Communication – Who Needs It?, by Ben Jeapes
For a lot of this year I’ve been locked in battle with the Irish legal system.
Not in a bad way, I hasten to emphasise. Our solicitor is a pleasure to work with, and just like ours in England, the system is peopled with competent professionals who are very good at what they do.
But they don’t do it like we do it, and vice versa.
I have lasting power of attorney for an elderly, fragile Irish friend who resides in England but is the sole heir of a relative who has died in Ireland. The Irish power of attorney system is subtly different to the English one. Almost 99% congruent, but with differences which become apparent when trying to deal with the Irish probate office. Apparently the differences would disappear if we could just get our friend’s GP to sign an affidavit, witnessed by a solicitor, to say that they are physically fragile but mentally fit. This kind of thing would raise no eyebrows at all in Ireland. In England we have been told very firmly that no GP would sign something like that. The word “liability” comes up quite a lot.
We are caught between two jurisdictions, each of which makes perfect sense in its own term and each of which naturally assumes their way is everyone’s way, because why wouldn’t it be?
But I’m a writer, so it’s all grist for the mill …
It’s easy to set up good guys and bad guys in a piece of fiction. Isn’t it closer to life to set up people with clashing expectations? No one except a Shakespeare villain sets out deliberately to be bad, after all.
Think of all the dramatic potential in a situation where two people naturally assume they are talking the same language, then set off independently and do something that mucks up the other one’s plans. Picture the reader watching this, sucking in their cheeks and groaning in despair as they see the approaching train wreck.
Or maybe just stop (we’re back in real life now) and think of how any disagreements you may have with someone else - religious, philosophical, whatever - are just down to the fact that you’re both assuming the other one is saying something different to what they think they are saying?
Long live lack of communication!
Ben Jeapes took up writing in the mistaken belief that it would be easier than a real job (it isn’t). Hence, as well as being the author of eight novels and co-author of many more, he has also been a journal editor, book publisher, and technical writer. www.benjeapes.com
Not in a bad way, I hasten to emphasise. Our solicitor is a pleasure to work with, and just like ours in England, the system is peopled with competent professionals who are very good at what they do.
But they don’t do it like we do it, and vice versa.
I have lasting power of attorney for an elderly, fragile Irish friend who resides in England but is the sole heir of a relative who has died in Ireland. The Irish power of attorney system is subtly different to the English one. Almost 99% congruent, but with differences which become apparent when trying to deal with the Irish probate office. Apparently the differences would disappear if we could just get our friend’s GP to sign an affidavit, witnessed by a solicitor, to say that they are physically fragile but mentally fit. This kind of thing would raise no eyebrows at all in Ireland. In England we have been told very firmly that no GP would sign something like that. The word “liability” comes up quite a lot.
We are caught between two jurisdictions, each of which makes perfect sense in its own term and each of which naturally assumes their way is everyone’s way, because why wouldn’t it be?
But I’m a writer, so it’s all grist for the mill …
It’s easy to set up good guys and bad guys in a piece of fiction. Isn’t it closer to life to set up people with clashing expectations? No one except a Shakespeare villain sets out deliberately to be bad, after all.
Think of all the dramatic potential in a situation where two people naturally assume they are talking the same language, then set off independently and do something that mucks up the other one’s plans. Picture the reader watching this, sucking in their cheeks and groaning in despair as they see the approaching train wreck.
Or maybe just stop (we’re back in real life now) and think of how any disagreements you may have with someone else - religious, philosophical, whatever - are just down to the fact that you’re both assuming the other one is saying something different to what they think they are saying?
Long live lack of communication!
Thank you! Yes, aren't the small things the most annoying?! That's great advice, I love the way it makes you think of all kinds of stories...
ReplyDeleteA good point to make, Ben, especially this week as public figures are doing exactly what you describe in your blog.
ReplyDeleteThought provoking post. My husband always says the hardest thing for most people to do well is to really listen and genuinely try to understand another's point of view.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this, Ben. My sister and I are executors for my mothers will and have found our different ways of working through the process of disbursing a small but complex estate challenging. We have learned how to deal with our emotions, cope with difficult officials, unravel oversights (by us and others), and cultivate the fruit of patience. It occurred to me early this morning (6am) that it would make a comic story. When I get my head above the parapet I might even find time to write it!
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Tish, and good luck with the estate!
DeleteLove this, Ben, but are all Shakepearean villains deliberately evil? Shylock breaks my heart every time as a man misunderstood and abused by individuals and the social system, which has constrained and twisted him into what he is. I find all the goodies of The Merchant of Venice, with the possible exception of Antonio, to be the real obnoxious villains.
ReplyDeleteI think I was thinking of Don What's-His-Name in Measure for Measure - the villain who gives a little speech essentially saying, "being good sucks and anyway the story needs a villain, so from now on I will be one."
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