Dear Reader,
I have taken up smoking Marlboro Lites – a health kick thingy to supplement my return to the noble art of Smokedo this weekend. I was rather taken with the knowledge that there are now 1440 references on Google for Smokedo which I invented for myself (and others) last Spring. Pictured left is a drawing done by a very good artist and friend of mine – Lindsey Goldsmith. The drawing, which took 15 minutes while the artist was pissed at 3.30 am some years back – captures the very essence of my smoking technique. I am not usually interested in images of myself – but I treasure this one because it was done at 3.30 am while the artist was roaring. I may well have been over refreshed myself at the time.
It is pleasing to see the return of an old friend of mine to the world of law blogging. The Fat Bigot has returned to enliven our mornings. FB has a great writing style and his insights into the events of our times are worth reading.
Another law blog ‘Law & Lawyers’ , with serious analysis, which I read each day is by Obiter J – who is a regular commenter on my own blog (pleasingly). Have a look?
And since the law blogging world is getting better why not have a look at a blog written by solicitor Matthew Taylor. Matthew and I plan to do a number of regular podcasts on general law issues of the week.
Mercifully, there are still of a few of us old lags who continue to write nonsense and cover nonsense. I always enjoy my visits to The White Rabbit – who is Off to London for the weekend…
When Geeklawyer returns from terrorising High Court judges with his advocacy and tweeting with his ‘harem’ on Twitter – it is quite possible that he, too, will contribute to the more surreal analysis of the legal events of our times. To be fair, Geeklawyer did much to help our understanding of the Middle East with a post only last week… Wimmin Lawyers allowed to speak in Saudi Arabia It is, perhaps, best that I let Geeklawyer explain his thoughts, rather than extract a passage – they are not always ‘office safe’.
THE THINGS YOU SEE (OR READ ABOUT) WHEN YOU HAVEN’T GOT A GUN…
After reading about people turning up at Tesco and other supermarkets to do their shopping in their pyjamas, I did not for one moment think I would witness such bizarre behaviour myself. I should have known better. I have moved to Battersea… near Battersea Square in fact. This very morning, but a few moments ago, at 10.30 after returning from doing some Marlboro smoking and reading of the papers at a cafe on the King’s Road, I went into my local newsagent and saw a a man in a fairly unpleasantly coloured check dressing gown, even more absurdly check coloured bedroom slippers and pyjamas with a yellow baseball cap on. He was buying newspapers and milk and was very pleased with himself generally – judging by the patronising way he spoke to the sales assistant behind the till in a drawling Sloany accent. I suspect that he may be ‘something in the City’. I resisted the impulse to laugh maniacally like those ‘shouters’ who wander about pissed in the street do and tried to avoid looking as if I was fascinated by the absurdity of his appearance. I was standing nearby, waiting to buy more supplies. I haven’t worn pyjamas for forty-five years – it seems to me to be a tad effete to do so – and marvelled that this man (a) would do so and (b) that he thought he was being ‘cool’ by shopping in them. A grown man, dressed in ‘jim-jams and dressing gown more suited to an eight year old boy at prep school in the fifties’, complete with nerdy bedroom slippers, and wearing a baseball cap, is not a good look. If I was Jeremy Clarkson I’d probably want to deport him… but I am not.
Talking about Jeremy Clarkson – he is right on some things. I read The Sun most mornings before turning to more sensible newspapers. I do this because I want to see what propaganda is being propagated to millions of potential voters by a newspaper which seems to change political allegiance at the drop of a hat. Clarkson was moaning about the fact that for every electrical device we rely on – laptops, mobiles, camcorders, iPods etc etc there are many separate chargers which have to be carted about if one goes on holiday or even on a short business trip. Why can’t they come up a universal charger socket and charger?
The nannies are at it again with proposals to require Cinemas to put warnings and calories on popcorn and other foods sold to fat bastards and obese e-numbered up children. I lost the will to read more of this in The Times this morning and turned the page to read a satisfyingly pleasing story that house prices have dipped again by 1.5% – the point being that this may aid the ‘fragile recovery’. One of the good things about the recent recession has been that pub and dinner party talk has not been marred by venal and greedy people boring me to death with how marvellous they are in having a house that has risen in value by gazillions of pounds. The recent rises in house property prices was beginning to encourage Justin & Annabel to come out of the cupboard again with talk of house values.
