Bartletts Blog

Many people are opting against travelling abroad this summer given the uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and confusion over travel regulations, and are instead planning to take a holiday closer to home. Millions of people will be taking a staycation this summer at various types of destinations, including hotels, resorts, holiday homes, campsites and caravan parks. These establishments are likely to be extremely busy over the coming months, as people look to get away after so many months of lockdown restrictions.

Management and staff at these holiday destinations will need to pay particular attention to safety procedures to minimise the risk of guests getting injured or made ill through no fault of their own during their stay. Internal appliances such as gas boilers and immersion heaters need to be working properly, and all electrical goods and appliances must be in similarly good condition. Slips, trips and falls are common accidents at holiday establishments, and are often the result of lack of maintenance or poor inspection and cleaning routines. Frayed or worn carpeting, uneven floor surfaces and rotten floorboards are all possible causes of accidents of this kind. 

Other examples of disrepair that can cause accidents include defective or damaged furniture, problems with banisters on stairs and hazards in outdoor areas, such as potholes in car parks or uneven paving stones in gardens. Bed bugs are a regular problem at many holiday destinations, as the resilient insects are quick to breed and hard to eradicate. Apart from being bitten, guests also run the risk of taking the bed bugs home with them in their luggage, which can lead to an infestation that will be unpleasant and expensive to deal with.

https://www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/accidents-at-hotels/compensation-for-accidents-at-holiday-homes.html

Campsites and caravan parks need to make sure that pitches and outdoor areas at the site are maintained in a good state and kept free from hazards, as far as reasonably possible. Outdoor activities need to be properly organised and supervised, especially when children are taking part. Showers, toilets and cooking areas must be regularly inspected and an efficient cleaning system should be in place to maintain a safe environment for guests. Swimming pool activities need to be supervised by a qualified lifeguard, and safety rules should be clearly on display and properly enforced.

https://www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/accidents-at-hotels/campsite-caravan-park-accidents.html

Amid surging demand for staycations this summer, with prices rising to record highs in certain popular locations, owners, managers and staff at holiday destinations of every type need to make sure that safety measures are in place and properly applied so that guests do not face the risk of getting injured or made ill during their stay due to the negligence of the owner, management or employees.

A major new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery will open in September and run until the end of February next year. Sickert: A Life in Art will be the largest retrospective of Walter Richard Sickert’s work to have been held in the UK for more than 30 years, showcasing drawings from the Walker’s own unique collection, along with paintings loaned to the Gallery from national and international collections of the artist’s work.

The Walker Art Gallery holds 349 of Sickert’s drawings, making it the largest collection in the world. Most of the 200 drawings that will feature in the exhibition have never been displayed before, and the new exhibition promises to give us real insights into how these drawings influenced Sickert’s major works and the vital role they played in his artistic practice.

Walter Sickert (1860-1942) is one of Britain’s best known and most successful artists, whose importance was recognised by his contemporaries, and whose reputation as one Britain’s most influential artists of the 20th century has only grown over time. Munich-born Sickert was a member of the Camden Town Group, a group of Post-Impressionist artists who met on a weekly basis in his London studio in Camden Town.

Sickert was a radical painter, who in a career spanning six decades repeatedly reinvented himself while maintaining a characteristic realism and rawness in his work, which often saw him tackle somewhat seedy subject matter. He profoundly believed that art should hold a mirror up to the modern world and strive to depict the unvarnished truth about society. He was also a colourful and fascinating character who was fond of courting controversy and changing his appearance. He has even been touted as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders, including by well-known crime author Patricia Cornwell in her 2002 book Portrait of a Killer.

Pre-sale members tickets for Sickert: A Life in Art went on sale today, 24th June, and the exhibition promises to be one of the highlights of Liverpool’s cultural scene when it opens in 12 weeks time. The Walker Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. You can find out more about the Walter Sickert retrospective from our friends and partners at the Walker Art Gallery below:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/walker-art-gallery/exhibition/sickert-life-art

In the latest electric scooter accident to hit the headlines, an Italian woman was killed after being hit by an e-scooter while walking along the Seine in Paris. She was knocked over and hit her head on the pavement, suffering a cardiac arrest and later died in hospital. The two female e-scooter riders did not stop at the scene of the accident, and French police have opened an investigation into “murder, aggravated by failure to stop”.

