prepared retrospectively, towards the end of Bane’s life, on the basis of raw material which has now disappeared, means that it must be treated with considerable caution. Judging from the rest of Bane’s voluminous writings which survive, and also from some internal indications, it is likely to have gone through a number of intermediate stages or versions, and to have been the subject of a good deal of editorialising and insertion of subsequent comments. That said, however, and allowing for the fact that it is probably something of a palimpsest, Bane’s diary (as I shall call it) offers a vivid insight into his thinking and his delusions; and although many of the events recorded appear to be trivial, such as records of his movements, meals or sporting engagements, others were obviously perceived by him as being of particular significance. Indeed, the title of the diary suggests that all of the events recorded were seen by Bane as important in one way or another, even if their significance cannot now be reconstructed. Another striking feature of the diary that even a cursory glance reveals is the plethora of dismissive comments it contains about people of all kinds (comments like “what a bastard!”, or “monster” abound), often combined with derogatory references to their sexuality (almost anybody Bane disapproved of is likely to be labelled a homosexual) and (if Jewish) to their race. The Witnesses of Fact 65. Bane’s writings are so voluminous, so idiosyncratic, and at times so obviously demented, that there is perhaps a danger of being over-influenced by them, and of forming a one-dimensional view of a very complex human being. For this reason I was fortunate to have the opportunity to hear oral evidence from a number of people who knew Bane in one capacity or another at different stages of his life, as well as from the two members of his close family who survive him, Zoran and Jovanka. 66. Apart from Zoran and Jovanka, the witnesses of fact who gave evidence for the claimant were: (a) Salvatore Joseph Rinaldi; (b) Andrew Waclaw Kaczmarski; (c) Igor Sulmoni; and (d) Derek Brown. Jovanka 67. I have already drawn extensively on Jovanka’s evidence in the account which I have given of Bane’s early life. Her evidence is of particular value because she is one of the few witnesses who can attest today to Bane’s character before illness struck him in the mid 1980s. In her written evidence she said that Bane had always had a very happy marriage with Mirjana, and had been very close to Zoran. He also had a close relationship with Jovanka, both personally and in the context of the business of the two Transtrade companies. They had a joint account in order to make the practical arrangements easier. In her oral evidence in chief, Jovanka described the family relations between Bane, his mother, his wife and herself as being “very close”. In cross-examination she said: