Madeleine McCann: No Change, A Tourist Site And Entertainment
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
THE GUARDIAN: “Last night’s TV: Madeleine, One Year On: Campaign for Change”
It’s difficult to keep the visuals stimulating, too. We saw the McCanns at home in Leicestershire; Kate and Jerry talking on the sofa. But you can’t have two hours of sofa, so we joined them in a lot of taxis - in Portugal, London, Washington. And there were plenty of lingering tree shots - leafless, winter trees (this is a sad story, after all). And a flying heron … eh, what’s that about? Maybe the heron is an aguido, too. Does Sir Trevor know?
DAILY MAIL: “Madeleine holiday apartment becomes ’sick tourist attraction’ one year on from her disappearance”
Coachloads of journalists arrive every day. It’s sick.
DAILY MIRROR: “Tourists posing for pictures at McCann tragedy spots”
Pensioner Pamela Fenn, who lives above the McCanns’ holiday apartment, said: “It’s sick.
“They stand outside and then have photographs taken with their children.”
A source close to the McCanns said yesterday: “It’s disgraceful.”
It’s not as if the disappearance of a missing child is entertaining.
The floodlights at Premiership club Everton will be switched on this Saturday to mark the anniversary in a campaign called Light The Way Home.
LIVERPOOL ECHO: “Madeleine McCann: Family prepare for first anniversary of her disappearance”
People around the world are being urged to light a candle, shine a torch or turn on a porch lamp on Saturday night as a gesture of support for Madeleine’s family and friends.
A lighter held in the air?
Robert Murat, the third arguido in the case, is intending to maintain a low profile and will probably stay away from Praia da Luz on Saturday.
He said: “The anniversary is for a little girl who went missing - Madeleine.
“The anniversary is not about us, the McCanns, the PJ (Portuguese detectives) or anything else but a little girl going missing.”
THE TIMES: “Madeleine, One Year On: Campaign for Change; Escape from Alcatraz: The True Story”
Stefanie Marsh: Why must television do compassion? Why, when faced with a captive audience, a prime-time slot and a story that could, if they’d let it, tell itself, must television turn to mush and mutate into a series of treacly Hallmark bereavement cards?…
At one point Gerry McCann admits that his “wife is carrying on in a quasi-real existence”. What she is really doing is falling apart, but too much gloop from the director turned the McCanns’ terrible situation into a guilt trip that made me want to watch The Apprentice instead.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Last Night’s TV: Madeleine, One Year On: Campaign for Change ITV1″
“You can’t always blame the parents,” says Thomas Stucliffe:
They still get a lot of letters, the McCanns, sorting them out into boxes marked “well-wishers”, “ideas”, “psychics” and “nutty”. Incredibly, they also need a box marked “nasty” for messages such as the one that Gerry read out at the beginning of the film. “How can you use money given by poor people in good faith to pay your mortgage on your mansion? You fucking thieving bastards. Your brat is dead because of your drunken arrogance. Shame on you. I curse you and your family to suffer forever. Cursed Christmas. If you had any shame, you would accept full responsibility for your daughter’s disappearance and give all the money back. You are scum.” This heart-warming expression of support had been written inside a Christmas card. The Daily Express, by contrast, chose to print its hate mail on its own front page, confident that there were enough readers out there who would prefer infanticide to unresolved mystery – or to no McCann story at all. And all the time, the McCanns themselves live a life horribly suspended between what might have been and what could happen next, between “if only” and “maybe”.
Posted: 1st, May 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (715) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
May 1st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
588 Petronius
When I looked again, it had been replace by the news about the woman just been released on the charge of banging a baby”s head on a Bannister.
I thought it was strange another witness at this late hour. Sky have been pulling a lot
of threads lately, after the Express had to pay up, not that they cared with the profit
they had made on increased Sales. You might be right about Sky, the picture of Kate
McCann they hung in th corridor looks as though it was painted by Picasso!!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Evening chenier! Don’t outwit me on my first post, there’s a chum …
May 1st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
589
Gloria Smudd Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Enters, pursued by a bear …
—————————————–
But it was Antigone, not Antigonus…
May 1st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
588
Petronius Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
=======================
I’d say that Martin has borne the brunt of the McCann campaign…
May 1st, 2008 at 7:49 pm
The article is very long therefore I translated thre most relevant bit in my eyes
“If they believe Maddie is alive, said the Judicial Police,the reconstruction takes on its full meaning”.