E-scooters are becoming a common sight in towns and cities including London, which launched a 12-month rental trial earlier this month. Pilot schemes have taken place in more than 40 locations across the UK, as the government considers legalising their use on UK roads. E-scooters are popular among the young (the minimum age to legally ride one in 14), commuters, tourists and those looking for an ecological and quick way to get around urban areas. The main problem is the risk they pose to other road users, particularly pedestrians, as the recent tragic case in Paris illustrates.

While it is illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on roads, cycle lanes and pavements, rented electric bikes and scooters can be used on roads and cycle lanes. This is just one example of the confusion surrounding their use. The speed limit for e-scooters in the UK is 15.5mph (25km/h), but many are available to buy which can travel much faster, and it is also relatively easy to increase their speed using a conversion kit. Earlier this year, French police stopped a man riding an e-scooter at 61mph (98km/h), which shows the scale of the challenge in enforcing the law.

Many e-scooter riders are unaware of the rules regarding their use or else simply disregard them. A trial scheme in Coventry was suspended after five days due to riders using e-scooters in pedestrianised areas, including on pavements and in shopping centres. E-scooters are clearly fun to ride leading to irresponsible use among a minority, while rented e-scooters are often hired by tourists and others who are not regular riders, and are therefore unable to use them safely or unaware of where they are permitted to ride them.

If you are a cyclist or pedestrian and have been injured in an accident involving an e-scooter, contact our firm for expert legal advice from solicitors who are themselves cyclists, and have many years of experience with all types of cycling accident claims. Find out more:

https://www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/road-accident-claims/who-is-reponsible-for-an-escooter-accident.html

Liverpool’s World Museum houses the Ancient Egypt gallery, the second largest gallery of ancient Egyptian antiquities and artefacts in the UK after the British Museum.

The collection of objects from ancient Egypt and Nubia covers a timespan of over 5,000 years of human life in the Nile Valley, with highlights including one of Egyptology’s rarest discoveries – the Ramesses Girdle – a wonderfully well-preserved item of royal clothing originally worn by Pharaoh Ramesses III (1186 – 1155 BC).

The evolution of the collection began in 1852, when goldsmith Joseph Mayer opened his Egyptian Museum in Liverpool. Many of Mayer’s objects came from the same sources as those now in the British Museum and the Louvre, and there is no doubt that Liverpool’s status as a port city, supplying cotton from Egypt to Lancashire’s cotton mills, helped him build such a substantial and diverse collection.

In 1867, Mayer donated the collection to The Liverpool Free Library and Museum (now World Museum), establishing it as the most important public collection of Egyptian antiquities outside London. 3,000 objects were destroyed when the museum was bombed in 1941, but the collection subsequently increased in number by 10,000 over the next 40 years, and currently stands at around 20,000 objects – 1,2000 of which are showcased in the current ancient Egypt gallery.

Apart from the world famous Ramesses Girdle, the collection includes a gold ring that belonged to King Amenhotep II, a four-metre long Book of the Dead illustrated papyrus, and ‘Papyrus Mayer B’ – a unique account of a tomb robbery in the Valley of the Kings. The exhibition tells the story of how the collection came into being, and Liverpool’s connections with archaeological digs in both Egypt and Sudan.

As we regularly highlight, our friends and partners at National Museums Liverpool are the custodians of some of not just the UK’s, but the world’s most famous art and antiquities. Following the reopening of NML’s museums and galleries on 17th May, we encourage both locals and visitors to explore these free venues, including taking a ‘journey through time’ at World Museum’s magnificent Ancient Egypt gallery.

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/world-museum/exhibition/ancient-egypt

On 31st May 2021, a new regime came into force for road traffic accident victims, with the small claims limit for RTA claims increasing from £1,000 to £5,000. This means that legal costs for personal injury claims with a value of under £5,000 can no longer be recovered. Instead, unrepresented claimants will have to run their own claim via the Official Injury Claim online service:

https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/

The controversial new system will be run by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, with the reforms expected to save insurers £1.2 billion or £35 for every motorist, savings which the government and insurance industry promise will be passed on to motor insurance policyholders. 

The government is aiming to reduce the ‘unacceptably high’ number of whiplash claims made in the UK every year, which the Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC has condemned as ‘greedy opportunism’. It is targeting the so-called ambulance chasing claims management companies and lawyers who are seen as assisting dishonest whiplash claimants.    

For obvious reasons, road traffic accident lawyers (including Bartletts Solicitors) strongly disapprove of the new system, feeling that innocent victims will not get the compensation they deserve. Claimants will receive significantly less compensation than before due the new fixed tariff for whiplash injuries, while the 64 page guide to making a claim under the new guidelines has led to concerns about whether they will be able to navigate the portal and handle a claim in their own best interest. 

