And they say women take their time getting ready...

What a morning.

Had a bit of a lazy start, as I wasn't due in court until 12pm. I'd just finished my cuppa, brekkie and my meds (asthma & hayfever, before you start...), when the Agency phoned me to ask me to take an emergency application at 9.45am.

I accepted.

Bearing in mind, I was still in my pyjamas, and it was 8.37am when I was called, I managed to shower, brush teeth, brush hair, dress, gather my bits and pieces together, drive 16.4 miles without breaking the speed limit, park the car, walk to the court house, get through security, and find a quiet spot to take telephone instructions by 9.26am.

Not bad.

Plus, I "won".

If this kind of dedication isn't worthy of a pupillage, then I don't know what is.

Overseas Aid - another view

The news of cuts at local and national Government level has sparked a flurry of comments on my Twitter and Facebook timelines, mostly along the lines that if we are making so many cuts here, why the hell are we sending money abroad?

On the face of it, there appears to be no logic. Old people suffering, kids being brought up in homes that can only look up to the poverty line, it does seem stupid to help those in need elsewhere.

However, most of these people also support closing our borders.

International Aid is a fraction of Government spending. If that Aid can be used to make conditions better in a person's own country, then surely that negates the need for that person to up sticks and move to the UK.

Which would cost the UK taxpayer more, wouldn't it?

Food for thought...

You're watching Sky Courts News

"Good morning, it's set to be a busy day ahead. Don't forget our County Court round up on the half hour, and you can keep up to date with the latest fixtures and results on the InfoBar. 

Coming up, we've the news in the big murder trial in Portsmouth, but first, we have some breaking news from Derby Crown Court; let's go over to our reporter".

"Yes, extraordinary happenings here this morning in the case of the Crown versus Whiley. Mr Whiley has been charged with a number of offences, and had indicated at the preliminary hearing he would be entering a 'Not Guilty' plea at today's Plea and Case Management Hearing. 

However, when arraigned, Mr Whiley shocked the Court by entering 'Guilty' pleas to all charges. That includes the serious charge of perverting the course of justice".

"Unbelievable. So what's next?"

"Well, the case has been postponed for the preparation of pre-sentence reports, and Mr Whiley will be sentenced in three weeks time, here at Derby Crown Crown, where our cameras will be live to show you the events as they unfold."

"Thanks for that update.

We are hearing that the start of the big murder trial in Portsmouth has been delayed. We can go live to our reporter in Portsmouth for the latest".

"Yes, the start here has been delayed by an application being heard in Chambers, but this trial should be due to start within the next thirty minutes or so. Don't forget, it's live on Sky Courts 1 and Sky Courts 1HD.

With that, it's back to the studio".

"Thanks for that update, and as you heard, it's our featured trial on our Sky Courts 1 channels. You can also see the continuing burglary trial in Newcastle Crown Court on Sky Courts 2, whilst Sky Courts 3 will be showing you events as they unfold from Court No 3 in Leicester.

Coming up after the break, our new "Briefs, Close and Personal" series continues with a barrister who will surprise you with his after court activities. Stay tuned to Sky Courts News, your number one source for Open Justice in Britain".

Royal Junk Mail

Dear Royal Mail

I have signed up to the Mail Preference Service; you might have heard of it. It's a service that tells people that I don't want to receive any junk mail. That includes the advertising leaflets that you are paying the postie to shove through my letterbox on an almost daily basis. This money-grabbing opportunity you have taken on really smacks of desperation. Is distributing advertising really the way to make up for a naff service, and more convenient methods of communication?

I don't need to be told that Pizza Hut and Dominoes are in competition on Tuesdays, offering more pizza than me and the hubby could eat. Similarly, I have never, ever been into a Farm Foods store. The leaflet that came through my door will not persuade me otherwise; in fact it went straight into the recycling bin.

So thanks for cluttering up my doormat with more useless crap. I might well start reciprocating by shoving it all into your pillar boxes.

Yours etc etc

P Doff

Aylestone Meadows

Aylestone Meadows is a nature reserve situated approximately 2-3 miles from Leicester city centre. It is located next to the old Great Central Railway, near to the River Soar and the Grand Union canal, and gives local residents somewhere green and tranquil to walk, jog, run or cycle, away from the hustle and bustle of the traffic and everyday suburban/city life. Being in the southern part of the Soar Valley, the area is susceptible to flooding, however the main paths have been designed to accommodate this.

