The Largest Case C Ever Did!

I went to the retirement party in Ipswich, for a judge who was one of C’s best friends, in Ipswich tonight.

It was good to meet old friends and have a drink and some nibbles.

I was also introduced to someone, who as one of the Court Clerks, played a part in the largest case C ever did.

She would tell this story with gusto and lots of actions. I’m sure many who heard it,  didn’t believe all of the tale.

She always called the case, the Thorpeness Affray and although she didn’t do crime in the later part of her career, she was persuaded to defend someone in this case, which ook place at Ipswich Crown Court.

The size was enormous, in that there a hundred and eight defendants, which my informant said they split into two separate trials. I think once, she said the clerks were scraping the barrel, which is why she got roped in.

It became obvious that the dock wasn’t big enough, so it was decided that each defendant should have a number and these would be placed above their seat. Each of the barristers would carry a flag identifying their clients.

Concerns were raised, as this numbering might not be conducive to a fair trial.

The judge was the well-respected and mildy-eccentric Bertie Richards. He thought, that if the defendants were to be numbered, so should he as the judge.  So a number one was placed above where he sat.

At this point in the story, C would get all agitated and would make an action of holding up her flag and saying something like “Your Honour! I represent number 4!” Once the substitute flag in the telling, was a numbered wooden spoon in the restaurant of the pub, much to the delight of everyone.

What ever happened to her client, I can’t remember.  But tonight, I was told that many of the defendants, were part of a gang called the Bramfield Budgies. Bramfield is a village in Suffolk on the A12.

I think it is true to say that in the 1970s and 1980s, the conduct of justice was sometimes a little out of the ordinary.

Pizza Express’s Professional Approach To Gluten-Free

If they’ve got it right, which I suspect they have as it’s a big pitch, Pizza Express have taken a bold approach to adding gluten-free to their menus. You open their web site and on the right is a large block labelled GLUTEN FREE.  Click it and you learn that they talk about 100% taste, risotto, brownies and even gluten-free Pilsner. They even reverse the usual dishes you can have to ones you should avoid.

They also say that their approach has been endorsed by Coeliac-UK.

I shall definitely be trying them out in the next few days.

At least it gives me somewhere to have lunch in Ipswich, when I watch the football!

Signs With Sensible Distances

I don’t think I’ve noticed these signs in Ipswich before.

Signs With Sensible Distances

Even if they’re not new, they have at least got distances that are marked sensibly.

Can Ipswich Fans Go By Train To The Last Match?

If you live in Ipswich, support Town and want to go by train to the last match of the season at Burnley,you’ve got a five hour journey starting at six in the morning.

I’m luckier in that I can catch the 08:03 train to Leeds and change for Burnley there, getting there in just under four hours.

Yet again, East Anglia shows how badly it is connected to the rail network.

I also get back to London about 19:30, whereas those going to Ipswich arrive two hours later.

So to answer my question, the answer is yes! But those of us, who live in London can do it a lot easier, than those that live in Ipswich.

I Missed The Match

I didn’t get to the match at Ipswich on Saturday, as although the Eurostar was on time in London, by the time I got home, it was too late to get a train to the start of the match.

The delays hadn’t been serious, but I wasted ten or fifteen minutes because of a broken Cashpoint, queues at WH Smith for my paper and then no taxis at Kings Cross. I then had to take the Victoria line to Highbury and Islington station and I waited another ten minutes for a bus to get home.

Of course, if they had left luggage lockers, at any of the stations, like St. Pancras, Kings Cross, Liverpool Street or Ipswich, I could have quickly dumped my case and got to the match on time.

But as Ipswich Town lost, I wasn’t too bothered by the evening.

Passing It On

I mentioned in this post, that my Aunt Gladys paid for our marriage licence, as I was totally skint, on condition that I passed it on.

Some years later in Ipswich in about 180, a young guy wrote to me asking for sponsorship for Operation Raleigh. I passed the loan from my Aunt on, adding a bit more, and I received a series of letters as he traversed the globe. I did say, that if he ever was a success to pass the loan on to another person, who’d make use of it.

then about seven or eight years ago, he found me on the Internet and said that the loan had been passed on again with the same conditions.

