SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 899 Title : Correspondence from Canada: Letter 51 - 05.08.82 Author(s): 852 Copyright holder(s): Name withheld Text The Maggie 5 Aug '82 Dear All, How time flies! If I have my way of it, I'll be home in 4 weeks, hopefully less. The magnum opus is finito and I'm just doing corrections that my supervisors demand, now. These should be finished by the end of next week, when I'll get the thing typed: I've fixed up a good typist. I'll have a lot to do before I go, though.... It's really sad, in a way: I'm leaving behind a sizable chunk of my life. It was Julian's 27th birthday, yesterday. Helen came down from Shediac today, so we had a party at Ann's, and then went to see "E.T." Helen and Ann had seen it once, and really liked it. Julian and I were unmoved. Oh, it's very clever and incredibly nice, and the under-14's will have long and lasting memories of it. "Mary Poppins" is still ten million times better, though. The movie's well-made intellectual candy floss. It's very American, too. It's worth seeing, though, Al. It's quite a bit better than "Close Encounters." Dear Mum and Dad: I'm really sorry that I forgot your anniversary. I must try to do better next year for the Big Two-Five. I hope that you had a great day. My excuse is that I've been really busy with the Conclusion, etc., to the thesis, which I completed, at 1pm on Tues. morning, and then immediately swept out my room for the first time in ... months. I've been trying to relax again after 4 weeks or so of doing a decent day's work, each day. I'll be hopeless when I get a real job, you know. I'll never stay awake. I'm still trying to figure out how to exit from Fredericton → U.K. Helen says she could drive me to Halifax, and visit her daughter there. It would also let me see something more of that city; so I may well do that. If you haven't sent the $$$ yet, please do so anon. or I'll have to stop eating. I was talking to Prof. [CENSORED: surname] - my 2nd reader - yesterday. He's a Scotsman, and was in Ayr about a month ago when he was in Europe. He's a nice man, and (even better) he thinks my thesis is good. That means two out of three will approve of it, and, I hope, rush it through the bureaucracy. It's going to be a mad whirl: I'll be glad to escape to PEI for a while, Aug 17. We're all going to see "Ann of Green Gables" - the ever-popular Charlottetown musical. Wow!!! See you soon, 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: 466 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