Ní tharla mórán rudaí inniu, is amhlaidh bhí sé lá réasúnta tipiciúil. D’obair mé ar maidin, agus i ndiaidh lóin, chuaigh mé go dtí an banc agus an t-ollmhargadh. Ansin rinne mé giota beag níos mó obair, agus thosaigh mé ag foghlaim an amhrán “Here, There and Everywhere” le The Beatles. Beidh cara dom ag canadh an amhrain seo ag cóisir ar oíche Shathairn, agus d’iarr si orm inné dá fhéadfainn mé í a thionlacan ar an ghiotár. Tá na cordaí deacair ar an ghiotár, ach tá siad níos éasca ar an ukulele.

Nothing much happened today, in fact it was a fairly typical day. I worked in the morning, and after lunch I went to the bank and the supermarket. Then I did a bit more work, and started learning the song “Here, There and Everywhere” by The Beatles. A friend is singing this song at a party on Saturday night, and yesterday she asked me if I could accompany her on the guitar. The chords are difficult on the guitar, but easier on the ukulele.

Gach tráthnóna Dé Céadaoin bíonn seisiún ceoil ann i mo theach. Tagann cúpla cairde agus bíonn muid ag seinn poirt as Éirinn, ón Albain, ón Bhreatain Bheag agus ó dtíortha eile. Bímse ag seinn an fheadóg stáin, an fhliúit Shasanach, an giotár, an maindilín nó an bodhrán, agus bíonn mo chairde ag seinn an fhidil nó an fheadóg mhór. An tseachtain seo caite bhí fear nua ann atá ag seinn níos mó uirlisí ceoil na mise: an consairtín, an bainseó, an giotár, an fhidil, an vióla, an olldord agus an trombón san áireamh. Ní raibh leis ach a consairtín agus an bainseó, agus sheinn sé mo ghiotár chomh maith. Ní raibh sé ann an tseachtain seo, ach beidh sé ann an tseachtain seo chugainn.

Every Wednesday afternoon there’s a music session in my house. A few friends come and we play folk tunes from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other countries. I play the whistle, recorder, guitar, mandolin and bodhrán, and my friends play the fiddle or flute. Last week there was a new guy who plays even more instruments than me, including the concertina, banjo, guitar, fiddle, viola, double bass and trombone. He only had his concertina and banjo with him, and he also played my guitar. He wasn’t here today, but will be next week.

Ar an mbealach abhaile ó Oideas Gael, caithfidh mé ag fanacht oiche amháin i mBaile Átha Cliatha. An tseachtain seo caite, bhain mé triail as lóistín a fháil le Gaeilgeoir i mBaile Átha Clitha trí CouchSurfing. Fuair mé Gaeilgeoir, ach ní bheidh seomra nó tolg ar fáil aici ag deireadh mhí Iúil, ar an drochuair. Ach tá sí ag obair ag Raidió na Life, agus inniu rinne mé agallamh léi as Gaeilge ar an teileafón. Labhair mé faoi foghlaim Gaeilge as teangacha eile, agus faoi Glen Cholm Cille.

On the way home from Oideas I need to stay in Dublin for one night. Last week I tried to find somewhere to stay with an Irish speaker in Dublin through CouchSurfing. I found an Irish speaker, but she doesn’t have a spare room or sofa at the end of July, unfortunately. Although she does work for Raidió na Life, and today I did an interview in Irish with her on the telephone. I spoke about learning Irish and other languages, and about Glencolmbcille.

An email I received yesterday contained the sentence “Would be happy to hop on a call to discuss should you change your mind.” The expression to hop on a call particularly caught my attention as it’s not one I’ve come across before. In this context I would have said “to give you a call”.

Have you come across this expression before? Do you use it yourself? If not, how do you refer to telephonic communication?

I’ve heard/used:
– to phone/call/ring sb
– to call sb up
– to give sb a call/bell/ring/buzz

There are a few slang words for phone, including dog (and bone) – rhyming slang; and blower. Do you have any others?