Apparently, the law in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland generally have different rules) forbids anyone who is not a registered childminder from caring for the children of anyone who is not immediate family for more than two hours.

Ironically, the women involved only set up the arrangement because they are sharing one job between themselves – as police officers. Now, they’ve been told that they may be secretly watched to make sure they’re not continuing to babysit.

Madness or a sensible rule? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Christopher Savoie, the reports say, was trying to enforce custody rights granted to him by a US court, but not applicable in Japan, in attempting to take his own children back from his ex-wife, who is Japanese. However, she called the authorities and Savoie is now in jail awaiting possible kidnapping charges.

As often is the case with international child abduction it’s a messy business, made complex by the Hague issue, however it gets even more obscure. The latest news says Savoie is actually a Japanese citizen and the marriage was never formally ended under Japanese law.

Moreover, the case is getting little or no coverage in Japanese media, whereas the rest of the world seems to be reacting with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Read more about it on CNN’s website.

Terence Kealey of Buckingham University says it’s ok for the men on his staff to ogle the women in their classes as much as they want, but that they should never take things further. Quite what he was thinking of in promoting leering at students is beyond me, but who knows what he really had in mind?

Add to the mix the compounding factors of one partner killed in a faraway war, an unborn child and complications over the legality of the marriage and you have a recipe for disaster, as one Japanese woman found out recently.

AP has a compelling story about exactly that situation and how Hotaru Ferschke is dealing with the difficulties. It’s well worth reading, even if you’re in very different circumstances yourself.

Check out the trailer here and let us know if you have any thoughts. There’s plenty of insight over on the Guardian review, by the way.

PS I’ve seen it and it’s well worth a trip to the cinema, but it’s far from a master work…