This year’s annual conference of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) was held at the decidedly swish Celtic Manor hotel in Cardiff. After witnessing a thoroughly satisfying day of insurer barracking, Obiter was honoured to attend the association’s gala dinner as a guest. Upon arriving in a bustling dining room, immediately noticeable was the difference between the attendance for the heavy-duty legal debates during the day (around 350 people) and the rather more relaxed evening festivities (around 500). Obiter was assured that the sudden appearance of 150 more attendees for dinner was attributable to delegates being joined by their other halves. The spike was in no way linked to the fact that Celtic Manor is hosting this year’s Ryder Cup golf tournament and the greens are currently playing rather nicely.

One APIL member who had a genuine excuse for missing the fun was Stuart Kightley, partner at London firm Osbornes, who was due to give a talk on navigating the new road traffic accident personal injury claims process. Poor Stuart was a victim of the volcanic ash cloud and was, ‘unfortunately’, stuck in South Africa awaiting a delayed flight home. After regretfully informing delegates of Kightley’s absence, Roger Bolt, senior partner at London firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, gave his personal insight into the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull: ‘It’s insurance fraud,’ he said. ‘Iceland goes bankrupt and then sets itself on fire.’ Perhaps the authorities should be informed?