Ooo, you are awful...but I like you

Good evening www. I'm sat in front of my laptop nursing sore feet after a long (ish) day at work and I just couldn't help but feel happy. Despite the fact that I am tired and can barely walk (seriously, I'm walking around my flat as though I'm walking on hot coals; my feet ache that much) I had to come into my blog to post and exclaim at how much I love my job sometimes. Yes, there are slightly over-enthusiastic customers who get a little emotional and rude about finding their books. On the whole though, the satisfaction they (and I) get from locating their book is amazing. Hyperbole? Perhaps. Yesterday a customer came into the shop looking for a phrasebook for her friend who was travelling to Europe and after having another colleague search for the book and then myself, I was near to telling the customer to try WHSmith (shock, horror!). Suddenly, as if by some sweet magic the book materialised right in front of us. Both myself and the customer shouted "Yay!" and started 'seal-clapping' and then giggled at how excited we got after locating the book. These moments www, are priceless...

On another note, I purchased (yet another book, I know) a book on Digital Photography today after spending my weekend in the basement; now it is affectionately known as the 'dungeon of knowledge'. So now after I get a few practice runs, taking photos of everything that can be photographed, I shall include some of my better photos in this blog. One photo which I particularly like is one I took earlier in the year from the 5th floor of a solicitor's firm I used to work in (It's the photo accompanying this post). It feels like a moody and mysterious photo and I feel particularly lucky to have captured one of the many beautiful sunsets in London. I can't wait to get papping!

I also got a book on Rumi after reading one of Daisy Goodwin's many collections of poems which referred to his poetry. I have yet to start it but can't wait. Currently, I am reading 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino after reading 'Grotesque' by the same author and it is truly gruesome...just the way I like it! I'm also reading 'I am a Cat' by Natsume Soseki and although very funny and insightful, it is very hard to follow at times and I am not sure whether this is because the book was translated from the Japanese. Regardless, I am determined to soldier through it!

Finally, I was shocked to read that the stig has been revealed (yet again?). According to the article, the stig was none other than...Michael Schumacher! Nooo! I think I liked Top Gear more when I didn't know who was under the helmet...but it does add a certaine 'je ne sais quoi' to things now!

Pfft, well I better get back under my duvet now.

Toodle pip.

CBC

xx

p.s. I love semi colons...

Are lawyers misunderstood creatures?

I was reading the Law section of Times Online today and came across this shocking article. Avert your eyes fellow law students and practitioners...

Why are Lawyers so Hated?

Read at your peril, particularly the comments.

Furthermore, in Criminal Law News the first trial without a jury for '400 years' is scheduled for July. This is because it was ruled by the Court of Appeal that the trial could be heard by the judges alone due to "jury nobbling". Apparently, this is the FOURTH trial scheduled to be heard with the previous three costing a total of £22 million and the previous trial collapsing due to "a serious attempt at jury tampering". So having a trial without jury in this case is found to be in the interests of justice. Hmm so many issues here....I don't even know where to begin. Costs? Why this 'nobbling' occurred in the first place?

Pfft.

And so I'd like to conclude with this beautiful song which I came across yesterday whilst watching videos on YouTube; it was playing in the background of someone's make-up tutorial. (I think it was Romaquillage)

For some reason, watching the video I get the feeling there is some underlying message involving domestic violence which you don't quite get when you merely listen to the track. Great all the same. I'm going to purchase the album on my next pay-day.



So, that's enough ranting and raving for one day, ne c'est pas?

CBC

xx

P.s. I've vowed to take and use my own photographs in this blog so I'll be looking forward to the commentary on my amateur photography.

Half-wits, Dog-faces and Digital Britain

I'm sorry www. Of late I have not quite been my curious self. But I'm slowly coming back. I promise...especially as there are so many interesting things going on in the world to blog about. As I type, I'm nursing a headache. One of those dull thudding headaches you get when you're thinking about whether you will get a training contract, book deal or lottery win or even a response to a job application or whether a hypothetical 'he' will call.. Yah. Those headaches...

Today I did indulge in some much (not) needed retail therapy as I really needed to get out of the house. This relentless rejection a la job applications is very hard going. I'm not giving up but at the same time, every 'Thank you for your time but sod off' email is disheartening. So that's why I've been a little AWOL www.

Big Brother. Why do I watch it? Every year without fail, I vow never to watch it and then on launch night I get sucked into watching these frankly, odd attention-seeking fame hungry nutters and can't stop. That's it. Summer's ruined. Hah. But seriously, what is the deal with the Halfwit and Dogface saga? I seem to have missed the part where Freddie and Sophie changed their names via deed poll...Hmm. And poor Shree. Shree Shree Shree. Unrequited love sucks eggs pal. I nearly gagged on last night or Monday night's highlight show where Shree put uncooked bacon into bread smeared with what looked like jam (it was probably ketchup) and served this up ceremoniously to his fellow housemates. Bless him. It has to be cooked dear...especially with the current SWINE FLU pandemic. I found that worryingly amusing. The uncooked bacon that is.

Another story (one of MANY) which interested me yesterday was the Digital Britain Report 'hoo-ha'. Might be good news for those who cannot afford broadband, which with the number of telesales people calling me on a nightly basis to change my 'providings to a better and cheaper service of providings than my current providings' is surprising. But also it will be a good thing to help stamp out illegal downloading and other such illegal activity. Broadband for everyone! You can read the report in its entirety, should you so wish here.

Now, finally Mr Speaker or Michael Martin is leaving the House...not out of choice of course. However, this has not stopped the tributes from MPs pouring in and The Guardian online's Political Blog has given an almost blow-by-blow commentary of the goings on today. Tissues anyone? (No Freudians or puns intended)

What a pretty kitty (in my new oversized geeky sunglasses)

CBC

xx

The Return

Hello www,

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging to do some thinking and sorting out of my life. This will be a short post (I hope). I lost contact with a really close friend of mine over a year ago despite several attempts to contact them. I can understand that everyone has hard times and struggles in their lives so may need head space. Likewise. However, am I wrong for feeling apprehensive to their reappearance?

Hmph

CBC

xx

p.s. this post has been edited.

London

I had a lovely day strolling around London in the sun after my interview. Unfortunately, I did not get the job. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board I suppose.

CBC

xx

Tea Off!

Wow www, I am tired. After a long day spent 'leafleting', I am tired but energised. A three hour nap in the middle of the day is fantastic...

I just came across a news story which really got my juices bubbling. As you will have discovered from reading this blog, I do love me a cup of tea. So imagine my surprise to find that a Tetley Green Tea advert was banned from being shown for being 'misleading' after FOUR people complained that it appeared to suggest that drinking a cup of tea had the same of similar health benefits to exercising. A spokesman for the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said the following,

"While it did not imply the tea had the same or similar health benefits to exercise, it did imply that the tea had some general health benefits beyond hydration, in particular because it contained antioxidants. As we had not seen any evidence to demonstrate that green tea, or the antioxidants in it, had general health benefits we concluded that the ad was misleading. "

It seems a fair statement from the ASA but surely an educated person would know this? The ASA should be looking into those mascara adverts which suggest that by wearing a certain mascara, you'll get the 10 mile long lashes featured on the models in the ads. Only recently have I noticed that in the small print, the ads are telling consumers that the ad was 'filmed with lash inserts'. Before that, we were all misled as to the lengthening, volumising and false lash effect of many mascaras!

The above being said, I am not going to be one sided. It seems that the health benefits of green tea are not concrete and according to this Wikipedia article, have been long disputed and there are still many unproven claims as to its benefits.

Wonders never cease... in conclusion, it's JUST tea. Take a chill pill (instead)...





CBC

xx

P.s. Who ARE these four busybodies?

"A deep-seated attitudinal problem" (?)

Well hello there www. As you probably know, I was away for a few days swotting up for my Professional Conduct exam; my last exam. As the law of the sod would go, several things occurred during that exam to make me feel less confident about the outcome:

• I got writer's cramp about 5 minutes in


• It was an hour and a half exam and although visiting the ladies just before it started, I became desperate to go about 30 minutes from the end so thus lost 10 minutes


• I had 2 minutes to do 14 marks' worth of multiple choice questions


• I ran out of time and bullet-pointed 2 whole questions (just about)


• There were two questions which I could not identify the issues which were being tested UNTIL THE END (see the previous point)

So after feeling relatively confident prior to the exam as I had prepared, read over everything, practised questions, walked around my house talking to MYSELF about 'Regulated activities' and s.327 FSMA and Scope Rule compliance...it all went (for lack of a better word) "teets up".

Pah.

So last night, after watching another exhilarating episode of Eastenders (I was not being sarcastic...much) I caught an episode of Panorama, entitled 'A Very Dangerous Doctor' about paediatrician David Southall. I had not been aware of this story prior to this but it really caught my attention. Evidently, Southall had used secret filming of his patients and managed to uncover a ridiculous number of cases of child abuse. Now of course in learning about Family Law, you become familiar with the concept that the safety/ best interests of the child are of paramount importance etc (Apologies if my wording is a bit off; I haven't looked through my family law things for about a year...)

So why were so many people up in arms about the findings of Southall's research? Perhaps it's because several people have been accused of child abuse due to the findings of it? But in my head, all I can think about is the fact that children are possibly being abused and that this research/ surveillance may save a few children from this. Sadly for their parents though, it may mean false accusations of abuse.

Where is the balance?

Now, in reading a follow up article (because CBC likes to do her research) Southall has been described as having 'a deep-seated attitudinal problem' by a disciplinary panel. It seems a shame that the focus is now on his personality than the issue in hand; the safety of the children. However, I am not looking at this through 'rose tinted' glasses and ignoring the fact the he may have had an agenda which had nothing to do with the children and more to do with a 'power trip'.

As the judge ruling that the decision to strike him off was justified said,

"He was speculating on non-medical matters in an offensive manner entirely inconsistent with the status of an independent expert."

But what about this Münchausen's syndrome? The article describes it as, "... a condition which means parents deliberately induce or fabricate illnesses in their children to get attention for themselves."

Are Southall's accusations justified in some way? Obviously every case is different but isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

Interesting stuff. So many questions...so few right answers.

*sigh* I love the law

CBC

xx

(p.s I really need to discover once and for all the issue regarding copyright and images in this blog. Although there are links to all the photos and otherwise I have obtained permission from folks for certain cartoons, I am still a little concerned. All in good time.)