Family visit - Oxford Part 2

Whilst in Oxfordshire we decided that we would take the opportunity to visit Minster Lovell Hall, now in ruins, about 10 miles from my Sister's house (well I say we.......some of the guys decided to stay at home and watch Welsh rugby and drink beer, but five of us went!)

We are hugely lucky in the UK to have ruins just literally lying around the place! They are usually really well kept by English Heritage and are always really interesting. I love the feel of old ruins and the places area always hugely atmospheric.

Minster Lovell Hall was given to the Lovel family by Henry I prior to 1124, passing through a succession of Lovels until John Lovel (d. 1310) was created first Lord Lovel.

After the Battle of Bosworth it was passed to the uncle of Henry VII but the Hall as ruined was built in the 1430s on the foundations of an older house, although nothing beyond foundations remain to the east, where accommodation chambers may have been sited.

The atmosphere was quite strange and apparently it is the home to two ghosts. The first is supposedly of Lord Lovel, who was said to have been hiding in a secret room when the servant who knew the location of the room died suddenly. The story is that workman later found the room where they found his skeleton sitting at a desk with his dog and a book in his hand. On opening the room everything fell to dust and his voice is apparently heard around the stones at night.The other is that of the Mistletoe Bride who whilst playing hide and seek with her groom, hid in a chest and got trapped. She is apparently seen climbing an no longer existing stair case. I didn't see any ghosts, but it was a very nice, but atmospheric place.

 

 

 

Such a cutie!

I did try and find the Mistletoe Bride or at least the missing staircase.

Richard, Jess, Bex and the Sopharola!

Another of the possible missing staircases

Family visit - Oxford Part 1

I think I have probably mentioned that my Sister and my little Niece moved down to Oxfordshire so that they could live with her husband who is in the RAF. They moved a couple of months ago, and although my parents and other sister had been down to see them, I have always been away, or busy or just not around, and so this was the first time that I have had a chance to see them and their house in what has seemed a really long time. So Sister I and I headed down from Hull, whilst her boyfriend and my half sister headed up from down South.

 

I have to say that the house was beautiful (well bungalow!) and although a Friday afternoon drive was hell (well it was the M1, followed by the M40 which at about 4.30 on a Friday afternoon was never going to be an exactly fun journey, but 45 minutes to do about 5 miles really did seem like it was taking the biscuit.....god bless loud music, nicotine and caffeine drinks.) We all arrived at about 7pm and got to catch up on what was happening in everyones' lives, who was seeing whom, how work was going, and where the short future was taking us (oh and maintained the family drinking tradition.....I should be able to update you further on this in Part 3 with a fantastic game!)

Saturday saw us taking my Niece, with my Brother in Law, and Brother outlaw, to a fantastic park just outside Carterton (a brisk walk of about 5 - 6 miles, which was really nice to get out of the house whilst the ladies organised things - Jess took her bike, although very much like her Mum who would insist her bike on any walk, and after about 200m decide that she didn't want to ride, but rather my Dad would have to carry the bike and give her a shoulder carry!)

I remember parks when I was a kid.....there was invariably a couple of broken swings, a slide with something smeared along its length, a see-saw and a roundabout with metal surrounds (I loved that.....is it just me and my friends who used those to see how fast we could get someone else to vomit?) typically covered in empty beer/cider cans, various items of clothing and pages from those top shelf magazines. My "old" parks would not even stand next to this one......a sandpit with cranes and a bucket and pulley system, two sunken trampolines, numerous swings of varying designs, an adventure playground that would have put the US Marines training grounds and the Krypton Factor's assualt course to shame, numerous slides, and a roundabout that looked like a cross between an IKEA table and the Travelator from Gladiators.

After a couple of hours of playing (I mean looking after Jess whilst she played) we headed back to a lunch that the wonderful ladies had prepared (we did treat them for their kindness later with boxes of chocolates and fizzy wine!). We did spend the afternoon either sitting watching rugby or out at Minster Lovell Manor, details of which I will bore you with tomorrow, but in the meantime I enclose a couple of photos of Jess, who is a wonderful bright spot in our life, enjoying her bike!

