Jacob Gifford Head
@giffordhead.co.uk
Barrister & mediator.
Things I like: legal history & legal oddities; music & musical instruments; Mesopotamian history; & Portuguese wine and Port.
My professional website is: http://www.giffordhead.co.uk
Please email rather than DM!
Forgive typos.
Things I like: legal history & legal oddities; music & musical instruments; Mesopotamian history; & Portuguese wine and Port.
My professional website is: http://www.giffordhead.co.uk
Please email rather than DM!
Forgive typos.
Orange album covers.
February 10, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Orange album covers.
What do people think of the Pitt Rivers Museum these days? I hadn't visited until my most recent trip to Oxford. I was really disappointed. It seemed that it had tied itself up in knots about colonialism & racism to the extend that the main thing on display was the museum itself.
February 10, 2026 at 7:37 PM
What do people think of the Pitt Rivers Museum these days? I hadn't visited until my most recent trip to Oxford. I was really disappointed. It seemed that it had tied itself up in knots about colonialism & racism to the extend that the main thing on display was the museum itself.
This is quite an amazing story.
Lotte Jaslowitz trained as a barrister at Lincolns Inn, and was called to the bar on 10 February 1959.
Documents from the Jaslowitz family papers collection, in our archive and available to view via our interactive #RefugeeMap, tell the full story... 📍 buff.ly/ij3wl4v
Documents from the Jaslowitz family papers collection, in our archive and available to view via our interactive #RefugeeMap, tell the full story... 📍 buff.ly/ij3wl4v
February 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
This is quite an amazing story.
The final piece of Oxford sight-seeing is the obligatory visit to pay homage to the Messiah.
As with its namesake there is a lot of mythology about this violin but it's exceptional condition (look at the paint round the scroll) means it is very frequently copied by luthiers.
As with its namesake there is a lot of mythology about this violin but it's exceptional condition (look at the paint round the scroll) means it is very frequently copied by luthiers.
February 9, 2026 at 1:29 PM
The final piece of Oxford sight-seeing is the obligatory visit to pay homage to the Messiah.
As with its namesake there is a lot of mythology about this violin but it's exceptional condition (look at the paint round the scroll) means it is very frequently copied by luthiers.
As with its namesake there is a lot of mythology about this violin but it's exceptional condition (look at the paint round the scroll) means it is very frequently copied by luthiers.
Yet again I have fallen victim to social media influencing. This time it is the fault of @dinahrose.bsky.social who I am sure is mostly on social media to try to get us to pay £10 to walk through her College's "Water Meadow"...
February 9, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Yet again I have fallen victim to social media influencing. This time it is the fault of @dinahrose.bsky.social who I am sure is mostly on social media to try to get us to pay £10 to walk through her College's "Water Meadow"...
This is a fascinating article with some great pictures and gives me yet another reason for wanting to visit Lahore. (But not rent a motorcycle whilst there.)
Why don't we have any proper kite festivals in the UK?
Why don't we have any proper kite festivals in the UK?
Basant, Pakistan's famous kite festival, cautiously returns after 19-year ban
The event, which dates back centuries, was banned after injuries and fatalities caused by sharp strings and celebratory gunfire.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 8:02 PM
This is a fascinating article with some great pictures and gives me yet another reason for wanting to visit Lahore. (But not rent a motorcycle whilst there.)
Why don't we have any proper kite festivals in the UK?
Why don't we have any proper kite festivals in the UK?
Chancel Repair Liability on the blockchain sounds quite fun, though...
February 8, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Chancel Repair Liability on the blockchain sounds quite fun, though...
Festival Hall for the LPO playing a concert of pre-War Czech, Polish & Hungarian music which feels curiously distant despite being within living memory. The highlight so far was a song by Vítězslava Kaprálová, like the glorious climax of a lost opera.
February 7, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Festival Hall for the LPO playing a concert of pre-War Czech, Polish & Hungarian music which feels curiously distant despite being within living memory. The highlight so far was a song by Vítězslava Kaprálová, like the glorious climax of a lost opera.
[Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.]
In my dreams: "You're making this up on the spot, aren't you, Mr X?"
In reality: "Can I check with your lordship which of the 5 bundles have made it to the court?"
In my dreams: "You're making this up on the spot, aren't you, Mr X?"
In reality: "Can I check with your lordship which of the 5 bundles have made it to the court?"
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Don't use gerunds in headlines and crossheads, for the love of God."
"Don't use gerunds in headlines and crossheads, for the love of God."
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
“Would you say more about what’s worrying you here?”
“Would you say more about what’s worrying you here?”
February 7, 2026 at 7:13 PM
[Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.]
In my dreams: "You're making this up on the spot, aren't you, Mr X?"
In reality: "Can I check with your lordship which of the 5 bundles have made it to the court?"
In my dreams: "You're making this up on the spot, aren't you, Mr X?"
In reality: "Can I check with your lordship which of the 5 bundles have made it to the court?"
