Birthday princess

I haven't been up to London to visit the Queen but I have been to see our very own Princess Amelia for her third birthday:

The Disney dress was very much appreciated

Not quite used to wearing a crown yet.

Birthday lunch with bambino-cino

But Ben prefers cucumber

Look, I'm a penguin

Party picnic with cousin Charlotte

Thye best way to party is to ignore your guests!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seven days later it is Ben's first birthday. What a bore!

We can have fun together at the park now

 

Benjamin thinks he can scramble up the net now that he is 1

 

 

 We had a fun-packed birthday visit with parties, trips to the Cotswold Wildlife Park and the local park and countless other activities. Everyone was exhausted except the children!

Ignorance of the law

While criminals cannot plead ignorance of the law as a defence, I wonder what the position of their lawyers is? Here are some snippets from a book available in US but not here in UK,Disorder in the Court: Great Fractured Moments in Courtroom History, sent to my brother by a Greek friend currently visiting Australia. I am sure the appeal is equally universal.


ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

I hope these have cheered you a little amid all the gloomy and troubling news.

A short interlude

I will be away for a while, celebrating the birthdays of two of the grandchildren: Amelia (Millie) will be 3 and Benjamin will be 1. I'm expecting a lot of fun but not much rest.  Back soon.

 

A trip into the past

Since retiring, the days and even months seem to slip by without my taking any particular note of them. Random Distractions' fifth birthday passed last month without any fanfare but today I had a reminder of some of those early days of blogging when someone kindly left a comment on this post from 2008. I am afraid I was singing the praises of my son on that occasion, too!

Looking back at the topics I used to write about, the blogs I followed and the friends I made then, has been really interesting. Some of the people I got to know continue to be friends -  D of 60goingon16 has become a close personal friend, while others remain in their 'virtual' state but are treasured nonetheless.

Random Distractions has changed more than I expected, though. I used to write far more about books and current affairs. Life has disrupted my reading time, so I rarely review books now; the birth of three grandchildren has led me into knitting and sewing and granny boasting on a scale I never imagined to be possible; and a few unpleasant disagreements led me to avoid writing on controversial subjects. The newly retired professional woman turned into a domestic grandmother!

Spring is definitely in the air now so perhaps it is time to dust the cobwebs out of the old brain. I'll let you know how that is going after my trip to Oxfordshire later this week to celebrate two grandchildren's birthdays. You see what I mean..........!

Spring in the air

Mother's Pride

This isn't actually another post about bread - I'll save that for tomorrow. It's a bit of the real stuff. I know that boasting is not a pretty trait but what mother would not want to crow, just a teeny bit, when her son's profile is featured on the prestigious normblog?

The son is mine,  the rest is all his own. Congratulations, Brit!

Women's World Day of Prayer

Today, the first Friday in March, all over the world women will gather to share prayer, information and action. Each year, women from one country prepare the service to be used and this year it is the turn of the women of Chile, who have chosen  bread as their focus in How many loaves have you?

Women from all of our local churches will be joining together this afternoon and I have been busy baking the bread that will be shared. Although it is the Women's World Day of Prayer, the congregation will, we hope, be mixed.

It is really good to think that this world consciousness of the people of Chile began this morning at dawn in Tonga and will go on through 170 countries until it ends 35 hours later in Western Samoa. The idea of the women of the world uniting in this way is really thrilling. I hope you can join us.

Just forget it!

Does anyone remember this ad from 1961?


I am seriously considering forgetting about washday despite all my previous posts about washing lines. Today we got our water bill for the next 12 months and it is a staggering 1,080GBP or 1,762USD or 1,271euros. However I say it, it sounds a lot!

Here in the South West of England we have the highest water rates in Britain. They (South West Water) blame it on the holiday makers and the beaches. I blame it on the greedy directors. I think this year we will be mostly smelling.......

Dabbler giveaway

My son brought some Bath Ales for us to sample at Christmas and very delicious they were, my favourite being Gem. Pop over to The Dabbler now for your chance to win a case. Even if you don't win, you will receive some recipes.  Watch this space for the results of my culinary efforts.