Top 10 McCann Clangers

Or in other words, gobsmackers or things that made my jaw drop.  To be honest, there are far more than 10 things, but these are just off the top of my head...

Random Photographs
There are many to choose from, but those infamous 'happy' photos taken outside the church in Praia de Luz on the 12th May 2007, just 9 days after their daughter vanished without a trace are just too much.

Press Conferences
Most of these appear to be read from a script including their plea to the 'abductor' on the 4th May, and later only certain questions were privy for an answer.

Two press conferences have stuck in my mind - the first showed the waiting press pack during mid-May 2007.  All eagerly awaiting confirmation that the monies donated would be well spent on private investigators to aid the Portuguese police.  After all, everyone expected it, especially those who donated - instead we were informed about the crack team of lawyers hired and details of the position of Campaign Manager - no PIs.  If a pin had dropped, it most certainly would have been heard...

And secondly is perhaps one of the most well known... gutsy Sandra Felgeiras asks the question of the moment - did you know Robert Murat?
Did you know Robert Murat?

A Cowering Child
Kate McCann describing the moment she discovered Madeleine missing to Oprah Winfrey, she checked to see if she was cowering in the wardrobe... cowering?


Forward Thinking?
We've had a search fund created, future events planned and the delayed release of information and photographs.  All things long-term.  Yet short-term, not much - there is very little mention of the huge reward on offer and it appears that no-one has ever tried to claim it.  It really did appear that Madeleine's discovery would not happen any time soon.

The Good Parenting Guide
Mr McCann stating that everything they had done was within the realms of responsible parenting!  What idiot told him that, I wonder?  I can only guess on that one.

The McCanns Never Physically Searched
From the horse's mouth in an interview with Jane Hill from the BBC.
Search? We've been working really hard...

Intimidating Witnesses?
Brian Kennedy, backer and funder of the McCanns apparently making visits in person to witnesses and the other arguido in the case, Robert Murat.

The Gaspar Statements
These statements were given very early in the case to Leicestershire Police, and withheld for 6 months before being passed onto the Portuguese police.  These statements gave another view of the case which may or may not have steered the whole investigation into another grimmer direction.  Irrespective of what you think of these statements, they should have been passed on immediately.
Drs Katherina and Arul Gaspars' Statements with thanks to Pamalam.

The Dogs
The results of the dogs' presence in Praia de Luz really has me dumbfounded and perhaps the most compelling thing that makes me question what really happened to Madeleine.  Out of numerous locations, these dogs only marked the scent of a dead body in the McCanns apartment, car and clothing.  And on Madeleine's cuddlecat toy.
The Dogs in Action

And the McCanns' Response?
This imo was not normal... your daughter is missing, the scent of a dead body is found in the apartment she went missing from and in your hire car.  Wouldn't you demand that the police investigate the previous occupants and users of both the apartment and car thoroughly?  Wouldn't you show the slightest concern for your missing child?  Or would you try to excuse the 'smell' by blaming it on rotting food and dirty nappies?

The Warped Minds of the McCanns??

I'm really intrigued by the latest statement from the Madeleine Fund, released in response to Jim Gamble's resignation from CEOP.  They say that they found the news 'saddening'...  Saddening?  Why on earth would they find it saddening?


It's been common knowledge for some time that Mr Gamble was eager to relieve his position at CEOP and be employed elsewhere, so devoted to the job and all the children, was he.  It seems that his resignation was just something waiting to happen.


But let's go back to basics - the McCanns have a missing child, Madeleine McCann whom they claim was abducted.  CEOP have been involved with the 'search' for over 3 years, even during the time that Mr McCann claims that 'no law enforcement agency were actively looking'.  Have they helped find Madeleine?  No, they haven't - she is still missing.  Not even the age enhanced image of a 7 year old Madeleine prompted any leads.


In the eyes of the parents of a missing child - massive fail.


Who would blame any parent for thinking this is absolutely, utterly desperate, our little girl is still missing?   What parent would be saddened by Jim Gamble's resignation - wouldn't you be glad to see the back of him and eagerly await 'new blood' there at the top to try a new approach with fresh ideas?  


Wouldn't you be over the moon that the government had set up a new initiative which would shake up the whole organisation and would involve specialists in fields such as kidnapping and child trafficking?  After all, if you think your daughter has been abducted, these are the people you want on the job.   


Think about the renewed hope it would give right-thinking parents.  Can Jim Gamble still offer this to the McCanns after all these years.


Saddened... and too busy latching onto other causes or championing crusades for all the other children to distract from the fact that where they are today is because of their own actions.


This is not about all the other children... this should be about their daughter and no-one else.