There's a copy of George Squibb's book on the Doctors' Commons on eBay at the moment at a reasonable price. Copies don't come up very frequently and are often quite expensive. Thought it might appeal to one of my followers who is interested in legal history.
Doctors' Commons : A History of the College of Advocates and Doct 9780198253396 | eBay UK
Book
ebay.us
February 7, 2026 at 5:51 PM
There's a copy of George Squibb's book on the Doctors' Commons on eBay at the moment at a reasonable price. Copies don't come up very frequently and are often quite expensive. Thought it might appeal to one of my followers who is interested in legal history.
I have a trial in Oxford next week. I know that the Local Authority is putting in place some rather firm measures to dissuade people driving and parking in the city centre. Does anyone use the Park and Rides? I'm usual a bit sceptical of them but was wondering if they aren't too bad in reality?
February 7, 2026 at 1:38 PM
I have a trial in Oxford next week. I know that the Local Authority is putting in place some rather firm measures to dissuade people driving and parking in the city centre. Does anyone use the Park and Rides? I'm usual a bit sceptical of them but was wondering if they aren't too bad in reality?
I was given this lovely glass sake set recently which is really hard to photograph! Decide to use it for the first time with this gorgeous tokubetsu junmai by the Ide brewery. They make a big deal about the water they use, and it shows: it's almost like drinking Evian.
February 6, 2026 at 6:24 PM
I was given this lovely glass sake set recently which is really hard to photograph! Decide to use it for the first time with this gorgeous tokubetsu junmai by the Ide brewery. They make a big deal about the water they use, and it shows: it's almost like drinking Evian.
The water industry in the UK is basically a parody of itself now.
At least this missive didn't invite us to order a free timer from them to make sure we weren't in the shower for too long.
At least this missive didn't invite us to order a free timer from them to make sure we weren't in the shower for too long.
February 5, 2026 at 9:15 AM
The water industry in the UK is basically a parody of itself now.
At least this missive didn't invite us to order a free timer from them to make sure we weren't in the shower for too long.
At least this missive didn't invite us to order a free timer from them to make sure we weren't in the shower for too long.
Quinta da Romaneira. Late-bottled Vintage Port from 1986, bottled in 1990. I can't quite believe this is a 40-year old bottle! The colour is still good, & there is enjoyable acidity, though I think it is right at the oldest possible age for this wine. Glad I Coravin'ed it!
February 4, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Quinta da Romaneira. Late-bottled Vintage Port from 1986, bottled in 1990. I can't quite believe this is a 40-year old bottle! The colour is still good, & there is enjoyable acidity, though I think it is right at the oldest possible age for this wine. Glad I Coravin'ed it!
Memories of obtaining police disclosure in family cases here.
*Witness statement*
My name is John Smith. I have been asked to give a witness statement about when I was assaulted by my next door neighbour. I live at [REDACTED].
*Witness statement*
My name is John Smith. I have been asked to give a witness statement about when I was assaulted by my next door neighbour. I live at [REDACTED].
When @jasonleopold.bsky.social told me the Justice Department inexplicably redacted the “J.P.” from “J.P. Morgan” in a J.P. Morgan research note, I didn’t believe him.
But here it is:
But here it is:
February 4, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Memories of obtaining police disclosure in family cases here.
*Witness statement*
My name is John Smith. I have been asked to give a witness statement about when I was assaulted by my next door neighbour. I live at [REDACTED].
*Witness statement*
My name is John Smith. I have been asked to give a witness statement about when I was assaulted by my next door neighbour. I live at [REDACTED].
This was something of a surprise to say the very least...
February 3, 2026 at 10:07 PM
This was something of a surprise to say the very least...
Why is general news reporting of the financial market so rubbish in the UK? The BBC is chuntering on about a "slump" in gold prices which is hardly an appropriate description of a price which has fallen back from a peak to the record price it obtained 2 weeks ago...
February 2, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Why is general news reporting of the financial market so rubbish in the UK? The BBC is chuntering on about a "slump" in gold prices which is hardly an appropriate description of a price which has fallen back from a peak to the record price it obtained 2 weeks ago...
This is really sad. For a few years we used to go to the Veeraswamy on Christmas day and always had such a nice time.
We need to be better as a society in preserving restaurants which are successful in their premises. We manage it with pubs. The continentals seem to manage it. Why not us?
We need to be better as a society in preserving restaurants which are successful in their premises. We manage it with pubs. The continentals seem to manage it. Why not us?
Ah. This would have made my late Great Uncle very sad. A single man with no children back home, it was Veeraswamy that he looked forward to returning to after the war
BBC News - An iconic Indian restaurant might have to shut after 99 years. Can the King save it?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - An iconic Indian restaurant might have to shut after 99 years. Can the King save it?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Veeraswamy: UK's oldest Indian restaurant calls on King to save it
Supporters of Veeraswamy, which has operated for almost 100 years, are petitioning the King to intervene.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 10:23 AM
This is really sad. For a few years we used to go to the Veeraswamy on Christmas day and always had such a nice time.
