SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 901 Title : Correspondence from Canada: Letter 53 - 14.08.82 Author(s): 852 Copyright holder(s): Name withheld Text The Maggie 14 August '82 Dear Mum, Dad & Al, Life proceeds apace. The main text of my thesis is now at the typist's, but my supervisors wish me to revise and expand the conclusions. I'm doing that this weekend, ready to be typed on Monday. Also on Monday I begin proofreading, and I hope to have the whole thing corrected and copied by Wednesday, when I still entertain hopes of going to PEI for a couple of days. I need a break! I'd hoped to take this weekend off, but instead I'd a 1½ hour meeting with Prof. [CENSORED: surname] at his home this morning, and I spent this afternoon and evening reworking my deathless prose. I can't complain, though. Both supervisors have been extremely helpful, and their criticism is usually fair. I think the ending will be much better once I'd eked it out a bit. Both prof.s are pleased with the end product, and I get on well with them. Once the damn thing is out of my hands I'll probably be happy with it, too. At the moment it's a nuisance. ...Still, so far I believe I'm still on schedule for re-entry, Aug. 29th. You may have heard from Carole about her coming up to Scotland - - I've invited her and told her to get in touch with you, to arrange things. She should be home by now - - I think she returns to England today or tomorrow. If you want to get in touch by phone, her aunt's number is [CENSORED: phonenumber]. I still can't believe I'll soon be home. I'm too rushed to think clearly. I'm feeling a lot better this weekend after feeling low all last week. Dizzy spells, sickness, weakness: there's a lot of viruses going about and I think I contracted one. Either that or I'm pregnant. Anyway, whatever it was didn't help my concentration. Professor [CENSORED: surname] was talking about me doing a PhD, this morning. He said I shouldn't take more than two years out if I was seriously considering it. I don't know: all I do know is that I definitely don't want to go into a PhD programme this year. I'd go crazy. Well, there's not too much more I can think to say. Summer is crumpling back into Fall here: weather's been wet and cool. Dad thinks Scotland's got a bad climate: how does he fancy a two-month heatwave sandwiched between blasts of hell below zero? Summer's great, but so short. See you soonest, love, [CENSORED: forename] P.S. Do you have a typewriter, yet? If I'm going to be on the dole for a short while I may as well teach myself to type. Also, if I'm sending off letters of application for jobs it would be nice to do them properly. 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: 487 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