Angel Jem's City Cottage

Have you signed the petition against small claims changes? Go and do that... and then write to your MP. Here's an example of what to write: Dear ………………………. MP, On the 17th November the government announced its plans to prevent people who are injured through no fault of their own from having free access to an independent lawyer by increasing the small claims limit from its current £1,000 to potentially £5,000. Innocent injury victims will be forced to fight insurance giants on  their own to get compensation for their injuries. The insurers talk about whiplash and fraud being behind the need for these changes. However, the statistics show that whiplash claims are falling and fraud (even on the insurers’ figures) affects less than 4% of all claims. Yet, these changes will impact on every motorist and minor injury PI claimant. That cannot be fair. Increasing the small claims limit will place justice beyond the reach of thousands of people and just make more money for insurers ...

Have you signed the petition against small claims changes? Go and do that... and then write to your MP. Here's an example of what to write: Dear ………………………. MP, On the 17th November the government announced its plans to prevent people who are injured through no fault of their own from having free access to an independent lawyer by increasing the small claims limit from its current £1,000 to potentially £5,000. Innocent injury victims will be forced to fight insurance giants on  their own to get compensation for their injuries. The insurers talk about whiplash and fraud being behind the need for these changes. However, the statistics show that whiplash claims are falling and fraud (even on the insurers’ figures) affects less than 4% of all claims. Yet, these changes will impact on every motorist and minor injury PI claimant. That cannot be fair. Increasing the small claims limit will place justice beyond the reach of thousands of people and just make more money for insurers w...

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/action-against-raising-the-small-claims-limit-to-ps5000 Nothing pretty, nothing fancy just a need to get people involved in asking the government for justice and access to legal help when they need it most.

It's difficult sometimes to whip up support for Lawyers; "They're a well-paid bunch of people who are just out for themselves" is a common viewpoint. But I'd like to speak up for a whole section of lawyers who actually aren't just out for themselves. Unlike commercial lawyers, who can charge what they like, or libel lawyers whose clients are the rich and fabulously rich, most personal injury lawyers are working for people who, through no fault of their own, have suffered injury at home, at work or on the street. They work for the ordinary person whose accident at work has left their hand out of action for a month, six months or a year and stopped them living a completely ordinary life. They're working for the little old lady who fell over a badly-placed paving slab and whose leg injury kept her in the house and in need of care that she had always said no to before. They could be working for your son or daughter whose car got side sw...

Last Saturday (Saturday last, to be formal) I attended the Lord Mayor's Parade. Don't get excited. I wasn't like a formal guest or anything, it was just that Peter had his course for becoming a Notary Public on in London and I was going with him to share the driving and freeload, and it was on. I've watched the Lord Mayor's Parade on TV since I was little. It used to be one of my favourite moments of the year, a little like Children In Need it was a signpost that Christmas was coming because... duh.. November leads to December. So it has always had positive associations for me. I didn't look to see if it was on TV this year. It always used to be, cutting Swap Shop or Saturday Morning Superstore short, and cutting to endless shots of drizzling weather and crowds who waved flags and shouted (posh Londoners) Huzzah! And the parade of floats and bands and people walking along. I love pageantry and pomp and circumstance, so when I knew it was on the Saturd...

Bet you never thought I'd make it this week and on a Wednesday? True enough, my Hygge job is taking off. We have a Facebook group, The Hygge Nook , of around 192 members that keeps me busy finding the bits & bobs to post and administering the applications. It's a lovely place, very hyggelig, full of positive and happiness. Just the post-Trump comfort we need. And physical work is fun as well. I write this at my desk, as Mr AJ is out to see a client and the phone lies silent for the moment. I'm enjoying being an Office Ninja, but I have to say I miss my time at home. I don't get a chance just to sit and be. And I was always a great human just being. Then the Big Festival is rearing its head. I am simultaneously full of anticipation and horror at the closeness. Anticipation because I know it will soon be here!!!! (39 days as I write) and horror because my to do list is a page and a half (no, make that two pages long) and my bank balance  is probably not going to...

Oh, if only I could sit and watch the coverage of the US election all night long. I have a friend who lectures on American Studies and she has the perfect excuse to sign off work tomorrow and sit up through the night. It's professional interest. My interest is far more personal and a lot less extrinsic. I just think the US election is such a big thing for the world... after all, the USA is the Top Dog of the Western world at the moment, biggest in size, in self-belief, in bombast... and I like the place! Who ever gets to be POTUS and leader of the Free World is inheriting a world full of woe and sorrow. From what I've seen, if they jump one way we get a leader who will roll up the sleeves, look forward and get to work to build a world that benefits the US but also helps her allies to climb up the ladder as well. Jump the other way and.... well, the Mexico Wall may not be the only barrier built between America and the world, just the most physical one. It woul...

This is my desktop at work.... no, not the one on the computer, although it could quite well have been, but my real desktop at work. The teapot and cup are from the charity shop, and are marked Royal Spencers, so I don't know where you'd get one. The tea is Spiced Orange from Hoogly Tea and is gorgeous, beautiful light and delicately spiced orange flavoured herbal infusion. I'll link to it, I promise I will. I want you to look beyond, to look behind. Can you see the golden box flickering in the sunlight? See the delicate wisps of tissue sticking out? How I wish we had smelly vision. I would offer it to you to rest your delicate nasal passages along and hear to say, " Mulled wine scented tissues ? Who on Earth thought up those? And who would buy them?" That second question is, alas, redundant. I would. And they do mulled wine scented toilet paper with pretty gold Christmas pattern on as well. I'm going back after payday. Indeed. My payday treat th...