The area plays host to an disused velodrome to the north, and to the west, an empty school. Neither are affected by any flooding, and are easily accessible to the public. Leicester City Council has decided it wants to build a number of artificial football pitches, complete with club house, changing facilities and car parking. It is already in the process of building pitches close to the old velodrome, but the city, apparently needs more.

Both the velodrome or the school would be ideal locations for these new pitches, however according Leicester City, in its ultimate wisdom, the best location is bang smack in the middle of the nature reserve. Not only will they need to create access, but no doubt the area requires significant work done to prevent the new pitches from flooding. One can only assume that the old school and bike track are going to be sold off for residential development, with the short-sighted council rubbing its hands at the thought of the millions it could raise by selling this land.

Will the money raised from selling land to developers be used to stave off cuts to front line services? I doubt it. It will be needed to pay to make a natural flood plain into a playable surface for football teams that will soon be inundated with pitches to choose from.

In the mean time, those local (and not so local) residents who enjoy the peace and quiet of the nature reserve will be forced to use smaller recreation areas.  Leicester City Council has proposed 'giving' land to angry residents, but these are small pockets that are already being used for other purposes (a horse charity, being one), or are further away and not so accessible to the residents of Aylestone (Glen Parva). 

It also goes without saying that there will be irreparable damage to the habitat and local wildlife, and Leicester City Council doesn't appear to have taken that into perspective.

Leicester City Council has shown time and time again that its attitude towards local planning is both short-sighted and backwards thinking. If it's not demolishing historical buildings that give our city character, and replacing them with monstrosities, then it seeks to take away any green space it has. Oh look, there's some land, let's build on it.

If you wish to speak against this development, you have until the 16th March to do so. To make a comment, follow the guidelines set out here. 

Out Of Sight....

From next year, cigarettes will not be allowed to be displayed in larger stores, with smaller retail outlets having to remove them from public view by 2015. Apparently "out of sight, out of mind" will discourage smokers, new and old. With most smokers already hooked to a particular brand, there would appear to be no point in displaying countless arrays of competing products. If smokers cannot see packets of fags on the shelves when they go shopping, they won't be tempted to buy them when they pop to the supermarket. It is also thought that non-smokers won't be tempted into smoking if they can't see cigarettes on display.

I am not a smoker; I actually hate the filthy, disgusting, cancer inducing habit. But I fail to see how this course of action will work. Smokers are already addicted, they are already loyal to a brand, yes, but how many times do they go shopping purely for the purpose of buying more cigarettes?

Supermarkets do indeed have cigarette counters, but how many times have you, the average shopper going through a 'normal' non-ciggy counter checkout, been held up because a member of staff has had to go and fetch 200 for the customer in front? Not seeing packs of fags isn't going to stop smokers from buying them; a smoker will stop smoking because they want to.

As for tempting new smokers, as mentioned, I am not a smoker, I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. I've also worked on a cigarette counter at my local supermarket as an impressionable 17-18 year old. Was I ever tempted by the many packets stacked up behind me? No. Of course I wasn't. Children and young adults start smoking because of other factors; peer pressure, seeing celebrities, misguided information such as "smoking helps you lose weight" and not because they see them in the corner shop.

"At least there'll be more room for booze....
you what....are Walkers okay? Normal
size? Not grab bags, obviously....."

If the mere sight of a product in a shop is enough to tempt the paying customer, then why do so many people eat an unhealthy diet, despite the aisles of fresh fruit and veg in the local supermarket? Furthermore, where will it stop? Once cigarettes are off the shelves, what next? Alcohol? Chocolate? Crisps?

By all means, educate people and inform them of the risks, but people must be allowed to make their own decisions and take responsibility (or not, as the case may be) for what they put inside their own bodies.

The English Patient

It was announced last week that Scotland was to join Wales and Northern Ireland in abolishing prescription charges from April 1st.

Two days later, it was announced that the cost of a prescription in England would rise from £7.20 to £7.40 per item from the same date.

Hmmm....

"Thanks for subsidising prescription charges
elsewhere in the UK, *mug*"