There are also serious doubts as to whether the savings from the reforms will actually result in lower premiums for ‘honest’ policyholders. The system was designed and will be operated by the MIB, an organization that essentially represents the interests of its member insurers. Fundamentally, victims of road traffic accidents caused by the carelessness and negligence of a third party have the same right to legal advice and compensation as any other claimant. This can therefore be viewed as a human rights issue.

There are two exceptions to the new rules. Children and ‘protected parties’ are exempt from the new small claims limit for whiplash claims arising from road accidents, while for ‘vulnerable road users’ (or those whose claims have other complicating factors), the small claims limit for personal injury claims arising from road accidents remains at £1,000. Children and protected parties are also classed as vulnerable road users for the purposes of this second exception, where there is no whiplash injury. Both categories of claimants will still be able to recover the cost of legal advice and representation. Specifically, these are:

Exception one:

Children aged under 18 at the date they make their claim
Others unable to manage their legal affairs (protected parties)

Exception two:

Vulnerable road users (because a collision with a car is likely to cause more serious injuries):

Motorcyclists
Pillion/sidecar passengers
Pedal cyclists
Pedestrians
Horse riders
Mobility scooter users
Children and protected parties

If you have suffered a car accident with multiple injuries, including whiplash, contact Bartletts Solicitors for free legal advice and to get started making a No Win No Fee car accident claim.

While the Walker Art Gallery is renowned for its beautiful collection of paintings and sculptures, it also houses a unique collection of British and European decorative art including pieces dating back to 1300. There are around 100,000 items in the Gallery’s collection, including ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewellery, furniture and musical instruments.

Apart from works by major UK and international makers and designers, the collection also features objects commissioned by local patrons, commemorative pieces, and other items designed, made or decorated in and around Liverpool.

Highlights include a collection of 10,000 British and European ceramics, featuring medieval pieces and a comprehensive collection of Liverpool-made ceramics from the period 1700-1850. 18th century wine glasses and stained glass windows dating from the medieval period are represented in the vessel glass collection, while the metalwork collection comprises around 1,300 precious metal, silver and gold objects, including a collection of silver items crafted by Liverpool silversmiths.

The jewellery collection features a large number of finger rings, some dating back 700 years, as well as a growing assortment of modern jewellery dating from the 1980s to the present. Items of furniture by acclaimed Liverpool-based designers and makers such as George Bullock and Herbert Macnair are among the roughly 300 pieces displayed in the Walker Art Gallery and Sudley House. The textile collection, meanwhile, numbers around 10,000 items, including embroideries, lace, woolwork, quilts and household furnishings.

This brief overview gives an idea of the vast range of unique, quirky and special objects on display in the Walker Art Gallery’s decorative art collection. Beauty and functionality are the essence of decorative art, and the Walker’s stunning collection, now open to the public once again, offers an excellent introduction to this important and historical art form.

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/decorative-art

Excitement is building ahead of next Tuesday 18th May, when most of National Museums Liverpool’s venues will reopen in line with the government’s easing of lockdown restrictions.

The Walker Art Gallery, World Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley House will all be open from next Tuesday, while the Planetarium is due to reopen in June, and the Aquarium is expected to reopen in time for the summer holidays.

Opening hours for NML’s museums and galleries are Tuesday to Sunday from 10am – 6pm (all venues will be closed on Mondays, except bank holidays). Free e-tickets for timed entry slots must be pre-booked on NML’s website:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/visit

Visitors to the Walker Art Gallery will be able to view the 67 artworks shortlisted for the John Moores Painting Prize 2020, including the first-prize winner, Kathryn Maple’s stunning large-scale work The Common.

While Kathryn was the jurors’ winning choice, we can all still place our votes for the Visitor’s Choice Prize, sponsored by Rathbones. Voting has now been extended until 13th June, allowing people to vote after seeing the exhibition in person. A virtual tour is also available:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp/john-moores-painting-prize

We are all looking forward to the reopening of the Walker Art Gallery and all of NML’s other venues, and wish these great national institutions and their wonderful staff all the very best for the weeks and months ahead!

At the start of this month, property portal Rightmove revealed Wallasey to be the location in the UK that has seen the sharpest increase in property prices over the past 12 months (the year to April). The average asking price for a home in the Merseyside town rose by 15.6% to reach £176,707, an annual increase of £24,000. Meanwhile, Birkenhead was ranked fourth on the list, having seen an increase of 12.4% over the course of the year.

