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By far the most significant influence on my life is music. I learned to play the piano when I was very young. I am especially fond of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise Opus 34 No. 14. Later, I was taught to play the clarinet at the age of ten, by a talented friend who won a scholarship at Trinity College of Music, so that I could play in the school orchestra. My favourite piece is Mozart’s Clarinet concerto in A Major K 622 Adagio.
I have sung in church choirs at various times throughout my life. One day after school choir practice, I gave the organist sheet music for The Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell and he played it from sight. I shall never forget the sound of that haunting music resounding around the church. George Carman QC selected this piece on Desert Island Discs because he knew how much I loved it.
I attend The Royal Opera House whenever I can – it’s such a special experience. My favourite opera is La bohème by Puccini, not just because the music is gorgeous, but also because the story is so passionate.
My taste in books tends to lean to the classical. As a child, I sent a letter to the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth, Yorkshire to ask about the lives of the Brontë sisters. It must have been difficult to write at a time when you were not taken seriously as a woman, and this makes their novels all the more extraordinary.
A contemporary author I like very much is Ann Patchett. I recently read Tom Lake, which I think is marvellous, but my favourite is Bel Canto. One of the characters is an opera singer whose singing sustains the other characters in terrifying circumstances.
I regularly read biographies and was fascinated by Famous Trials of Marshall Hall (by Edward Marjoribanks). This eminent barrister employed many ingenious and persuasive methods which made him the great advocate he was. It remains an important element of training at the Bar that we continue to observe more senior barristers and learn from them. One can learn a lot from Sir Marshall Hall.
On my first visit to Venice, I was overwhelmed by the architecture and the beauty of the Grand Canal, and so a painting I adore is of the Gothic Doge’s Palace at the time when it was a government office, the residence of the Doge of Venice and a jail. Canaletto captures its beauty perfectly.
I can’t pretend to spend my days reading poetry, but I always enjoy Naming of Parts by Henry Reed. Precise instructions for the operation of a gun are underscored by another voice describing the arrival of spring with its ‘bees’, ‘blossoms’ and how the ‘japonica glistens’. I believe in the importance of positivity, and this poem insists on an element of hope beneath the ominous current of war.
Films I watch again and again are Life is Beautiful, Brief Encounter and Il Postino. The latter concerns a poet who teaches a postman how to write poetry and so expands his mind. It is a stirring reminder that all art improves human life. I am also an admirer of the Cohen brothers and, more recently, the films of Sean Baker. I adore the work of Jane Campion. It will come as no surprise that The Piano is my favourite!
Living in London, I am lucky to have access to wonderful theatre. I particularly enjoy watching the plays of Shakespeare at the Globe. When we first met, George wrote me a note of these words spoken by Brutus in Julius Caesar: ‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. / Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. / On such a full sea are we now afloat. / And we must take the current when it serves, / Or lose our ventures.’ This is a compelling injunction to seize the moment, something I have always endeavoured to do.
Of course, I love musicals. There are too many wonderful musicals for me to mention them all, but I am especially captivated by the music in Miss Saigon.
Both my parents were talented tennis players. My mother played in junior Wimbledon. I am fortunate to be a member of The Queen’s Club and have always played. You can learn a great deal about people from the way they behave during sports games.
Podcasts are a wonderful way to keep yourself not just entertained, but also informed, while pottering about. Two which fit this bill for me are Joshua Rozenberg’s A Lawyer Talks and Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook’s The Rest is History. These are well produced, always interesting and have likeable presenters. I recommend them both.
Karen Phillipps is a legal adviser, mediator and qualified barrister who practised at the Chancery and criminal Bars. As a close companion of George Carman QC, with whom she also worked, she was uniquely qualified to write Get Carman (Biteback Publishing: 2024).
By far the most significant influence on my life is music. I learned to play the piano when I was very young. I am especially fond of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise Opus 34 No. 14. Later, I was taught to play the clarinet at the age of ten, by a talented friend who won a scholarship at Trinity College of Music, so that I could play in the school orchestra. My favourite piece is Mozart’s Clarinet concerto in A Major K 622 Adagio.
I have sung in church choirs at various times throughout my life. One day after school choir practice, I gave the organist sheet music for The Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell and he played it from sight. I shall never forget the sound of that haunting music resounding around the church. George Carman QC selected this piece on Desert Island Discs because he knew how much I loved it.
I attend The Royal Opera House whenever I can – it’s such a special experience. My favourite opera is La bohème by Puccini, not just because the music is gorgeous, but also because the story is so passionate.
My taste in books tends to lean to the classical. As a child, I sent a letter to the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth, Yorkshire to ask about the lives of the Brontë sisters. It must have been difficult to write at a time when you were not taken seriously as a woman, and this makes their novels all the more extraordinary.
A contemporary author I like very much is Ann Patchett. I recently read Tom Lake, which I think is marvellous, but my favourite is Bel Canto. One of the characters is an opera singer whose singing sustains the other characters in terrifying circumstances.
I regularly read biographies and was fascinated by Famous Trials of Marshall Hall (by Edward Marjoribanks). This eminent barrister employed many ingenious and persuasive methods which made him the great advocate he was. It remains an important element of training at the Bar that we continue to observe more senior barristers and learn from them. One can learn a lot from Sir Marshall Hall.
On my first visit to Venice, I was overwhelmed by the architecture and the beauty of the Grand Canal, and so a painting I adore is of the Gothic Doge’s Palace at the time when it was a government office, the residence of the Doge of Venice and a jail. Canaletto captures its beauty perfectly.
I can’t pretend to spend my days reading poetry, but I always enjoy Naming of Parts by Henry Reed. Precise instructions for the operation of a gun are underscored by another voice describing the arrival of spring with its ‘bees’, ‘blossoms’ and how the ‘japonica glistens’. I believe in the importance of positivity, and this poem insists on an element of hope beneath the ominous current of war.
Films I watch again and again are Life is Beautiful, Brief Encounter and Il Postino. The latter concerns a poet who teaches a postman how to write poetry and so expands his mind. It is a stirring reminder that all art improves human life. I am also an admirer of the Cohen brothers and, more recently, the films of Sean Baker. I adore the work of Jane Campion. It will come as no surprise that The Piano is my favourite!
Living in London, I am lucky to have access to wonderful theatre. I particularly enjoy watching the plays of Shakespeare at the Globe. When we first met, George wrote me a note of these words spoken by Brutus in Julius Caesar: ‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, / Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. / Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. / On such a full sea are we now afloat. / And we must take the current when it serves, / Or lose our ventures.’ This is a compelling injunction to seize the moment, something I have always endeavoured to do.
Of course, I love musicals. There are too many wonderful musicals for me to mention them all, but I am especially captivated by the music in Miss Saigon.
Both my parents were talented tennis players. My mother played in junior Wimbledon. I am fortunate to be a member of The Queen’s Club and have always played. You can learn a great deal about people from the way they behave during sports games.
Podcasts are a wonderful way to keep yourself not just entertained, but also informed, while pottering about. Two which fit this bill for me are Joshua Rozenberg’s A Lawyer Talks and Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook’s The Rest is History. These are well produced, always interesting and have likeable presenters. I recommend them both.
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