The trials of Trial

I am quite fortunate that Clinical Negligence litigation is rarely taken to Court......a process that usually involves a huge amount of work, time and pressure, as well as anxiety for both you and your Client.

Tuesday saw the start of a two day trial in Middlesbrough at which I was representing my client (okay I was there to provide mutual support for my client, whilst the Barrister and our instructed expert really presented the case!)

The work on this file started 2 years ago, but the significant preparations for the trial started on Monday last week, with endless reviews of the evidence, the file and the papers to ensure that everything was ready, followed by repeated telephone calls to the client, the barrister, the expert and the insurers to ensure that everyone who needed to be there would be at Court at the right time (and at the right Court......it has happened before when you are sitting outside the Court waiting for someone to turn up to find that they are at another Court.....fortunately it wasn't me!). This in turn leads to endless sleepless nights, whilst your mind runs through all the evidence and options in your head (and I have to say the repeated questionning of whether it would all work!)

Days extend to 18 or 20 hours and even the weekend was given over to working. So Monday came round and it was agreed that I would travel up to.......wait for it.......Middlesbrough! (and who says that we don't get to see some exciting places!) The day didn't start well missing the bus, meant that I missed the train to Manchester, but after some panic and a lot of running around I managed to make it.....to find that the expert could find a medical model, so some more running round and a dash down to the medical department at Manchester University.......(Yay! I now have a model of a human eye! Doesn't everyone need that?) but everything back on track. An easy journey back home to head towards Middlesbrough at about 5.30pm. How could things go wrong?

Well:

1. Definite need for petrol sees a stop over at a petrol station, where the pump attendant points to my car and asks "what the liquid pouring out from under the engine was?"
2. Ahhhhh the radiator! Is there a serious leak? Can I fix it?
3. Limp out of the petrol station to a nearby carpark and open the bonnet! - The radiator hose clip has corroded through - re-attach the hose, pour 3 litres of fluid into it and limp down to a nearby car shop.
4. Spend the next 45 minutes under the car, getting covered in coolant trying to get a clip onto the radiator hose..........

So what was intended to be a relaxed evening, possibly visiting the gym and the pool at the hotel, maybe a meal and a few drinks before an early night in preparation for an early start on Tuesday......turned into an extended night, a rush to the hotel and a quick pint in the hotel bar before bed (to be honest it was never going to be a relaxing drink......it was one of those places where the bar goes silent as you enter.....hmmmm a quickie and then quick retreat to the room!)

Tuesday dawns......not too much sleep.....next door seems to have been at it all night, well certainly from the noise of head-boards! Lucky gits - not at all jealous!!! but off to Court. Found the court.....not too difficult, and ready to go. Actually the first day went really quite well, although you never really want to believe it cos this tends to go horrendously wrong the next day, but a meal with the Barrister, expert and client, put the mind at ease, and everyone thought that a good night's sleep was on the books.......(of course the nerves are still there and the fact that the lucky beggars next door were still there!) so still little sleep! 

Wednesday morning and all we had to do was to get through our expert's evidence and Counsels' closing arguments and finally the judgement......fortunately after what seems to have been the longest 10 days ever, it was over. 

I have to say that Solicitors are (or at least I am) extremely superstitious. After the Monday.....hey karma can't be that cruel to someone, and on opening the bedroom curtains on Tuesday I was greeted by two magpies and another 2 sets of 2 magpies on the way to Court! (hey how much more luck do you need? - And Tuesday really did seem to go well!) Not to be undone, this morning found another two magpies sitting outside my window, and being superstitious on went another white shirt, the same cufflinks, the same tie, even the same socks (although not the same pants!).

It must have worked because thankfully the Judge found for us, and we had won. This is not really something that you jump around and celebrate, with the other party still in court, but there is definitely a massive release of tension, and relief for your client. After 3 years working on the file it all ends with handshakes and thanks, and it's over.

Having watched Kavannagh QC (think that's how it's spelt) or Rumpole of the Bailey I have to say that like Ali McBeal going to court is nothing like how it's represented on telly, it is not quite as glamorous and there is a whole lot of sitting around waiting usually in dingy little rooms without natural light. 