 "In this challenging economic climate, we urge the Government to remember the value of our children and the importance of the invaluable work which is necessary to protect children against the devastating crimes of child abduction and exploitation."


What callous audacity and cheek, never mind the fact that it is directed at a man who is grieving the loss of his young son.


They should attempt to get their own house in order before brazenly telling the world how our children should be valued and looked after.  It smacks of nothing but ignorance and hypocrisy, which is something I think we've all come to expect... 

Value our Children... Hypocrisy from the Madeleine Fund

Are we all surprised at the speed of the latest statement from the Madeleine Fund referring to Jim Gamble's resignation from CEOP!  Is it really saddening?  Is it a disaster?


Here's what they have to say...


We were told last night of the resignation of Jim Gamble from the Child Exploitation and On Line Protection Unit (CEOP). We are certain that he will be a huge loss to the field of child protection. Knowing how committed Mr Gamble is to this cause, it is extremely saddening that he feels unable to continue to lead CEOP which appears to be as a consequence of the proposed Governmental changes.

The search for our daughter Madeleine has been greatly enhanced by the work carried out by the team at CEOP. We would like to thank Mr Gamble for all of his efforts, both for Madeleine and for all missing and exploited children.

In this challenging economic climate, we urge the Government to remember the value of our children and the importance of the invaluable work which is necessary to protect children against the devastating crimes of child abduction and exploitation.


Why the rush?  I wonder what panic prompted the necessity to get this statement out within 24 hours of Mr Gamble's resignation becoming public?


There was no rush to ring the police that fateful night in May.
There was no rush to search for their daughter.
There was no rush to leave Portugal, until they had to.
There was no rush to release Madeleine's age enhanced image to the public.


No haste or speed ever engaged when it involved their own child, yet here we have a carefully thought out statement drafted, released and online within hours for our perusal.  I wonder why neither John McCann or Doug Skehan warranted this action on their resignations from the Madeleine Fund?


The McCanns say... "In this challenging economic climate, we urge the Government to remember the value of our children..."


Is this referring to all our children, or just the McCann children?  Visions of Mr McCann's cryptic blogs come to mind...


Hypocrytical, considering they completely forgot the value of their own children in the first place and the reason we're all here over three years later.

McCann Case - Those Irritating Niggles!

Do you have them?  I sure do... and they keep irritating me!


From day one, the public were bombarded with claims of abduction, jemmied shutters and swarthy intruders.  Visions of a beautiful, big eyed child were emblazoned on our television screens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   British toddler, Madeleine McCann, aged just 3 had been 'taken'.


Bring Madeleine home, she's not yours!  


Then came the not-so-televised news from John Hill, Manager of the Ocean Club that the shutters were perfect, there was no sign of a break in to the apartment.  Brief photos of the 'jemmied' shutters were shown on the news to be undamaged.


But hold that result... forget about the shutters, they're not newsworthy!  Rewind back to the sweet little three year old with the big eyes.  Forget about the fact that Madeleine, her 2 year old twin siblings and all of her younger friends were apparently left alone, night after night in empty apartments.  Forget about the fact that this group of 9 adults all dined, drank and had their jollies in a restaurant down the road while all of their children were left alone to care for themselves.  All of these children were 3 years and under!!  That's not so much an irritating niggle, but a gobsmacking one.  And one that bemuses me to this day, because it's only ever referenced to the McCanns.  Nine adult individuals behaved in the same manner, apparently...


Anyway, back to those niggles... thanks to our great British press and media, I would be well on the way to actually believing the theory of abduction if it weren't for certain photo opportunities that Mr and Mrs McCann seemed to grasp with open arms...

Now forgive me, but the photos pictured above were all taken in the weeks following Madeleine's disappearance.  The first photo (unbelievably) was taken on the 12th May 2007,  just 9 days after Madeleine McCann's disappearance was announced to the world.  Nine days without your child, without knowing where she is or who she's with?  Nine days of not seeing your child with your own eyes and nine days of worry.  Could you bring yourself to function properly within 9 days, let alone smile, laugh, prance around holding balloons and flowers?... In public.  


It's in the utmost bad taste, even more so when you consider that (as her parents maintain) Madeleine McCann could be sitting with her 'abductor' in front of the television screen, recognising her parents' obvious smiles emanating from those photos.  Well, let's give Mr and Mrs McCann the benefit of the doubt - maybe they have no control over their emotions and simply smile, laugh and be jolly at the most inappropriate moments.   I'm sure Madeleine would understand.


Anyway, let's talk about another niggle... that of the Hell Hounds from South Yorkshire.


