K8 the GR8

I ashamedly didn’t own an English-Irish dictionary until a few weeks ago.  (My school copy is in attic limbo somewhere…)

Then, just as I was agreeing with TAT that we should at least make some sort of effort to re-engage the language in our lives, I found one amongst the other old free books at our local recycling centre.

This poor Irish-English dictionary has been gathering dust on my shelf until tonight, when I opened it to help me with the translation of Íomhá an lae, an excellent blog written as Gaeilge.  It makes me want to learn all over again, and I’m delighted that there is such a funky resource out there to help me.

I opened the front cover of this old book, to see if there were any scribblings to show its history (as you do), and was bowled backwards to find this:

It’s hard to read, but it looks like the owner of the school dictionary had a friend called Rosie, who wrote something along these lines on the 6th of February 1976 to what I assume is her best mate:

Hi gorgeous The word gorgeous is scribbled out in red ink

I’m going to write you a memo.  I don’t know exactly of what, but don’t worry, I’ll think of something.  As you see I had the foresight to right this in pencil as you can rub it out.  Imagine having this scrawled indelibly *BRAINS* (I’m not too sure if you can say that or not, but not to worry!) How’s the crack?  OK, so that’s a stupid question; I hope your nerves regarding Sunday are a bit better than what they were when I was last talking to you - it must be nearly 2 hours.  Such a parting!!  Seeing as this is a memo I suppose I’d better make it one, if you follow my logic!!  In memo of being in 6th year, that should last you all your life!  Five months we’ll be left school for good and i’ll be exactly 18.  Gee whiz, ah!!!  Even be aible to vote - don’t mind the gammy spelling.  Ciao baby.  

Rosie

This discovery means a lot to me, recently my own best mate from school called me to tell me she’d found a stash of passed notes from school… she assures me that I was just as mental then as I am now… that’s very comforting, I’m glad it wasn’t a result of all the drugs I took in later years.  She had me in stitches with the memories.

I hope Ann and Rosie are still friends.

Do you have any written records of conversations with your buddies from your school daze?