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mandragoraYesterday was not a good day.
It's not that I'm totally unsympathetic to the firefighters' demand for more money. But. Dammit, why when they go on strike does that result in the total shut down of the Piccadilly Line? Not to mention a greatly reduced service on the other tube lines.
I'm lucky, I can get a train into The City, and pick up the tube from there to my ultimate destination. Felt sorry for the poor sods further down the line, though, who had zero chance in actually getting onto the incredibly overcrowded train and were left standing bleakly on the rain-swept platform.
Yesterday, I had to get to court, as the trial I've been involved in recently was continuing. Arrived just in time to attend court when the trial actually resumed, courtesy of the firefighters' strike, instead of the pre-arranged earlier time to discuss matters with the client. Sigh.
As a litigator I'm used to trials, of course, but from a civil POV so I'm on a learning curve vis a vis criminal law. Emotions can run high. They certainly did yesterday. The trial concluded and the jury pronounced their verdict.
Guilty.
Seconds later, there were sounds of a disturbance from the dock where the Defendant, our client, was standing. The guard in the dock hit the panic button and sirens blared as several other guards piled into court and the police officer in court, who was the lead officer in the case, also leapt into the dock.
The Defendant was trying to strangle himself with his own tie.
Above him, in the public gallery, his mother and girlfriend screamed in horror and anguish.
The judge cleared the jury from the court room, as the guards mananged to subdue the Defendant, even as he cried out that he was innocent. Later, when we visited him in the cells he was still distressed but had calmed down somewhat. He's now on suicide watch.
Double sigh.
Wearily, I made my way back home, hampered by the fact that I couldn't take the straightforward route as the Piccadilly Line was up the creek. When I finally got home I discovered that I'd inadvertently managed to tape over my copy of the dS episode 'Victoria's Secret'. Trivial, admittedly, but still. Bugger.
Then checked my email and discovered that a close friend had had some very bad news concerning the loss of a contract that will seriously impact on her financially.
Wrote a LJ journal re all of the above and LJ ate it. Was too knackered to compose another entry last night, so left it until today.
Triple sigh.
Crappy day all round.
It's not that I'm totally unsympathetic to the firefighters' demand for more money. But. Dammit, why when they go on strike does that result in the total shut down of the Piccadilly Line? Not to mention a greatly reduced service on the other tube lines.
I'm lucky, I can get a train into The City, and pick up the tube from there to my ultimate destination. Felt sorry for the poor sods further down the line, though, who had zero chance in actually getting onto the incredibly overcrowded train and were left standing bleakly on the rain-swept platform.
Yesterday, I had to get to court, as the trial I've been involved in recently was continuing. Arrived just in time to attend court when the trial actually resumed, courtesy of the firefighters' strike, instead of the pre-arranged earlier time to discuss matters with the client. Sigh.
As a litigator I'm used to trials, of course, but from a civil POV so I'm on a learning curve vis a vis criminal law. Emotions can run high. They certainly did yesterday. The trial concluded and the jury pronounced their verdict.
Guilty.
Seconds later, there were sounds of a disturbance from the dock where the Defendant, our client, was standing. The guard in the dock hit the panic button and sirens blared as several other guards piled into court and the police officer in court, who was the lead officer in the case, also leapt into the dock.
The Defendant was trying to strangle himself with his own tie.
Above him, in the public gallery, his mother and girlfriend screamed in horror and anguish.
The judge cleared the jury from the court room, as the guards mananged to subdue the Defendant, even as he cried out that he was innocent. Later, when we visited him in the cells he was still distressed but had calmed down somewhat. He's now on suicide watch.
Double sigh.
Wearily, I made my way back home, hampered by the fact that I couldn't take the straightforward route as the Piccadilly Line was up the creek. When I finally got home I discovered that I'd inadvertently managed to tape over my copy of the dS episode 'Victoria's Secret'. Trivial, admittedly, but still. Bugger.
Then checked my email and discovered that a close friend had had some very bad news concerning the loss of a contract that will seriously impact on her financially.
Wrote a LJ journal re all of the above and LJ ate it. Was too knackered to compose another entry last night, so left it until today.
Triple sigh.
Crappy day all round.
