Month: September 2016

Who wants to be the barrister for the defence? (2)

Another bright day greeted me as I left home to reach the Royal Court of Justice at the beginning of my second week. Since the bus takes the same amount of time as walking, I decided to stroll my way to NCCL’s office, while listening to historical podcasts. In a week I learned about eunuchs, Agrippina, the war of butter vs. margarine and Alexander the Great, just to cite a few. And I found a great Law-related collection of radio shows, Law in Action (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tgy1). I also signed up to an online magazine, the Law Society Gazette (http://www.lawgazette.co.uk). The more I read, the more I saw how complex the legal system is.

My first week at the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation

At the end of my first week at the foundation, I have come to know of the extreme contrasts that exist in the royal borough that most of us living here know very little about. The foundation is dedicated to making connections between local charities and businesses and guide them in maintaining long-term commitments.

During my first week, I was briefed about how connections are made with businesses and how information is stored on a database.  I have also learnt about what many of the charities in the borough do and how they help local citizens. It’s amazing what some some charities do in order to help people and how most people are unaware that such help exists.

Wait by the entrance on the red cushions (1)

Note: the Royal Court of Justice (RCJ) is open to the public 9am-4.30pm. However no photos are allowed inside the building. Hence, other than a picture of the exterior of the building, I cannot post photos of the courtrooms or my office. The good news is that you can go to the RCJ anytime and see this beautiful building for yourself. And you can go sit and listen to cases – but more on that in the next post.

On my first day at the National Centre of the Citizenship and the Law (NCCL, http://www.nccl.org.uk/) I was, frankly, terrified. I walked through the airport-like security checks at the Royal Court of Justice (RCJ) and I looked up to the massive hall of the RCJ.

CAT: Weeks 3 & 4: Farewell to the Hills

I’m on the train home from the Centre for Alternative Technology after finishing the final week of my placement. My four weeks at CAT have been a great experience for many reasons. The people, the work and the amazing natural surroundings have been restorative and given me new energy and perspective. I will miss my morning walk through the ancient woods to the rewilded quarry, the birdsong and the tranquillity of the reservoir.

Throughout my time at CAT I delivered the ZCB talk to a total of 163 people. While the audience figures were on average quite low, I have gained a lot of confidence in delivering aural presentations and public engagement.

Weeks 2 and 3 at the Brilliant Club

Weeks 2 and 3 of my placement

I’ve developed a wide range of skills during the second week at the Brilliant Club. My supervisor was away and has left me a list of tasks to complete that week. This has greatly aided the development of my time management, organisational and written communication skills as I was required to work independently and correspond with participants of the programme, which gave me a great insight into what working for a charity is really like. 

During Weeks 2 and 3, I’ve continued my research into social mobility which is becoming more and more interesting, as I begin to draw links between different publications.