The Border Historical Society invites you to a talk by retired Judge Jeremy Pickering based on his recently published book, Raising the Bar – The Making of a Judge, at the East London Museum, on Saturday 18th April 2026 at 2:30pm.
Judge Pickering was born and raised on a farm in Stutterheim: “I spent the daylight hours of my first weeks of life in the warm environs of the yeast–proving drawer of Holland bakery in Stutterheim. I was born prematurely and weighed under four pounds (1.8 kg). Stutterheim Hospital had no incubators.”
He studied law at the University of Stellenbosch and first worked in the office of the Attorney-General in then Grahamstown, now Makhanda. His career took a diversion when he worked on a pig farm in Gloucestershire and then as a clown in a circus before returning to the serious business of law as an advocate in Mthatha.
In 1985 after a number of acting judicial appointments, he joined the Legal Resources Centre, a national non-governmental legal practice devoted to human rights which was started by advocate Arthur Chaskalson, later the first President of our Constitutional Court, and Felicia Kentridge and Geoff Budlender. This was despite hostility from senior members of the bench and being warned by a Judge President that this would thwart any hope of a permanent judicial appointment.
Judge Pickering was appointed to the then Eastern Cape Supreme Court in 1992 and retired in 2019 after serving in both Mthatha and Makhanda.
An irreverent colleague congratulated him: “So now they really are appointing clowns to the bench.”
A limited number of copies of the book will be available to purchase at the launch.
Short chapters have some catchy titles, such as “Nipple caps and safari suits”
All are welcome to attend. There will be time for questions. Tea will be served after the talk.
For more information: border.historical.society@gmail.com
Book Cover
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