Manchester Legal Walk - Part 2!

The overall plan of action......note lots and lots (and lots) of really pointless turns!

 I would like to thank those of you who left their views on the what to wear on our round Manchester ramble (although unfortunately I was advised that for legal reasons......and my future employability......I would not be allowed to walk round Manchester in a Mankini! - I also didn't realise that our little wander would take us down Canal Street!)

The start point, just outside the Crown Court

We managed to set off from the Corwn Court at about 5.30pm, and managed to complete the 10 km in just under an hour and a half.....quite a respectable time I thought.


The weather over the week before had been less than condusive for a ten kilometre walk but we were promised sunny spells, and that was what we got.

Chapel Street

More Chapel Street (I think!)



Blackfriars Road

Like the Toad Trail, it was actually really nice to spend an hour (well okay an hour and an half after work walking round, with little to worry about, other than working out which road we had to take, or who were we following!)
Within the first ten minutes the 27 of us who were doing the walk had managed to spread out along the route, well not the whole route as there would have definitely been something wrong with that, but it ended up walking and chatting to friends as we wandered round and the weather was really nice, and the whole atmosphere was very friendly.

Victoria Street towards the Manchester Cathedral

 

The front of Manchester Cathedral

Thomas Street

Portland Street



More Portland Street

 

Princess Street - Towards the Manchester Art Gallery



St Peter's Square - still with the security barriers from the Labour Convention

I really enjoyed it and it was fantastic to see places that I had probably seen, but never noticed, and through areas that I had no idea existed.

With some crazily long legs and a real enjoyment of walking it was not long until my friends and I ended up at the front of the pack (although we were really following another team from another legal firm) so the pressure to correctly read the directions was never going to be too onerous.

Manchester Central Library

Manchester Town Hall - sorry about the blurry photo

Cross Street

Just under the 90 minutes after we started, we crossed the finish line, aptly at the door of the Ha Ha Bar. Somehow, although taking the lead after about 20 minutes, there were at least 10 people from our team were already there (work that one out if you can!) Unfortunately the guy who had the free drinks vouchers was somewhere with the back group (and who hadn't taken that magic turn to get to the bar early!)

Within about 10 minutes the rest of the our team arrived, and a free drink (or two or more for those of us who didn't have to then race for a train!) but it was well worth it and we raised £775 for Charity, so a good eveing.

New Quay Street

Bar Ha Ha

A well deserved free drink!

P.S. I'm sorry about the quality of some of the photographs, but a cheap camera that I could walk around with.

Walk the walk

After last weeks coffee morning marathon (..................well okay the coffee morning bit only lasted about 90 minutes, although it did seem like hours with my arms up the elbows in soapy water, washing plates, mugs and cutlery before they were whisked away to be dirtied all over again) I have somehow been talked into taking part in the Manchester Legal Walk.

The Manchester Legal Walk is a 10k wander around the heart of Manchester in order to raise money for local legal charities, and in particular the North West Legal Support Trust, who make grants to ensure that disadvantaged members of the public can gain access to free legal advice, to ensure that everyone has access to justice.

This may seem to be something of a strange cause for a bunch of money hungry legal sharks, but some of my best times have been spent providing Pro-Bono work for members of the public and it really is an important provision for people who can not gain legal advice any other way.

So the next big question......."What does one wear to wander round Manchester in an evening at the end of September?" Some suggestions so far have included:

1. Wet suit and flippers!
2. Flip-flops.
3. Mankini (refusing on principle to even consider this....not only for the sensibilities of Mancunians who may see this, but also my own given the appearance of some of my colleagues) 
4. Tuttus  
5. Jeans and branded T-shirts
6. Bananaman costume
7. Suit and tie.

I have to say so far number 5 is winning, even if it means wearing the bosses name emblazoned across my chest! I hope to be able to put some photographs up once completed (and I have soaked my toes)
[although I promise not if we end up wearing mankinis!] 

An Evening with Suggs!

(Almost!)

I was invited out for a friend of a friend's Birthday last night, and I know that I have met a number of people who were going before, but I have to admit that the last time I met them was at a very drunken party with my sister and her boyfriend (and mixed with my atrocious memory for names, I wasn't convinced that I would remember too many people there!)

