Jacob Gifford Head

He's absolutely right. But I would go further. The problem is not just the proliferation of rules and PD within the CPR but also all the other things that sit outside it. Do we really need separate insolvency rules? Why do we have court guides which contain rules instead of just guidance? Etc etc

The comments are spectacular. I particularly enjoyed the one that described London as the "capital" with scare quotes.

Yes. Indeed. I also like the Spanish one in Prague, too, which is in a similar design and is a rare survivor of a large central European reform synagogue.

I suppose it depends on the fish! You could keep a wild fish (s4(1) Theft Act) but a farmed fish remains the property of the person doing the farming. And if it's a sturgeon it is a Royal Fish and so belongs to the King. (In which case you need to notify the Receiver of Wreck of all people...)

Of course a significant feature of that case is that the property was previously owned by someone else which wouldn't apply to a meteorite. I guess you would say that makes it easier for the finder to acquire the title. But of course the law isn't always that consistent here.

I suppose the serious answer is that the admiralty jurisdiction ends at the high tide line...

I sometimes wonder about the status of meteorites in English law. If they embed themselves in the land, I assume they become part of the land itself, though query how far they have to be embedded to become a mineral. But if they remain on the surface? Does anyone have property rights over them?

"Holy zebra" is a great expression!

As a paid up member of the VicSoc, I'd rather like them to all be like this!

It shows how fortunate we are in the UK for our buildings only to be too big because of the gradual decline in organised religion and shifting patterns of where people live. Incredibly mundane issues compared to elsewhere.

Perhaps inevitably, the community that remains is so small that it does not seem to worship here but in a tiny room at the back, called a "winter synagogue" and presumably intended for week day prayers.

The front elevation, two towers surmounted with onion domes and then stars of david in gold surround a half Gothic, half Romanesque front with a huge star of david decoration.

The ark. Lavishly decorated with onion domes, mosaics, stained glass, brass lighting etc.

A stained glass window with geometric patterns.

Part of the painted ceiling with oriental patterns.

One of the highlights of my morning in Pilsen was visiting the beautiful Grand Synagogue, a wonderful building from c1890 in that wild mixture of architectural styles that was then fashionable for Synagogues. It's huge, too. Apparently the 2nd largest in Europe.

You are quite right. Seeing the traditional production of the lager in the cellars is one of the best things I've seen on a brewery tour. It actually made me think of Guiness where they rather pretend the pre-1960s version never existed.

Na Parkánu, I think!

The guide has explained that because it is unfiltered, unpasteurised, contains live yeast & has a short shelf life, it would be impossible to sell it outside the brewery and one pub in the town which is quite amusing from the English perspective!

I also like that the signs for service stations can include whether you can buy regional specialities. Usually wine but sometimes food.

Gosh! That's raised my expectations (which were at rock-bottom Guinness Storehouse levels...)

Some of the canal infrastructure is amazing. There are some fascinating videos of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which was drained at the end of last year for periodic maintenance. I thought it was incredible seeing the Georgian cast iron structure still going 200 years later.

A pic of the Pilsner Urquell brewery.

Having spent yesterday indulging my vice for musical instrument museums, today it is the turn for the brewery tour one...

For example, with a lot of litigation we rely on people doing the right thing. It wouldn't be difficult, for example, to bug conference rooms in court & an awful lot of confidental and privileged information passes through unsecured email.

"Martin said that if operatives were seeking “kompromat”, the Russian term for compromising material that can be used to apply pressure, there was nothing to find, except perhaps his passion for model trains."

That made me smile. Though I do wonder how much of this goes on generally?

That's a very interesting article. Particularly all the Roman - Dutch influences in the judgment which are not at all familiar over here.

I think it's necessary. Who hasn't got into a black cab and got the infamous "sorry, guv, I don't go East of the Walbrook after dark"?

Stop at nothing implies mining the Channel...

Yes! It's hard to think of them being elsewhere since it is such a good hall for them (& so terrible for conventional concerts.) Also some of the English repertoire. I think there is nothing better than the end of the Planets with the off stage choir in the gallery. Yet it was premiered in the QH!

Me neither, anywhere in the world, though I think it is a common requirement. I think Mauritius is the only place I've been to in recent years that has wanted me to show my return ticket before letting me in. But I still think if you have these requirements they should be drafted properly.

I am fascinated by the terrible outcomes when you don't allow undergraduates to drink. Give them access to some cheap spirits and surely none of this would happen?

I have a nice little book about the Queen's Hall. I think it's a shame it wasn't rebuilt. Whilst I love the RFH (and its dry acoustic), London would have really benefited from having a traditional hall as well.

I wonder if the technology is there, yet? The hire car I've been given in Germany is brand new but it's speeding warning system has sometimes got it wrong (& it often disagrees with the one within Google Maps.) But perhaps it wouldn't be too hard to sort out.

Good grief...