February dates for your diary
Calendar snapshots
1st February: Chinese New Year
This huge celebration is also known as Spring Festival and, as Chinese people return home to see family, creates one of the biggest movements of people worldwide. Celebrations include sweeping out the home, giving gifts of money in traditional red envelopes, putting up traditional paper decorations and eating special foods.
5th February: Vasant Panchami
This festival also welcomes spring and kicks off preparations for Holi, another Indian celebration. Hindus and Jains pray to Goddess Saraswati and many dress in yellow to symbolise the new beginnings of the season.
27th February: Meatfare Sunday
For Orthodox Christians, this date is the last opportunity to eat meat before Lent begins, and many will fast until Easter. Celebrations on this day tend to involve getting together with family and feasting on meat, in preparation for the forty days of privation ahead.
February calendar
| 1st | Chinese New Year – Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist |
| Imbolc – Lughnassadh – Wicca/Pagan | |
| World Hijab Day | |
| World Interfaith Harmony Week begins | |
| 2nd | Candlemas (Presentation of Christ in the Temple) – Christian |
| 3rd | Setsubun-sai – Shinto |
| 4th | World Cancer Day |
| 5th | Vasant Panchami – Hindu |
| 6th | Zacchaeus Sunday – Orthodox Christian |
| Time to Talk Day | |
| 7th | UK Race Equality Week begins |
| 8th | Safer Internet Day |
| 11th | International Day of Women and Girls in Science |
| World Day of the Sick | |
| 12th | Red Hand Day for Child Soldiers |
| 13th | Triodion begins – Orthodox Christian |
| Autism Sunday | |
| 14th | Saint Valentine’s Day |
| 15th | Parinirvana Day/Nirvana Day – Buddhist |
| International Childhood Cancer Day | |
| 16th | Magha Puja (Sangha Day) – Buddhist |
| 17th | World Human Spirit Day |
| 20th | Sunday of the Prodigal Son – Orthodox Christian |
| World Day of Social Justice | |
| 25th | Intercalary Days begin – Baha’i |
| International stand up to Bullying Day | |
| 27th | Meatfare Sunday – Orthodox Christian |
| 28th | Lailat al Miraj – Islam |
Are you celebrating any festivals this month? Please get in touch and tell us all about it! Email nicole.kershaw@newham.gov.uk.
Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Meet The Team: Jacky Ashton, Service Coordinator
Every month, we introduce you to one of The Language Shop team. This month, meet Jacky Ashton, the Service Coordinator for The Language Shop's on-demand team. Find out more about her official title and personal garden bar!
What’s been your favourite project at TLS?
Being part of the on-demand team since June 2020 when it was a team of five. This has now grown to a team of nine.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
Dealing with the old phone system - most days it was a challenge doing conference calls. It would often take a while to get all parties connected. Thankfully after a lot of hard work from TLS directors and other staff members, this has now been changed and calls run much more smoothly!
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
Work in a wedding dress shop or to be a wedding planner.
Tell us something interesting about you
I have a title! It’s Lady Jacqueline Ashton. My husband purchased a title for us both a few years back. We own a very small plot of land in Scotland. It’s about the size of a carpet tile! The certificate that came with the title does say we can change our names on passports etc. to Lady/Lord and maybe get free upgrades on flights etc. We’ve not tried this out yet though. However it does not allow us entry to the House of Lords, nor is it transferrable to our children.
I also love the colour pink. When we moved to our house, my husband built me my own garden bar, which is called Jax Quarry Bar, as our address is on Quarry Road.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
It has to be Princess Diana, just to tell her what an amazing human being she was and to ask for her thoughts on the current world situation.
What are your ambitions for the coming year?
Work wise to carry on providing excellent customer service for TLS. Leisure wise to sign up for dance lessons with my husband.
Say hello to Jacky on The Language Shop’s social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
Customer survey results give TLS a glowing report
It has been another year of rapid change and growth for TLS. We continue to meet the challenges of the global pandemic, building on our remote services and refining our processes so that we can provide you with a seamless, high-quality service, whatever the changing circumstances.
With our customer survey launched late last year, we were keen to find out how the changes we have been making are going down with you, our customers.
The headline news from the results is that our remote (telephone and video) interpreting services are increasingly popular, with 87% of customers having used them. What is more, they are even more well-received: 89% of respondents said that they found the booking process easy or very easy (up from 85% in 2020), and 88% reported that the language support they received was of high or very high quality (up from 80%). Nothing makes us happier than word of mouth recommendations, and these were up too: 98% would recommend our remote services to a colleague or friend, compared to 97% in 2020.
Overall, satisfaction with TLS support staff was very high too, with 97% reporting that the team was friendly and polite, and 96% saying the support they provided was excellent or good.
We are delighted with these results and look forward to building on the successes of last year.
