, write a book.  I am also looking at venture capitalism in order to support innovative new ideas and help other people to achieve their potential.   There are so many women out there who could help grow the economy faster, so if I can act as an ambassador for female businesspeople; that would be a dream come true.   At some point I also wish to further develop my photography skills, a hobby which is also great for helping me relax.  I just need to find more time to do all this!”

So, if she was asked what her life’s motto is, what her ethos is, and what she is trying to do?  She is succinct and to the point.  The Swansea Woman of the Year quotes Sarah Tremellen of Bravissimo.

“I never saw a ceiling for it, I just thought it would be fun, setting up from scratch and making something from nothing.”