I’ve always thought I’d be interested in jury service, having worked in legal stuff and social work, and having quite an analytical mind … but I’ve never been called … maybe they think I know too many crooks 🤔
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Quite recently I appeared as a witness in a case at Leicester Crown Court. It was like the Marie Celeste in there - nobody on duty to tell me where to wait so I found the court, saw they were in recess and wandered in. Very bad form. I was ushered out again PDQ. I then mentioned I happened to know the judge. Did it matter? Yes, apparently. Very much so and I was put on hold while his Lordship was consulted. He agreed, I gave my evidence and, to my considerable disappointment, was not cross examined.
There's ice in the watering can that I keep in the greenhouse this morning It's a lovely day out there though and the birds are putting on a good performance. I can hear a wren singing its heart out right by my new wren box so hopefully he's taken possession of that already. I'm tempted to order a second one while they're in stock and reasonably priced. You can never have too many wren boxes.
I gouged a chunk out of my finger tip yesterday so I'm having to type with my other fingers which is trickier than I expected. I've got a lot of typing to do today as well
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I did jury service once, a man accused of burglary and threatening to kill. It was a fiasco! First, one of the witnesses wanted her name to be kept secret. The judge was willing to agree to it despite it being unconventional, but then the court clerk pointed out that her name had already been given on a court order! Then one lawyer asked for a meeting with the other lawyer and the judge before the start of the day, which delayed the start. He got a bollocking for not asking the previous day so they could meet before the scheduled start. Apparently he was the son of the chief judge and so he hadn't had his arse kicked enough. Then two new pieces of evidence arrived at court during the trial - an alibi for the defendant, and phone records which had gone to the wrong place. The judge decided it was unfair to both sides to continue, so he ordered a retrial with a new jury.
I just checked the upper age limit for jury service and thought "Great, I'm too old" then noticed that was for Ireland. Upper for UK is 75 so still a chance of a call.
For those using oil for heating, do you have alarms on the tanks? I suspect thefts are going to sky rocket with the price increases, and as oil tends to be required in rural areas they will be even more vulnerable.
I did jury service once, quite a few years ago. I found it interesting, but there was a lot of waiting around. My curmudgeon today is seeing that a planning application has gone in for a single-storey house just down the road from me on the other side of the road. That side is very much part of the valley our town is in and often floods so is not built on. This means that we all have wonderful views across the valley to the village on the other side. But this dwelling is to be built at the very edge of the flood plain, behind a pair of Victorian villas. They are objecting of course as their lovely view will now be of this ugly modern building. I have no grounds to object but am unhappy as I love to lean against the wooden gate next to the villas that is to the track that leads to this bit of land and just soak up the view, admiring the poppies and other wildflowers that grow along the track. It seems as if every bit of untouched land has to be built on these days.
I did jury service once, quite a few years ago. I found it interesting, but there was a lot of waiting around. My curmudgeon today is seeing that a planning application has gone in for a single-storey house just down the road from me on the other side of the road. That side is very much part of the valley our town is in and often floods so is not built on. This means that we all have wonderful views across the valley to the village on the other side. But this dwelling is to be built at the very edge of the flood plain, behind a pair of Victorian villas. They are objecting of course as their lovely view will now be of this ugly modern building. I have no grounds to object but am unhappy as I love to lean against the wooden gate next to the villas that is to the track that leads to this bit of land and just soak up the view, admiring the poppies and other wildflowers that grow along the track. It seems as if every bit of untouched land has to be built on these days.
I wish our poxy council would let me build a new house on my plot. ggrrrrrr
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
First, one of the witnesses wanted her name to be kept secret. The judge was willing to agree to it despite it being unconventional, but then the court clerk pointed out that her name had already been given on a court order!
Then one lawyer asked for a meeting with the other lawyer and the judge before the start of the day, which delayed the start. He got a bollocking for not asking the previous day so they could meet before the scheduled start. Apparently he was the son of the chief judge and so he hadn't had his arse kicked enough.
Then two new pieces of evidence arrived at court during the trial - an alibi for the defendant, and phone records which had gone to the wrong place.
The judge decided it was unfair to both sides to continue, so he ordered a retrial with a new jury.
My curmudgeon today is seeing that a planning application has gone in for a single-storey house just down the road from me on the other side of the road. That side is very much part of the valley our town is in and often floods so is not built on. This means that we all have wonderful views across the valley to the village on the other side. But this dwelling is to be built at the very edge of the flood plain, behind a pair of Victorian villas. They are objecting of course as their lovely view will now be of this ugly modern building. I have no grounds to object but am unhappy as I love to lean against the wooden gate next to the villas that is to the track that leads to this bit of land and just soak up the view, admiring the poppies and other wildflowers that grow along the track.
It seems as if every bit of untouched land has to be built on these days.