Negotiationg a Business Tenancy (Lease)
Recommendation 1; Renting premises:
Both landlords and tenants should negotiate the terms of a lease openly, constructively and considering each other's views.
Recommendation 2; Obtaining professional advice:
Parties intending to enter into leases should seek early advice from property professionals or lawyers.
Recommendation 3; Financial matters:
Landlords should provide estimates of any service charges and other outgoings in additions to the rent. Parties should be open about their financial standing to each other, on the understanding that information provided will be kept confidential unless already publicly available or there is proper need for disclosure. The terms on which any cash deposit is to be held should be agreed and documented.
Recommendation 4; Duration of lease:
Landlords should consider offering tenants a choice of length of term, including break clauses where appropriate and with or without the protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Those funding property should make every effort to avoid imposing restrictions on the length of lease that landlords, developers and/or investors may offer.
Recommendation 5; Rent and value added tax:
Where alternative lease terms are offered, different rents should be appropriately priced for each set of terms. The landlord should disclose the VAT status of the property and the tentant should take professional advice as to whether any VAT charged on rent and other charges is recoverable.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Parts of Speech
In English, there are different classes of words. They are called parts of speech. This excerpt from a poem captures the essence of the different parts of speech exactly:
A NOUN's the name of anything;
As school or garden, hoop, or swing,
ADJECTIVES tell the kind of noun;
As great, small, pretty, white, or brown
Instead of nouns the PRONOUNS stand;
Her face, his face, our arms, your hand.
VERBS tell of something being done;
To read, count, sing, laugh, jump, or run.
How things are done the ADVERBS tell;
As slowly, quickly, ill or well.
CONJUNCTIONS join the words together;
As men and women, wind or weather;
The PREPOSITION stands before
A noun, as in or through a door;
The INTERJECTION shows surpise;
As oh! how pretty! ah! how wise!
(Day, 1995:23-24)
A NOUN's the name of anything;
As school or garden, hoop, or swing,
ADJECTIVES tell the kind of noun;
As great, small, pretty, white, or brown
Instead of nouns the PRONOUNS stand;
Her face, his face, our arms, your hand.
VERBS tell of something being done;
To read, count, sing, laugh, jump, or run.
How things are done the ADVERBS tell;
As slowly, quickly, ill or well.
CONJUNCTIONS join the words together;
As men and women, wind or weather;
The PREPOSITION stands before
A noun, as in or through a door;
The INTERJECTION shows surpise;
As oh! how pretty! ah! how wise!
(Day, 1995:23-24)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Screwtape Letters
Attended lecture on 02 November 2007 @ 7.30pm.
It was a public lecture organised by the BGST (Biblical Graduate School of Theology).
The speaker was Professor James M Houston.
The Screwtape Letters is about CS Lewis's insight into our temptable human nature and his deep strategic concern for the Christian witnesses.
For Lewis heaven and hell are the most serious realities imaginable. And evil is a real trap.
CS Lewis is more selective of seeking polemically to guard some central Christian doctrines - the realities of Good and Evil, Heaven and Hell, and the need to have a clear perspective on human behaviour in the light of theological anthropology.
In the Srewtape Letters, Lewis does not depict evil in a spectacular, nor as an original force, But he sees evil as a parasite of the good.
The forces of temptation are more emotive than cognitive.
Most of us waste of life focus on common things instead of thinking of God.
Charles Williams, a friend of CS Lewis commented that :
"What is 'ordinary' or 'domestic' lies actually at the crossroads between heaven and hell."
Whereas the advice of Screwtape is the antithesis - keep the patient asleep from having to make any such choices... divert his attention from serious thought.
Then art of Lewis lies then, in balancing the cosmic seriousness of the Fall, and of the reality of Satan, demons, and Evil, with the ordinary, domesticated ways in which we remain vulnerable to temptations.
The temptations of the The Screwtape Letters are a concealed and deceptive process, gradual indeed, to choosing the Self step by step, instead of God.
It was a public lecture organised by the BGST (Biblical Graduate School of Theology).
The speaker was Professor James M Houston.
