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.
But not too many! I find some of the stuff written with the "every new sentence is a new paragraph" style impossible to read, too.
November 11, 2025 at 12:16 PM
But not too many! I find some of the stuff written with the "every new sentence is a new paragraph" style impossible to read, too.
I’m disappointed that most people are giving earnest answers to that question rather than discussing fish knives, loos v toilets, size of TVs and beaten up Land Rover Defenders...
November 11, 2025 at 10:24 AM
I’m disappointed that most people are giving earnest answers to that question rather than discussing fish knives, loos v toilets, size of TVs and beaten up Land Rover Defenders...
I’ve always been a bit sceptical of people from wealthy democracies who claim that their countries don’t have social classes. I think a better comparison might be that many countries which are not the UK talk about it less obsessively.
November 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
I’ve always been a bit sceptical of people from wealthy democracies who claim that their countries don’t have social classes. I think a better comparison might be that many countries which are not the UK talk about it less obsessively.
They have put the Pope in charge of moderation?
November 11, 2025 at 10:06 AM
They have put the Pope in charge of moderation?
They are definitely trolling us by including the Waterloo East Interchange which needs to be demolished and replaced with a proper station entrance!
November 11, 2025 at 9:49 AM
They are definitely trolling us by including the Waterloo East Interchange which needs to be demolished and replaced with a proper station entrance!
Yes. It strikes me that one really difficult policy decision for the next decade is what to do about fuel duty. We will reach a stage where the loss of income due to declining fuel sales will be felt but if is made up by taxing EV drivers then it could slow adoption.
November 11, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Yes. It strikes me that one really difficult policy decision for the next decade is what to do about fuel duty. We will reach a stage where the loss of income due to declining fuel sales will be felt but if is made up by taxing EV drivers then it could slow adoption.
Query whether we have actually got to the point where the EV market no longer needs that sort of support (particularly from people wealthy enough to engage in salary sacrifice schemes.)
(And if not yet then when will that be reached?)
(And if not yet then when will that be reached?)
November 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Query whether we have actually got to the point where the EV market no longer needs that sort of support (particularly from people wealthy enough to engage in salary sacrifice schemes.)
(And if not yet then when will that be reached?)
(And if not yet then when will that be reached?)
* soft interviews with / about him
Post mortem interviews with him may have been challenging.
Post mortem interviews with him may have been challenging.
November 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
* soft interviews with / about him
Post mortem interviews with him may have been challenging.
Post mortem interviews with him may have been challenging.
Though, as the judgment mentions, the Autonomy software was genuinely innovative at the time. The problem was the business practises: selling hardware at a loss in an effort to increase turnover to make the company more valuable.
November 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Though, as the judgment mentions, the Autonomy software was genuinely innovative at the time. The problem was the business practises: selling hardware at a loss in an effort to increase turnover to make the company more valuable.
The high court judgment is about damning of him though its unbelievable length means that few have read it. That was particularly notable post-acquittal & after his death when there were endless soft interviews with him & few pointed questions about what was set out there.
November 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
The high court judgment is about damning of him though its unbelievable length means that few have read it. That was particularly notable post-acquittal & after his death when there were endless soft interviews with him & few pointed questions about what was set out there.
That's some spectacularly bad typesetting: "The Dovvnfall of the A-"!
November 10, 2025 at 9:00 PM
That's some spectacularly bad typesetting: "The Dovvnfall of the A-"!
Top marks who whoever had the foresight to preserve the old sign...
November 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Top marks who whoever had the foresight to preserve the old sign...
It's got smoked paprika, chilpotle and liquid smoke, too. He obviously likes tripling the ingredients which do the same function.
November 10, 2025 at 8:23 PM
It's got smoked paprika, chilpotle and liquid smoke, too. He obviously likes tripling the ingredients which do the same function.
Extraordinary stuff.
November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Extraordinary stuff.
It looks really good though. I like the fact that it doesn't really look like it should be carved. Which suits the subject matter!
November 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
It looks really good though. I like the fact that it doesn't really look like it should be carved. Which suits the subject matter!
I was interested to read they still have an "iron harvest" collecting endless pieces of metal left by the war which turn up each year (some of which are still explosive.) And that some land is still too contaminated to use.
November 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I was interested to read they still have an "iron harvest" collecting endless pieces of metal left by the war which turn up each year (some of which are still explosive.) And that some land is still too contaminated to use.
I hear that there isn’t a person alive to day who has claimed on their life assurance policy. The SFO should really investigate.
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I hear that there isn’t a person alive to day who has claimed on their life assurance policy. The SFO should really investigate.
Reassuring that the algorithm doesn't know everything about you, I suppose!
November 10, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reassuring that the algorithm doesn't know everything about you, I suppose!
I suppose at the point where the political system stalls through deadlock? Or perhaps there might be a Turks & Caicos-style scandal involving buying votes!
November 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I suppose at the point where the political system stalls through deadlock? Or perhaps there might be a Turks & Caicos-style scandal involving buying votes!
The only good thing about all of this recent nonsense is it has stopped people whinging about English defamation laws and making favourable comparisons to American regimes...
November 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The only good thing about all of this recent nonsense is it has stopped people whinging about English defamation laws and making favourable comparisons to American regimes...
(But, in the meantime, I have found a place which claims to be able to ship this to the UK without excessive shipping charges or being hit with a duty nightmare. We shall see!)
November 10, 2025 at 4:22 PM
(But, in the meantime, I have found a place which claims to be able to ship this to the UK without excessive shipping charges or being hit with a duty nightmare. We shall see!)
That’s true! I’ve been meaning to for years and should actually get around to booking a trip!
November 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
That’s true! I’ve been meaning to for years and should actually get around to booking a trip!
Yes. I wish there was more of this. One of the Port shippers did a pair of colheitas aged in different sized barrels which was great fun to try.
Though I guess the market for this sort of thing is really, really tiny!
Though I guess the market for this sort of thing is really, really tiny!
A few years ago Poças produced the best boxed set I've ever seen for Port or wine nerds. Two bottles of their 2006 colheita, one aged in 550 litre pipes and one aged in 150,000 litre balseiros. I finally opened it tonight. Very much to my surprise, the "younger" one is much better.
November 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Yes. I wish there was more of this. One of the Port shippers did a pair of colheitas aged in different sized barrels which was great fun to try.
Though I guess the market for this sort of thing is really, really tiny!
Though I guess the market for this sort of thing is really, really tiny!
I guess if it becomes completely unworkable the UK government will just pull the constitution and replace it with something else?
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I guess if it becomes completely unworkable the UK government will just pull the constitution and replace it with something else?
A 2/3 majority in an 8-seat legislature sounds like one way of making change even harder to achieve...
November 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM
A 2/3 majority in an 8-seat legislature sounds like one way of making change even harder to achieve...