On that basis, the West Coast of Cumbria has an even better claim to this. It too could do with the money. Politicians could be sent off for long bracing walks in the hills or along the coast. There are plenty of good restaurants; the Ulverston music festival is good as is the Holker Garden Festival. Cartmel has good racing. Millom has a history of integrating Eastern European immigrants and has one of the best fashion shops in the UK. It is also associated with a poet and a painter. And comedians regularly do their pre-tour tours here. Plus the Xmas Panto in Kendal is wonderful. And the people are full of bracing good sense.
Yeah but I am never going to match Bunnco as the man on the spot if they go there. And it is much too nice for political types anyway. Dundee really doesn't have these problems.
Blackpool - it desperately needs the cash injection, has good motorway links, Blackpool rock and the illuminations. It also has trams, so there's your climate change nod.
Politicians already hang out there. No - it needs to be somewhere where they never go, where London seems very very far away and where the people have strong bullshit detectors.
There's always Harrogate. Spa town, lots of hotel accommodation, conference center.
Rockall would be a better solution.
It would settle any territorial disputes.
Wetherby would be better. Good road access and a fantastic fish and chip joint - the Wetherby Whaler. Or Hampsthwaite - good pub and it couldn't offend anyone.
Do either pub seat 650 MPs, 900+ Lords and many many hacks?
No - it's time to stop that nonsense. Last thing we need is more social intercourse between hacks and MPs / Lords. This is a new beginning.
Wetherby's other claim to fame (except the ancient bridge over the Wharfe) is that the inventor of the Segway committed suicide there by riding a segway over a cliff into the river.
By the way @Cyclefree in a newssheet I received today it was stated that women finally make up the majority of lawyers in Scotland. I am frankly surprised it has taken this long. The last group of Diploma students I showed around Parliament House had something like 16 girls and 2 boys.
I seriously hope that all these feminist/diversity types writing sociology at great public expense in our Universities are thinking ahead and planning their switch of tracks. With women under 40 having no wage differential despite being those of child bearing age there is a risk they will look even more ridiculous than they do already.
Life is too short, IMO, to pay any attention to sociology garbage.
I do hope that students choosing law do so for the right reasons - because they have an aptitude and temperament for it and because at some level there is some passion for it. If you do it just because it's a nice well paid middle class occupation you will die a death of a thousand cuts by the time you're middle aged.
But I tend to value passion and genuine interest quite highly: it's what sustains you through the tough times in any profession and keeps you doing even the dross stuff. Practising law - and why you are doing it - has to matter to you in some way, over and above the money and such status as there is. Here I've seen too many people burnt out by their late 30's from the hard work and failure to get partnership and wondering why the hell they did it.
Back in the late 60s, they had something called 'articled' (?) where you work for an attorney firm and then take the exam. I was going to work for the firm of a friend of my father in Yorkshire. At the last minute I got a job offer (I was 17) from IBM in London. Dales vs London at 17? No brainer. IBM it was.
Today that firm is still my family's UK attorney, and my daughter (who works in the legal profession) swears I'm the best cross-examiner she's ever met. When she was younger and got into trouble or didn't want to talk about a boyfriend, she knew when I sat down with her that I would get to the truth eventually.
There's a cross-over between I.T. and the law - they're both based on logic and deduction.
Some of the best lawyers I've known did not go to university and if they did it's usually best to study anything other than law. But that too is changing, which is a pity.
Still, re the comparison between IT and law: practitioners of both can - unless checked - talk incomprehensible jargon and rubbish!
Let's run that up the flagpole and open the kimono a crack.
I came to law through two routes: the first was the philosophical one via my political philosophy course. Why do people obey laws? The balance between the sovereign and people. What is the rule of law? Should law enforce morality etc etc? And I still find that fascinating. Plus I like understanding the way the laws of a country reflect how that country sees power, how it reflects a country's culture (and shapes it) and how its people view themselves.
