People
Evil person
Tomas de Torquemada
Born in Spain in 1420, his name is synonymous with the Christian Inquisition's horror, religious bigotry, and cruel fanaticism. He was a fan of various forms of torture including foot roasting, use of the garrucha, and suffocation. He was made Grand Inquisitor by Pope Sixtus IV. Popes and kings alike praised his tireless efforts. The number of burnings at the stake during Torquemada's tenure has been estimated at about 2,000. Torquemada's hatred of Jews influenced Ferdinand and Isabella to expel all Jews who had not embraced Christianity.
Just to cheers us up
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RCJ Today
We skipped the light fandango
turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
but the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
as the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
the waiter brought a tray
And so it was that later
as the miller told his tale
that her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, 'There is no reason
and the truth is plain to see.'
But I wandered through my playing cards
and would not let her be
one of sixteen vestal virgins
who were leaving for the coast
and although my eyes were open
they might have just as well've been closed
She said, 'I'm home on shore leave,'
though in truth we were at sea
so I took her by the looking glass
and forced her to agree
saying, 'You must be the mermaid
who took Neptune for a ride.'
But she smiled at me so sadly
that my anger straightway died
If music be the food of love
then laughter is its queen
and likewise if behind is in front
then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
and attacked the ocean bed
Decision day at the RCJ
Whiter Shade of Pale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Whiter Shade Of Pale is a song released in 1967 by the band Procol Harum. With its haunting tonality and Bach flavouring, both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher, vocals by Gary Brooker, and mysterious lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 on the British charts, was a hit in Europe, and reached #5 in the United States. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic, and has earned extensive critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine placed "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" as #57 of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. British TV station Channel 4 also placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.
Brooker and Reid have disclaimed any intention of ever explaining or assigning additional meaning to the lyrics.
In 2005, Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that Fisher co-wrote the music for the song. Fisher, now a computer programmer in Croydon, South London, is claiming a £1 million share of copyright and past sales and put his argument before a High Court judge in London in November 2006. Brooker insisted that the 1967 song was written before Fisher joined the band
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Rumpole
Took this today on Fleet Street love the image and reflections...
Rumpole loves the courtroom. Despite attempts by his friends and family to get him to move on to a more respectable position for his age, such as a QC or a Circuit Judge, he only enjoys the simple pleasure of defending his clients at The Old Bailey, London's criminal court. A devotee of Arthur Quiller-Couch's Oxford Book of English Verse, he often quotes Wordsworth and secretly calls his wife Hilda "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (SWMBO), a reference to the novel She by H. Rider Haggard.
His skill at defending his clients is legendary among the criminal classes. The Timson clan of "minor villains" (primarily thieves) regularly rely on Rumpole to get them out of their latest bit of trouble with the law. Rumpole is proud of his successful handling of the Penge bungalow murders without a leader (that is, without a QC) early in his career and of his extensive knowledge of bloodstains and typewriters. Cross-examination is one of his favorite activities and he disdains barristers who lack either the skill or courage to ask the right questions. His courtroom zeal gets him into trouble from time to time. More than once, his investigations reveal more than his client wants him to know. Rumpole's most chancy encounters stem from arguing with judges, particularly those who seem to believe that being on trial implies guilt or that the police are infallible.
Rumpole also loves unhealthy habits. Despite attempts by his friends and family to better his health, he enjoys small cigars, cheap claret, and greasy food. He frequents Pommeroy's, a local tavern at which he contributes regularly to an ever-increasing bar tab by purchasing glasses of the local wine, which he dubs "Pommeroy's Plonk", "Pommeroy's Very Ordinary", "Chateau Thames Embankment", and "Chateau Fleet Street". His cigar smoking is often the subject of debate within his chambers. His peers sometimes criticise his attire, noting his old hat, imperfectly aligned clothes, cigar ash trailing down his waistcoat and faded barrister's wig, "bought second hand from a former Chief Justice of Tonga" (or the Windward Islands—Rumpole is occasionally an unreliable narrator).
