Not a bad year for legislation was 1975. Emitting a pleasant bouquet and best read with fish or a cheese sandwich, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Employment Protection Act, the Mobile Homes Act and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act (the latter destined to lead most legal secretaries and some senior solicitor partners into an enduring misspelling of ‘Dependants’) were among the entrants to the statute book.
And it was a good year for NLJ columnist Bill Degenhardt, who wrote of his visit to Harvey’s Restaurant in Bristol where he secured a bottle of 1858 Château Lafite for £20. Christie’s had sold one for £350 just days earlier. He recounted that the ‘restaurant manager’, a highly efficient Italian man named Codei, had overheard his wine talk at the table as the meal was being finished and mentioned he could supply a bottle of the aforesaid vintage at the aforesaid non-auction