And the other route was the practical: the reason why I became - after my stint in government - a litigator: the fact that my legal skills help me sort out problems, which I find very interesting and satisfying. Law is like plumbing for the middle classes. It's a craft, a trade, which helps you resolve an issue. It helps you cut through to the heart of matters. I also find it quite creative - but that probably reflects my approach to it. I practise law but do not consider myself to be a lawyer in the sense that it is only part of what I am, professionally and personally. Some people's identity can be very defined by their profession.
The actual ins and outs of this or that Act mean very little to me, to be honest.
When I was young I wanted to be an investigative journalist and in a strange sort of way that is what I have been doing all these years: investigating and writing about what I find. Investigation is an art as much as a science - though I agree with @Tim B that there is a lot of logic - but there is also a great deal of emotional intelligence and instinct and judgment involved in assessing people and in getting a sense about what is going on between the lines.
Very interesting, Mrs Free, especially the last bit. Along with emotional intelligence one needs a very good understanding of people, especially the type of people one is investigating, otherwise it is too easy to miss what is really going on, or has gone on in the case of a lawyer, I guess.
Once, at a conference, I sat down with a couple of Dutch colleagues discussing this very point and we hammered out what we called the the Theory of The Anchored Narrative. Amazingly in the morning when we were again sober we could all remember it and even more amazingly it still made sense. One of the Cloggies said he was going to write a paper on it, I have no idea if he ever did, but one day, over a bottle of something nice, I'll bore you with it.
Back in the late 60s, they had something called 'articled' (?) where you work for an attorney firm and then take the exam. I was going to work for the firm of a friend of my father in Yorkshire. At the last minute I got a job offer (I was 17) from IBM in London. Dales vs London at 17? No brainer. IBM it was.
Today that firm is still my family's UK attorney, and my daughter (who works in the legal profession) swears I'm the best cross-examiner she's ever met. When she was younger and got into trouble or didn't want to talk about a boyfriend, she knew when I sat down with her that I would get to the truth eventually.
There's a cross-over between I.T. and the law - they're both based on logic and deduction.
Some of the very best lawyers, Denning and MacKay of Clashfern, had first degrees in pure mathematics so you may be on to something. If I enjoy one aspect of my job it is probably cross. It is so rarely that you get to be that rude to someone in the real world.
My daughter was accused of cheating in High School during an exam. I asked to see the evidence and it simply didn't make sense.
I demanded a meeting with the principal, the teacher making the allegation, and student affairs folks. After 2 hours they asked to adjourn the meeting. The next day the principal called me and said "I think we dropped the ball on this one.". A letter of apology was put in her file and her test score was reinstated.
The best part is when you see in the eyes of the person you're questioning that they suddenly realize you're closing in on the truth.
It's a useful skill to have even in the real world.
Watching folks squirm when they suddenly 'get' where your questioning is going at their expense is truly great.
Comments
Wetherby's other claim to fame (except the ancient bridge over the Wharfe) is that the inventor of the Segway committed suicide there by riding a segway over a cliff into the river.
Once, at a conference, I sat down with a couple of Dutch colleagues discussing this very point and we hammered out what we called the the Theory of The Anchored Narrative. Amazingly in the morning when we were again sober we could all remember it and even more amazingly it still made sense. One of the Cloggies said he was going to write a paper on it, I have no idea if he ever did, but one day, over a bottle of something nice, I'll bore you with it.
I demanded a meeting with the principal, the teacher making the allegation, and student affairs folks. After 2 hours they asked to adjourn the meeting. The next day the principal called me and said "I think we dropped the ball on this one.". A letter of apology was put in her file and her test score was reinstated.
The best part is when you see in the eyes of the person you're questioning that they suddenly realize you're closing in on the truth.
It's a useful skill to have even in the real world.
Watching folks squirm when they suddenly 'get' where your questioning is going at their expense is truly great.