by Dee | Jul 24, 2018 | Featured, Glo Arts & Entertainment
As someone who has been witness to writers in television with my own parents, and now a writer myself, I have spent my entire life learning about what inspires an audience, and even more importantly what keeps them interested.
So with this inside scrutiny and knowledge, you would think that my own belief system when watching TV is extremely limited. But far from it, and I have been known to binge watch a variety of programmes, and have become lost and involved in them and their characters.
Having been in ‘catch up’ mode over the past few months myself, I am listing below my top four – and so in case you have missed any of them, get some ‘me’ time booked in right now, and get ready to binge.
The most recent is The Night Of, an American crime 8 part drama series, which had me hooked from the outset, and stars the wonderful Riz Ahmed who internalises all of his emotions so beautifully, equal only to Al Pacino in The Godfather, as he turns from college boy to gangster. John Turturro plays his lawyer, whose skin allergies are almost as painful as the trial, and definitely as desperate. But the series is without doubt the most compelling I have seen in a while, and will it hold you ‘til you drop.
Big Little Lies is also a favourite, and I have seen this twice, as when I had family over from Tasmania, I insisted that they watch it. It is produced by Reece Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, who also star in the Drama Series, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you are parents or grandparents, you will get it, and even if you are childless – the suspense will kill you.
The Affair is another incredible ‘must watch’, and stars the fabulous Dominic West who portrays a formerly devoted husband with three young kids, who is sucked into a passionate affair with a local waitress, whilst visiting relatives on a family vacation. Ruth Wilson plays the complex young seductress with every ounce of voluptuous pout she can muster, and it is all offset beautifully against a backdrop of crashing waves and leering locals. It is a wife and mother’s nightmare, and every young girl’s dream, and you will love those steamy sex scenes.
Grey’s Anatomy is my final choice for now, and I reached the 7th series in just over a month, being hooked on all the dramas of a group of interns in a busy hospital in Seattle. Their complex love lives are perfect escapism, entwined with their ruthless desire to become successful heart and neuro surgeons, which in my book confirms the fact that hospital dramas are always really successful and a great environment for a television series. Remember ER, General Hospital, not to mention our own long running dramas Holby City and Casualty. But that is not to spoil the impact, and Gray’s Anatomy has a DNA of its own, and is not at all predictable with a twist at every turn.
Whats you favorite box set ? let us know.
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by Sophie | Jul 19, 2018 | Featured
Sue Andrews is a Partner at the Buckinghamshire law firm BP Collins, with more than 30 years’ experience under her belt. She heads up the Family Law team and is passionate about putting families first. Widely respected for her professional but friendly approach, Sue has handled high-profile divorces for celebrities, sports stars and top business people, providing advice on complex financial arrangements within often acrimonious divorce cases. Sue is known for her passion for fashion, travel and the Arts, and it was a real pleasure to meet this inspiring woman for a coffee at Pinewood Studios – where we enjoyed a hearty chat about women in the law arena, psychology and the importance of wacky shoes!
Great to meet you Sue! Tell me, did you aspire to be a lawyer from an early age?
I did. There were no lawyers in my family, but I remember watching a programme called The Main Chance – a TV drama centred around a solicitor. I remember being inspired by this character and thinking that his work looked fascinating – being able to delve into people’s problems and then to sort them out. Back then, there was not the same career advice that is available now, and who knows I might have ended up in fashion if I was looking around 15 years later than when I started out! But I love my job, it’s a ‘people job’ – and if you are enthusiastic about your work it really doesn’t feel like work anyway. I enjoy getting to know my clients, getting drawn into their problems, helping to put the pieces back together and then seeing that, further down the line, everything has worked out for the best. You really get to know people well – in fact, one of my best friends is an ex-client.
How important do you feel it is to choose a career path early on?
For my generation it was very important; these days many kids don’t seem to have a clue about what they would like to do – maybe there are simply too many choices now? These days, there are so many more paths available, and switching careers is commonplace. Back then, you knew you had to rely on yourself, plus I was the oldest of five siblings so I was quite driven anyway. I did law at university, which set me on my career path and gave me a sense of purpose.
Is law still a male-dominated profession?
No! Well, let me qualify that – at the Bar it is quite male-dominated; there are a lot more male barristers, probably because it is a real challenge for women to juggle having kids with being a barrister. Solicitors are much more in control of their time, so not surprisingly there are more female solicitors. At our last Partners’ Meeting for example, there were six men and nine women. This situation has changed dramatically since I started with BP Collins in 1988 – as the only female lawyer! These days, the majority of family lawyers are women.
