Welcome

Well I am glad as I am sure most of you are to get January out of the way. It always seems to be one of those months that you endure rather than enjoy. Although it is only the start of February and it is freezing outside it somehow seems better because it is still light until early evening.Of course my dog does not care whether it is snowing a blizzard. He is still happy to go out!! I have not managed to do much in the garden because it has been so wet but there are signs of life out there and hopefully with a few dry days I will be able to start making inroads into the wilderness that was a garden.We have had a few trees down which means my husband will be kept happy for a while chopping them up. I always seem to get the dirty jobs in the garden whilst he gets the ones which involve using the various tools!! I have also started riding again but I need to build my confidence up. Luckily I have a few very kind friends who say I can ride their horses anytime I want so I can get back into it before I take the plunge of buying another horse.I do keep looking though but have decided to wait a little while. Janet

Hello everyone and a Happy New Year.I do hope that anyone reading this had a lovely time at Christmas and the dismal weather this month has not wiped it all out. We had a quiet but very nice time. We did not go away as usual because we had just got our new dog and did not think it was fair to leave him after such a short time. We spent most of the time going for long walks whatever the weather and that remains the case now. I must say I do think that there is a hint of light at 6.00am but it might just be that I have got used to seeing in the dark! It certainly does not bother my dog who wants to go out no matter what the weather which means I have to get wet as well.I bought him a flashing collar yesterday to help me see him but he does not usually go too far from me anyway. The new year has brought a desire to make some changes to the house. I suspect a lot of people feel the same. We have had the bathroom in a state of disrepair for 6 months now whilst we decided what we were goign to do. The decision has now been made and we await the dreaded costing for it!!It should not be too bad as we are keeping the cast iron bath which takes up most of the room anyway. Although it is now after 8.00am it is still pretty gloomy out there but as ever the eternal optomist spring is just round the corner! Janet

I know in my last blog I said that I would update them regularly but time seems once again to have run away from me. It is going to have to be one of my New Year resolutions although they are usually thin on the ground due to the fact I see no point in saying you will do something that you know you will not!! There have ben a few changes at home in that my greyhounds had to be returned for rehoming as we found they were not as cat friendly as we were told. They managed to get hold of one of the cats even though they were on a lead. They dragged her out of the bushes. Luckily I was not on my home and my husband saved her. We had a very worrying few hours when we could not find her and thought she had crawled somewhere to die.Luckily after a visit to the vet she was declared ok but was still quite traumatised. it did however make us realise that we would always be treading a difficult line if we kept the dogs and so with much heartache we had to say goodbye. However the good news is that we have adopted a yellow labrador who is nearly 2. He is adorable and such good company. He is very well behaved and when I am in the office he comes with me so he is not left on his own. He has become quite the office pet and there are no shortage of dog walkers at lunchtime. Most of the time he sleeps though which means we can get on with our work. He has not yet seen client's with me . I am aware that not everyone feels the same about our four legged friends so he stays upstairs for now.However if his presence is requested then he will no doubt come down and show off. Well still got work to do and some christmas shopping.I hope you all have a lovely time and come back in the New Year refreshed and able to take whatever life throws at you. Janet

it has been a long time since I added to my blog and I do appologise but work and holidays seem to have got in the way. Autumn is very definitely here this morning. it was raining and misty at 6.00am as i walked the dogs. I do not think that they were very keen even with their coats on but I told them it would do them good!!It certainly woke me up!!! Most of the weekend was spent in the garden.It took me all yesterday afternoon to cut the lawn partly becasue it has been left for a while but also because it was quite wet in places. My arms really ache this morning but I am sure it will soon wear off. I just hope I have not overdone it so far as my bad shoulder is concerned.It is a lot better but it will be a long time before i have full mobility in it. There was a conference last week in Sheffield on the issue of domestic abuse towards men.It is stated that it is as prevalent as abuse against women but fewer men actually report it and as men are traditionally seen as being stronger physically than women it is not seen in the same light. However domestic abuse can take many forms. It is not just physical but it can be verbal or indeed financial. No one should have to put up with any abuse whatever the nature of it and if you or anyone you know are suffering then you can get protection from it.Injunctions can be obtained very quickly when necessary, sometimes without the perpetrator knowing, if it is serious enough.If you want some advice in confidence then please ring me. Janet

I have decided that to try and do a blog every day is impossible. I arrive at the office with all good intentions but something crops up and I do not get round to it. You will have noticed if you have been reading the blog that I missed all of last week .I was only in the office two days so I do have a little bit of an excuse but I think it might be better just to do it once a week. The bank holiday weekend was great because it stayed fine so I was able to get a lot done in the garden. However I am suffering now and can hardly stand up straight!!!I also kept myself fit by running with the dogs- they wre on leads as I would never keep up otherwise but the real reason for it was because my friends horse would not trot if I did not go in front!!I think sometimes work is the easier option!! I am finding that more and more clients's are interested in resolving issues through the Collaborative Law process as they feel that they remain in control and make the decisions themselves rather than have something imposed upon them. Every decision is made in 4 way meetings so that everyone involved knows what is happening as it happens. There does have to be a lot of trust and honesty between the parties but as all the solicitors who are trained are very experienced we can soon see if that is no the case and call a halt to the process.if you do know of anyone who is separating or thinking of doing so then you might want to suggest the Collaborative Law route and suggest that they and their spouse or partner each see separate Collaborative lawyers. I am always happy to send a copy of the lsit of local collaborative lawyers to anyone that enquires. Janet

Sorry for missing yesterday. Somehow the day just ran away with itself and today seems much the same.Had another breakfast meeting this morning so it was another 5am start. I am going out this evening as well so that is going to be difficult. However I have a quiet weekend so can hopefully catch up on my sleep. I was listening to the news this morning and there was much discussion about the proposal by the Tories to abolish Inheritance Tax. Apparently about 40% of homes are now over the threshold for the tax which means that more estates will fall into it.If anyone is woriied about this then there are ways of minimising the impact but you do need specialist advice. My colleague Martin Sissons can help with that. Janet

I definitely did a blog yesterday but it seems to have got lost in the ether like many of the others. I am late today because of my breakfast meeting. Not a lot to report as the weather is hindering me doing very much. I am still trying to decide whether to join a fitness club or not. The problem is there isn't one near where I live so I cannot just "pop" out to one.It will be a major trek so i really have to decide if I want to make the time avialable to make it worthwhile. At the moment in between seeing clients and dealing with their work I am looking at preparing information leaflets and a small booklet about getting divorced and the things that need to be considered. I am trying to do it in plain english but as a lawyer that is difficult. I will let you know how I go on but if anyone wants any literature then let me know. Janet