About the Editor
During my talks with locals, visitors to Bergen and potential advertisers and sponsors of BeautifulBergen.com, I am frequently asked, “So, who are you, anyway?” In answer, I’ve decided to post this brief bio.
Allow me to introduce… Robin Glendenning (1973), born in the Netherlands from a mother born and bred in
Amsterdam and a father born and bred in London. Naturally, I was brought up bilingually, and before moving to the little village of Lenham in southeast England for six years aged 7, I attended Dutch pre-school and the first year of primary school.
As any other little boy in rural England, the countryside was my playground, cricket my sport and I went to school to learn the three Rs: reading, riting and rithmetic. I was always particularly interested in and adept at the first two; the third is still and has never been my favourite.
I returned to Holland to go to the European School in Bergen. My parents stayed in England and put me in the care of my grandmother, with whom I lived in the Negen Nessen for four years. Looking after a teenaged kid became too much for my dear old oma, and at 17, I was taken in by the family of a school friend 15-minutes’ cycle ride away.
Upon obtaining my European Baccalaureate in 1992, I started a marketing course in Alkmaar. I soon realised this wasn’t for me, and the following year I went to university in Amsterdam to read philosophy. My studies lasted three years and to earn a bit of cash, I did translation work on the side. One thing led to another and I soon set myself up as a freelance translator and writer. Much of my work since then has consisted of preparing subtitles for Dutch and German (yep, my German is pretty good, too) films and documentaries, but I’ve also produced plenty of promotional materials in print for all kinds of companies and organisations.
I enjoyed life in Amsterdam for a good while, but decided to move back to the Bergen area when my daughter reached school age and have now lived in my beloved Bergen again for about eight years.
And I won’t be leaving any time soon! It’s such a magical village with so much of nature’s beauty on its doorstep, where else in NL could I go if I want to choose between beach, woods, dunes and polder for my daily walk?
I love Bergen’s terraces, too, for an afternoon chat with local acquaintances and visitors to the village over a glass of wine. I often found myself telling foreign visitors about the place’s history, about why things are the way they are, what might be interesting to do, what’s to be had from the art scene here, the architecture and Bergen’s surroundings. Not surprisingly, the idea to create BeautifulBergen.com was born on just such an afternoon.
The work I do had always been for someone else, but now I was going to combine my interests in history, art and nature with my research and writing skills to launch my own publication and maybe even earn myself a bit of money. That last bit there is proving to be quite a challenge, and for now I see BB as a nice little project-on-the-side while I continue writing and translating for others. (If you’d like to know about advertising, advertorial or sponsorship opportunities for your business, then give me a call or drop me a line.)
For the rest, I invest my time in my three beautiful children and my wonderful girlfriend Anka.
