h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello.
What part of the Earth do you hail from then?

Dia Dhuit, I am Irish by nationality, location and nature. You?

I am English by nationality, Welsh by location and Scottish by nature. Or something like that. I have never been to Ireland so I can't claim to be Irish in any sense...

So we are neighbours then. Nice to meet you. But as for not claiming to be Irish by virtue of never having visited, don't let that little detail bother you, tens of thousands of others haven't! I have been to Wales once or twice but I have never been able to figure which came first, the accent or the language they complement each other so well it is quietly unnerving. England? I have also been there on a number of occasions, mostly relative visiting (nice thing about emigré relatives is to see them you are obliged to travel) but Scotland; to my shame, I have never set foot on Alban. The closest I have come is seeing it from the Northern coast of Ireland. The Mull looks eerie in a half-light but in a slightly lulling way, there is no threat only blank presence. Anyway I am rabbiting where in Cymru are you?

Actually I've suddenly jumped to Southampton. But when I was in Wales I was in the Brecon Beacons, an ancient mountain range worn down to rolling hills by generations of Duke of Edinburgh Award walkers, sheep, and SAS trainees. And it rains a lot there too. I grew up there, a nice place, except for the weather. And the fact there's no shops around. And the financial depression brought on by the BSE scare and the availability of cheap New Zealand lamb. Etc.
I've got lots of relatives in Australia, but I haven't visited them yet... it's a good excuse for a holiday anyway

So you are mobile then. I have heard of the Brecon Beacons but I have never been there. Somehow though I doubt that the SAS et al are entirely responsible for their diminished stature although sheep have a nasty habit of stripping a mountain bare. So you would be one of those people with the curious accent, do you speak Welsh? Do you work in Southampton?

Holiday? Hell go the whole hog. Go over for a year, I am at some stage, you will get to see all the clan and get a genuine tan and pick up some colourful vocabulary......

At school they tried to teach me Welsh but didn't succeed. I can pronounce place names correctly, count from one to ten, and tell people I'm very tired, but that's all.
I came to Southampton University, but I'm taking an extended sandwich year out... i.e. I think I'll go back one day but I'm not sure when.
I'm saving my money up, theoretically to support me through uni when I go back, but I wouldn't be surprised if I spent it on a return flight to Bangkok or Sydney or something

Hmm, poor you, I think. We have Irish as an obligatory part of our curriculum and while I can no longer claim fluency I can speak, read and write the language, which I must confess I love. It is so evocative and so different from English and yet the similarities are there (certainly in the vocabulary if not so much in the grammar). Don't mind me I like words. I took a look at your homepage, you must have plenty of time on your hands to manage all that Interlife as well as living in Southampton! As for college, I did engineering too but I absolutely loved it. Best 4 years I ever wasted (don't tell my parents that! ).

There's certainly something cool about gaelic/celtic languages. Irish, Welsh and Gaelic sound really nice, especially when sung. (I happen to be listening to the Welsh band Catatonia at the moment!)