We were eating at a small Italian on Walmgate in York. I knew the place, although not the name Il Paradiso Del Cibo. When I worked in York I walked past it most lunchtimes, and it was a small sarnie/pizza bar, with a long counter in the window, and admit that I never went in. Last night I was therefore hugely suprised to find it full of tables and the counter gone.

Not sure who was going to be there I was given the run down on the journey over......."I'm pretty sure there will be A......and M..... who you'll know, and then S...... and P..., oh and you will probably remember D...... and C....... oh and A.....and Suggs." I have to admit that my mind was somewhat in neutral as I wasn't driving and I kinda let the last one slip over my head.

We found the restaraunt, and a cash machine and then we were ready to go.......and I have to admit that the first impression was somewhat unimpressive. There were twenty of us, sitting around an L shaped table, that was probably big enough for 14 (can't beat a cosy dinner!)

The food however was fantastic. Plates of anti-pasta were placed around the table, and followed by shellfish, crevettes in garlic butter, and asparagus  (really delicious) followed by bowls of ravioli and then huge platters of roast pork. It was wonderful Italian food, cooked by a great Italian chef. It was whilst sitting and chatting to the Birthday Girl that she told me that "Yeah A.... and  Suggs were gutted that they couldn't be here, but he had to sit in for Cerys Matthews on 6 Music! And the manager of Radiohead was going to be here to, but they couldn't make it either!"

It's crazy (whilst I have never met Suggs and I am sure he is a generally normal guy, he was still one of my childhood heroes) everyone at the party is so laid back biking fans (another huge plus in my book anyway!)  and I have to admit that the I'm not sure how I would have coped with a massive group of bikers, and SUGGS! Kinda cool!

The rocky road to a Macmillan Coffee Morning!

I think I might have mentioned that the office is having a MacMillan Coffee Morning at the office tomorrow at which I have received the dubious honour of playing "trolley dolly" although I have refused the French Maid's outfit that The Girls in the office had picked out for me......(I really am not that upset. Not sure what an impression I would have made on my new bosses in a frilly little outfit!)

On the basis that there are currently about 100 members of staff in the office (although being a Friday not everyone will be in!) there has been something of a mad dash to produce or prepare cakes to be sold. Accordingly (and given that anything I was going to prepare would be after a two hour commute home!) I decided to go for something that is very easy, and which has always gone down really well in the past......Rocky Road!!!!!

In an effort to give me a little extra time this evening I kinda slinked off a little early, to catch my train an hour early......(another hour to actually spend time at home, not in bed asleep.....gotta be good!). I watched the weather get progressively worse throughout the day in Manchester, but by 4.20 this afternoon it did seem to have calmed down massively, and at worst there were a few spots of drizzle in the sky.....so imagine my delight on the approach to Howden station to be told by the conductor that lightning had struck the station and knocked out all the signals. Stuck outside Howden, advancing at a few metres at a time meant that I ended up home only a few minutes earlier that I would have done normally (.....although I dread to think what time I would have got home had I left at the normal time)

But once home it was time to start preparing......so here we go here is a really easy recipe that has never disappointed. You will need:

100g - unsalted butter
225g - plain chocolate
2tbsp - golden syrup
2tbsp - cocoa powder
2tbsp - caster sugar
100g - Maltesers
100g - milk and white chocolate chips
100g - mini marshmallows
225g - ginger biscuits or digestives
Icing sugar to dust

This is for double the quantity

Steps:

1. In  pan heat the butter, chocolate, golden syrup, caster sugar and cocoa powder and stir together with wooden spoon.

2.             Once melted together, leave to cool for 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl mix together all the other ingredients, including the biscuits crumbled up into mixed sized pieces.

4.           Bind the other ingredients with the melted chocolate sauce.

6.     Pour the mixture into a 20cm square cake tin and leave to set in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (or overnight if possible)

7.       Cut into pieces and dust with icing sugar.

Serve and enjoy.....with a nice cuppa tea!










Hope that you enjoy this recipe and the fun of making it!