Author: Catherine Bates

Christmas is a great time for good stories.  I don’t mean the Christmas story itself or stories about Santa, but simply the things that people do or say at this time of year that wouldn’t be as funny at any other time of year.   Take the story of the Manchester United football fans from […]

You’d have thought I’d heard it all by now and actually you can’t shock me any more, but things still surprise me.   Like waking into a half empty restaurant half an hour before my table has been booked for and being told they might not be able to seat us straight away!  Do you […]

Washing your dirty laundry in public isn’t a phrase you hear very often, as it’s considered quite an old fashioned.  People’s views on money laundering are also possibly out of date, as I anticipate that it’s still associated with organised crime and drug dealing but this isn’t the case anymore.  Today even honest reputable businesses […]

The scariest part of having a Will is actually getting round to creating one. Many people put off the making of a Will because the thought of their death cuts to the bone. Certainly, the Halloween festivities can make the ghostly thought about death a bit more enjoyable and what better time than this to […]

Solicitors are not known for their sense of humour.  In fact, it’s usually assumed that the only thing they are interested in is money.  However, I can prove that this is not the case.  Who else but a solicitor could come up with the concept of a settlement process, which can either be an escape […]

  When can you legally leave your child “Home Alone”? Many parents find themselves considering leaving their children home alone while popping out to the corner shop for a pint of milk or to post a letter. Much preferring to take that risk than to endure the rigmarole of dressing the kids and loading them […]

20/20 hind sight is a wonderful thing.  I’m sure we’ve all looked at things that we (or our clients!) have done, that looked reasonable at the time, but then realised how differently things would have gone if we had been able to predict the future.   However, there are just as many occasions where you […]

Already married and missed the pre-nup boat? Don’t worry, the ship hasn’t sailed.     You may have heard of a pre-nup. Especially if you’re an avid American celebrity gossip follower. But have you heard of a post-nup? And did you know these are available to you in England? A post-nup is an agreement drawn […]

Take that away If less is more, does that mean more is less??? Some say I’m a hard working single mum.  Others say I’m a spoiled brat who can’t cook.  Either way we get takeaways often. The Indian restaurant gives us 20% off if the order is over £25.  So it’s actually cheaper to order […]

This will come as a great surprise, but people lie! Honestly!!! I know it was me the other day saying how people are largely nice, and I do still believe that, but no one is perfect, and occasionally (sometimes more than occasionally) people lie.  They lie to save their own skin.  They lie to get […]