Postcard from The Staterooms: Tales from Battersea Square edition

Dear Reader, I live in an apartment on The Thames at Battersea.  Within a 100 yards is Battersea Square – a tree strewn, cobble stoned ‘triangle’ with cafes, a hairdresser, The Battersea Rickshaw (A fine Indian restaurant), Barrio (a bar), a dry cleaning shop and an estate agents.   Being a creature of habit, I [...]

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Law Review: Troop abuses – Counter terror – Torture – Civil liberties review

UK troops face 90 new claims of abuse in Iraq The Observer: A special unit of military investigators and former detectives is to look into complaints of ill-treatment A specialist team appointed by the government to investigate claims of abuse by British troops in Iraq has received 90 complaints involving 128 Iraqi civilians. The files, [...]

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Breaking News: Harriet Harman wins hearts and minds of Scots for election – SINGLE HANDED!!

Harriet Harman rebuked for calling minister ‘a ginger rodent’ Harriet Harman has been rebuked for calling a senior member of the government “a ginger rodent”. Telegraph With elections in Scotland coming up fairly soon… it is good to see Harriet Harman QC at her best…. supporting the bullying of *Gingers* and, at the same time, [...]

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Breaking: Clocks go back…Osbore says we must suffer a period in the Dark Ages!

Tomorrow night… a dark eve, as the clocks go back and we enter a new *Dark Ages*,  will bring a period of darkness to our sceptred isle…. possibly…. unless, of course, we have The Great Fire of London on 5th November because there are no fire engines to put the usual 200 fires we have [...]

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Breaking: Cameron brings the Neville Chamberlain spirit back to life!

  An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. Winston Churchill     Martin Schulz, the German leader of Europe’s Social Democrat MEPs, the parliament’s second biggest bloc, said Mr Cameron’s promise was “nonsense” and the Prime Minister was “setting himself up for a fall”. He said: “The negotiations [...]

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Guest Post: A post from @lesleyalmost

I am a fan of twitter and I like people who try and raise money for charitable causes. We can’t support everything by donating but I am delighted to support this idea!  And @lesleyalmost is fun on twitter. A *Guest* post from @lesleyalmost I feel both privilege and pressure to be doing a guest post [...]

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CHILD BENEFIT LATEST!: Fair’s fair in Coalition tax fuck-ups!

Child Benefit Cut ‘Unenforceable,’ Treasury in a Flap It seems there is a bit of a ‘flap’ on…..  tax law is difficult…. and so, it would appear, is government!  The devil is in the detail…. but have no fear… Beaker will ride to the rescue and make a “Renouncement” ? The Wall Street Journal reports… [...]

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Judge Judge judges…. True story!

Kenneth Clarke and Lord Judge: a plain-speaking verdict on life after cuts Joshua Rozenberg in The Guardian: Lord chancellor and lord chief justice share a talent for bluntness, but who is the most realistic about how the deficit will affect the legal system? I’ve had a busy week – but this article by Rozenberg is [...]

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Breaking: Cameron to sell London to reduce deficit?

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Lawcast 169: Prisoner votes – An analysis of Hirst and Frodl with Carl Gardner

Coalition in the dock over prisoner voting Last week Joshua Rozenberg, writing in The Guardian, stated.. “The government can equivocate no longer, it is legally obliged to remove the blanket ban on voting behind bars…” Will the Coalition government have a more refined taste for human rights than the last Labour government which declined to [...]

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Law Review: Torture and War – shall we sweep it under the carpet?

We wear red poppies to honour those who gave their lives and who serve in our forces so that we can enjoy a degree of freedom – and, rightly so.  Men and women serving in the forces today are risking their lives to protect our national interests, political and economic.  Most, play by the rules [...]

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Charon’s Drinking forecast 25th October 2010

I often listen to The Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 before heading for sleep.  Here is my Drinking Forecast, complete with ‘Drinking By’ listen (3-4 mins)

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Postcard From The Staterooms: CSR edition

Dear Reader, It just becomes more surreal.  Not that I am complaining – a most amusing week.  Politicians explained the Comprehensive Spending Review – Beaker was filmed doing an interview (Above) with members of the public/activists… whatever…exercising their right to express their views, and twitter broke down, predictably, on tribal lines to debate the merits/demerits [...]

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Rive Gauche: HMS Astute runs agrind and Abseiling tweeterers!

Submarine runs aground off Scotland Guardian: No reports of injuries or environmental damage as HMS Astute runs aground off Isle of Skye It is Friday and I felt like doing a quick  *Rive Gauche* post.  It is unfortunate indeed that a submarine named *Astute* has gone aground. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I [...]

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Law Review: Legal Week does the biz on law blogging!

I am, obviously, a fan of legal blogging and, as with others, I have tried to promote the cause. I am delighted to see Legal Week,  a mainstream legal newspaper,  take up the cause of blogging and do a very thorough  review. Alex Aldridge, an associate editor with Legal Week does the business – an [...]

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Random musing while drinking Rioja – Cameron employs *Patriots* to advise him on business!

I was amused by the recent edition of Private Eye (15 October) which began… DAVID “We’re all in this together” Cameron has chosen a patriotic bunch to sit on his “business council” The Eye article then stated that Martin Sorrell of advertising group WPP has moved his company offshore to avoid tax. Paul Walsh of [...]

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Ingerland expects…never in the field of human conflict….

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Law Review: Saudi prince not above our law

Justice, even for princes Guardian: Britain’s conviction of a Saudi prince for the murder of his servant has inspired Saudi Arabians longing for impartial justice Excellent article – written by a Saudi. Prince Saud’s conviction gives all of us some hope that one day our people will enjoy a modern court system that sees no [...]

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Law Review: Pre-Nups in Family Law cases

Not being a family lawyer, and having absolutely no plans to ever marry again now that I am deliriously single  (My ex and I are good friends), I rarely take any interest in family law cases – leaving that to my friends over At Pink Tape, Family Lore and The Divorce Manual (Now Researching Reform) [...]

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Law Review: Alex Aldridge – political point scoring is no way to reform financial regulation

Dear chancellor, political point scoring is no way to reform financial regulation Alex Aldridge in the Guardian: George Osborne’s merger plans for the Financial Services Authority and Bank of England are no safeguard against future economic crises “Shuffling the deckchairs” is the phrase that invariably crops up when you talk to City lawyers about the [...]

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