What a shambles. P's bank account locked for nearly 4 years and care home fees unpaid (with his daughter being put under pressure to do something) after COP apparently lost a Deputyship application when a judge went off sick. openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2026/01/06/a...

** This is wonderful A court that exceeds expectation. A court that wants P not just to have "care and support" but also to be RADIANT - glowing, joyful, uplifted. Sometimes a typo reveals what's often missing....

What a shambles. P's bank account locked for nearly 4 years and care home fees unpaid (with his daughter being put under pressure to do something) after COP apparently lost a Deputyship application when a judge went off sick. openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2026/01/06/a...

None of these 90+ year old protected parties was in court. I doubt most of them even knew about the court case. I *really* don't want to be in this situation when I'm in my 80s or 90s but can't see how to avoid it.....

None of these 90+ year old protected parties was in court. I doubt most of them even knew about the court case. I *really* don't want to be in this situation when I'm in my 80s or 90s but can't see how to avoid it.....

Gentle start for #nhs1000miles 2026. 2 small Wainwright summits for 8 very frosty boots-on hiking miles. Here's us on #Dodd this morning. Pretty sure this will be my last summit before knee surgery next Sat, tho' I hope to clock a few more miles this week #LakeDistrict @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Recommended (and further to my post here: pinktape.co.uk/rants/lawyer...) : naturalandartificiallaw.com/ai-in-judici...

Last (short) hike of 2025, with @kitzingercelia.bsky.social: a chilly wander over Latrigg. Here's the view over Derwentwater into Borrowdale and the high fells beyond. Happy New Year everyone!

Fleetwith Pike on Christmas Day

This is a long read but an important one for anyone interested in how the Court of Protection, or indeed any public service, interacts with families. It is a shocking and very frightening case and I'm hugely grateful to Zoe and to Celia for sharing it.

Lord Sumption in his own words is almost always more impressive than other people’s gloss of his arguments and thinking would suggest. “Perhaps the second worst sin that a judge in the final court of appeal can commit is accidentally to decide half a dozen other cases that aren’t before him.“

This shocking case has generated lots of comments (scroll down to the bottom of the blog post. Thank you to everyone who has sent kind messages to Zoe. No family should be put through this kind of trauma.

My (now) severely brain-injured sister Polly once drew an image of herself wrestling with complex vocabulary. It was pinned up over @jennykitzinger.bsky.social's desk for sisterly solidarity as she dealt with making a COP application for Polly. openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/12/09/a...

My (now) severely brain-injured sister Polly once drew an image of herself wrestling with complex vocabulary. It was pinned up over @jennykitzinger.bsky.social's desk for sisterly solidarity as she dealt with making a COP application for Polly. openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/12/09/a...

Yesterday in London, with @kitzingercelia.bsky.social: Banksy exhibition and Christmas lights in Regent Street & Russell Square

10.5 hiking miles for me this week. Today's outing - a Sale Fell circuit with @kitzingercelia.bsky.social - may well be my last fell walk of the year: my (second) total knee replacement happens on 13 December. Hope to get a few more gentle miles in before then. #LakeDistrict #NHS1000miles

Amazingly varied potato discourse

Miles Hewstone - once a respected and influential social psychologist (and editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology). www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

It's 30.5 boots-on hiking miles for me since I last posted for #nhs1000miles Here are a few more pics from this week's snow in the #LakeDistrict (Tewet Tarn x2, view towards Clough Head & the Dodds, Castlerigg Stone Circle) @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Today is St Clement's Day, the patron saint of blacksmiths and metal workers. At Finch Foundry in Devon, blacksmiths will gather to show their skills and complete in the annual snail race. Not what you might immediately think of, the race is to create an iron snail sculpture! 📷 Mel Peters

Minus 4 degrees at Castlerigg stone circle this morning - and we had it to ourselves. (That's @kitzingercelia.bsky.social in the red jacket.) Another fabulous snow day in the #LakeDistrict

Four views of #Skiddaw from this morning: from #Portinscale; across Nichol End Marine; from Lingholm Kitchen (walled garden in foreground); and across #Derwentwater (greylag and canada geese under the trees) #LakeDistrict @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Just a scattering of snow on Causey Pike this morning...

