Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Day 3

I was sent to the High Court Costs Office to sit in with the Costs Master yesterday morning. Costs Masters, as the name suggests, are specialist judges who preside over costs hearings - i.e. Registrars who do nothing but taxation, day in, day out (and they look normal!) Anyhow, 2 barristers came in and argued over a bill for 40,000 quid yesterday morning. I wonder if it makes much sense. But this is probably one of those cases where the lawyers fight over everything. In the afternoon, I sat in with one of the Deputy Masters (the Deputies are part-timers) for what was essentially an afternoon of phone PTCs. The courts here seem to use a lot of 3-way phone calls for case management, I guess it makes practical sense given that the lawyers are calling in from all over the UK, or even elsewhere.

After work, Denise and I walked all around Leicester and Trafalgar Squares, taking in the sights and sounds and complaining about there being too many tourists.


(look at the sky! it's so clear and blue!)


(wanted to go the National Gallery before dinner but it was closing. grr)

After a pretty disappointing dinner at Chinatown, we wound up at Covent Garden for a drink.



We had one drink each. Really. Only one.

*glug glug glug*


*hee hee hee*



After our only one drink, off we went to the Noel Coward Theatre to watch Avenue Q!!! It was great! Probably the cheapest musical to produce; all puppets, hardly any cast. It's amazing how many people will pay to watch a bunch of soft toys cracking dirty jokes on stage.
(Kenneth - the Avenue Q paraphernalia wasn't very nice, only fridge magnets and buttons. No cap, but there's a ski hat. Do you want it?)

Anyway, here are some more pictures of our hotel -


(views of back garden)



(drawing room)



Still can't find the cat to take a picture of him.

Weather: Getting cooler. Lovely day.