h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My year started off great with the arrival of Jaxon on 7th Jan, born to Allan and Jenny, my 3rd grandson! Also in January Karl, my Mum & I travelled to Lincoln Cathedral to watch Laura receive her diploma. In February Gordon and I went on an aurora flight, the stars were great!

In June I passed the test for giving educational talks for the Blue Cross (and I have a uniform). I continue to visit 3 Residential Homes every week with Gordon and Snoopy. In July Gordon and I went on a cruise "Pearls of the Aegean" I am a definite convert to cruising!

In October we visited Much Hoole where I was able to go round the church where Jeremiah Horrocks worked

also in October my son Allan and his team smashed the world endurance record for playing badminton continuously (for the NSPCC charity).

Andrew has announced that he's moving out soon so it won't be long before I am living alone for the first time in my life (apart from Goldie). So this year I am going to be busy reorganising my bungalow as I want his bedroom

I have a date to start Jury Service (1st time), which was probably instigated by the loss of Family Allowance when Andrew left college. Fingers crossed we are coming to the Manchester meet in February.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2012

Sounds like a great year, GB!

If you have any questions about jury service procedure and so on I may be able to help. I've never done it myself but I work in Crown Courts every day.

Thanks Elentari!I don't want to bone up on it in case I appear too knowledgable and they make me foreman!

Haha, fair enough! Let me know if anything comes to mind though!

Hi GB thanks for this update on your year! Good luck with the living-alone thing and everything else also.

I will Elentari!

Thanks Willemall the best to you too

Gb, it does sound like a good year

As for Jury service been there done that, though it was foreshortened thanks to a stupid error by a newspaper. It worked out well for me as PHM w as taken ill.

I can't imagine you not expressing your opinion forcefully and I would lay odds on you getting picked - I nearly did till I clicked and zipped it!!

Good luck anyway, it is an interesting experience to see it for real. Hope you get an interesting case that doesn't take too long.

Happy New Year,



Websailor

Good for you, GB What a great year. Here's hoping 2012 is just as fruitful and satisfying

Fb

jury serviceif you want to get out of it - just say hang'em

You could always try reading this: A49997218

A foreperson doesn't actually have to do all that much. The only thing they have to do is deliver the verdict - though I imagine that's the bit that's worrying you!

Some forepeople act as chairpeople of the discussion when the jury is deliberating their verdict but they don't have to. All juries work differently.

They don't still hang people in GB (Great Britain!) do they???

I'm glad you had such a good and successful year. Here's to the next one.

I woman I know, during a period we were getting high rates of jury duty calls said her strategy for avoiding jury duty was simply to remark during the challenge process when being interrogated by the the defense, that she felt if they hadn't done something rather terrible, the defendants would not be on trial, which would certainly frighten me if I were the defense attorney.

Myself I always got off on account of conflicts with my Army job, stationed a hundred miles from home, actually working most of the time time over 300 miles from home, and until the most recent County courthouse facility was constructed back in the late '90s, over seventy miles from the nearest courthouse (now approximately 30).

In my Army National Guards job if I'd had gotten an emergency call up order over flood, fire, earthquake or urban riot during the period of the trial I might have had to be dismissed, which in turn might have resulted in a mistrial.

This actually happened during the south-central riots in Los Angeles of May of 1992. One of the the other troops from my unit had been actively serving on a jury at the time the call up came and was delayed several days joining the unit, already deployed to the field by that time.

Often, I didn't even receive the jury duty notification until after the critical trial date.

In a way, kind of a shame. I wouldn't hesitate to hang the jury over leap.s of illogic or other mickey-mouse on the part of the prosecution

...I know I put that misplaced period in the last sentence at the end of the sentence where it belongs...

I honestly don't want to get out of it. It's a new experience for me and when you're in the prime of your life new experiences should be grabbed with both hands

Looking back at my original posting,

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Andrew's plans are on hold (and, ergo, mine) as he's no longer friends with the person he was going to flat-share with.

Jury Service week #1 complete.
Gordon's mother (whom he was full-time carer for) passed away on 9th January. The funeral was on Friday, I made that thanks to special dispensation from the Judge.
Week #2 commences this afternoon.

Gordon's life has now changed dramatically, my head is spinning trying to keep up with his plans! When the students return home there'll be just him and Snoopy in that great big house.

Fingers crossed we are *still* planning on coming to the Manchester meet in February, although an overnight stay is impossible due to having to have an adult present in the house while the students are there.

Andrew moved out today.

Perhaps that's incorrect terminology considering I gave him no option, but you can only take so much verbal abuse, non-payment of promised funds and stench of cigarette smoke before you crack. It was either me or him, and he went. Pity it came to this, especially as there wasn't even a hint of "Thanks for everything you've done for me for the last 19 years Mum"

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and somey biscuits