Finally… for my ‘Rant du Jour’: also in The Sun, was a story about a father being told by a security guard at a shopping complex that he could not take a photograph of his own son who was sitting on a toy train…. because he, the father, might be a paedophile. I accept that stupid people have to have jobs – but I do think it best that if people really want to be stupid they should not be employed as security guards. The father objected, remonstrating that he was the child’s father…at which point stupid man says that the father cannot prove this and calls the police. PC Plod turns up and he, too, it seems, is rather stupid. PC Plod, it is reported, tells the father that he isn’t allowed to take photographs of children and says that he can require the photograph to be deleted. The father got a bit heated, at which point PC Idiot decides to threaten the father with arrest fror breach of the peace. Christ on a f*****g bicycle…. how do people like this get into the Police?
I am pretty sure there is no law on photographing one’s own child in public and I know of no law which gives the police power to delete photographs taken in this context. I could be wrong, of course… there are so many new idiotic laws in this country that it is difficult to be certain. I appreciate that society has to protect children from paedophiles – but it is getting to a pretty sorry state of affairs when a father can’t even take a pic of his own kid? Perhaps I am off beam on this and we do need these laws. I have a photograph of myself aged five naked in a bath. My parents took the photograph. I suspect many readers will have pictures from their childhood taken by loving parents. I also have a photograph of me aged 8 – toothy, wearing short trousers, grey flannel shirt, striped school tie, a school cap, eating an ice cream – with a parrot on my shoulder…. which appealed to an ex-lover of mine because she said I looked ‘sweet’. I am pleased to report now… that I am (a) not sweet and (b) do not look sweet. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is closer to my ‘look’ these days and, some say… with an ‘attitude’ to match!
Guido Fawkes has a good story about a Telegraph hackette writing to David Cameron’s friends – on Facebook etc – to dig for dirt about his school days. Telegraph Digging on Dave’s School-days
Frankly, I hope Cameron did have a great time at school and university. I could not give a damn what Cameron did then. Most people have a few minor skeletons from those halcyon days. Half the Labour Cabinet popped up some time ago with tales of drug taking at university – with appropriate statements of retrospective remorse – but it would be most pleasing if he did have a normal childhood and got wasted at university from time to time.
There will, no doubt, be amusements to comment on in the Sunday papers tomorrow…. so I shall hit the send button on my weekly ‘postcard’ and wander off to find a pub to enjoy a glass of Rioja at locally and think about what I plan to do next. I think I shall return to painting soon…. My F***Art section needs a few more entries.
Best, as always
Charon
Good to know that you’re now smoking a normal brand of fags – I mean, Silk Cut?? They’re fags for ‘pretend’ smokers. 😉
Shopping in PJs is just plain weird – even owning a pair is weird. Suggests a repressed childhood, to me.
Morning Pam… yes…. agree…. I used to smoke Capstan and Navy Cut when I stated… then became very poncy and smoked Turkish cigarettes from Sullivan Powell…. then No 6… tried the lot!
Even Gauloises for that extra rip your lung out feel.
Stop the world I wanna get off !!!!!!
Point One: I take issue with you – STUPID people do not HAVE to have jobs, in fact they shouldn’t have jobs, not even in Noddyland!
Point Two: Re: Father taking pictures of child …. simple solution for idiot PC to ascertain innocence of accused father – ask child “Is this your Daddy”?
End of story – I don’t believe there can possibly be such a stupid law forbidding folk taking pictures of their children. No, no, no, this can’t be possible, and if you discover there is, ……… I wil show my ……….. in Woolworth’s window, if I can find one that still exists, else it’ll be somewhere else!
what a look into y’all’s mind, sugar! as in, i like the way y’all think…now, as to smoking, i.am.so.jealous. really! i miss smoking, i enjoyed it and now, thanks to adult onset asthma, those days are gone. *sigh* take a puff for a pal across the pnd, ok? xoxox
“…a story about a father being told by a security guard at a shopping complex that he could not take a photograph of his own son who was sitting on a toy train….
…. [PC Plod turns up and …]
“PC Plod, it is reported, tells the father that he isn’t allowed to take photographs of children and says that he can require the photograph to be deleted.”
At which point, if I had been the father, I would insist that all of the CCTV images that had been recorded of me and my child as I left my house and ended up in the shopping centre be deleted.
I would threaten to report the police officer to his superiors if he didn’t do so and point out that if they could get rid of all of the CCTV images of the apparent bombers of July 7, they could get rid of them for me.
Vidocq is speechless from so much stupidity! However, it brings back memories from a time I was job hunting. After glancing over my resume, the chap asks me about my work in the world of human rights and asks: “does this mean you are anti-establishment?”
Vidocq left the building
Fear and stupidity combined nicely produces your Sun story, so if taking photos of own children is probable cause for paedophilia, is taking photos of animals probable cause for bestiality? The police seem only to be informed by The Sun and Daily Mail rather than the laws they are supposed to be upholding.
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