In a moment of pre-Christmas over-exuberance, Zoe Saunders and I decided it would be a good idea to harness the last dregs of our 2024 energy and deploy them in the preparation of a podcast episode all about the much awaited alienating behaviours guidance, which had just been published. And then I got distracted by Christmas and forgot to post about it. So, slightly belatedly, here is our podcast episode about the Family Justice Council's recently published guidance on alienating behaviours (full title : Guidance on responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour). The Guidance is very interesting and I think likely to be helpful in many respects. Other views are available. You can find out more about the St John's Chambers podcast and our team of barristers here.

I have lain in bed for much of the first day of 2025, pretending to be on the verge of taking a shower, and pondering what to make of it. An inauspicious start to a year that I fear is going to be another complicated one chez nous. I have been doom scrolling crochet memes and pondering how to approach 2024. I am still smarting from my 50th birthday and feeling my age, and the events of 2024 have reminded me of my own mortality.  Perhaps it's the Christmas booze, but I keep daydreaming about the many ways in which life is like a Christmas fridge, which one day someone will unceremoniously unplug. The only resolution I've managed to make before dusk on day 1 is that I will write a blog post about why life is like a Christmas fridge. I'm regretting that already. I could have resolved to give up booze, stop eating food rich in carbs and fat and todo more exercise. But unfortunately my fridge is like a Christmas fridge and my wine rack is like a Christmas wine rack, and I can't let it go...

Well. It's been a week, hasn't it? It's Friday night and I'm holed up in my office-cum-santa's-grotto (one has to forge a path through the amazon boxes to reach the desk) contemplating life and everything family law related this Friday evening....the teenagers have taken over the common space and I don't want to cramp their style. It's rare to see them socialising, so I am happy to hear them down the hall messing about while I decompress from the week. So I thought I'd knock out a blog post. I feel as if things have been zooming across the top of my inbox and news feed all week and it's been hard to keep up. Here are the things that have stuck with me. You will forgive me if I don't bother with links or references. I'm sure you can find the things I'm referring to with the help of google (if you haven't seen them already). We've had the new alienating behaviours guidance from the FJC. A long wait, and much better in final form than the draft I saw last year, which was a bit all over...

I had to get up at 5.30am to make it to the studio to record The Law Show for BBC Radio 4. I was somewhat sleep deprived anyway as a result of having a hurty leg over the weekend (don't laugh it's been excruciating). I woke groggy from some interesting new medication with no idea where my respectable clothes were. And so it seemed reasonable to dress, as they say, for radio. Only they had CAMERAS. Goddamnit. Fortunately, they didn't spot any hot takes that they wanted to show a clip of. So you will never know how quite how rough I looked. In fact I don't even know why I'm confessing this here. Anyway, I had intended to post something here in advance of the show airing and failed dismally to remember, but lucky for you it's still available on BBC Sounds and is re-airing next Tues evening at 9pm. So, fill your boots. The Law Show - on family courts. Me, Sanchia Berg, Samantha Woodham and host Dr Joelle Grogan. Hopefully a bit informative and interesting. Watch here.