A decision incomprehensible to the investigators: “if their daughter would be alive, the decision the most logical and natural would be to assist the police, both here (United Kingdom) than in Portugal. If they believe Maddie is alive , then the reconstitution of the Judicial Police take on its full meaning, and their participation is more important than all interviews and documentaries, “says a British officer sent to Praia da Luz in May 2007.
If Gerry McCann refused categorically to any trip to Portugal on May 3, their spokeman, Clarence Mitchell, continues to assert that “the couple wont return to Praia da Luz, even for reconstituition requested by the police, unless arguidos their status is lifted. ”
Aged three years at the time of her disappearance, Madeleine was seen alive the last time, by other witnesses that parents and friends, around 18.30, which leaves the investigators with a slip of time of three hours during which anything could have happened. According to the same British officer, “it is precisely about this time period, between 18:30 and 22:00,that Kate McCann and Garry are the least cooperative.”
According to McCann, the decision to leave children alone would have been taken at the last moment because their original intention was to go diner in a restaurant outside the Ocean Club but children were “tired” and they were going to bed very early. A version that contradicts their initial statements to police in the days that followed the disappearance.
Their story of the hours prior to calling the police - a call given by the GNR Lagos to 22:45 - has never been held consistently by investigators and, according to the same officer of the British police, “it was marked by several gaps and contradictions. ”
A few days before the May 3, ITV documentary does not answer the big questions that remain about the disappearance of Madeleine but provides pictures of Kate and Gerry McCann bitter, sad and anxious, or parents of small British speak moments lived in Praia da Luz, with memories of cold, fear and darkness.
http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/
May 1st, 2008 at 7:49 pm
.. and a dictionary/spellcheck …
May 1st, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Enters, pursued by a bear …
May 1st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Erm, the Martin Brunt story is still there.
It’s one of the 60 “waste of time” witnesses the McConns put up. It’s spin, but it’s all well known about already, the 60 witnesses and etc.
It’s just more McConn puffery in the media, Murdoch decided that ages ago with his own news content.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:35 pm
571 Steve T
I”m not posting to you anymore in the daytiome, you keep disappearing, are you
supposed to be working and slyly using the Firm”s computer?
With regard to the arguido status, Murat”s Lawyer said yesterday his client”s is due
for review on 14th May, wouldn”t that be because he was named arguido before the McCanns?
Mods and Admin
A little challenging Val, and really no one’s business.
He may be self employed?
SteveT, no need to reply to that
May 1st, 2008 at 7:32 pm
http://skynews4.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/burglar-snatche.html
I don’t suppose it will distract them from their endeavours this weekend, but two of Kate and Gerry McCanns’ closest friends in Praia da Luz have been burgled ahead of the Madeleine anniversary.
Anglican priest Haynes Hubbard and his wife Susan lost a computer that contains personal and confidential email exchanges between the two couples.
The laptop also held notes on which Father Hubbard was basing his sermon about Madeleine at the weekend.
Mrs Hubbard is concerned, too, about private telephone numbers stored on a mobile that was also stolen.
The Hubbards became great friends and comforters of the McCanns in the days after Madeleine’s disappearance and have kept in touch since Gerry and Kate returned to the UK.
I interviewed Father Hubbard several times and he was always a rather serious guy.
His wife was quite different.
One afternoon I spotted her emptying an impressive bag of bottles beside the recycling point at the end of the promenade.
“Oh no,” she gasped in mock horror. “Vicar’s wife in secret booze scandal.”
She didn’t strike me as the Amy Winehouse type.
But, then, I’ve never heard her sing.
Written by Martin, May 01, 2008
I am spinning in the rain….
May 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
SteveT — “I cant help feeling that the PJ are nearly ready to make arrests.”