And has being female made a difference to the type of cases you have taken on?
I would say not, as all my cases are family-related – and actually a lot of male clients want a female lawyer, maybe because it’s easier to open up to them? We currently have seven lawyers in our Family Team, and part of my job is to allocate each case to a lawyer, which is where psychology comes into play – I make a decision based on the best personality fit, as well as their capacity and experience, and I enjoy matching our clients to the right lawyers.
Your clients remark on your passion for winning – how important is that passion to succeed?
The key thing is, it’s winning for THEM, not for me. For example, when you’re acting for a woman who has lost all her confidence, has had children and been out of work for a while, she may think she is not entitled to anything in her divorce settlement – to get a great result for her, so that she can have good life moving forward, that is a great feeling and very rewarding. It’s not really about winners and losers – it’s about getting a FAIR outcome, especially where kids are involved. The couple going through a divorce must have contact throughout the process, and there’s no point having a war – it’s important to understand their psychology, so that you can devise a strategy to get the right outcome for all parties. Children often feel torn between their parents, hearing their conversations and also picking up on what isn’t said between them – and we encourage our clients to talk positively about each other as parents, which helps towards a more amicable resolution for the kids as well as the adults.
Do you ever become emotionally involved in a case or with a client – and if so, does that help or hinder you?
If you get emotionally involved, it hinders you. It’s about caring, but in a detached way. To get emotionally involved wouldn’t be doing the client any favours. You hear some appalling things within divorce cases, but you try not to get too involved, even when you have a friendly relationship with the client. You never let friendship affect the case. It’s quite easy to be objective actually; you learn to be detached, but still identify with them.
We draw upon our own experience too of course – my own parents got divorced when I was 22, which must have had some bearing on my choice to specialise in Family Law. I remember talking it through with my father, and those conversations must have coloured my understanding of what people go through – an understanding which I can bring to my clients.
That makes me wonder about the impact of divorce upon grown-up kids in comparison to younger children – what are your thoughts?
It may actually be easier for younger children to deal with divorce in some cases – if it is all dealt with properly of course. Sometimes it is harder for young adults to process the fact that their parents have separated, as it throws up issues of identity, for example if a parent is dating a younger partner, the age of their own children. Plus there is the sadness of losing the family home as a base. Younger kids sometimes find it easier to adapt.
Is there one particular area of law that you enjoy more than the others?
Well, family law is its own discrete area of law – and I mainly deal with the breakdown in relationships, so I don’t really have a preferred area, I enjoy it all. ‘Enjoy’ is maybe the wrong word, given the nature of what I do – I’d say it is fulfilling, actually it’s a privilege that clients trust you with the most intimate aspects of their life. It feels great when you see someone come through the whole process with a positive outcome – to see the change in their physiology is incredible. I had one client recently, who had not smiled at all during the two-year process, and at the end of the case upon hearing the outcome, she burst into a huge smile – she immediately looked younger and lighter. That moment is their chance to be happy again. The fifth biggest regret of terminally ill patients in a recent hospice study was identified as not choosing to be happy enough – and in my line of work you see people actively making decisions to ensure they can be happy moving forward.
What would you say to law students today – or to your younger self starting out?
To students I’d advise carefully choosing the area of law that will be most fulfilling to them – and not to put their career before everything else. I was work-obsessed for many years – I enjoyed it, so it didn’t matter – but I would probably advise putting your family and loved ones first, and spending quality time with them. Law is very absorbing – there is always stuff to do, and you never get to the end of your task list, so you have to manage your time, and keep a work-life balance. I was a perfectionist – lawyers often want ‘perfect’ when ‘good’ will do – so make sure there are other things in your life that are equally important. No-one says at the end of their life that they wish they had worked longer hours! However, I’d also say it’s vital to love what you do – if you don’t, get out and do something else. A career in law HAS to be vocational.
Having worked for a long time in your role, do you feel your age and experience mean you now bring more to the table for your clients?
In some ways we become more confident as we get older, more confident in our abilities – and it makes you more tolerant and more giving. I lost my life partner 18 years ago, and I enjoy being able to help other people who are going through similar loss. You feel like a broken eggshell after a bereavement, like you are never going to be able to put yourself back together, but actually your life just becomes a different shape. Sometimes people avoid the subject and don’t know how to comfort someone who is grieving – but it is healthy to talk about it, as we all experience loss at some point, and talking makes it all easier to process. I am passionate about helping people with these issues, both in and out of my work – and I’m also very interested in research into lowering suicide rates. If I ever left my day job, I would go into that area, researching the subject or being a Samaritan. I actually want to get a ‘mental first aider’ at work – someone that employees can go to for confidential mental support, and not feel judged. Maybe all companies should have something like this in place…
Tell me more about your life outside of Law – what do you do for fun, and to relax?
