The Wedding Survivor

Well, today has royally been the day of all days - congratulations to William and Kate on their wedding day, I must say the bride looked stunning and I'm sure the mother of the groom was there in spirit.

However, what really made the day for me was spotting the fabulous Bear Grylls mingling with the crowd, as he attempted the gruelling challenge of surviving the wedding!

Here's hoping Bear remembered to pack his lunchbox - I fear for all those stray tourists... well for their sarnies anyway!

The Ghosts of Praia de Luz

Unknown diary entry, PdL
One 4th May, Yesteryear...

      A curious thing last night, which I should like to forget - perhaps if I put it down here, I may see it in its true proportion.

      I worked in the study from 8 o'clock until 10 o'clock. The serenity of the room was interrupted by the constant ticking of the clock, however the street and the pathway outside seemed to be unusually full of what I can only call movement without sound.

      By this, I mean there seemed to be continuous coming and going, and that whenever I ceased writing to listen or look out of the window, the stillness of the street was absolutely unbroken.

     When the clock struck ten, my thoughts were again disturbed by a wretched scream.  This time I could not be mistaken, for a commotion had begun to happen outside on the street, this time movement with sound.

     These imaginary happenings, I am well aware, are a common symptom of incipient decay of the brain - however as this is my first instance, I am not disheartened.  Nor is there anything in my family history to give colour to such an idea.

     My conviction of the ghostly happenings prior to the clock striking could well be construed as imaginary and figments of an excitable imagination.  Since putting it down here, I see their true proportion and have no wish to dwell on the ghosts of Praia de Luz.

~o0o~ 

Four years...

"She was really brave. She started crying but stopped almost immediately.  It was something that usually would have caused 10 minutes of crying rather than 10 seconds."

"If Madeleine had hurt herself inside the apartment – why would that be our fault?"

Irrespective of the language used in front of children and caught on video... if Mr McCann wasn't there to enjoy himself on his family holiday, what was he there to do?


****

In the wide outside

See the swallow as he glides
Like a spiral up to freedom

Time to Forget?... No way, José.

I'm feeling the full effects of Easter today as the latest tripe from Olga Craig has made my eyes bleed.

Interesting that the British media can obtain quotes when they pick and choose, although veiled xenophobia only works when you're clever enough to pull it off.  The ability to write an unbiased article in a less derogatory nature seems a thing of the past - getting Mrs Amaral's name correct would be a good start.  This pink and fluffy tale of woe however actually gave us a couple of pieces of factual information.

Congratulations and good wishes to Mr and Mrs Murat on the birth of their son.  It's no surprise that this family wish to remain private after past happenings and a welcome change that the press have chosen to respect their privacy.

Also condolences to the Fenn family on the death of their mother, Pamela who passed away last month.  Her son, Ian claims that Mr McCann visited her personally to apologise for all the unwanted attention.

Yet another witness contacted by or on behalf of a suspect in this case? Strange that, it really shouldn't be allowed.

1st May 2007 - At approximately 22.30 she heard a child cry, and that due the tone of the crying seemed to be a young child and not a baby of two years of age or younger. Apart from the crying that continued for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, and which got louder and more expressive, the child shouted “Daddy, Daddy”, the witness had no doubt that the noise came from the floor below. At about 23.45, an hour and fifteen minutes after the crying began, she heard the parents arrive, she did not see them, but she heard the patio doors open, she was quite worried as the crying had gone on for more than an hour and had gradually got worse.

Sad words from Mrs Fenn, now set in stone and another in that series of stones that have been left unturned.

Time to forget?  What a pathetic, ludicrous question.  Apart from the frenzied courting of the media that the McCanns whipped up in early May 2007, along with the strange facts and inconsistencies in this case, the child is still missing.  All these factors have ensured that Madeleine will most likely never be forgotten, even if there is a conclusion. We're not going anywhere, are you?

Happy Easter to you all.

~o0o~

** Thanks to Steel Magnolia for correcting my spelling error... something that has bugged me all day, but couldn't put my finger on it - must've been the bleeding eyes :)

Fluffy, worthless words... McFishy or what?...

Am I alone in thinking that the huge jump of overnight 'likes' on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign group page is a little bit fishy?  It was around a steady 15,000 for some time - today it's over 30,000.  A welcome has gone out to the Madeleine public figure group - but that many, so quicky?

Anyway... things go from fishy to downright weird, with recent posts following the trend of...

Maddie I love you .pleas come home to mummy and daddy.

Kate and Gerry you are amazing people who never deserved to have this happen,

Sadly, Madeleine has been let down by the past 'investigation' into her disappearance.

Truthful, opinionated and experienced posts are removed before they are read by too many.  Practical posts which refer to Portugal as a beautiful place with friendly people are deleted.  Praise of the Policia Judiciara doesn't see the light of day, but condemnation of Portugal and it's police force are left to view.

No details whatsoever about the 'ongoing' private investigation or current legal battles that so many supporters have funded, yet encouragement for all and sundry to change their profile pictures to Madeleine prior to the book release.  What great publicity... call me a cynic but it certainly beats those time consuming book signings any day of the week.


If the posts that remain were a colour, they would be pink and they would be fluffy... they are simply not normal.  Lending support is one thing, but professing to 'love' Maddie is another thing altogether.


There now seems to be a cult of young teenagers dedicating their help to bring Madeleine home.  Young girls who claim to have large outgoings for their own planned events and ink to print their own posters.  One girl in particular even offers to befriend anyone and send posters to their home addresses.  We don't know who we're dealing with online, and this is where it gets very dangerous for naive youngsters who want be helpful and lend support.  It works both ways, Child A doesn't really know who she's befriending but those befriending her really don't know who Child A is. Yet it is all encouraged by the Official Campaign by being left to view with not even the utter of a warning, and is still there one week later.

I doubt very much that the Fund is reimbursing all these children for their efforts, don't you?

They could however take a leaf out of young Amanda's book on the art of raising awareness and searching for their daughter.  Over the years this young girl has shown more passion and awareness than her parents have ever done.  Another disturbing aspect of this case, in more ways than one.