Clare Keates is British (but half Portuguese) and has lived in Portugal and currently lives in Parede, since January 2016. She is bilingual in Portuguese and English but spent all her childhood and working life in the UK working initially for the British Council for 20 years and then in the voluntary sector in various senior or project roles until retiring to Portugal in 2016. In 2010, after a lifetime of regretting not studying Portuguese at degree level (which would have been an obvious route), she decided to capitalise on her language skills and became a Public Service Interpreter in the UK (and is currently a member of the UK chartered Institute of Linguists). In UK she interpreted for public service organisations and volunteered with Doctors of the World facilitating (undocumented migrants to UK) access to the NHS' vital services. Now in Portugal I undertake official translations e.g. mainly Marriages, Births and Death Certificates and related (I am on the British Embassy and American Embassy lists), and other translations into English and, have acted as interpreter at a wedding (great fun), for a house purchase and so on. See more at https://clarekeates.webnode.com/