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You can go deer shooting in Oxfordshire.
There will be deer shooting pretty much everywhere in the UK (in woodland rides look for the tree stands which allow them to have a safe backdrop). Outside of Scotland (since thats where traditionally the muppets go shooting the red deer for trophies as opposed to going after muntjac) though where you can get numpties being babysat one on one by a professional its generally restricted to people who whilst often amateur will have had to passed several tests and shoot at most in a group of 2-3. If they did get caught being a tad drunk they would also have a rather unpleasant chat with the local firearms licencing officer before saying goodbye to their licence. They are normally up at o stupid hour as well so unless you like early morning or late rides (admittedly more of a risk at this time of year) they tend to be invisible. That said last week saw a couple of hunters with suppressed rifles getting out of cars next to one of my local routes. Despite assuming they would not be pissed and so would be shooting downwards through a woodland ride I did choose an alternate route back in.
Not dissimilar to shotguns although there the idiots are more broadly spread where you have the gamebird shoots aimed at the idiots doing it as a social event. I remember being getting mildly worried once where disregarding a locals warning I though the local estate shoot would actually have some vague skill requirement having been used to my local shoots which, I think, were mostly small groups funding a shoot together as opposed to commercial.
"Can you imagine that happening at the side of the M1 or M25 etc?"
There was a hunt/shoot about 500m from the A1m ,just a mile north of the m25 on Saturday morning.
Nobeer, if its the estate of L G***
Na, Southannan estate mate. LG wouldn't let you cut bugger all tracks, unless you were paying him.
You can go deer shooting in Oxfordshire.
You can also go deer shooting in Swinley, which is another reason for sticking to the 'official' trails!!
They do seem to use the 'chairs' though so in reality you'll be safe(ish) wherever you ride
While I hate the Daily Mail as much as anyone and find their presentation of that story quite inappropriate, they and The Sun don’t just make quotes up in situations like this.
But they really should investigate the veracity of the claims before publishing, especially if, for example, the assault conviction was a lie.
All that does is make it even harder for genuine victims to be heard.
I'm inclined to believe he went to prison.. The sun has a pic of a letter he sent from there. Likewise if he wasn't in jail those trying to say its all made up could very easily prove it I would have thought.
No smoke without fire.. Saville thought me that..
No smoke without fire..
How do you reconcile that with innocent until proven guilty? Or do you not?
How do you reconcile that with innocent until proven guilty? Or do you not?
<i>I</i>ts not easy to do that when the evidence is compelling. Saville wasn't proven guilty as I remember, are you saying he was innocent?
An extreme case admittedly, but then so is this I would argue. The guy has been accused of raping his sister over 100 times and beating his ex. I struggle to believe that accusation has been made entirely.
How do you reconcile that with innocent until proven guilty?
That's in the eyes of the law. This is the internet, a lawless, godless place.
I struggle to believe that accusation has been made entirely.
You struggle to believe that sometimes people are accused of things wrongly, for all sorts of reasons, from it not being true to it not being provable and all sorts of versions of callous vendetta type accusations in between? Can you really not believe that that happens?
If that were the case, then surely then we don't even need a trial, anyone who is accused should just be locked up. We could save society a fortune, it's amazing no-one has thought of it before.*
*A few people have, and it does seem to have side effects when implemented...
I don't think people are saying it's definitely all made up, just that allegations made when the 'abuser' is in no position to defend himself should not be taken entirely at face value. Particularly when the allegations are made via the press, possibly with payment involved.
It's quite hard to prove that someone hasn't been in prison, but I'm surprised that court records haven't been forthcoming for the six month sentence. Would seem to be a basic piece of journalism, since the 'fact' that he went to prison for a violent offence is being used to prop up some completely unverifiable and far more serious allegations.
If he had been seriously injured, rather than killed, there is no way that the bulk of the story would have been published. It is only the fact that you can't libel the dead that allows the press free rein.
I hate how this has changed into a discussion about karma and deciding whether he deserved it or not based on some tabloid journalism.
It's nice and neat to think you won't get shot by a drunk idiot unless you're evil, so lets not worry. But then surely everyone who dies young deserved it, or is it only karma when it aligns with your views? In which case perhaps it should be called coincidence.
Regardless we have very little evidence and close family on both sides arguing two opposite view points. To try and guess the truth based on a few quotes in the Daily Mail seems insane.
I wish all this wouldn't overshadow the fact that a man was just shot and killed because we have so little regard for human life that the rights of people who enjoy killing animals is somehow more important.
