The Compassionate Society

[liadnan]

I love my parents dearly, but I often wish ringing them wasn't bound to involve me in half an hour on the latest twists and turns of village politics and gossip and their arguments with the neighbours over the boundary hedge.

Fortunately I was able to make my excuses in time for Yes Minister. So much tv, and comedy in particular, dates so quickly, in terms both of the humour and of production values, that I find it amazing to watch this, more than 20 years after its first broadcast, and find it still fresh. Episodes like this evening's, The Compassionate Society would be sharp satire if made today...

Winders tomorrow. I can't remember if I've written about the Winders court here before: for those who don't know, it sits every other Wednesday* morning, and hears petitions to wind up a company on the ground it is unable to pay its debts. A typical list contains a few hundred petitions (here is tomorrow's list), which obviously amounts to a great deal of work for everyone to get through. As a result, things move fast: some years ago there was a competition among junior chancery barristers to see who could come up with the fewest words required to achieve the result they wanted (we now seem to be down to "Sir, if the papers are in order I ask for the usual compulsory order" or even "Sir could I have the usual compulsory order", which is cutting it rather fine. As I've said before, as a profession we need to get out more). Obviously, a fair amount of work goes into checking that the papers are indeed in order before the hearing, and trying to come up with some kind of strategy if they are not.

The list is heard in open court, and still almost exclusively looked after by barristers of none to a few years experience, and from a fairly small group of Chambers, all of us in wig and gown. One consequence is that to a large extent we all know one another, and the Registrars who hear the list know us. However, company directors sometimes appear, and generally, quite reasonably, don't really have a clue about the practicalities of how the list works. Come to think of it, one should really regard with a certain amount of suspicion a company director who had a high degree of familiarity with the procedures of the Winders Court. I wasn't there the other week which is a shame, for I am told by my grate frend S that upon hearing a company director interject from the back of the court, Mr Reg. N looks for the speaker. "Could you stand up." "Muttermutter" from back of court. Slightly more irritated Mr Reg. "I said, stand up." Nothing from the back. "Will you STAND UP PLEASE."
Very small Indian voice.
"Please my Lord. I am standing up. I am very small."

Court collapses.

Our mutual acquaintance G (who once told S at Bar School that "perhaps they shouldn't go out any more" to which S was just about able to avoid vocalising "I hadn't realised we were going out") then had a fit of the stutters, which is about the worst thing that can happen to a barrister performing in front of a court packed with their peers. Poor dear.

*Legend has it that during the last big recession it sat every Wednesday for a while, and often well into the afternoon.

Comments

Re: An anecdote

[liadnan]

I think someone should set up a coffeeshop staffed entirely by moonlighting barristers.

Well, I'd find it funny.