One in three properties in Wallasey sold within a week, compared to the national average of around one in four, and Rightmove predicts that the strong rise in house prices will continue for at least the rest of the year, partly because the average asking price in both Wallasey and Birkenhead is well below the national average of £327,797, and partly due to the recent temporary stamp duty holiday extension.

Rightmove also reported that in the current red hot market, estate agents are increasingly prioritizing property viewings for buyers who are ready to proceed with a purchase straight away, with half of the surveyed estate agents requiring prospective buyers to already have a buyer in place for their current home before being allowed to view properties. First-time buyers need to have a mortgage already agreed in principle by many agents before viewings.

Wallasey residents may be unsurprised by the popularity of their town on the mouth of the River Mersey, which has experienced something of a boom in recent years, along with many areas of Merseyside. The seaside resort of New Brighton, with its famous lighthouse, Victorian District and £60 million Marine Point shopping and leisure complex, continues to draw thousands of visitors every year, while the clean and sandy beach offers spectacular views of both the Liverpool city skyline and ships sailing out into the Irish Sea.

Bartletts regularly handles the conveyancing process for property buyers and sellers in Wallasey and across Merseyside. Louise Nelson is a solicitor with 39 years experience of helping people buy and sell property in the area. Louise heads a friendly team of experienced conveyancers. Jenny Thomas, Louise Drewry and Lucy Baines have detailed knowledge of the files they work on, meaning when you call you will get prompt answers and updates.

Our firm is Law Society Accredited for Conveyancing Quality, and offers competitive fixed fees, no obligation free quotations and no hidden costs. Find out more and get in touch with our local experts today:

https://www.bartlettslaw.co.uk/residential-conveyancing-solicitors-liverpool-city-centre.html

Liverpool Cathedral has been open for worship services and private prayer and reflection since April 12th (Monday to Sunday from 11am – 3pm), and expects to open fully to visitors on or around May 17th, in line with the Government’s roadmap to lifting lockdown restrictions.

While the wait to visit one of the city’s most popular landmarks in person goes on, the Cathedral has recorded a virtual tour consisting of a series of videos that encompass all the building’s most important points of interest. These include the magnificent latest art installation in the Derby Transept, “The Outraged Christ” by Charles Lutyens, the iconic Lady Chapel, the Children’s Chapel, the High Altar, the Corona Gallery, the Memorial Chapel and the great Benedictine Window:

https://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/home/encounter-a-virtual-cathedral.aspx

Many will be unaware that the Cathedral also hosts a collection of paintings and sculpture by some most distinguished artists of the 20th and 21 centuries, including five Royal Academicians: Tracey Emin, Craigie Aitchison, Elisabeth Frink, Christopher Le Brun and Adrian Wiszniewski.

Cathedrals and churches have always been important patrons of visual art which during earlier times, with mostly illiterate congregations, was a powerful means of communication, education, and spiritual inspiration and reflection. While modern audiences may draw different messages, the tradition has persisted to this day, with Liverpool Cathedral continuing to commission artworks from some of the most eminent contemporary artists, which are displayed throughout the building.

We would like to wish our friends at Liverpool Cathedral the very best for the impending full reopening in a little over two weeks, and hope and pray that the door’s of one of Liverpool’s greatest institutions will now permanently remain open for both the faithful and the curious.

Established by the well known philanthropist Sir John Moores in 1957, and described by the Guardian as ‘the prize at the forefront of modern art’, the John Moores Painting Prize is awarded every two years to the best contemporary painting by a UK-based artist, with the short-listed artworks exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Walker Art Gallery has been closed for most of the past year, opening briefly once more in December, before being forced to close again on the 30th of that month when the latest national lockdown was put in place. The Walker Art Gallery is now set to reopen on 17th May, in line with the Government’s four-step ‘roadmap’ to lifting lockdown restrictions.

For the John Moores Painting Prize 2020 candidates, the gallery’s closure has meant that their work has so far been inaccessible to the general public. Fortunately, however, the Walker Art Gallery and National Museums Liverpool have put together a virtual tour of the 67 short-listed artworks for the prize. This exciting collection of paintings can be viewed on the National Museums Liverpool website:

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp/john-moores-painting-prize

Kathryn Maple’s acrylic on canvas work The Common was announced as the winner of John Moores Painting Prize 2020, and her painting will now permanently feature in the Walker Art Gallery’s world famous collection. As friends and partners of the gallery, we offer our congratulations to Ms Maple, and wish the Walker team all the very best for a successful (and hopefully permanent) reopening in a little under a month from now.