The Screwtape Letters is about CS Lewis's insight into our temptable human nature and his deep strategic concern for the Christian witnesses.
For Lewis heaven and hell are the most serious realities imaginable. And evil is a real trap.
CS Lewis is more selective of seeking polemically to guard some central Christian doctrines - the realities of Good and Evil, Heaven and Hell, and the need to have a clear perspective on human behaviour in the light of theological anthropology.
In the Srewtape Letters, Lewis does not depict evil in a spectacular, nor as an original force, But he sees evil as a parasite of the good.
The forces of temptation are more emotive than cognitive.
Most of us waste of life focus on common things instead of thinking of God.
Charles Williams, a friend of CS Lewis commented that :
"What is 'ordinary' or 'domestic' lies actually at the crossroads between heaven and hell."
Whereas the advice of Screwtape is the antithesis - keep the patient asleep from having to make any such choices... divert his attention from serious thought.
Then art of Lewis lies then, in balancing the cosmic seriousness of the Fall, and of the reality of Satan, demons, and Evil, with the ordinary, domesticated ways in which we remain vulnerable to temptations.
The temptations of the The Screwtape Letters are a concealed and deceptive process, gradual indeed, to choosing the Self step by step, instead of God.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Torts and breaches of contract
A tort involves breach of a duty which is fixed by the law, while breach of contract is a breach of a duty which the party has voluntarily agreed to assume.
For example, we are all under a duty not to trespass on other people's land, whether we like it or not, and breach of that duty is a tort. But if I refuse to dig your garden, I can only be in breach of a legal duty if had already agreed to do so by means of a contract.
In contract, duties are usually only owed to the other contracting party, whereas in tort, they are usually owed to people in general. While the main aim of tort proceedings is to compensate for harm suffered, contract aims primarily to enforce promises.
Again, there are areas where these distinctions blur. In some cases liability in tort is clarified by the presence of agreement - for example, they duty owed by an occupier of land to someone who visits the land is greater if the occupier had agreed to the visitor's presence, than if the 'visitor' is actually a tresspasser. Equally, many contractual duties are fixed by law, and not by agreement; the parties must have agreed to make a contract, but once that has been done, certain terms will be imposed on them by law.
A defendant can be liable in both contract and tort. For example, if a householder is injured by building work done on their home, it may be possible to sue in tort for neglignence and for breach of a contract term to take reasonable care.
For example, we are all under a duty not to trespass on other people's land, whether we like it or not, and breach of that duty is a tort. But if I refuse to dig your garden, I can only be in breach of a legal duty if had already agreed to do so by means of a contract.
In contract, duties are usually only owed to the other contracting party, whereas in tort, they are usually owed to people in general. While the main aim of tort proceedings is to compensate for harm suffered, contract aims primarily to enforce promises.
Again, there are areas where these distinctions blur. In some cases liability in tort is clarified by the presence of agreement - for example, they duty owed by an occupier of land to someone who visits the land is greater if the occupier had agreed to the visitor's presence, than if the 'visitor' is actually a tresspasser. Equally, many contractual duties are fixed by law, and not by agreement; the parties must have agreed to make a contract, but once that has been done, certain terms will be imposed on them by law.
A defendant can be liable in both contract and tort. For example, if a householder is injured by building work done on their home, it may be possible to sue in tort for neglignence and for breach of a contract term to take reasonable care.
Torts and crimes
When a tort is committed, the law allows the victim to claim money, known as damages, to compensate for the commission of the tort. This is paid by the person who committed the tort (known as the tortfeasor).
A crime is a wrong which is punished by the state; in most cases, the parties in the case are the wrongdoer and the state (called the Crown for these purposes), and the primary aim is to punish the wrongdoer.
By contrast, a tort action is between the wrongdoer and the victim, and the aim is to compensate the victim for the harm done. It is therefore incorrect to say that someone has been prosecuted for negligence, or found guilty of libel, as these terms relate to the criminal law. Journalists frequently make this kind of mistake, but law students should not!
