It's from Simon and Garfunkel's spud6 of silence.

Anyone ready to download the "Test and Trace" app?

🤔

Sounds like a primary school lesson.

Cummings and his lap boy can stick their app right up Boris's backside along with the hedge hog that's already up there.

I agree with RFB, I'll have to go and lie down.

Boris still refuses to wipe away Cummings. That man is a stain on the nation.

comment by Spart-Derby really are the best says red dog. (U4603)
posted 13 minutes ago
Boris still refuses to wipe away Cummings. That man is a stain on the nation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Boris was wiping the Cummings off his chin (allegedly).

Some divergence of opinion in scientific advisors getting media attention. A few saying that lockdown measures are being relaxed too soon. How pure are the motives of those closest to the government? It has already been announced that there will be a special honours list to reward those who have made contributions during the crisis. With plenty of gongs in the offing a cynic might wonder whether some are toeing the line for their own benefit. Public health medicine is the real Cinderella specialty of medicine, specifically for those nerdy doctors who can’t bear to have to deal with actual poorly people. Suddenly they are having their moment in the spotlight, on telly every night. If Boris (or Dominic) says to play it down a bit would they stand up to him?

But then those vocally criticising might be doing so because their noses have been put out of joint by not themselves being in line for knighthoods and other baubles, so can’t resist rocking the boat a bit. They can’t really lose: if there is an increase in infections they can gloat to their hearts’ content, and if not nobody will remember. We are following a fairly well-worn path adopted by other European countries and fears of new surges have not yet been realised. No doubt some people will now think they are off the leash and can do what they like but having been shopping this morning, if anything people generally seem more rather than less cautious in their behaviour. If the majority observe proper hand hygiene and good habits then the virus is very unlikely to take off again.

Anyone heard 'owt from Spart recently?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-52869060

Age is about right

Not Spart. If he was married the chances are that his 'wife' would be considerably younger than 78

Massive surge in cow-related deaths this weekend. It’s madness to suggest putting lives at risk by allowing anyone out of doors ever again.

A serious notes on cow deaths. I worked at one time for a lime manufacturing company and one warm summer some kids went through a bit of damaged fencing and then swam in the quarry lake. Both drowned and the company was fined thousands of pounds as liable because the fence was damaged. The fence was damaged by vandals, not by normal wear and tear.

Farmers however make no effort to prevent cows and people mixing across their land and every year there is usually a tragedy like this yet the farmers face no legal problems. Does this reflect the number of land owners in Parliament I wonder. Electric fences are used extensively by farmers as temporary walls. Surely where people cross cow fields they could be used to separate the path from the field and thus prevent these types of incidents.

https://theconversation.com/when-cows-attack-how-dangerous-are-cattle-and-how-can-you-stay-safe-around-them-79524

Interesting perspective. Basically, about five deaths per year from cattle, most farm workers. Average of one walker per year killed by a cow and virtually always when walking with a dog. So one solution would be that if you have a dog, avoid fields with cows. Don’t put yourself at excess risk when you don’t have to. We need farmers and their cattle and it’s impractical to suggest that farmers pay to have electric fences surrounding all footpaths.Who would want that anyway? The overall risk is tiny. By comparison a person is three times more likely to die by being struck by lightning than by being trampled by a cow (unless a farm worker).

NEVER DO ANYTHING EVER AGAIN

Do we need as many cattle though Vidal. Basically with intensive farming we have a plague of farm animals. Then farmers complain they can't get the prices they want for their produce. If the public were sensible and actually cared for the environment instead of paying lip service they would reduce the amount of animal protein they consume. This would have incredible benefits to the planet.

Farmers already employ electric fences extensively, especially dairy farmers. They do it to protect pasture but apparently doing it to protect people is ridiculous.

You're not trained in risk assessment, I gather then Vidal?

Those figures are slightly out of date, according to the NFU there had been 78 [+1] fatalities due to cattle attacks over the last 10 years in the U.K. Cattle statistically are the most dangerous, non dangerous animal in the countryside.
Farmers have been prosecuted by HSE for leaving known aggressive cattle in fields crossed by public rights of way; the NFU have provided guidance to their members on the subject.

Most incidents seem to involve dogs and cows with calves, or where they've been recently separated from male calves; the extant advice is not to pick the dog up, but let it run off, not doing that has proved fatal on a number of different occasions now.

RFB, as I said, if you take away farm workers then the numbers are very small. According to HSE there were 74 deaths over 15 years up to 2015 and the great majority in farm workers. So about one a year, maybe two a year, excluding farm workers. About three people a year die from being struck by lightning in this country and four from bee or wasp stings. About 6,000 people die each year from accidents in the home.

I actually do a risk assessment every evening because I run through a field of cows. Sometimes they follow me at a gentle gallop and my plan is that if they mistake me for Spart and attack then I will jump in the river and hope that they don't follow me. Obviously there is a risk that they could be upon me before I could do that but it's a lovely run by the river and I am prepared to take that small chance, much safer as it is than, say, driving in my car to work. The chance of a cow killing me is smaller than that of dying by being struck by lightning or stung by an insect, so you know what, I'll be a brave boy and take that chance.

Cows which are familiar with people rarely attack. Dairy cattle which are used to people tend to be less dangerous than beef cattle. Generally I can predict what cows are going to do but horses are a different matter. One of my walking buddies nearly had his head taken off by a horse. The same horse is still in the same field crossed by a footpath. It's on Tideswell moor near the telecommunication mast if you want to have an exciting experience.

Only twice have I been bothered by cows, the one where I was pushed down the river bank was because the cows had been spooked by kids on trail bikes. The other was a herd of limousin cattle on Beeley moor when he had a faithful dog with us which insisted on walking to heal even when the cattle charged. Fortunately we weren't too far from the gate. A farmer told me she would never put limousins in a field with a footpath.

Limousins are notorious. I have seen a number of farmers with serious injuries caused by these cows. The general risk here though is fortunately tiny and even more so if you don't have a dog with you.

I have a small fold of Highland cattle. These are placid but winter outside, are not halter trained and don't particularly like being handled. If irritated they can kick and whilst unintentional, a sudden turn of the head can cause serious injury - they have an impressive spread of horn.

They are very photogenic and torsos regularly stop but horrified last summer to see a German family taking a photo of their tiny blonde child in the middle of the herd - had one of the cows spooked or moved suddenly......!

Stopped torsos must be a bit of a hazard. If the cattle are as feisty as advertised you might be better with a torero than a torso.

Local name for tourists of course.......

Emmets in Cornwall, grockles in Devon, torsos in the Hebrides. All very confusing.

Latest news,
The club is getting round to refunds.

Italian Doctors are claiming the virus is losing its potency. Saying that the viral loads in new patients are a fraction of what they were during the peak of the epidemic.