Eddie and Keela were actually the brainchild and suggestion of the British police.  They are both spaniels (not collies) with incredible noses, and when working Eddie detects cadaver odour, Keela detects blood.  These dogs have travelled the world, are in great demand and Eddie actually earns more money than McDonalds on a good day!


The dogs arrived in August 2007 with their owner Martin Grimes, and if this had been a run of the mill abduction case, you would expect them not to mark at all, pat on the head, dog biscuit and go home?  These are the places that the Portuguese police requested that the dogs put their snouts...


Five apartments at the complex in Praia de Luz.
Mr Murat's property at Praia de Luz.
Mr and Mrs McCanns' villa at Praia de Luz 
Articles of clothing from the McCanns' residence.
Western beach Praia de Luz.
Eastern Beach Praia de Luz.
10 Vehicles screened at Portimao


The dogs alerted in the McCanns' apartment, in their car and on various items of clothing belonging to Mrs McCann and a child's t-shirt.  We are talking about a cadaver dog, alerting to the scent of a cadaver.  Which in layman's terms is alerting to the scent of a dead body and I'm sorry to say that dogs don't lie.  The cadaver dog also alerted to Madeleine's iconic soft toy, known as Cuddlecat.


They alerted nowhere else.  Not in any other apartment or car or clothes.  Only places and items belonging to the McCanns.  Talk of false positives and false markings are rubbish because the dogs would have marked here, there and everywhere.


This is the biggest niggle of all... unfortunately I can't ask the dogs, so if you could explain that one for me I would be most grateful.


Eddie and Keela in action.

Childish Put-Me-Downs...

Isn't it funny how children can put you down with one word, one sentence.  They can halt the conversation with one full swoop and I don't mean with the usual 'where do babies come from?' question.

Your favourite for dinner!!  Don't want it.
Can you tidy up please!?  Why? Who's coming?
Tadaaaa!  Wow! Mum's wearing make-up...

I love recounting tales of my childhood to my own children.  Back in the day, memories viewed through rosy coloured specs when everything was good.  We seemed to do so much more back then compared to kids nowadays, but that's a different story.  One day after much harassment for another story, I decided to tell them about the night I met a jackal...

The night was moist... the rain had stopped and there was a low rumble of thunder in the background.  I was about 15 years old, and my parents had (shock, horror) left me home alone while they did the monthly shop.  I was quite happy though - house to myself and my beloved dog to protect me.

Although the thunder made me flinch, I was happy watching tv.  The lamp cast a cosy glow over the room and the fire made everything so snug.  Lovely, and I hoped that my parents took their time!

Quite out of the blue, something caught the dog's attention.  Her ears pricked up, she sniffed the air and made a low growl as she looked towards the living room door.  I stroked her and asked what was wrong, but my touch and words were ignored as she stalked towards the door.  The lowly growl turned into panicked barks, she jumped, clawed the door and pranced around on all fours.

As this was happening, my curiosity was turning to all out fear.  The hair on my arms was standing as the cold realisation hit me that someone could be standing on the other side of the door.  And I was alone.

I paced, wringing my palms wondering what to do.  And all the while, the dog was still prancing... still barking.. still growling.  I looked longingly out of the window towards the drive, where my parents' car should have been.  The drive was empty.  The phone was in the hallway.  I knew I had to open that door.

I grabbed the dog by the collar (I was so afraid that she would be hurt if someone was there) and gingerly turned the handle on the door.  The glow from the room that was once so cosy spilled out into the long, dark hallway.

And there at my feet, right by the door stood what I can only describe as a jackal.  It stood there defiantly in the shadows, it's ears pricked up and it held my shocked stare.  I released the dog at that point and she chased the little creature along the hallway and into the kitchen.  As I followed, I saw that the back door was lying wide open to the elements.  I ran through the door and into the back garden.

The rain had stopped and left a damp blanket on everything.  The thunder rumbled in the background and my beloved dog was running around in circles, whining and yelping.  She was fine, unhurt but the jackal was nowhere to be seen.  The back garden was 'dog-proof' to prevent our dog from getting out - and any dog from getting in.  The gate was closed.  There was absolutely no way out.

I called the dog back into the house, closed all the doors, put on all the lights and pushed the sofa against the living room door.  I waited by the window for my parents to return.  I was terrified.

I can't explain how the little creature entered our house, through closed gates and closed doors or where it went afterwards.  But one thing's for sure, I'll never forget that night I came face to face with a jackal, and I'll never forget how my lovely dog protected me.

At this point I pause to tell the children that the story is finished, they are gazing at me... eyes agog and seriously spooked when No3 pipes up 'Mum, Mum tell us about the day you saw the pterodactyl....'