Yoga is a big passion of mine – I’m looking forward to going on a yoga retreat in Morocco in September, and I often do full days of yoga practice. I also love shopping, visiting the V&A, theatre, ballet and gigs. I love to travel all over the place, and I’m particularly drawn to the Far East.
I can see you’re a lover of fashion! Do you feel able to express that within the working context, or is business dress still pretty conservative within the Law arena?
In the office I can express myself through my clothes – in court I still wear a corporate black suit; you do need to power-dress in some situations to project a professional image, but women have more freedom than men in what they wear, and we are fortunate that we can accessorise our business-wear with jewellery or a pair of wacky shoes! Outside of work, I don’t like people to be able to guess that I am a lawyer or pigeonhole me based on my clothes!
Sue can be contacted at B P Collins https://www.bpcollins.co.uk/
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by Glotime | Jul 18, 2018 | Featured, Travel
Planning a self-catering holiday this year? Let’s talk about NOVASOL – one of the best travel companies out there offering handpicked holiday homes to match your vision of a perfect holiday. In fact, they’re Europe’s largest professionally managed self-catering holiday home provider, offering over 50,000 villas, cottages and apartments across a whopping 28 different countries.
Having said that, NOVASOL come from small beginnings and have never lost the personal touch that makes each booking as precious as the last. Putting a friendly face on the rental business, they also have 60 local offices in a number of their destinations – meaning a helping hand isn’t far off if you need one.
So whether you’re looking for rustic country cottage, a charming gîte in France, or a stylish apartment close to a chic European city, their impressive range will have something to suit your taste and budget. If that sounds good to you, read on to find out why our piece of paradise this year is a villa with a private swimming pool rather than a hotel…
It’s almost summer and it’s no wonder that sun-sapped urbanites are crawling out from their offices and underground carriages to take a well-deserved break. Craving vitamin D in shedloads, even the country bumpkins among us are itching to switch their mud-caked wellies for strappy sandals! So this summer, we’re urging you to forget fighting for elbowroom on the daily commute and give yourself the luxury of space, time and privacy with a top-notch villa all to yourself (and maybe the family, if they’re well-behaved).
(Villa in Dalmatia, Croatia: £21 per person, per night – September: https://goo.gl/47sfSa)
Our recommendation? Check out a holiday home provider like www.novasol.co.uk. They have a range of over 50,000 properties all over Europe, so you don’t have to share your indulgence abroad with anyone else! Everyone’s definition of luxury is different, so it’s pretty lucky their range can take you from an infinity pool in Corsica, to a château in the Loire Valley or an expansive terrace overlooking the Andalusian hills. That’s expansive not expensive, by the way – each of the properties featured on this post can be rented for less than £25 per person, per night! Total bargain.
(Villa in Benissa, Spain: £20 per person, per night – September: https://goo.gl/nu9EBY )
Self-catering has a new image and it’s time the humble holiday home snatched the title of luxury getaway provider back from the hotel giants. In my opinion, nothing says indulgence more than having the entire swimming pool to yourself and allowing calm waters to wash away the stresses of your usually hectic schedule. Actually, I tell a lie – things can always be made slightly more glamorous with a glass of champagne. So this year forgo the crowded hotel complex, swap the work suit for a swimsuit and make a toast to ultimate relaxation.
(Villa in Lazio, Italy: £23 per person, per night – September, £28 per person, per night – August: https://goo.gl/C6pbnX)
For us, a truly indulgent holiday is not a clinical hotel room charged at an eye-watering £500+ per night, and it most certainly isn’t a cacophony of kiddy tantrums in the endless queue for your all-inclusive dinner. The road to a peaceful getaway is paved with good intentions, but in this case maybe we’re better off taking the less beaten path. Select a totally unique holiday home where the design and location can help you to unwind – whether that’s a chic apartment on the Côte d’Azur, or a Tuscan farmhouse amidst sprawling vineyards.
(Villa in Provence, France: £20 per person, per night – September, £37 per person, per night – July: https://goo.gl/Hytx4A)
Feeling the urgent need to book your own holiday home getaway yet? Wave goodbye to hotel hell and head to www.novasol.co.uk where real luxury travel begins.
*Prices are based on maximum occupancy over a week
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