Sunday July 30 is Autobahn Church Day, according to the Süddeutsche. German Wikipedia has a map and Deutsche Welle has an English article on these churches.

The first autobahn church was built in 1958, I gather. There are now 21 or 31 of them, depending on who you believe. I’ve been meaning to look at one for the blog for some time now, but every time I see that sign Autobahnkirche, some wicked impulse tells me to drive on. Die Süddeutsche spoke to Pfarrer Klamt at St. Christophorus, Himmelkron (see no. 39 on this diagram of the A9):

Eigentlich hätte er ja gerne was Naturwissenschaftliches studiert. Doch dafür seien seine Schulnoten zu schlecht gewesen. Nun zelebriert Theologe Klamt Gottesdienste für Fernfahrer, Autobahnpolizisten und Rotkreuzhelfer. Er nimmt Durchreisenden die Beichte ab, segnet Fortbewegungsmittel und legt im Foyer Schlüsselanhänger und Autoputzschwämme zum Verkauf aus.

In August 2005 I mentioned how useful the May 2005 edition of Clarity was for translators.

It’s online now as a PDF file. Earlier issues here.

I wrote on June 7 that the Coroner Reform Draft Bill was to be published in parallel versions, one of which was to be in plain English.

That bill was published on June 12, and here is a page linking to it and other materials.

It has now been pointed out to me that this is not really a parallel plain English version, but merely extremely extensive notes. But I wasn’t the only person fooled! Here’s an example relating to treasure (the new name for treasure trove, Schatzfund):

bq. This publication is set out so that the Bill is as easy to understand as possible. It
begins with an overview of the contents followed by a list of the Bill’s measures.
The Bill’s clauses and schedules are down the left hand side of the page, with an explanation of the purposes of the clauses on the right hand side.

bq. Act:
35 Investigations in relation to treasure
(1) The Coroner for Treasure must conduct an investigation in relation to an object in respect of which notification is given under section 8(1) or 8A(1) of the Treasure Act 1996 (c. 24) (but this is subject to section 38).

bq. Explanation:
Clause 35: Investigations in relation to treasure
This clause sets out the circumstances in which the Coroner for Treasure must conduct an investigation in relation to treasure, and the purpose of such an investigation. Currently, responsibility for inquiring into treasure finds falls to the coroner in whose area the find is made. In the reformed system, the duty to investigate treasure finds for the whole of England and Wales belongs to a single coroner, the Coroner for Treasure, who will be able to draw on Assistant Coroners for Treasure as required. The workload is not expected to require more than one full-time post-holder.
The Coroner for Treasure is required by subsection (1) to conduct an investigation into objects which have been notified to him under the Treasure Act 1996 and under subsection (2) he has a discretion to conduct an investigation into objects which have not been notified to him but which he suspects to be treasure under that Act.

I wonder if the problem arose in the Times article I originally quoted: it referred first to an ‘easy-to-understand interpretation’ and secondly to a ‘simultaneous translation’. Perhaps I should look at the debates to see what was really meant.

Thanks to Political Umpire at Fora

Anna Netrebko wird Österreicherin

Was, kein Test?

bq. Anders als die meisten Bewerber für einen österreichischen Pass muss der Star keinen Staatsbürgerschaftstest ablegen.

Staatsbürgerschaftstest Fragen Wien.

10. Wo können Mütter in Notsituationen neugeborene Babys anonym abgeben?
Im Neugeborenen-Nest in der Rudolfsstiftung
Im Babynest Glanzing im Wilhelminenspital (Flötzersteig)
In der Kinderkrippe im AKH
11. Welcher Brunnen erinnert noch heute an die Eröffnung der 1. Hochquellenwasserleitung?
Donnerbrunnen
Hochstrahlbrunnen
Der „schöne Brunnen“ in Schönbrunn

Das bekannte Weblog von Konstantin Binder London Leben hatte bisher seit Januar 2006 vierzehn Folgen zum Kauf einer Wohnung in London (die er wahrscheinlich noch nicht hat). Detailliert, informativ, gut recherchiert, kurzweilig und unter anderem vom rechtlichen Standpunkt nützlich. Auch die anderen Beiträge.

Mit etwas Glueck habe ich in sechs Monaten eine Wohnung und der geneigte Leser einen detaillierten Ratgeber zum Thema Wohnungskauf in London. Das kann bisweilen, fuer ueberzeugte Mietmenschen z.B., etwas droege wirken. Ich bitte da schon mal um Nachsicht. Der normale Blogbetrieb wird in keinster Weise beintraechtigt werden.
Was wird besprochen? Das volle Brett: Finanzielles, rechtliche Bestimmungen, mortgage, Anwaelte, stamp duty, Nebenkosten, leasehold, Kaufvertrag, Versicherung, einfach alles, was man wissen und beachten muss.

German weblog on living in London, with detailed entries on buying a flat in London.

In contrast, Keys Corner on Why German property hasn’t risen in value.

In The Big Question: Should we abolish Queen’s Counsel? the Independent gives a lot of information on the phenomenon. Fiona Woolf, the new president of the Law Society (which represents solicitors) has suggested replacing the QC qualification with qualifications for specialist lawyers – rather like the German Fachanwalt.

bq. The rank of Queen’s Counsel dates back over 400 years. The very first person to attain the rank was Francis Bacon, appointed by Elizabeth I in 1594 as a political manoeuvre to prevent him acting against the Crown.

This means that the first QCs really were QCs, not KCs!

bq. The Office of Fair Trading investigated the legal professions in 2001. It concluded that the rank of QC offered the consumer “questionable value” because it permitted barristers to double their earnings overnight. Some barristers are known to even tell their clerks to treble their earnings as soon as the “silk” letter drops through their letter box.

QCs are allowed to wear gowns made of silk. They aren’t always silk, though. The Wikipedia article has two pictures. One shows Cherie Blair in a full-bottomed wig – as it says, this is ceremonial dress, not everyday dress. The other shows Robert McCall KC in the standard outfit.

bq. [The QC] also replaces the black stuff gown of a junior barrister with a black silk gown, although cheaper variants are also worn, including gowns of the same cut but all wool, or in a silk-wool mix, or in artificial silk. The all wool gown is, strictly speaking, a mourning gown, and it is not permitted to wear this variant before the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords, or on ceremonial occasions (as to which, see below), except during a period of official mourning, which is rare. The female Queen’s Counsel wears the same silk gown, wig and bands as her male colleagues.

Apply here.