THE TEAM

Nathan Davies

Hazel Marshall

Stuart MacDonald

Oliver Moor

Jim Johnson

James Skinner

Jess Wynn

Sam North

• 2001 Hackwriters
James Skinner - Hackwriters European Specialist

---

My introduction to the life of a bilingual human was a smack across the hand by a burly ‘Argie’ schoolmarm for not knowing how to say ‘of’ in Spanish. “’D’, ‘E’, ‘de’; ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘de’”, she would shout, as she walloped me over and over again. I had no idea of what she was talking about.

I was an Anglo-Argentine, 5 years old, my first day at school and up until now, had only spoken English – at home of course! I spent my first few years in Argentina, until Evita Peron - not Madonna – threw my Scottish father out and we all moved to Uruguay. Here, I finished my ‘O’ levels, passed an entrance exam to join Cable & Wireless and was on my way to Porthcurno, Cornwall, to start a new life of international adventure in the world of telecommunications. I could now speak Spanish, shave and ride a motorcycle. I was 17.

Having successfully completed the engineering course, my first posting was Vigo, Spain where I met and later married my one and only wife. Other than my stint in the Argentine army, and spawning two children, my wife and I managed to spend the next thirty years travelling and living in many different and exotic areas of the world. Apart from returning to Argentina, we resided in Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, the Cayman Islands as well as Iran and Spain. Oh yes! I did manage to work in the London headquarters during the Ted Heath, or was it Harold Wilson era?

But then came ‘The Maggie and Ronnie’ show with a script called ‘Competitiveness’. The Yanks called it deregulation and the Tories privatisation. Both amounted to the break up of the telephone monopolies and the start of a new telecommunications era. I was lucky. I was in Washington at the time in a good position. I jumped ship and joined US Sprint, a new American upstart. They gave me the assignment to: ‘go for’ Europe, and hence embarked on what would turn out to be the most exciting part of my working life.

Having travelled throughout the continent and finalised all the international agreements with the European telephone companies, I was approached by British Telecom to start up operations in Spain. This was my downfall. No sooner had I opened up the office in Madrid, that the higher-ups in London decided that they really needed a Spanish manager. Hell!, I was bi-lingual remember ? No use. I resigned, packed bags and returned to ‘GO’: Vigo.

I lasted a couple of years until I suddenly got a call from Cable & Wireless to go to Panama and monitor the privatisation program of the local telephone company. Uprooted again, we spent a glorious vacation, 2 years, at the expense of C&W. They finally bought the local outfit. I'm now retired and although my friends have suggested that I try my hand at translations, my answer is very simple: ‘Same as writing, there is no money in it!’

< Back to Index
< Reply to this Article