Despite his affection for the criminal classes, Rumpole's character is marked by a firm set of ethics. Rumpole's motto is "never plead guilty", and he refuses to prosecute in court (there was one exception, but he proved that the defendant was innocent and then reaffirmed, "from now on, Rumpole only defends"
. This belief also prevents him from making deals that involve pleading guilty to lesser charges. He is a staunch believer in the presumption of innocence, the "Golden Thread of British Justice". The stories combine humour, mystery, and drama.
Apart from the legal drama, Rumpole also has to deal with his relationships with family and friends. His wife Hilda was proud of her daddy (as she calls him), C.H. Wystan, who was Rumpole's head of chambers, and pushes for Rumpole to achieve more: head of chambers, QC, judge. Rumpole unintentionally raises tensions with his American daughter-in-law because of their differing views. (Once again his ardour gets him into trouble as his daughter-in-law disapproved of him cross-examining a rape "victim" whom he believed to be lying.) His associates' dynamic social positions contrast with his relatively static one, which causes feelings between him and the others to shift over time.
Have a good day!
SM
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Love this....................
A year of Sunsets
The best thing on FLickr at the moment- the wonderfully named Mr Bumgarden
http://www.flickr.com/photos/krazydad/292081922/
Flickr has a lot of sunset photographs. Too many, some would say.
To build this graph I collected just a few of them, by searching for photos that have been tagged “Sunset”.
I collected only 100 photos from the hundreds posted each day of the preceding 365 days, so that the photos are evenly distributed across the past year. There are over 35,000 photos shown in the graph.
I positioned each photo horizontally according to the day it was taken, and vertically according to the hour it was taken.
By making each photo translucent, I created a “hot spot” which shows when the most photos were taken, each day of the past year.
The bright band shows the approximate time of sunset for each day. You can see that as the year progresses, the time of the sunset changes.
The deepest dip in the band corresponds to the summer solstice (about June 22), and the highest part of the band corresponds to the winter solstice (about December 22).
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Ladies!
Whether it be taking afternoon tea together, or visiting the ballet, Emily and Florence are just two ladies going about their ladylike business, like any other normal ladies. 
True, Emily used to play left back for QPR, and Florence has a moustache, but make no mistake, these are real ladies, and definitely not a couple of rubbish transvestites. Merci beaucoup
At Bow-street, ERNEST BOULTON, 22, residing at 23, Shirland-road, FREDERICK WILLIAM PARK, 23, of 13, Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, law student, both of whom were in female costume, and HUGH ALEXANDER MUNDELL, 23, of 158, Buckingham Palace-road, were brought before Mr. Thomas, charged with frequenting the Strand Theatre with intent to commit felony. The prisoners Boulton and Park were defended by Mr. Abrams.
When placed in the dock Boulton wore a cherry-coloured evening silk dress trimmed with white lace; his arms were bare, and he had on bracelets. He wore a wig and plaited chignon. Park's costume consisted of a dark green satin dress, low necked and trimmed with black lace, of which material he also had a shawl round his shoulders. His hair was flaxen and in curls. He had on a pair of white kid gloves.
Mr. Superintendent Thomson, of the E Division was called, and stated that at half-past 10 o'clock on Thursday evening, he went to the Strand Theatre and saw the prisoners in a private box, Boulton and Park being in female costume. He noticed their conduct and saw one of them repeatedly smile and nod to gentlemen in the stalls. When they left the theatre all three prisoners got into a cab. They were then accosted and taken to Bow-street Police-station.
Serjeant Kerley, detective, E Division, corroborated what had been stated, and added that while he was in the cab with the prisoners on their way to the station, Boulton and Park begged of him to let them go, as it could do him no good to take them to the station. If he would listen to them, he should have any sum he required. They never said anything about "having a lark".
For the defence Mr. Abrams argued that the charge of felony was not made out, and that prisoners were only guilty of a "lark." Mr. Flowers said they had indulged in the so-called lark for a very long time. The question was, were the prisoners without any other and more serious purpose? Did they entice gentlemen to their apartments to extort money from them? Mr. Abrams said he thought not.
The Times, April 30, 1870
Emily and Florence play mixed doubles
Emily: Florence, do as I do and watch how they don't suspect a thing. (Calling out) Ready, gentlemen!
Tennis player: Well, have you got any balls?
Emily: Oh no, we are ladies.
Tennis player: Tennis balls...
Emily: Oh sorry, silly me, I thought you meant b****cks.
SM
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