You're right, woodster. Sorry for derailing (or at least continuing the derailment).
As I rode around yesterday, on what was a beautiful day I came across a couple of signs in the woods :
Zone de Chasse : Prudence
(Hunting area : Be careful)
They were permanent signs, not temporary ones indicating hunting was actually happening there and then, and there were in a publicly accessible area of a forest. It struck me as being quite amazing that potential victims were being asked to be careful around their potential agressors and made my wonder if I'd be OK driving around a bit drunk as long as I stuck a big notice on my car saying :
I'm a bit drunk : Be careful around me
Saddens me too that the local Decathlon has been advertising their hunting products on Facebook recently just a couple of days after another old lady lost her life to a hunter. I'm not against hunting, but hunts here in France really are a different beast to organised shoots in the UK.
In my opinion the fact of the matter is the Federations de chasse aren't doing their job. Rugby federations are looking at ways of changing their sport to reduce head trauma in young players, and any other federation would have serious attention focused on it if there were anything like the number of annual deaths and injuries caused (not counting the number of hunting dogs that get shot "accidentally").
Does anyone remember the horrible murder of a young woman around Christmas in Bristol a few years ago? Her landlord was arrested, and the sun decided he was guilty, then set about ruining his life. Endless stories dragged up from the past, mostly made up, or grossly exaggerated, and splashed across the front pages. Turned out, he was completely innocent.
Or, the stories of Liverpool fans stealing from the dead after Hillsborough? As I said before, be careful taking "facts" from tabloids.
Surely his doing time for assault will be a matter of record rather then opinion?
And whilst that wouldn't mean any of the other allegations are true it does mean the whole thing isn't a complete fabrication.
You struggle to believe that sometimes people are accused of things wrongly
Not at all, I am allowed to express an opinion on the matter however. And I'm pretty convinced that he has indeed gone to prison for beating his ex...the rest of the story.. Who knows
Does anyone remember the horrible murder of a young woman around Christmas in Bristol a few years ago? Her landlord was arrested, and the sun decided he was guilty, then set about ruining his life. Endless stories dragged up from the past, mostly made up, or grossly exaggerated, and splashed across the front pages. Turned out, he was completely innocent.
Yep, Chris Jefferies. And part of it was true - the bit about him being questioned in connection with the murder. He was briefly a person of interest to the police. The articles about him being a creepy sex pest and peeping tom were just made up.
At least in that case the poor bloke was able to take them all to the cleaners for libel.
Another MTB'er has been shot and wounded last weekend in Ariège by people hunting wild boar. It's very regular durng the hunting season and has nothing to do with karma*
*At least it seems not to, but perhaps this one will turn out to have some dark past too...
Karma? On a forum as profoundly atheist as this?
And I’m pretty convinced that he has indeed gone to prison for beating his ex…
Convinced by what evidence? All you have is what the Daily Mail printed, and now even retract?
Personally I believe this was a tragic incident, if potential crime, and highlights the dangers of the hunt situation to the public, especially mountain bikers, in France.
Another MTB’er has been shot and wounded last weekend in Ariège by people hunting wild boar.
Bloody hell, that's near my sisters place. My brother in law had a bit of altercation with le chasse last week whilst out running. They started telling he shouldn't be running down that track whilst they were hunting. He told them it was a public road and they shouldn't be hunting there. Few more words and they left him alone, he doesn't take any shit, but he did say it left him feeling really angry as it's a bit scary having gun toting blokes hanging round telling people not to access public areas. It'll make me think twice about wandering about or riding my bike round by their house now though!!
Saville wasn’t proven guilty as I remember, are you saying he was innocent?
I'll say he was 100pc innocent of *all* accusations related to Duncroft and all accusations related to Necrophilia. Once you're dead the press can say *anything* as long as it sells papers. They did about Saville and I've no doubt they would about this rider. (Which isn't to say either are 100pc innocent.)
And just reading that a beater has been killed in the Meuse this weekend too. "One of their own" this time, but still an absolutely ridiculous situation.
Any updates?
I bought one of the hi-vis mtb jerseys, in a very distinctive fluorescent orange.
With #rideformarc on it. I feel awkward wearing it.
Ive not heard any more on things since the memorial walk in mid November.
My #rideformarc jersey is waiting for me to collect in Morz at xmas. I'm sure I'll wear it when riding out there, less likely to bring it home and use in the UK though.
Looks like his cafe will be reopening soon for the new season, which is good news.