Catherine Castledine
Catherine Castledine
I speak: eng and also fre,ita
Who am I?
I am originally from London, but have lived in Brussels for over two years now. Writing helps me escape the EU affairs bubble!
My contributions and my activities
BLOG / bruxelles
2011-03-23 13:36:08
Nationalist, Zinneke, struggling ecologist adolescent becomes MEP
by Sylvain Lecomte, translated by Catherine Castledine Bart Staes, a Flemish politician from the transnational Green Party, has spent his entire career at the European Parliament. After 28 years and just three terms of office, he’s far from worn out. A fascinating meeting with a passionate MEP, a devoted European and perfect model for environmental regionalism. On the blog bruxelles.
BLOG / bruxelles
2010-11-29 15:01:03
Treading the boards in Brussels
Brussels’ amateur drama scene is thriving, nurtured by the vast number of long-term ex-pats who join theatre groups to escape the EU bubble, meet new people from different walks of life, and express their creativity. The Irish Theatre Group is just one of many English-speaking amateur groups active in Belgium’s capital. Founded in 1982, its aim is to promote Irish and international theatre, provide theatrical training and entertain audiences. Although the group is open to everybody, one member confesses that all current members are Irish or “of Irish stock.” The ITG has just finished a one-week run of Translations − a touching play about linguistic, cultural and generational communication barriers − with filled seats at every show. The play is set in the isolated Irish community of Baile Beag, which two English soldiers are visiting on their mission to translate place names into English to make a map of the country. Whilst the playwright certainly pokes fun at the pair, Translations is much more than a straightforward, acerbic play about Anglo-Irish politics. The love story that quickly develops between Máire, a local girl who speaks only Irish, and Yolland, the younger of the two English soldiers, carries a broader, warmer message about human similarities - and peoples’ ultimate desire to understand each other. On the blog bruxelles.
BLOG / bruxelles
2010-11-24 11:34:04
Opening eyes to EU literature
By Catherine Castledine On November 11, Europe’s literary elite gathered in Brussels to award some of today’s most up-and-coming fiction writers. The EU prize for literature is now in its second year. Its aim is to showcase talent, promote the circulation of fictional works across Europe, and ignite readers’ interest in books not originally written in their native language. It also boosts the careers and reputation of its winners, who each win €5000 and are given priority support from the EU’s literary translation funding scheme. On the blog bruxelles.