If you would like to know more about the results of our customer survey or have any other feedback, please contact Nicole Kershaw by emailing nicole.kershaw@newham.gov.uk
Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Meet the Team: Naveeda Mahmood, Intepreter
Every month, we introduce you to one of The Language Shop team. This month, meet Naveeda Mahmood, one of our interpreters who works in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English. Find out about how she got to grips with Zoom over lockdown and her passion for baking!
What’s been your favourite project at tls?
As an interpreter I enjoy interacting with people generally, but on a personal level I have learnt tremendously from the talking therapies and physiotherapy.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
Covid and all the changes it brought with it. All the technology, like Zoom, was new to me. Working from home, staying put and interacting with people only on the phone was a challenge.
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
I would have been a teacher in adult education, teaching either English or cookery (baking preferably).
Tell us something interesting about you
I love baking and trying new recipes. I try new dishes all the time and have taken courses in baking and cake decorating.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to meet our prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was the perfect human being, he preached Allah's message (the Quran) to humanity. He set an example for us all.
What are your ambitions for 2021?
I would like to complete my Interpreting level 4 course. Also I would like to do a course in cupping.
Say hello to Naveeda on The Language Shop's social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
Meet the Team: Ratnam Ratneswaran, Tamil Interpreter
Every month, we introduce you to one of our team. This month, meet Ratnam Ratneswaran, one of our interpreters working between Tamil and English. Find out about his enthusiasm for communicating with people and why he'd still be an interpreter even if he won the lottery!
What do you do for tls?
I have been working as a Tamil and English interpreter since 2017. Before Covid I worked face-to-face, but I have worked remotely during the pandemic.
What’s been your favourite project at tls?
I love all of it! I really enjoy talking to people; after living in four different countries and working in four different fields, I would say that I’ve finally landed a job that I really love. I like meeting people and putting them at ease – for example, I always adapt my dialect to match the service user, to make them as comfortable as possible. I’m looking forward to working face-to-face again.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
When I first started in the job, I had been away from my community for such a long time. I started working at Barts [hospital], and seeing first-hand the domestic violence, mental health problems and abuse happening in my community was really hard.
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
Even if I won the lottery, I would still be an interpreter! Before this, I was an insurance broker. As I progressed up the ladder I had less and less contact with people, and I didn’t like it. When my wife’s work needed a Tamil-speaking health advocate, I thought I would give it a go for six months. And here I am!
Tell us something interesting about you
I was once the only passenger on a commercial flight! It was Christmas 1983 and I was flying to Zurich. When I realised it was only me on the plane, I asked if I could go into the cockpit with the pilot. They let me in there until it was time to land. And when I disembarked, I got given all the chocolate that they would have handed out!
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I wish I could have met former US President John F Kennedy. I really admire him: he was the youngest elected US president at 43, he stood up to the Russians during the Cuban Missile Crisis, navigated the Civil Rights Movement and took on the US mafia.
Say hello to Ratnam on social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
Meet the Team: Suppalak Bird, Thai Interpreter
We caught up with one of our Thai interpreters, Suppalak Bird, to find out about the most rewarding parts of her job and her passion for vintage clothes.
What do you do for tls?
I’m a freelance Thai interpreter.
What’s been your favourite project at tls?
I worked with therapists and psychologists who were helping a trafficked Thai woman who felt suicidal. The sessions were done via Zoom during the pandemic. It was a very challenging and sensitive case. In the end, all the hard work from everyone involved, including the Thai client, paid off. It was so rewarding to see how her life has changed remarkably.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
To stay focussed at all times when working with emotional and crying clients who have experienced trauma and to translate accurately using the clients’ own words (even though they might not make sense to me sometimes).
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
Start a small business designing and making 60’s style vintage dresses.
Tell us something interesting about you
I love vintage clothes, techno music and travelling to exotic places. I have recently decided to challenge myself (as a complete beginner) by running a half-marathon for a cancer charity at the beginning of October.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
It would be an honour to meet H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (of the Kingdom of Thailand) to show my gratitude for all of the work she’s done for the Thai people throughout her life and to ask her if I could be of any help in any of her projects.
What are your ambitions for the rest of 2021?
I want to learn how to sew and make clothes and to continue working as an interpreter. I also want to be able to travel more.
Say hello to Suppalak on social media - we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
Meet the Team: Peta Moore, TLS Service Coordinator
Every month we like to give you an insight into a member of the tls team. We recently sat down with our Service Coordinator, Peta Moore, to discuss hidden talents in music, karate and car mechanics, and a love of horror films.
What do you do for tls?
I joined tls in June 2018 as part of the Quality Assurance team for the MOJ (Ministry of Justice) side of the business. As of January 2021, I moved over to the ops team. I am also part of the ‘fun squad’, we take turns to create quizzes, riddles and other fun team activities for our weekly team meetings.
What’s been your favourite project at tls?
Before I changed teams I was involved in a recruitment drive for new assessors up and down the country for the QA team. That was fun as I had never done recruitment before, I learnt so much.
What’s been the biggest challenge?
Honestly – COVID. So much changed in such a short space of time, both at work and at home, but it’s all become second nature now. I love a challenge though so I adapted quickly.
