My Challenge To The Supporters

[lookout]

I don't see a problem with the call to Jeremy, this is quite plausible to me anyway. It's harder to fit in the second call to the Police but I do believe one was made.

Could Nevil have believed the gun was maybe in a safe condition, or that Sheila although she ran off with the gun was not actually intending to use it?

You'd call the police even if it was to save your own neck in a situation like that. What do you do, kill your daughter, which Nevill couldn't obviously do but would have been within his right to do under the circumstances ?
What of the consequences of that ? There must have been all kinds of thoughts going through the poor man's mind.

[Jane]

Nevill would have been a sitting duck whether the holder of the rifle was male or female. After a full day harvesting, then taking the dogs out as was the norm, returning, locking up pouring himself a nightcap ( gin and tonic ) a cigarette or two, relaxing in his favourite armchair, the man would have been whacked. Try doing what he did when you turn 60 !
 I don't think he was in any fit state for what was to come which is why he didn't stand an earthly being confronted with a rifle.
Worse still it being his daughter who he wouldn't have wanted to have hurt, but she had the upper hand---the rifle !  No matter how big and strong a person is you'd be hard-pushed to tackle anyone who was armed especially someone who was " troubled " which Sheila had been.

I think he'd be furious to hear himself described as a semi decrepit geriatric! He was only in his early 60s. In our grandparents time 60 was old. It certainly isn't now. That's not to say he wouldn't have been glad to have finished work for the day, especially after unexpectedly having to take care of something JB hadn't done, but I think we can rest assured that ,in part, thanks to earlier training, he'd have sprung to full alertness at the first sign of anything untoward.

[guest7363]

I don't see a problem with the call to Jeremy, this is quite plausible to me anyway. It's harder to fit in the second call to the Police but I do believe one was made.

Could Nevil have believed the gun was maybe in a safe condition, or that Sheila although she ran off with the gun was not actually intending to use it?

Shes going Crazy with it Rob?  For Nevill to actually pick the phone up and get his son out of bed at 3.00 am in the morning I would say it’s a life threatening situation.

[Jane]

You'd call the police even if it was to save your own neck in a situation like that. What do you do, kill your daughter, which Nevill couldn't obviously do but would have been within his right to do under the circumstances ?
What of the consequences of that ? There must have been all kinds of thoughts going through the poor man's mind.

Certainly, his best course of action might have been to call the police, although previously, hadn't he called Dr Ferguson? I'm assuming, given that June had also been his private patient, he'd have had his phone number. JB's presence, unless he'd been called on previous occasions, but he's never made mention of such, was superfluous to requirements.

[guest29835]

I don't see a problem with the call to Jeremy, this is quite plausible to me anyway. It's harder to fit in the second call to the Police but I do believe one was made.

Could Nevil have believed the gun was maybe in a safe condition, or that Sheila although she ran off with the gun was not actually intending to use it?

I'm not saying there is a problem with the call to Jeremy; I'm merely explaining how - as I see it - the scenario must work.  David's scenario unfortunately can't work in my view because Nevill would not just let Sheila run off while he rings Jeremy.  Instead, Sheila would have to be present and Nevill then terminates the call only when she runs off.  I honestly don't see how it could work any other way if Jeremy is innocent.  Nevill would not let Sheila run around the house with a loaded gun, nor would he assume that the gun is unloaded.  He is a former RAF pilot and would have sufficient sense to realise the danger of any gun, loaded or presumed not loaded. 

A key rule around guns is that you always assume they is loaded.  You never ever rely on a belief that a gun is unloaded.  People have been killed that way.  I have been around guns and even if I knew a gun were unloaded, I would always assume that it is still loaded and never let somebody point it at somebody else.  Note also that even if the magazine was not in the rifle at this point, it could still have had a cartridge in the breach.

