Festival Times: Milngavie Book and Arts Festival

Bennie Railplane

I haven’t had time to post anything recently as I’ve been working on Milngavie Book and Arts Festival, as Twitterer-in-Chief  (follow the Festival on Twitter) and Deputy Webmaster (ie, I mess things up and the true Webmaster, Anne Nelson of Intuitive Internet (isn’t that a great name?) sorts them out).

If you live in Central Scotland or are planning to visit this coming week (the Festival opens on 6 September), check out the programme to see the great events we’ve got lined up.

And if you can’t manage this year, think about a visit to Milngavie for our 2012 edition. Milngavie itself is an attractive village and there’s lots to do in the vicinity. Nearby we’ve got Mugdock Country Park, with lovely walks and a ruined castle, or sister-suburb Bearsden, with its Roman remains: the bath-house, and a stretch of the Roman road running right through the peaceful cemetery. Cue film title: A Roman Road Runs Through It.

The Bennie Railplane, a form of rail transport which moved along an overhead rail by way of propellers, will be featured in the Festival’s Community Art Project.

Invented by George Bennie (1891–1957), a prototype of this novel railplane ran over a 130-yard line in Milngavie in the 1930′s but Bennie was never able to secure funding for further development and went bankrupt in 1937. The line was demolished for scrap in the 1950′s.

If you’re on Twitter, you can follow the Festival here

By the way, the Festival Committee includes not one but two translators: me and Alison Hughes. Lucky committee… or not?

By Marian Dougan

Published by Marian Dougan

Marian is a translator and editor (specialising in web content) currently based in Glasgow, Scotland. Marian previously lived in Italy for over 20 years, working as a language teacher, translator and policy analyst with the British Embassy in Rome. A qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and its Italian-language and ITI Scotnet networks, she is currently Scotnet's Convenor and Deputy Webmaster. From 2003 to 2006 Marian taught translation skills at the Italian Department of Glasgow University and now gives Master Classes as part of the new Masters in Translation Studies course. She also conducts web-writing and usability workshops to help people improve their websites and communicate more effectively with their readers, users and customers. In September 2014 Marian obtained User Experience Certification, with specialisation in Web Design, from the Nielsen Norman Group. She loves language, especially English, and is convinced that learning languages opens up people’s minds and horizons (and increases their brainpower!). To share her enthusiasm, she advises schools and educational authorities on language skills and enterprise. She gives talks to pupils on how to combine language studies with other subjects and so enhance their potential and increase their career options. Marian is an active member of organisations such as: Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI); Association of Scottish Businesswomen; Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Scotland. She also loves architecture, design, fashion (British Vogue!), cities and chocolate. She’s a great fan of Twitter and you can also find her on Linkedin.

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