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.
Yes! Though there were a stack of people who I wanted to speak to and recognised from social media but didn’t get a chance to! That’s probably a good reason to go, I guess...
January 21, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Yes! Though there were a stack of people who I wanted to speak to and recognised from social media but didn’t get a chance to! That’s probably a good reason to go, I guess...
I hope that’s improved since. I guess with undergraduates there is always going to be the tension that almost all of them are 18+, yet will vary enormously in maturity and independence.
January 21, 2026 at 1:15 PM
I hope that’s improved since. I guess with undergraduates there is always going to be the tension that almost all of them are 18+, yet will vary enormously in maturity and independence.
...and in any event we’ll farm out half the supervisions to PhD students who, by the way, are also too exalted to be trained in any way.
I really hope it is has improved since I left! The lack of mandatory training for supervisors was, I thought, inexcusable.
I really hope it is has improved since I left! The lack of mandatory training for supervisors was, I thought, inexcusable.
January 21, 2026 at 1:13 PM
...and in any event we’ll farm out half the supervisions to PhD students who, by the way, are also too exalted to be trained in any way.
I really hope it is has improved since I left! The lack of mandatory training for supervisors was, I thought, inexcusable.
I really hope it is has improved since I left! The lack of mandatory training for supervisors was, I thought, inexcusable.
I went last year for the first time but was a bit disappointed. I thought it was very London centric and concentrated far too much on issues mostly relevant to big money cases. I'm not quite sure if I was unlucky or if that's what it's normally like.
January 21, 2026 at 12:50 PM
I went last year for the first time but was a bit disappointed. I thought it was very London centric and concentrated far too much on issues mostly relevant to big money cases. I'm not quite sure if I was unlucky or if that's what it's normally like.
I came away thinking that it was unhelpful that the Russel Group advertised to sixth formers on the basis that they were the leading research universities in the country. Of course we all wanted to think it was best to learn from the best researchers. But what we really needed was the best teachers.
January 21, 2026 at 12:29 PM
I came away thinking that it was unhelpful that the Russel Group advertised to sixth formers on the basis that they were the leading research universities in the country. Of course we all wanted to think it was best to learn from the best researchers. But what we really needed was the best teachers.
Important not to sneeze at the wrong time, I guess!
I’m still quite impressed that anyone came up with this process and it worked. Unless the putty step is familiar from other refinement.
I’m still quite impressed that anyone came up with this process and it worked. Unless the putty step is familiar from other refinement.
January 21, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Important not to sneeze at the wrong time, I guess!
I’m still quite impressed that anyone came up with this process and it worked. Unless the putty step is familiar from other refinement.
I’m still quite impressed that anyone came up with this process and it worked. Unless the putty step is familiar from other refinement.
Amazing stuff! How long did that take?! (I guess probably less time than it took to trundle some Lapis through to Europe from Afghanistan in the pre-modern period, but still...)
January 21, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Amazing stuff! How long did that take?! (I guess probably less time than it took to trundle some Lapis through to Europe from Afghanistan in the pre-modern period, but still...)
Have you had a go at making it yourself? I saw this video last year from a chap who makes it today, though I have no way of gauging how sensible his approach is. I thought the traditional way of purifying the pigment was quite interesting, though.
How The World's Most Expensive Color Is Made
YouTube video by Business Insider
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Have you had a go at making it yourself? I saw this video last year from a chap who makes it today, though I have no way of gauging how sensible his approach is. I thought the traditional way of purifying the pigment was quite interesting, though.
I had absolutely no idea it was recorded like this. Absolutely amazing stuff.
January 21, 2026 at 9:19 AM
I had absolutely no idea it was recorded like this. Absolutely amazing stuff.
Ah. Didn't know that. I may be in a minority of 1 but I don't ever sign into Google from my browser for privacy reasons which makes answering a bit of a faff.
January 21, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Ah. Didn't know that. I may be in a minority of 1 but I don't ever sign into Google from my browser for privacy reasons which makes answering a bit of a faff.
It's asking me to sign in before responding. I'm not sure if that is deliberate or not but I wouldn't normally expect that when answering a survey.