Nestlé still are at it. I haven't drunk Nestlé coffee for four decades because of the horrific baby milk scandal. With a multinational the size of Nestlé, it is hard to avoid their products, but I do try because the company knows what it is doing, and does it anyway. voxdev.org/topic/health...

The Local Authority want P to vacate the property voluntarily whilst his property is cleared. Failing that, they want P removed forcibly, using restraint if necessary. Blog by @doccmartin.bsky.social #NotSecretCourt openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/11/16/h...

Got all Wordsworthian seeing recent post from @cumbriawildlife.bsky.social about Lowick Common. 1st extract is from Dorothy's journal of 3 Oct 1800; 2nd is from William's "Resolution & Independence", written 1802, published 1807. For more info, see: www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reser...

Sometimes, Curlew nest are so well hidden that even the other local wildlife gets a surprise! 😄 📷 James Wellock Note: this Curlew nest was fenced off from grazing dairy cows

This is an appalling judgment to read. Two Chief Constables found in contempt of court for misleading the court about the existence of video footage. But this was only discovered when the matter made it to the Court of Appeal. Incredible perseverance. www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWC...

Public observers disillusioned and dismayed by what they see in the Supreme Court. Not what judges hope for from open justice! openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/11/10/w...

Open justice is supposed to enhance public trust + confidence in the justice system - but in this case it had the opposite effect. What does the Supreme Court need to do differently to make sure COP observers have a better experience next time? openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/11/10/w...

This is what I'll be doing later today. Why not join us? It's not too late! Send an email to [email protected] and we'll send you the link. All welcome.

Why not observe a hearing in the Court of Protection and learn more about the challenges faced by judges, lawyers, families and P when decision-making capacity is deemed lost. We tell you how to find a hearing, how to log on and what to expect. And we have a "buddy" system if you want support.

Given current watery conditions here in Cumbria, I'm enjoying Hardwicke Rawnsley's account of the Keswick floods of 25 Oct 1888: '...when it siles down reet gaily, every road becomes a sike, and every sike a beck, and every beck a river'. Apparently the sexton of Crosthwaite church was undeterred:

Lady Rose's James Wood Lecture, delivered at the University of Glasgow yesterday: supremecourt.uk/uploads/spee...

The utter disgrace of this. Nearly 150,000 aged 90 and above wait 12 hours in England’s A&Es each year www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

29 miles this week - and that takes me over the #nhs1000miles goal (the earliest in the year I've ever met it)! My YTD is now 1021 boots-on hiking miles. Pics are from mid-week in Martindale with the Skiddaw U3A Roamers. The ethereal blue is Angle Tarn. @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Deer-stalking in Martindale with the Roamers again today (other side of the valley from 2 weeks ago). Just as spectacular: the rut is still in full swing! Highlight was seeing this stag rolling in a wallow ... @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Day 2 of the Supreme Court Hearing reconsidering Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, Tuesday 21st October See our website for a summary of Day 1 and details of how to follow on the livestream: openjusticecourtofprotection.org

Added 32 more boots-on hiking miles for #nhs1000miles this week. Highlights were THOSE #LakeDistrict inversions at the beginning of the week. (They lasted into Thursday for those who got high enough to be above the gradually-rising cloud layer.) Can't resist 4 (more) pix! @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

In London for a celebration. The Mary Beale arboretum looked gorgeous in the rain ... @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Being there as Luba MacPherson was taken away to prison is an experience I won’t ever forget. Read about the hearing in this new blog by me and @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Police spied on Stephen Lawrence's grieving family, inquiry told

Inversion cloud layer between Skiddaw and Blencathra - video taken from the Skiddaw summit plateau at lunchtime today #LakeDistrict @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

30 more hiking miles for #nhs1000miles this week. Today - back o'Skiddaw - was all about cloud inversions #LakeDistrict @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

The second in our series of blogs about the upcoming Supreme Court hearing concerning DOLS and Northern Ireland. "Cheshire West revisited" By @thesmallplaces.bsky.social openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2025/10/09/c...

Hoping for an inversion on Skiddaw this morning - but didn't quite happen ... @kitzingercelia.bsky.social

Back o Blencathra with sun, swirling mist, and curlews

Some environmental good news for once: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Excellent explainer of the upcoming case