Mungler

Errrr because the dog was out for a walk and was under control, and the owner didn’t end up in the river? I’m amazed that everyone will blindly accept what the police say and without challenge, but suggest something else and it’s up there with Martians snatching her.

No, not whilst under control or on a lead. But indeed, it wasn’t wet was it? As hard as you want to make this, on a balance of probability I would say that it is more likely than not (51%+ probability) that a cocker spaniel being walked by it’s owner next to a river, and the owner goes in….. well I don’t see a scenario where the dog isn’t (1) wet (2) with the body. And that is of course my theory. The police have their theory too. But if the police are wrong, no one (including the police) is now looking anywhere other than in water. That seems odd to me too. .

I would also add that our cocker spaniel (as well as absolutely loving water and taking any opportunity to jump in to it) had ‘chosen’ Mrs Mungler to the extent that the dog was glued to her and wouldn’t have ventured far. Like I said, who knows what’s gone on but I am still flummoxed by the dry cocker spaniel.

So, that’s one spaniel, out of how many you have / have had / have known. Would you say it common for spaniels to avoid water? Would you say it more probable than not? Let me put it another way for the hard of independent reasoning…. 😆

And the police are never wrong eh? There’s nothing wrong in having an enquiring or challenging mind, that said, if you do you won’t want to be reading the Daily Mail. As above, what perplexes me is there being a dry spaniel in the equation when the woman is supposed to have gone in the river. Lastly, for the police to call ‘river’ without conclusive evidence or a body, well it’s killed off all other lines of investigation and public assistance hasn’t it because everyone is happy to accept the police theory (and it is just a theory) and what they are told in the Daily Mail. Needless to say, if it turns out she’s not gone in the river…..

Funniest thing on telly by a country mile

Why? We’ve discussed and speculated on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, earthquakes in Turkey and the murder suicide of a headteacher. That’s normal life for you.

What’s the cost of the NHS each year? £200 billion (ball park) and they reckon that’s a cost per man, woman and child of between £2,000 and £3,000. And bear in mind the number of people actually working / who are productive in the economy and who actually put into government coffers and who don’t take out or are a net drain (that’s 50% of the population). So, we give the NHS another £100 billion and spend £300 billion each year. And what do we think will change? Will we all live to a 110 years old and never face a queue or a wait to see a GP? We just can’t afford the NHS in its current shape and form and it’s time to start again.

Ah but the experts (the police) have already determined that she fell into the river. So we can’t discuss that?

Alright then, so how weird is it? My 2p. I’ve had a spaniel and been round hundreds. I’ve not seen a spaniel yet that wouldn’t follow their owner into water. And the dog was found bone dry. So, without knowing anything other than cocker spaniels, I’m 99% certain she didn’t fall in that river. Armchair sleuths, discuss.

When is enough money, enough money? When can we objectively look at the NHS and properly weigh up if we’re getting any value - comparative costs of other systems in other countries, our own life expectancies and so on. Anyone I know whose had treatment in France / Italy / Portugal under a hybrid system where the state pays the lions share and the patient makes a contribution can’t but help pass comment on how the queue was shorter, the hospital newer / cleaner and the treatment better. I can see us just tipping more money into the NHS leaky bucket and expecting some sort of change or better service. What did Einstein say about the definition of madness?

Nope. I married well 😆

But it's not just the view of one doctor is it?

I didn’t get married to end up doing my own washing up 😆

They go in the dishwasher, and when they are blunt I run them through my D ick RS-250 Duo; for a quick edge I use a D ick rapid steel ‘clicker’. For me, it’s time and speed. Hand washing and hand sharpening are just not for me.

Good post. To add that when they had problems like this in China (packing rubbish into foundations to bulk them out), they just executed everyone involved.

Nasty tarry sloppy poop is top of the list and the boring answer is lifestyle alas. Edit I would add that as I get older I begin to appreciate the simple things in life - how my day goes will depend solely on whether I’ve had a decent night’s sleep and a nice poo in the morning. Indeed, once you’re over 50, mastering those two things is the secret to a life 😆

Oooh a bit more on the pointlessness of masks

Thank you for that. The damage is still unfolding and for what? We should have a long hard look at Sage, the government response committees and the long list of telly loving rent-a-experts

Unsurprisingly you have been very selective in your editing and out of context presentation of a portion of the report’s conclusion - the report covers hand washing and face masks. Here’s the whole conclusion : Authors' conclusions The high risk of bias in the trials, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions. There were additional RCTs during the pandemic related to physical interventions but a relative paucity given the importance of the question of masking and its relative effectiveness and the concomitant measures of mask adherence which would be highly relevant to the measurement of effectiveness, especially in the elderly and in young children. There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks. There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection. Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness, and although this effect was also present when ILI and laboratory‐confirmed influenza were analysed separately, it was not found to be a significant difference for the latter two outcomes. Harms associated with physical interventions were under‐investigated. There is a need for large, well‐designed RCTs addressing the effectiveness of many of these interventions in multiple settings and populations, as well as the impact of adherence on effectiveness, especially in those most at risk of ARIs. And this is the bit that jumped out for me: “The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks. There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection”

Ooooh here we go, one for the mask nutters https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full "The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks. There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection." Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

When the Mrs was in hospital popping out the brats I did what most expect fathers do in the boredom and that was have a good go on the hospital nitrous. Pretty underwhelming really, unpleasantly cold delivery of what was like an instant 4 pints and which wore off almost immediately. If I was going to pass a bowling ball I’d want a lot more than nitrous to take the edge off it all. Most over the age of 18 will prefer the real 4 pints experience with mates, a game of pool, a few shots and then a kebab. I’m guessing that it’s those that can’t get into pubs that reach for this stuff. I’d regulate the supply just to stop all the parks being littered with empty metal gas bulbs.

I live in Brentwood, but alas I have a job Mon to Fri. Perhaps I can check back in when I hit retirement 😆

Good thread and some good insight from people in the know / with experience 👍

You could go to a bookies / casino in the outer Hebrides and there would be a Chinese person in there 😆 Indeed, our local casino on a Sunday used to be 25p chips 2 pm to 6 pm and it would be mobbed with the OAP lady gamblers - elbows and knees out as they would jockey round the tables. Serious crowd, no prisoners.