Respectable

I unwrapped my monthly copy of 'Magistrate' magazine (the official organ of the Magistrates' Association) the other day, to find a piece about the explosion of online communities, in which this blog receives a sympathetic mention. There is also a link to here on the MA website. I have heard that we are sometimes recommended to new JPs, and I know that we are on a number of school and college reading lists. That's all very gratifying, but I can't help comparing my new acceptability with the suspicion that greeted my early efforts. I remember one particular meeting where a senior Courts' Service lawyer expressed his indignant fury at the anonymous Bystander, and called for urgent action to identify me, and haul me before the authorities, where I could be stripped of my epaulettes, or dealt with by bell, book, and candle, or whatever it is they do. I was sufficiently alarmed not to smile over the fact that he was ranting away unaware that he was within six feet of the object of his anger.
Still, that's all in the past. One thing though - just how respectable do I want to become?