Och, a'richt, whae's this MAG pairson, whae gaes aroond mentionin' ma verra ain Gaelic teacher, th' inestimable Rich Hill? He's aff in Scotland th' noo, sae we're sufferin' in his absence, but och, weel...

Here's sumpit fun aboot Gaelic: for th' maist pairt, ye cannae express ownership by sayin' "MY this" or "MY that." Insteid, ye use th' terms "agam" an' "orm", literally "at me" and "on me." For instance, ye cuidnae say "my buik." Ye'd hae tae say "an leabhar agam." (the buik at me.) I like th' implication that we cannae hoard possessions, but ocht tae jist pass 'em 'roond when we're dane. Onybody wi' sangbuiks kens weel that th' sangbuik cuid end up "at" someane else wi' muckle ease...they seem tae wander awa'.

"Orm" (on me) is usit for obligations, illnesses, an' bad feelings, i.e. "Tha tinneas orm." (There is a cold/flu on me.) It maks sense, for ye carry sic things like a burden, aye? Th' anely things ye can really say "MY" aboot are things ye possess internally, like relationships an' pairts o' yirsel': "Mo chridhe" is "my hairt" an' "mo leannan" is "my sweethairt." "Mo bhrathair" is "my brother," which luiks suspiciously like "brat hair," but that's anither story...

Gabh spors, ("have fun," literally "take sport," or "take fun"),

--Cuilionn