A bibliophile from an early age, I have managed to support my hobby by first working in a newspaper as a proofreader, followed by a decade or so in textile shipping, before being washed ashore on the great beach of administration in the European Commission. The weight of bureaucracy and administration has not dimmed my love for books; on the contrary, the one complements the other.

Peter, who speaks fluent French, has worked in the European Parliament, the Yorkshire regional office and the BBC in Brussels, acting as a producer during the French Presidential elections. He has written for The Independent and Leeds Student, and produced news packages for Leeds Student Radio. He is now in the final year of his BA at Leeds University.

I study humans and machines and find both of them quite beautiful. I am into "new things" but love old-fashioned words. I tend to believe that the whole is more than the sum of its parts and that life is easier if you can have coffee, chocolate and gossip.

Lucy May Constantini spent the best part of a decade working in a freelance capacity in contemporary dance and theatre as a creator, performer and teacher.  She then trained as a broadcast journalist and worked for the BBC.  She now works part-time as a less charming version of Ugly Betty and is focusing on writing and dance while practising yoga and studying mathematics.  She is British and French and grew up over three continents with a special and wistful fondness for equatorial Africa.

Cecil: Just because I'm named after a cinema in Hull which closed about 20 years ago does not mean I cannot have my own blog. Most of the films I will be reviewing on this blog would probably never have been shown at the Cecil Cinema in Hull, but it's the memory that counts... Bea: Bea-ing from Down Under, I will be taking an interest in films from a more southern clime, although this could mean Italy, Turkey, Brighton or Australia...

Sarah Dudney has worked in the City for the past six years as a headhunter, travelling to Tokyo, New York, Zurich and Geneva. She was brought up and educated on the West coast of Scotland and is still recovering from that experience. She read modern languages at Edinburgh University.

Starting life by the seaside in Morecambe, Caroline has moved via too many jobs and interests through Spain via Texas and Scotland to London. A published translator and director of a small Scottish film company she currently works for the European Parliament UK Office as Press attache and Head of Outreach.