As you all might (or might not) know, Basil and his family lost their family home to a house fire just last week. But, you do all know Basil, and I don't even have to go into why we all love and respect this man so much. The situation is this: he lost his personal library in the blaze - 3,000 or so books gone (they actually had to bulldoze them because they wouldn't go out - as one would expect of the fiery wisdom they contained). I asked him what he'd aim to have as the first addition to his new library and he instantly replied: The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. He then went into a fond tale about how he once consulted his recently lost copy on the development and etymology of the simple proposition "of" and what it really means. This deep, and simply odd, research led him to be able to draw an analogy in a legal advice he was writing at the time. By simply defining "of" he could draw a connection that, without doubt, led to a distinction; which was a conclusion that won his client the day. Maybe this is why we love Basil, he has so much time for everyone. Whether it's thinking deeply about a client's problem (or let's face it: some might call this simple laziness, but for our Basil it's 'deep reflection'), or taking the time to simply tell a young man a fond story of his life, while also being in the throws of grief. God bless this man. So, the aim is this: let's get him a new dictionary! They're $1,500.00 for a full set. It's like an encyclopaedic day at the beach, every day, to this man. I don't think it'll be hard to muster up, but we only have two weeks before it would be impractical to give to him before Christmas. If we come out on top of the $1,500.00 then we can devote the surplus to his hopes of buying an iPad, just so can he attend court virtually, and get back to work. If we come up short, all funds, I think, ought to be devoted to the Basil Stafford Shiraz Drinking Fund. He truly loves Law and language, and I think we truly love him for it - which is kinda strange for all of us when you think about it. This is a link to the OED set: https://textbooks.zookal.com.au/products/oxford-english-dictionary-20-volume-9780198611868?variant=33775898919044&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_tf5nKGr7QIV1jArCh198QYjEAQYESABEgLu8fD_BwE We would aim to inscribe each contributor's name on the new set. Kind regards, Elliott Stafford and Associates