I agree. I think the PJ will move within the next two weeks. They’ll let the McCanns hang themselves with this blitz of anniversary p.r., then they’ll swoop in.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Going for a quick one + tapas with friends
See you
Be good
Dont give them too many good ideas they could use in their defense
xxx
May 1st, 2008 at 7:28 pm
they are fighting for their lives, not for maddie, any emotion they show now is to do with self pity at being suspects not for maddie.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Evening all
This is wierd. I just went on to sky news before coming here and there was a report
by Martin Brunt timed at 16.53pm saying a new witness had been found in the McCAnn case and was being interviewed by the Police. Apparently she was sitting
outside on the balcony and saw this “prowler”. She didn”t think too much of it and
flew home the next day.
I tried to cut and copy, but the whole page turned blue, so after a couple of attempts
I looked at another article. when I went back the Martin Brunt report was gone!!!!!!!
Two things crossed my mind. 1. Why now? 2. Would you be sitting outside at 10pm
when the weather was cold. Maybe Sky thought the same and that”s why they
pulled it to wait for further confirmation.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
#
568
SteveT Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I am considering sending a couple of old pushchairs to Rothley.
***********
So good of you,Stevet!
I am sure tehy will use them for their next trip to …… portugal?
May 1st, 2008 at 7:25 pm
#
567
BabyJane Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
563
jo
GMc referred to Natascha Kampusch as Natascha Kuspash on Sky. Reminded my of his blog entry where he wrote “Mari-Luz Corteza”.
*********
Cant get anything right.
Is he dyslexic? (as well)
May 1st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
IMO Gerry definately looked like he was not telling the truth.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
#
571
SteveT Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Jo,
No, already extended until August.
*************
Then,may be they can atart asking themselves : “To Be or Not to Be Charged”
To be on the safe side,I propose an answer : yes,but not right now
May 1st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
574
suzi
He also touched his ear again!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
570 chenier
May 1st, 2008 at 7:18 pm
her face crumpled, but i didnt notice any tears! Did anyone else?
May 1st, 2008 at 7:16 pm
573 SteveT
Bet that gave her a headache, its hard trying to produce tears to order…..
Still she tried….
What was with Gerry constantly rubbing his left temple!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
569
suzi
A complete PR excercise. She even tried to cry on camera?
May 1st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
569 suzi
Hello, yes me too!! I cant beleive all the hype again and where the bloody hell is clarrie!!!! whats all this about kate throwing a strop, just been reading through posts. Just watching the replay of the interview on sky, they really cant handle tricky questions. these two are unbelievable!! they want the public support, but resent intelligent questions as to why they left the kids every night!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Jo,
No, already extended until August.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
559
suzi Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I love this quote from Gerry during their sky interview….
“It led to a lot of rumour, myth and innuendo,” Mr McCann said. “What we want is responsible reporting.”
—————————————————-
Ah, yes, responsible reporting. Just what we have been provided with today by the Sun:
‘MADDIE McCann’s parents fear she could end up like the secret family Josef Fritzl kept captive in an underground dungeon in Austria, they revealed today.
Gerry McCann said the horrific case in the town of Amstetten, as well as that of Natascha Kampusch - who was held captive by Austrian paedophile Wolfgang Priklopil for eight years - did show it was possible his own daughter is still alive.
But he said he and wife Kate lived in fear that she could become a “statistic” while growing up elsewhere and ultimately surviving but forgetting her parents.’
That is, of course, the same paper which published another article today headlined:
‘Monster Fritzl’s ‘animal’ children’
thus demonstrating its deep concern for the well being of the children in question.
After all, they are not only the children of a monster, but animals as well…..
May 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
561 wtf
Hello you. Watched the programme last night and went to bed in disgust. It was not what I expected it to be, I think in essence it was just an advert for amber alert, which is a great idea, just not presented by two arguidos in their daughters “disappearance”…..
May 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I am considering sending a couple of old pushchairs to Rothley.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
563
jo
GMc referred to Natascha Kampusch as Natascha Kuspash on Sky. Reminded my of his blog entry where he wrote “Mari-Luz Corteza”.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:09 pm
#
560
SteveT Says:
May 1st, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Jo,
I cant help feeling that the PJ are nearly ready to make arrests.
**********
mmmmm … not right yet- yet
After the 3rd me thinks or even much later because their status been extended to august , am I wrong or missing info?