Bon Vivant

November 11, 2011 @ 11:02
“The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche.

I can record truthfully that I never like staring at defendants in court. I remember a perfectly lovely character at the Bar, glorying in the name of Marmaduke Rapp-Pitney, who was incredibly short sighted and wore a rather terrifying pair of spectacles, which contained glass so thick and spiralled that it almost hid his eyes. When a defendant was brought up, Marmie would turn round and simply stare at the poor alleged miscreant. All, except the most brazen, flinched. Some changed their plea.

Dominic Regan and Sean Jones recommend wines for the festive season.  

At Christmas, even those who don’t drink, do. Here are our recommended buys for the season ahead and there is something for everyone. We anticipate a repeat this year of the internecine warfare between the big supermarkets. Keep your eyes open for buy 6 and get a 25% discount, something that all the big chains did last year. Majestic Wine now only insists that you buy a minimum of 6 bottles and their staff are very well informed. 

The first of a series of lectures in Westminster Abbey to celebrate 400 years of the King James Bible was given by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge.  

Counsel’s editor, Sally McCleery reports 

John Maher recommends the wines from Valencia.   

They make a perfect accompaniment to every dish, he enthuses. 

An enthusiastic return to the Temple and to Chambers as the summer fades away and autumn begins to fall 

October 10, 2011: “The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.” ~William Shakespeare, Othello

A sortie into the outside world leads to questions about how to adapt to modern times 

September 10, 2011:  “Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get”
- George Bernard Shaw.

The life of a barrister can be self-absorbing. From the Temple we venture out to all points of the compass, meeting people from walks of life we would rarely, if ever, encounter in real life.

A seasoned troupe of actors performed two radio plays, Rumpole on Trial and Rumpole and the Right to Privacy, for this year’s Kalisher Scholarship fundraising event, writes Melissa Coutinho.  

Sunday, 15 May 2011 was a beautiful balmy evening that saw Middle Temple host what has become an annual Kalisher Scholarship fundraising event. We were entertained by a seasoned troupe of actors, some of whom had generously given their time at previous events: Martin Shaw, Maggie Steed, Philip Franks, Patricia Hodge, Anthony Howell, Maxine Peake (fresh from Silk), Duncan Bell, Daniel Hill, Tim Frances, Nicholas Le Prevost and Mark Farrelly. 

Summertime - and the living is no longer quite so easy in the Temple during August.

August 3, 2011: “In summer, the song sings itself.” -William Carlos Williams.


Publicly funded barristers nowadays work all the year round. When I was a nipper at the Bar, it was simply not done for a Silk to be seen in the precincts of the Temple during August. Today, there is the appearance of a holiday season – my club closes, there are no more meals in the Inns of Court and the like; but, in reality, professional life carries on.

R v Grimble is not what it seems and phone hacking strikes close to home

July 11, 2011: “When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.” -Otto von Bismarck.

My belief that Jason Grimble, the vapid youth I was defending for the alleged murder of Claude Allerick, the late and loathed circuit judge and former member of Gutteridge Chambers, had been tempted into crime by kinky leanings on the part of the victim, causing him to entice Grimble and another street boy into his flat late on a Christmas Eve for who knows what fun and games, proved to be wide of the mark.  

A look at the distillation process of whisky and how to enjoy the perfect dram at the end of a long day in chambers.  

After a long and arduous working day we all appreciate some “self” time in which to relax, unwind and contemplate. Having a dram of a good single malt whisky must surely be one of the finer accompaniments to these moments. However, if the ‘wee dram’ is consumed too quickly and is not savoured, the full benefit of what we have in the glass will be missed.