What will be the fate of foul-mouthed Judge Beatrice Bolton?

Judge Bolton (chewing a wasp?)

The  two-day trial  of Beatrice Bolton, 57, during which she was told to stop chewing gum, ended yesterday in her conviction for allowing her pet Alsatian dog to bite a neighbour.

Rather than accepting the judgement of the court system which pays her £138,000 per year salary, Judge Bolton stormed from the room, proclaiming the verdict a ‘fucking travesty’.

She was heard loudly protesting the decision outside the room, declaring that she would ‘never set foot in a courtroom again’.  

Bolton’s barrister, Ben Nolan QC, offered an apology to the court on behalf of his client, but the Bench insisted that she said sorry in person.  She then muttered, ‘I apologise’.

She pleaded successfully for time to pay her fine, saying that she did not have the  £2500 penalty, plus £275 compensation and £930 court costs.   She said later that she has been told she has grounds for appeal, but it is not clear whether she will fight the conviction.

Not surprisingly, the outburst has made headlines and is likely to be viewed in a dim light by a public already made cynical by the recent behaviour of several establishment figures.  The expenses scandal remains an open wound, and the recruitment of glamorous Russian interns into the Palace of Westminster has raised the collective eyebrow of the nation.

However, if we were hoping that the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor will make an example of Judge Beatrice Bolton, we’re likely to be disappointed.  Even if they do  punish her for bringing the judiciary into disrepute, we won't be told how.

As her employers, they are charged with the responsibility of reviewing Bolton’s behaviour in the courtroom, and fixing an appropriate penalty.

But the judiciary has already ensured that the damage to her will be minimalised:

 Last year a Freedom of Information Tribunal (headed by a judge) decided that some members of the judiciary who had been sacked or reprimanded for misconduct in court would suffer ‘great distress’ if details of their own misdemeanours were published.

The Tribunal, and the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, were concerned that the courts would be disrupted if the public were to know about errant judges’ behaviour.  They ruled that, unlike the criminals who pass through their courts, judges were entitled to a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’.

So, we will never know what measures were taken to admonish judges who, for example,

Fell asleep in court during a rape trial

Looked at pornography on their official computers

Were convicted of drink-driving offences

As the Tribunal ruled that knowledge of such behaviour would disrupt the judges’ future cases, it seems fair to assume that many of them will still be working, and deciding the fate of others who have done similar things.

Beatrice Bolton said, after her outburst, ‘I above all else would never disrespect a court’.

Apart from the fact that she had, moments earlier, done exactly that, it now seems as if the judiciary agrees with her on one thing – along with her fellow judges, she does seem to be above all else. 

Employer Making Judgements about your Home Life- don't be a victim

The Equality Act 2010 comes into effect today. 

If someone important in your life falls into a 'protected' category, you might want to know how the new law could have a positive impact on you at work.

Did anyone catch the Shipping Forecast?

Bewildered Archers listeners comment on the warm but incomprehensible tones of continuity announcer Neil Nunes.   Neil has been a controversial member of the Radio 4 team since 2006.  The Archers has been continuously broadcast since 1951, and posters on its BBC discussion boards are amongst the wittiest, most ascerbic and learned forum contributors on the internet.

·         Nunes is sounding increasingly breathless during his extraordinary introductions. I think he may have to climb a few flights of stairs to reach his mic.

·         Nunes is sounding increasingly like a bad comic creation from a past era of humour. His intonation is actually getting worse over time. It seems his tic of putting the stress on the wrong word and pausing in the middle of words has become the normal rather than an occasional flaw. Last night's intro to the 6.30 comedy was most perplexing.

·         Because of Nunes I had to buy a sea areas tea towel to go with the shipping forecast

·         I don't mind the aspirants, which are simply an accent thing; it's the stumbling over words, bizarre pauses, mispronunciations and inappropriate stresses which get me. I think Nunes must have gone to the same voice coach as Robert Peston.
'Ö'  

·         Nunes was doing the shi-hipping br-hoadcast the h-other ni-hight. H-it ta-hakes him tw-hice has l-hong has hanyohne helse.
Mainly because h-of th-he hin-crea-hising haspir-hations. I give you Sh-het-la-hand.