I should say, this is not the only chain I’ve started, but none have kept going so long.

 

A Public Clock In Ipswich

I like public clocks and there’s this good example on the side of the car park at Ipswich station.

A Public Clock In Ipswich

I believe there can’t  be too many public clocks.

Bacon Factory Curve Action

As the train to Woodbridge passed onto the East Suffolk Line, north of Ipswich station, it would appear that at last work is starting on creating the Bacon Factory or Ipswich North Curve to allow trains, and especially heavy freight ones, to pass to and from Felixstowe without reversing in Ipswich station.

Crazy Ticket Prices

Yesterday, I went to the football at Ipswich.  I’ve always found evening matches difficult and expensive, as I’ve never really found a sensible gluten-free restaurant or cafe in the town and usually I have to pay through the nose, to come out of London in the rush hour. Yesterday though, I decided to come early on the four o’clock train and then go to Woodbridge to have a curry in the Royal Bengal by the station, before getting a train back to Ipswich for the match.

I’d expected to have to buy two return tickets, one for Liverpool Street to Ipswich and return and another for the short journey between Ipswich and Woodbridge. But I was sold a return from the Zone 6 Bounday to Woodbridge for just £20.95.  This compares with the two tickets I bought on Saturday to get to Ipswich for a total of £18.25. So the extra journey to Woodbridge cost me £2.70. An Off Peak Senior Day Return would appear to cost £2.80 bought on the Internet.

So it would appear I got a bargain. There was also no problem using the effectively one ticket to do two journeys.

I also saved twenty pounds by not travelling in the rush hour, which was enough to pay for the meal.

It would be nice to have a decent gluten-free restaurant somewhere between Ipswich station and Portman Road.

Ridiculous Ticketing

I went to the football at Ipswich today.  at least the trains were running normally and after a late breakfast or was it an early lunch, I caught the 13:30 from Liverpool Street station. Before I’d left home I’d tried to buy the ticket I’d wanted which is an Off Peak Return from Harold Wood to Ipswich, but for some unknown reason the computer wouldn’t let me choose this ticket.  Why Harold Wood incidentally, you may ask? The reason is that my Freedom Pass takes me that far and so I just need to buy the extra.

So I had to buy the ticket in the booking office at Liverpool Street station. Usually, they sell me an Off Peak Return from Harold Wood to Ipswich, but this time, they sold me back-to-back Off Peak Returns from the Zone 6 Boundary to Manningtree and from Manningtree to Ipswich. The cost was £18.25.  Two weeks ago, I was sold one ticket for the journey from Harold Wood to Ipswich at £20.95. I questioned this with the clerk and he said this was the best deal.

On the train, just like I usually do, I upgraded to First Class at a cost of £7 each way.  But this did give me pretty good free wi-fi and a soft drink or coffee if I wanted one.

My reason for calling it ridiculous is that if I want a First Class Off Peak Return ticket, why can’t I buy one in one go on the Internet? I know that my Freedom Pass only gives me Standard Class to the Zone 6 Boundary, but surely they could have two Senior First Class tickets, one for those with Senior Railcards and Freedom Passes and one for those without the Freedom Pass.  Properly priced and thought through, it might actually be a big seller, as quite a few of those in their later years spend money on the better tickets.

As it is I bought the First Class Upgrade on the train and got yet another orange ticket. I was also issued with a Penalty Warning on the way up to Ipswich. According to the Inspector, this was Department of Transport rules, but I’ve never had one before.

Ridiculous Ticketing

I do wonder how much all this paperwork costs GreaterAnglia and their passengers in extra charges. But at least all of the staff I met, were extremely curteous and had my needs uppermost in their mind. And the clerk saved me £2.70.

The system would probably be easy to implement as everything is computerised.

If you are buying a ticket on the web, it would just be necessary to check a box to say you had a Freedom Pass.

If you’re buying at a Ticket Office, the clerk needs to see your Freedom Pass anyway to give you the right ticket. He would do the equivalent of checking the box.

The orange ticket would instead of having SNR have another code of perhaps SNR* to indicate it was only valid with a Senior Railcard and a Freedom Pass.