There are, however, some areas in which the distinctions are blurred. In some tort cases, damages may be set at a high rate in order to punish the wrongdoer, while in criminal cases, the range of punishments now includes provision for the wrongdoer to compensate the victim financially (though this is still not the primary aim of criminal proceedings, and the awards are usually a great deal lower than would be ordered in a tort action.
There are cases in which the same incident may give rise to both criminal and tortious proceedings. An example would be a car accident, in which the driver might be prosecuted by the state for dangerous driving, and sued by the victim for the injuries caused.
A crime is a wrong which is punished by the state; in most cases, the parties in the case are the wrongdoer and the state (called the Crown for these purposes), and the primary aim is to punish the wrongdoer.
By contrast, a tort action is between the wrongdoer and the victim, and the aim is to compensate the victim for the harm done. It is therefore incorrect to say that someone has been prosecuted for negligence, or found guilty of libel, as these terms relate to the criminal law. Journalists frequently make this kind of mistake, but law students should not!
There are, however, some areas in which the distinctions are blurred. In some tort cases, damages may be set at a high rate in order to punish the wrongdoer, while in criminal cases, the range of punishments now includes provision for the wrongdoer to compensate the victim financially (though this is still not the primary aim of criminal proceedings, and the awards are usually a great deal lower than would be ordered in a tort action.
There are cases in which the same incident may give rise to both criminal and tortious proceedings. An example would be a car accident, in which the driver might be prosecuted by the state for dangerous driving, and sued by the victim for the injuries caused.
The Master Word
I ran across something interesting called "The Master Word." It's about a word that will work wonders for a person regardless of his age, or what he does with his days. Man, woman or child, the master word will bring meaning and usefulness into his or her life, new clarity and self-respect and satisfaction into the passing days.
This was written by the great physician, Sir William Osler:
"Thoug little, the master word looms large in meaning. It is the 'open sesame' to every portal, the great equalizer, the philosopher's stone which transmutes all base metal of humanity into gold. The stupid it will make bright, the bright brilliant, and the brilliant steady. To youth it brings hope, to the middle-aged confidence, to the aged repose."
Well - the master word is - WORK!
I've talked about this before, but it's been said that we need reminding as much as we need educating. Human beings have the strangest and most perverse tendency to take the best parts of life for granted. In fact, the human being has the capacity to take anything, no matter how great it might be, for granted - once he becomes used to it. The actor in front of the cameras, the captain of a great ocean liner, the man at the controls of a giant earth-moving machine, the writer, the painter, the mother, all seem to let the charm and excitement of their work fade after a while until it becomes as humdrum to them as candling eggs.
This was written by the great physician, Sir William Osler:
"Thoug little, the master word looms large in meaning. It is the 'open sesame' to every portal, the great equalizer, the philosopher's stone which transmutes all base metal of humanity into gold. The stupid it will make bright, the bright brilliant, and the brilliant steady. To youth it brings hope, to the middle-aged confidence, to the aged repose."
Well - the master word is - WORK!
I've talked about this before, but it's been said that we need reminding as much as we need educating. Human beings have the strangest and most perverse tendency to take the best parts of life for granted. In fact, the human being has the capacity to take anything, no matter how great it might be, for granted - once he becomes used to it. The actor in front of the cameras, the captain of a great ocean liner, the man at the controls of a giant earth-moving machine, the writer, the painter, the mother, all seem to let the charm and excitement of their work fade after a while until it becomes as humdrum to them as candling eggs.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Emerson, HEROISM
Life is a festival only to the wise. Seen from the nook and chimney-side of prudence, it wears a ragged and dangerous front.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Come Early
Notice in a church bulletin: Come to the morning service early is you want a good back seat!
Funny stories
Instruction Not Clear
The instructor in the mechanic class spoke to one of his students: "I'm putting this rivet in the correct positionl when I nod my head, hit it real hard with your hammer." The student did, and the instructor woke up the next day in the hospital.
The instructor in the mechanic class spoke to one of his students: "I'm putting this rivet in the correct positionl when I nod my head, hit it real hard with your hammer." The student did, and the instructor woke up the next day in the hospital.