Hay insisted we went on a bike ride on Sunday. I must admit I didn't do it because I like bike rides, but because Hay wanted me to join her. I'm nice like that.
Within half a mile of our house I was immediately regretting it - the bike I had to use had misaligned handlebars and a seat that split my difference. It was agony and I must have walked at least a quarter of the 10 miles we covered.
On returning home I immediately sorted out the handlebars and installed the big bum seat from another bike that's no longer serviceable. Comfort!
Unfortunately we spotted this chap at the roadside:
A fine, fat badger which had been hit by a car. Sad. We watched Brian May's documentary on the badger cull the other day and came away convinced that badgers aren't to blame for Bovine TB. I recommend watching the documentary on BBC iPlayer - it's utterly convincing, based on science and trials.
The documentary sheds light on the inefficacy of the bTB skin test, which is widely used to detect the disease in cattle. The documentary reveals significant flaws in this testing method, showing that it often fails to identify infected cattle. As a result, animals that are carriers of the disease remain in the herd, leading to the continued spread of bTB.
The film suggests that the persistence of the disease in cattle populations is, in part, due to the reliance on this outdated and unreliable testing method. By highlighting cases where the skin test has failed to detect bTB, the documentary calls into question the effectiveness of current disease control measures, which have primarily focused on badger culling as a means of preventing transmission to cattle.
The documentary further advocates for more accurate and modern testing methods that could better identify infected cattle, thereby reducing the spread of bTB within herds. Brian May and other contributors argue that this approach, along with vaccination, would be a more effective and humane way to control the disease, ultimately reducing the need for controversial badger culls.
While cycling we called in at a church for a thermos of tea and a bite to eat and I was intrigued by a stained glass window:
A highly improbable, blonde Jesus and a cripple with a telescopic crutch....
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