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Language can sometimes be a problem but they get used to the swearing after a while  

 

Prob not heading south this winter, but will def try it out next time.

Yeah, more than easy it's to be expected. Unless you are booking out a 4 ball time for a group obv. I have been doing this quite a few times now just myself and also a Week with my brother in law and we were nearly always paired up into a full 4 ball. sometimes you are joining a 3 ball sometimes a pair and another random. Language can sometimes be a problem but they get used to the swearing after a while   Seriously though even when they haven't got much English which is rare I have enjoyed all the company of people I've met. Its generally a lot of retired couples predominantly from Northern Europe and met some really interesting people and often stopped after the round for a few beers together.

 played with a couple of English guys

Eck, is it easy to join up with ppl at these courses? Particularly when the course is busy.

I don't see the Govt (of every type) doing anything about gambling when it suits them.

Take the National Lottery, for example. Zero safeguards in relation to lottery tickets and scratch cards. Even changed the Law for several years to catch 16 year olds. Shops and Pubs have all sorts of rules top abide by-but pretty much none for scratch card gamblers.

For the vast majority of gamblers, drinkers etc, they are merely choosing to spend some of their own money for enjoyment. And, unless harm is being caused, it should be absolutely no-one else's business.

Here's a simple idea. Not perfect-but a start. Just monitor anyone spending more than £100 a month from a bank account on gambling

Hi enut.

Almost impossible to say the effect of this on crime figures, both in the short and longer-term.

In the short-term, there are clearly effects on certain types of crime. Low level theft and drug dealing are clearly 2 offences where delay causes massive problems. But it is the longer-term that frightens me. Many of the most serious crimes are the result of long-term escalation. A mass murderer may start by hurting animals at a young age. A wife murderer normally has a campaign of escalating abuse, with Police called multiple times.

Most of the Courts have already gone. When I started out in Law, I was (and still am) living in North East Essex. The 2 nearest Criminal Courts were Harwich and Colchester. The nearest Civil Courts were Clacton and Colchester. 3 of those 4 have shut, been sold, and the money not reinvested. The nearest Criminal Court is 20 miles away (Colchester Mags). The nearest Civil Court is Chelmsford-45 miles away. Nearest Crown Court also 45 miles away. No Employment Tribunal in Essex-good luck finding Bury St Edmunds. More Courts in Essex (and England) have shut in the last 40 years than are now open. Same goes for Police Stations.

People struggle to get to Court, particularly witnesses and jurors. Judges have no local knowledge. A friend told me that in Suffolk matters are so bad that Ipswich Crown Court are transferrig hundreds of cases to Cambridge. Delay rewards the Guilty and penalises the Innocent.

Whatever. When is the book coming out?

So glad you seem to be enjoying your Great Retirement Adventure. When is the Honeymoon trip report coming  

Hopefully, I will catch up with you at DTD soon.

Hi Alan,

Hope you are keeping well. How's your lad?

When is the book coming out? Ha. A sort of "private" version, 100 copies or whatever, just for friends & acquaintances might just happen. A good pal is going to help me with editing it etc, so you never know. It seems a bit pretentious, writing an autobio, but some truly extraordinary things have happened to me, they really have. "WAL" in every sense. I might have to have it published posthumously though, there's a difficult blend between honesty & upsetting some folks, but it won't matter (to me) if I've moved on.  

Maybe see you at DTD soon. I see Direwolf ""Guy" there frequently.

And I bumped into this young lady at Resorts World Birmingham last night....

Sorry just catching up after starting cataract removal, my upgrade continues! I couldn't read anything until I made all the txt bigger and then couldn't read the instructions. Isn't middle age wonderful.

Great to see Alan is still here and that Brommers is still looking as fab as ever.

To be honest if they stopped online gambling completely I think it would be a good thing overall, yes I enjoy my poker but I'd give that up in a minute if it resulted in less people getting dragged into the pitfalls of bingo. slots, blackjack etc. Of course as a Government they don't want that, they just want a bigger tax take from it.

Interesting topic Phil, I also wonder what effect these delays are having on the crime figures, of course there wouldn't be any crime at all if they shut all the courts would there? Now that's an idea.

Good Ebening Ralph!

As you might recall I've always had a soft spot for Arsenal but that is exceded by my love for Unai Emery. Let's face it his goal celebration is the best.

It will be a shared love on Saturday at the Etihad where the concourses will be crowded watching the 2nd half at Villa Park. Amazing to think that if Villa win they are only 3 points behind Arsenal. City have a small interest as well of course and a tight title race is best for the league

I don't really like this, but it is more important to get things moving.  The whole justice system has fallen apart and people need quicker justice.  I would hope this would be one of many measures to resolve this, as on its own it won't make much difference.

I know that juries and judges may come to different conclusions, but neither is going to guarantee that no innocent people will go to prison, or no guilty people will be set free.  I suspect judges will make safer verdicts, but still think we should have the option of a jury in the future, so think this
should only be a temporary measure. 

Hope they find a package that works.