Day 156 - 17 Jul 95 - Page 21


     
     1        last week.  We made it clear what our point was.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Absolutely.  I do not think there is any
     4        problem about it.
     5
     6        There are two matters which, since we have time, I will
     7        mention; neither of them need delay us now.  They are both
     8        in relation to what lawyers call "views".  I raised at one
     9        time the possibility of me going into a McDonald's
    10        restaurant.  I have no intention of visiting a McDonald's
    11        restaurant if things have had such advance notification
    12        that there is any risk of -- this is not a describe at your
    13        clients; it is just my understanding of human nature --
    14        that there will be what one of the McDonald's witnesses,
    15        I thought very elegantly, described as "a dog and pony
    16        show" ---
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- because I might just as well not bother to
    21        go in those circumstances.  I can see it is difficult to
    22        walk inpromptu in that everyone in court, for instance, has
    23        to know when we are going to go and word will get around
    24        one way or another.  If it had any kind of advance warning
    25        so that members of the -- I am going to speak completely
    26        openly -- media were there, then people would not be acting
    27        in any way normally, query, whether they would be acting in
    28        any way normally if a great team of us went in anyway.
    29
    30        I would have preferred to go in in jeans and t-shirt at any
    31        time which suited me during my free-time.  I can see that
    32        might be unsatisfactory if I then took into account
    33        anything I saw for or against one of the parties.
    34
    35        All that I had in mind was to go in to make sure that
    36        I have got the way the system generally runs clear in my
    37        mind and I am not making any false assumption.  I do not
    38        think it is vital to deciding the case in any way.  I am
    39        not going to come away with the view that that looked to be
    40        a very well run ship in favour of McDonald's, or I saw
    41        something unsafe happening which I would bear in mind in
    42        favour of the Defendants.  If there is any doubt about it,
    43        I think the best thing is that I do not go at all.
    44
    45   MR. RAMPTON:  The problem is, my Lord, that if you go in with
    46        your jeans and t-shirt -- I can think of certain t-shirts
    47        where you would be refused admission -- if you went in as
    48        an ordinary member of the public, you would not ordinarily
    49        get to see the kitchen or the back room.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I would not. 
    52 
    53   MR. RAMPTON:  If you are content with that, I certainly have no
    54        objection, otherwise what we can try to do is to find a
    55        Manager, such as Mr. Giardina, for example, who would know
    56        of the visit but who would be under an oath of silence so
    57        far as the rest of the crew were concerned and would do
    58        nothing ------
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I think what is going on in the kitchen

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