January 21, 2026 at 8:50 AM
It's asking me to sign in before responding. I'm not sure if that is deliberate or not but I wouldn't normally expect that when answering a survey.
I was wondering if there was a housekeeper or property guardian. Has a bit of a look of someone camping out in there. Or it could be a probate sale where they've got rid of a lot of the furniture already.
January 21, 2026 at 8:42 AM
I was wondering if there was a housekeeper or property guardian. Has a bit of a look of someone camping out in there. Or it could be a probate sale where they've got rid of a lot of the furniture already.
Someone must be living in there, even if they are only using a few rooms. If all the furniture was being hired for staging purposes you surely won't include an armchair with a pile of soft toys in a bathroom (see #24)?
January 21, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Someone must be living in there, even if they are only using a few rooms. If all the furniture was being hired for staging purposes you surely won't include an armchair with a pile of soft toys in a bathroom (see #24)?
I like the fact that the photographs are a succession of empty or barely furnished rooms. The six-seater dining table in the expance of an empty dining room in pic 28 has a real "times are tough since we had to let our last servant go" feel to it.
January 20, 2026 at 8:46 PM
I like the fact that the photographs are a succession of empty or barely furnished rooms. The six-seater dining table in the expance of an empty dining room in pic 28 has a real "times are tough since we had to let our last servant go" feel to it.
Ah. That's a shame. Might have to expand my window shopping to "nearby". Like this place!
Check out this 7 bedroom country house for sale on Rightmove
7 bedroom country house for sale in Cour D'Honneur, Oakham, LE15 for £6,000,000. Marketed by Tyron Ash International Real Estate, London
www.rightmove.co.uk
January 20, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Ah. That's a shame. Might have to expand my window shopping to "nearby". Like this place!
That’s a nice article. When I am doing window shopping for houses on Right Move, Hambleton is always somewhere I check out. One of the few proper non-coastal isles. I think it looks like quite a fun place to live.
January 20, 2026 at 8:16 PM
That’s a nice article. When I am doing window shopping for houses on Right Move, Hambleton is always somewhere I check out. One of the few proper non-coastal isles. I think it looks like quite a fun place to live.
Having recently spent a decent amount of time in Lincolnshire, the idea that the East Midlands could be short of water is certainly intriguing...
January 20, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Having recently spent a decent amount of time in Lincolnshire, the idea that the East Midlands could be short of water is certainly intriguing...
Could be razed flat though. I appreciate that this may be a distinction without a difference in the case of Rutland.
January 20, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Could be razed flat though. I appreciate that this may be a distinction without a difference in the case of Rutland.
Just a suggestion but if Rutland wants to expand then draining the lake that seems to account for half the county might be an obvious place to start. Just ask the Dutch.
January 20, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Just a suggestion but if Rutland wants to expand then draining the lake that seems to account for half the county might be an obvious place to start. Just ask the Dutch.
That's basically a concession that Rutland is really part of Leicestershire. I'm surprised it hasn't been razed to the ground by an angry mob.
January 20, 2026 at 7:52 PM
That's basically a concession that Rutland is really part of Leicestershire. I'm surprised it hasn't been razed to the ground by an angry mob.
I don't think this question can be answered globally. So to answer it parochially from England; I was very aware of there being a live civil war for the first half of this period. Longer if you were in NI, I'd guess. Nothing like that since.
January 20, 2026 at 7:48 PM
I don't think this question can be answered globally. So to answer it parochially from England; I was very aware of there being a live civil war for the first half of this period. Longer if you were in NI, I'd guess. Nothing like that since.
Please no. For the simpel reason that last year my mind was unable to deal with the Governor of the Bank of England meeting the Prince of Wales in Canada....
January 20, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Please no. For the simpel reason that last year my mind was unable to deal with the Governor of the Bank of England meeting the Prince of Wales in Canada....
I think the Headington Shark was eventually granted retrospective planning permission for basically this reason.
January 20, 2026 at 7:24 PM
I think the Headington Shark was eventually granted retrospective planning permission for basically this reason.