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
My dream as a teenager was to join the Royal Marines Band Service as a drummer/bugler. I auditioned when I was 18 but was unsuccessful at the time. Apart from that – I reckon I would be a mechanic.
Tell us something interesting about you
I am a black belt 2nd dan in Shotokan Karate and have been training since I was eight. I can play guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, bugle and military snare drum. I have recently joined Dagenham and Redbridge Women’s football team as a goalkeeper. I am also a qualified car mechanic.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Wes Craven. A weird one but I am a huge horror fan and I’ve always wanted to write my own stories. He was known as the ‘Master of Horror’ as the creator of franchises such as Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, so I would have loved to get some writing/creative tips from him!
What are your ambitions for the rest of 2021?
I have grown so much as a person since January 2020 – I think I would like to continue on this path of self-discovery and find myself again.
Say hello to Peta on social media - we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
The Language Shop provides interpreting services for Covid-19 vaccination centres
Back in February TLS launched a scheme to support vaccination centres within the North East London Foundation Trust area, We provided telephone and video interpreting services to bridge the communication gap so that non-English speakers could understand all of the information regarding Covid-19 vaccinations and give their informed consent to receive the jab.
We expanded this by adding British Sign Language (BSL) support to our offering in May. This allowed deaf patients receiving vaccines at centres in Chingford, Romford and Barking access to a remote BSL interpreter who could answer any questions or concerns they may have. As time is critical when vaccinating so many people, we ensured deaf patients received this support within 90 seconds of making the request.
We are proud to be able to play a part in helping the vaccination programme by making vaccine information more accessible, so that everyone can help keep themselves and each other safe during the pandemic.
Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Meet the Team: Natalia Bailey, On-demand Telephone Interpreting Mentor
Every month, we introduce you to one of The Language Shop team. This month, meet Natalia Bailey, tls' On-demand Telephone Interpreting Mentor, who tells us all about what it's like to settle into a new job while working remotely and some of her favourite social events she's organised for the team.
Tell us about what you do at tls?
I assist the team with their queries, provide training and feedback for their personal development and help them provide a better service to our clients. I am also part of the work council; this is a small group who work to improve our company, services and working lives. We also plan some fun socials for over Zoom to bring everyone together, but are hoping to get out into the real world when it’s safe to do so.
What’s been your favourite thing to work on at tls so far?
I created a quiz for our last Christmas party. It was a full PowerPoint with playlists, timings, questions and emojis, which I think went down well. My other favourite project to work on was our ‘Would I Lie to You’ social. The tls council came up with the idea and me and my colleague Shah were the hosts - it was such a funny evening!
What do you most enjoy about working at tls?
The amazing team I work with every day and the whole company, who have been incredibly welcoming and supportive. Everyone has made it so easy for me to settle in and it’s strange to say but I have extremely good working relationships and friendships with people I haven’t actually met yet in person.
If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
I think for the first time I am exactly where I need to be, but if I had to do something else it would definitely be something that makes a difference and helps people. If I ever won the lottery I would adopt all the poorly treated horses, donkeys, dogs and cats and give them a place to live happily and peacefully.
Tell us something interesting about you
I have an extra bone in each foot and one of them actually has a permanent screw in it. I lived in Prague for short time, which was incredible. I have a horse, his name is Oliver Twist, I have had him for 18 years and he is just the best horse I could ever ask for.
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Tough question! I’d say Sir Alex Ferguson or Ben Stokes because I would love to ask about the last World Cup and his super over, or the presenters of A League of Their Own, as I think it would just be absolutely hilarious.
What are your ambitions for next year?
I have achieved so much in 2021. I applied for the Mentor position, which I was so happy to be successful for. I bought my first car and successfully moved our wedding to a date next year with all our original suppliers. We are also hoping to buy our first property.
Say hello to Natalia on The Language Shop's social media – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.
TLS customer service survey results
At your service
At tls, customer service is a priority. In some cases, interpreting is taking place in life-or-death situations and a mistranslated word can be catastrophic to the health, wellbeing or freedom of the patient/defendant/client. We recently conducted a customer service survey with more than 200 customers to get their feedback on the service they received. The results were outstanding.
Here are some of the headlines:
- 85% found booking a remote interpreter ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’
- 80% found tls telephone and video interpreters to be ‘very high quality’ or ‘high quality’
- 97% of bookers would recommend tls remote interpreting to colleagues or friends
- 97% of bookers said they would recommend tls face-to-face interpreters to a colleague or friend
- 92% found booking a face-to-face interpreter ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’
- 86% found tls face-to-face interpreters to provide ‘very high quality’ or ‘high quality’ language support
“They do an amazing job! Ours is a multidisciplinary team and often our work involves crisis work and interpreters are needed at short notice. They always respond politely and efficiently and offer advice. This helps me as a booker to understand the options and advise my team accordingly. I really value working with this team and strongly recommend this service continues in the long-term future, both with face to face and virtual services.”
Westminster Homelessness Team CNWL NHS Trust