SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 893 Title : Correspondence from Canada: Letter 45 - 12.06.82 Author(s): 852 Copyright holder(s): Name withheld Text The Maggie 12 June. Dear Mum, Dad, & Al, Thanks for the letters. The weather continues to be gorgeous across the Big Water, and I've taken up health again - after playing cricket last Sunday with the Caribbean circle I decided to capitalise on the pain, and I went jogging down by the St. John several evenings this week. And this morning I even went up to the Weight Room with Kathy and Julian, and we worked out amid the muscular gorillas. This afternoon, too, I spent a few hours playing baseball, that North American virility-ritual, with about 15 folk from the house. That was fun and I did quite well, scoring a few runs. They've nicknamed me "Slugger" [CENSORED: surname], or "Slug" for short. Anyway, I'm getting a bit of a tan now, although I'm still spending most of my time indoors manoeuvring a pen. I've borrowed a set of golf clubs, however, and I'm hoping to get a game in soon. At ten bucks a round, though, I don't see myself getting my handicap down in a hurry! Not a lot has happened this week. I handed in my first chapter of the thesis to be read, and although he hasn't finished it yet, Prof. [CENSORED: surname] says he finds it "eminently acceptable" so far. I've to see him again on Monday. I spent another day round at Ann [CENSORED: surname]', using her tape recorder, and I now have 12 hours of Arabic lessons copied. Which reminds me: could you send me the 2 "new wave" tapes with the Stranglers (London Lady, Get a Grip on Yourself), Playing Golf with My Flesh Crawling, Buzzcocks (Moving Away from the Pulsebeat) etc. i) if Al's not using them and ii) if it doesn't cost too much. Al will know what tapes I'm talking about. I'd like to shock the natives a little. I'm still awaiting the Final Word from Cairo. I can't find the address of the Bell School, and so I haven't written off yet to them. I'll probably end up coming home destitute and broke, but I'm sniffing around still. World news is rather depressing: one of Carole's close friends in Germany is a Christian Arab from Beirut, and that kind of brings the crisis in the Lebanon closer to home. It's a mess - I wouldn't trust Menachim Begin as far as I could throw him, and the Syrians are just as bad, really. However, there is the possibility, with the Arabs in some disarray just now, that the situation will settle down actually quite well, although with Israel anything can happen. Good news: we're getting a lot of World Cup games here (usually Canada only shows the final). Ecosse v. New Zealand is on the French Channel on Tues. midnight (Archie McPherson eat your heart out!) and Scotland v. Brazil is on the CBC a week today at 1pm. Magic! I hope Kuwait beats England. Well, it's time for bed after a tiring day: my bones ache all over! Best wishes to all, Love, [CENSORED: forename] This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: 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: 523 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: English Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In most everyday situations Language: Portuguese Speak: Yes Read: No Write: No Understand: Yes Circumstances: When trying to communicate with my in-laws Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: In domestic/activist circles; reading literature