On these pages you can see some of my translations from Spanish to English. During my time as editor of the Ibiza Now and Ibiza Heute, I did a great deal of translation work - but very little of it appeared directly as translation. Usually a Spanish source had to be explained or interpreted into English. So some of these pieces have no original as such.

However, the translation from the instalación submarina is a pure translation of recent vintage - and I am happy to be judged on pieces such as this.

The next piece is one close to my heart - a translation that I did on a voluntary basis for my friend Nito Verdera. I first became involved with his theory that Christopher Columbus was born on Ibiza in 1992 - the date of the Quincentenary of Columbus’ discovery of “America.” I am not sure about the Ibiza connection - although I am fairly sure that the Spanish King and Queen would have been most unlikely to have sent an Italian on such a significant voyage. It’s rather like the  Americans putting, let’s say, a Brit in charge of the Apollo 11 moon mission.

Anyway, here is part of Nito’s theory, and my translation of his text.

I couldn’t resist including a section from the book I translated into English - Historias de Mel, el Podenco Ibicenco by Rafael Sainz, which I translated into English as Tales of Mel , an Ibiza Podenco. I took a very liberal attitude towards the text I was given, with a definite thought of Peter Mayle in the back of my mind. This became quite a daunting proposition when Rafael revealed that my proof reader was to be the Professor of English at the Madrid Complutense University! Rafael was incredibly well-connected. I regret that I cannot remember the distinguished professor’s name, as he became one of my greatest fans: a friend of mine told me that he asked the professor whether he should read the book in English or Spanish. “Read it in English,” he replied, “it is a much better book.” The ideal for a translator, I suppose.

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