Thursday 8 March 2007

Ode to Pupilblogger

I'm just back from a valedictory lunch at the Inn with The Master. It's our penultimate day together and, despite being pretty unhappy with pupillage so far, I have developed a real fondness for The Master himself. He said at the outset that he buys lunch for his pupils at the start and the end of their time with him, and today is our last day in chambers. We're off to another far flung court tomorrow.

Rather to my surprise, he has written me a poem:

Goodbye o faithful [Pupilblogger]
You are off to spend time with [The Master Part II]
With a vow of silence

Like a Trappist monk

We have climbed many a forensic mountain
And sandwiches you have I bought
I wish you success and good luck
And an initial practice entirely in the High Court

I have to add that our time has been entirely without friction
And in due course I wish you a successful practice
Entirely in the appellate jurisdiction.

I've had to change the words just slightly, as you may have detected, and I checked and the Trappist monk bit is a reference to not asking the next guy too many questions. He recited it after lunch, but was very reluctant to let me have a copy. I eventually persuaded him to let me photocopy it.

As to its quality, this is no time for literary criticism. I'm quite touched.

3 comments:

Meg said...

Aww, bless!

Law Student said...

Will the Master take on another pupil to fill your place?

Pupilblogger said...

Not immediately, and it has been a few years since he last took on a pupil, I think. Apparently this is the first time he's written one of us a poem.