This case is about three relatives who, although at one time, on very close terms, have fallen out, so much so, that their quarrel has erupted into a long drawn out and bitter legal battle about the ownership of a dwelling house ("the disputed property"). Each side has accused the other of lying. Allegations of deception and deceit have been freely made. As a trier of fact, it will be my task to determine where the truth lies.

A review of the circumstances of this case, which I shall presently undertake, will make it clear beyond argument, that my decision must depend upon the credibility of the parties and that my assessment of their credibility will be the decisive consideration. In arriving at my finding as to credibility, I did not rely solely on demeanour for that has to be balanced against the rest of the evidence and the probabilities of the case.

It may be well to also remember what was said by Lord Wright and often quoted from his judgment in Powell & Wife v Streatham Manor Nursing Home [1935] AC 243, 267, of the possibility of judges being deceived by adroit or plausible knaves or by apparent innocence. Much to the same effect, though in more illustrativ