We need to be better as a society in preserving restaurants which are successful in their premises. We manage it with pubs. The continentals seem to manage it. Why not us?
We need to be better as a society in preserving restaurants which are successful in their premises. We manage it with pubs. The continentals seem to manage it. Why not us?
A rare treat for lunch: Borjomi, a glass of Mtsvane Qveri wine and Khachapuri. I wish I lived closer to a Georgian restaurant!
January 31, 2026 at 5:05 PM
A rare treat for lunch: Borjomi, a glass of Mtsvane Qveri wine and Khachapuri. I wish I lived closer to a Georgian restaurant!
I know that my attempt to persuade you all that you can drink fortified wines as if they were normal table wines is rather quixotic. But this Cream Sherry was able to cut through a rather too successful test of whether my Sichuan Pepper Oil still had some potency which little else would manage...
January 30, 2026 at 7:06 PM
I know that my attempt to persuade you all that you can drink fortified wines as if they were normal table wines is rather quixotic. But this Cream Sherry was able to cut through a rather too successful test of whether my Sichuan Pepper Oil still had some potency which little else would manage...
This is a hobby horse of mine. Is there anything more disappointing than a pub having an interesting and varied menu which is not available on a Sunday because they only sell those miserable mounds of food which pass as a roast dinner?
Dear pubs of Britain,
You do know that you don't all have to do a Sunday roast on Sundays, right? Honestly, it's the most overrated meal in Britain. My unpopular opinion is that a roast cooked at home and served fresh is almost always better than a pub roast.
Yours sincerely,
Georgia
You do know that you don't all have to do a Sunday roast on Sundays, right? Honestly, it's the most overrated meal in Britain. My unpopular opinion is that a roast cooked at home and served fresh is almost always better than a pub roast.
Yours sincerely,
Georgia
a plate of food including turkey corn and stuffing
ALT: a plate of food including turkey corn and stuffing
media.tenor.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:38 PM
This is a hobby horse of mine. Is there anything more disappointing than a pub having an interesting and varied menu which is not available on a Sunday because they only sell those miserable mounds of food which pass as a roast dinner?
I think this production, which was excellently performed, wrung about everything there is from this opera. I'm still not sure it is a very satisfactory work, though there is some great music in it.
At the opera house for Boris Godunov. I've seen some of it once before—at an ENO production which was so bad that no only did I walk out (despite there being no interval) but the stewards had already opened the doors in anticipation of exits. Wish me luck!
January 29, 2026 at 11:10 PM
I think this production, which was excellently performed, wrung about everything there is from this opera. I'm still not sure it is a very satisfactory work, though there is some great music in it.
At the opera house for Boris Godunov. I've seen some of it once before—at an ENO production which was so bad that no only did I walk out (despite there being no interval) but the stewards had already opened the doors in anticipation of exits. Wish me luck!
January 29, 2026 at 7:22 PM
At the opera house for Boris Godunov. I've seen some of it once before—at an ENO production which was so bad that no only did I walk out (despite there being no interval) but the stewards had already opened the doors in anticipation of exits. Wish me luck!
Half of my feed involves discussions by American lawyers into various points of English law which we would regard as a historic curiosities.
Yet, in the other, we see a Judge presented with this who doesn't reach for the remedy in Mylward v Weldon (1595) 21 ER 136.🤷♂️
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWH...
Yet, in the other, we see a Judge presented with this who doesn't reach for the remedy in Mylward v Weldon (1595) 21 ER 136.🤷♂️
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWH...
To be fair to the Magistrate Judge, I do not believe it was the 375 page amended complaint that did it.
On close read, it appears that it was the 720-paragraph, 946-page proposed second amended compliant.
On close read, it appears that it was the 720-paragraph, 946-page proposed second amended compliant.
@questauthority.bsky.social the crypto dudes suing the other crypto dudes by piling all their grievances into chatgpt and having it produce multi hundred pages of legal documents have finally broken the judge after filing a 375 page amended complaint. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 28, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Half of my feed involves discussions by American lawyers into various points of English law which we would regard as a historic curiosities.
Yet, in the other, we see a Judge presented with this who doesn't reach for the remedy in Mylward v Weldon (1595) 21 ER 136.🤷♂️
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWH...
Yet, in the other, we see a Judge presented with this who doesn't reach for the remedy in Mylward v Weldon (1595) 21 ER 136.🤷♂️
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWH...
I like the fact that the one authority cited in this case has the name "Rex v. Archbishop of Canterbury." Not something one might expect after the 16th Century.
First page of the Vicar-General of Canterbury's judgment dismissing an objection to the confirmation of Sarah Mullally's election as Bishop of London. For the full document, see the CBAI record: cbaionline.org/corpus/items...
January 28, 2026 at 7:06 PM
I like the fact that the one authority cited in this case has the name "Rex v. Archbishop of Canterbury." Not something one might expect after the 16th Century.