What I hope will be a sunny June will set the scene for the Jubilee celebrations - meaning a well-deserved extra holiday for our members and the courts.

The Jubilee will, once again, demonstrate how special London is in the life of the UK - and how different it is from every other major city in the country. This also applies to its lawyers, who have to travel long distances between well-scattered offices, widely-spread courts and several prisons. Compensation for their time and trouble is now a thing of the past - and yet our lawyers still struggle on, remunerated less well, working harder and having to cope with one initiative or innovation after another.

Our major articles in this issue ponder on the incompetence behind two recent debacles - the video training for "Stop delaying justice!", analysed for us by eminent academic, Jenny McEwan, and the chaos which has resulted from the MoJ's attempt to save
money for the services of interpreters, described by Rebecca Niblock, a committee member with day-to-day experience of what has been going on at Westminster
magistrates'court.

One of the doughtiest fighters in the LCCSA's cause - and a much-needed voice of reason in the debates over the past few years - has announced his retirement. It is difficult for members to imagine what the association will be like without the tireless  efforts, incisive intelligence and wry humour which we have enjoyed from executive officer and past president, Greg Powell. To say that we shall miss him is an understatement. This issue carries tributes to him, both from our current president, Jim Meyer, and a past president, Paul Harris.

Our immediate past president, Malcolm Duxbury, has also been busy, interviewing HHJ Radford about current developments at Snaresbrook Crown Court: as ever, our work goes on!