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Document 888

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 40 - 03.05.82

Author(s): 852

Copyright holder(s): Name withheld

Text

The Maggie
3rd May '82.

Dear Mum & Dad,

I hope that this reaches you before you leave for foreign parts. Have a great holiday; relax and enjoy yourselves. By the time you return I should know if I'm going to Egypt or not - I expect news any day now.

Despite some cooler weather (and a flurry of snow on May 1st and 2nd!), summer has truly arrived. I've invested in a pair of ultra-cool Foster Grants which flip up at a mere touch of the lens, and an incredibly hip sunhat. It's a kind of straw fedora - like Humphrey Bogart wore. People keep laughing, and I don't know why. It was either that or a baseball hat to shade my eyes - and I'd rather look like an idiot than a slob.

The Maggie has been deadly quiet for a few days. Only a few people are left. However, some new folk, including Adel the Egyptian and his Costa Rican friend, Rafael, are moving in this week, so we should have about 20 this summer. It should be good fun: we've got Greeks, South Americans, New Zealanders, Africans and even a few locals. I'm moving rooms to a single upstairs. It's a nicer room than I have now - with a VIEW out the window instead of a tree and a wall.

The threat of floods has receded although the St. John was close to bursting its banks here, and several highways into town were blocked. From here on in the worst we can expect is temperatures of 100°F and humidity of 90%. When it gets like that you can't breathe. I'll end up looking more Egyptian than Adel!

I phoned Carole yesterday and she got back to Germany all right, to go through another phase of jet lag. She's starting work editing and translating her Arabic text now.

I went to the travel agents today to find out about plane fares home. I think you'd better sit down. If I return Halifax → Prestwick it'll cost $694 single, and $724 return. I doubt very much if I'll be able to afford the full fare once I've paid for my thesis being bound and typed etc. However, the student travel service is very good and I'll try to figure out the cheapest way home - maybe I'll go down to Boston and come over stand-by, after shipping some luggage home. I've a month or two yet till I really know what I'll be doing. If I'm going to Cairo, the AUC will pay my fare there, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. That could mean I wouldn't be home until Christmas at the earliest, though. And if I'm not going to Cairo, I might stay here till Christmas if I can get a teaching extension.

And I'm settling down to my thesis. I've an awful lot of reading to do, and the good weather isn't helping my concentration. Still, I've made a start at least to the introduction (medieval rhetoric), and chapter one (Dunbar's high-style poetry). I've got a rough outline planned and I've worked a schedule out with Prof. [CENSORED: surname]. He likes what I'm doing, which is encouraging. The first month or so will be the worst as I cram the essential reading and work out what I really want to talk about. After that I should be coasting. I hope!

I haven't had any letters from you since April 18th I don't think - is everything functioning over there in war-torn Britain? Or are they censoring overseas mail? The more I read about the Falklands the more I think Britain is making a gross fool of itself. The Argentinians may originally have been in the wrong - although I believe their claim to the islands is understandable, and probably even justified - but I think Britain is over-reacting hysterically. I don't think Air Commander Thatcher has ever got over the SAS attacking the Iranian embassy. She's too trigger-happy.

Anyway, have a great hodilay... soak in some sun and see a few sights. Tell me if a benign Communist system really works - I mean, what are the state hypermarkets like in downtown Dubrovnik?? Best wishes to all,

Love,
[CENSORED: forename]

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Correspondence from Canada: Letter 40 - 03.05.82. 2024. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 19 March 2024, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=888.

MLA Style:

"Correspondence from Canada: Letter 40 - 03.05.82." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2024. Web. 19 March 2024. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=888.

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The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Correspondence from Canada: Letter 40 - 03.05.82," accessed 19 March 2024, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=888.

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Information about Document 888

Correspondence from Canada: Letter 40 - 03.05.82

Text

Text audience

Adults (18+)
Audience size 3-5
Writer knew intended audience

Text details

Method of composition Handwritten
Year of composition 1982
Word count 733

Text medium

Other airmail

Text publication details

Part of a longer series of texts
Name of series Correspondence from Canada

Text setting

Private/personal

Text type

Correspondence/letters

Author

Author details

Author id 852
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1950
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Protestantism
Occupation University Lecturer
Place of birth Ayr
Region of birth S Ayr
Birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Bridge of Weir
Region of residence Renfrew
Residence CSD dialect area Renfr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Insurance Broker
Father's place of birth Auchinleck
Father's region of birth S Ayr
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Dental Receptionist
Mother's place of birth Ayr
Mother's region of birth S Ayr
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Ayr
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes In most everyday situations
Portuguese Yes No No Yes When trying to communicate with my in-laws
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes In domestic/activist circles; reading literature

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