I don't pretend my scenario is free of problems.  A basic problem with my scenario is that you have to wonder why Nevill didn't tackle Sheila for the gun and take it off her.  It must be that he either did and was injured and then resorted to the phone, or he tried to and couldn't catch her and in the end resorted to stalling her by telephoning Jeremy.  The latter seems the more plausible of the two.  I certainly wouldn't assume that just because she was female, short and slight, that this means Nevill could tackle her easily.  That definitely cannot be assumed.

[lookout]

I think he'd be furious to hear himself described as a semi decrepit geriatric! He was only in his early 60s. In our grandparents time 60 was old. It certainly isn't now. That's not to say he wouldn't have been glad to have finished work for the day, especially after unexpectedly having to take care of something JB hadn't done, but I think we can rest assured that ,in part, thanks to earlier training, he'd have sprung to full alertness at the first sign of anything untoward.

Oh gosh no, 60 isn't old now, but remembering 36 years ago and in the light of advanced medicine etc today, 60 back then wasn't as it is now, if you get my meaning. Plus I imagine that Nevill all but drained himself of resources during the harvesting period being reliant on dry weather for the rape he'd be wanting to get it done as quickly as he could. He'd still have been knackered with no doubt the " old war wounds " playing up along with the work he'd put in.

Even so, having completed another day he certainly wasn't prepared for what was to follow, in any way.

[lookout]

I would have said 36 years ago that 60 was 60. Nowadays we can say it's mid-40's.

[lookout]

Hope all is well with you Jane btw. x 

[Jane]

Hope all is well with you Jane btw. x 

Lookout, it is, thank-you. Hope it's the same with you. x

[killingeve]

Too many off topic posts on MY thread. 

You've been warned!  Any repeats and I will make a case for a permanent ban!

[lookout]

Lookout, it is, thank-you. Hope it's the same with you. x

So far so good, thankyou.x  Though I wish there was a cure for procrastination 

[killingeve]

So far so good, thankyou.x  Though I wish there was a cure for procrastination 

The PM system exists for the above.  Please do not clutter threads with personal off-topic messages.  If you persist I will make a case for a permanet ban.  You have been allowed to get away with too much for too long. 

[Rob_]

Shes going Crazy with it Rob?  For Nevill to actually pick the phone up and get his son out of bed at 3.00 am in the morning I would say it’s a life threatening situation.

Sorry about the slow reply was reading Bird's COLP interview.

With or without a gun someone having a episode in Sheila's condition is quite frightening, was it Freddie who once called for help when Sheila went into a rage?

[lookout]

Too many off topic posts on MY thread. 

You've been warned!  Any repeats and I will make a case for a permanent ban!

Put a sock in it for goodness sake. We DON'T need this !!

[Rob_]

I'm not saying there is a problem with the call to Jeremy; I'm merely explaining how - as I see it - the scenario must work.  David's scenario unfortunately can't work in my view because Nevill would not just let Sheila run off while he rings Jeremy.  Instead, Sheila would have to be present and Nevill then terminates the call only when she runs off.  I honestly don't see how it could work any other way if Jeremy is innocent.  Nevill would not let Sheila run around the house with a loaded gun, nor would he assume that the gun is unloaded.  He is a former RAF pilot and would have sufficient sense to realise the danger of any gun, loaded or presumed not loaded. 

A key rule around guns is that you always assume they is loaded.  You never ever rely on a belief that a gun is unloaded.  People have been killed that way.  I have been around guns and even if I knew a gun were unloaded, I would always assume that it is still loaded and never let somebody point it at somebody else.  Note also that even if the magazine was not in the rifle at this point, it could still have had a cartridge in the breach.

I don't pretend my scenario is free of problems.  A basic problem with my scenario is that you have to wonder why Nevill didn't tackle Sheila for the gun and take it off her.  It must be that he either did and was injured and then resorted to the phone, or he tried to and couldn't catch her and in the end resorted to stalling her by telephoning Jeremy.  The latter seems the more plausible of the two.  I certainly wouldn't assume that just because she was female, short and slight, that this means Nevill could tackle her easily.  That definitely cannot be assumed.

I need to be more careful how I word things QC! I was agreeing with you.