·         Are you sure that hhaspirhations are part of the Carib haccent?
I didn't notice it when I was in Jamaica and my son-in-law do-hosent sp-heak like that.
I took them to be part of his pro-hoblem.

·         That must be it - or the elocution establishment that churns out weather presenters.

She-het la-hand is quite an accomplishment. Are you sure it wasn't She-het la-hand-a, though?

·         Must be the Michael Foot School of Incorrect Emphasis

·         I wasn't sure which of the announcers Mr Nunes is, but I have worked it out from your descriptions - wonderful!
When I hear him do the shipping forecast it sounds like a growly bear has eaten the real presenter and grabbed the microphone and is just about to scoff that, too. The way he says 'squally showers' (squaarlie shuuuuzzzzz) is brilliant!

·         Being on board ship tuning in when Nunes is at the mic can be no bluddy fun at all.

·         I think of fearful faces under sou'westers turning back to port. I heart it when he does the shipping forecast. Makes me feel very safe all tucked up and with my illustrated book of chorus girls

·         Fearful faeces just about sums it up

• Nunes ritually butchers the bluddy shipping forecast. I am constantly amazed that there has not been a sand bank named after him for the number of ships run aground because of his truly appalling renditions.
• Ah, the mystery of HMS Astute is revealed in all its Nunsian glory.
  If that doesn't get him the sack nothing will.
• I suppose the Sound of Nunes could separate Skye from the mainland and myself from reason

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbarchers/

Five Statements Fraudsters Always Make Under Questioning

 “It never happened!”

The investigator will usually begin the discussion by describing a criminal incident which has been troubling him.    The subject’s default position will always be that the incident, whatever it might have been, is entirely untrue.   

That money never went to/from that bank account;  the victim was mistaken in her assertion that someone had visited her home in the middle of the night and demanded she sign certain papers;  the documents in question never existed; no-one had ever stabbed anyone with a hypodermic syringe.   

There will be much head-shaking and arm-folding at the sheer preposterousness of it all.

Are you safe to be let out? - your chances of becoming a victim

If you view yourself  as tough, confident and a bit useful in an argument, check the  mirror, and you might find you've got the word 'victim' written across your forehead in dayglo marker pen.

But maybe you’re easily sunburned, a bit of a couch potato, elderly or don’t see your friends as often as you like?

Then as well as inheriting the Earth, you’re much more likely to live your life unmolested by burglars, pickpockets and assassins.

Yes, the more vulnerable you think you are, the less likely you are to end up as a crime statistic.

Filthy Water Cannot be Washed

A sleepy staff member, wearing the most welcoming smile she could manage, let Karl and his social worker into the hall. The adults exchanged whispered greetings, and Karl was led into a vast and striplit kitchen where he was given milk and biscuits. Files were handed over in the next room. The social worker’s face appeared in the kitchen doorway, wishing Karl a cheerful but noiseless goodnight. The house mother quickly reappeared with stiff pyjamas which smelled of boiling water, and together she and Karl crept upstairs.

Insurance Scams for Beginners- (i) My Little Hospital

The Prestige Hospital, Victoria Island, Lagos

Congratulations on choosing a risk-free, victimless route to earn fast money.



Inventing Your very own hospital is a foolproof way to profit from insurance companies. By following these four simple stages, you ‘ll become rich in just a few short steps


1. find a friend with private medical insurance


2. send him/her a bill from your made-up hospital


3. wait for the money to arrive from the insurer, and share it with your friend


4. repeat steps 1-3 as necessary

.
Along the way, look forward to gathering important contacts and admirers Some of the executives you’ll impress are loss adjusters, investigators and claims assessors. And all you need to do is pay attention to the advice. Here’s how to prepare