REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL - Dr Martin Roberts

EXCLUSIVE to mccannfiles.com with thanks to Candyfloss - Jill Havern Forum

By Dr Martin Roberts
27 July 2013


REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL


John Twomey (writing in the Daily Express, 26 July 2013):

GM: "It's taken a tremendous amount of pressure off us as a family to have that support now and to know people are now actively looking."

So why didn't the McCanns do exactly that, at the time and afterwards? Tia Sharp's father couldn't wait to look for his missing daughter, and he was nowhere near the vicinity when she disappeared. And what were Messrs. Edward and Cowley doing to earn their salaries exactly.

At last people are 'actively looking.' But for whom? And for what?

Timesonline (Steve Bird and David Brown in Praia da Luz and Adam Fresco, May 24, 2007) was among a number of newspapers to carry a report of what has become known as the 'last photo':

"The picture was taken at 2.29pm on May 3 - Mrs McCann's camera clock is one hour out so the display reads 1.29pm."

Precise EXIF data derived from the exposure include:

'Date/Time Digitized 2007:05:03 13:29:51+01:00'

On Sept. 6, 2007, Kate McCann made a lengthy statement to police which included the following observations:

"... they went to the apartment for lunch .... This would be around 12:35/12:40 .... Lunch lasted around 20 minutes. After finishing lunch they stayed for a while at the apartment, then they went to the recreation area .... They remained at this area for about an hour, maybe more, then they left the twins at the crèche next to the Tapas and both of them took Madeleine to the other crèche.

"After leaving Madeleine at around 2:50 p.m., they both had, once more, a tennis lesson."

In her more recent book (Madeleine, p.66) she claims: "Together we took Sean and Amelie back to the Toddler Club at around 2.40 p.m. and dropped Madeleine off with the Minis ten minutes later." (The times entered in the two crèche registers are 2.45 p.m. and 2.50 p.m. respectively).

Ten minutes, during which to dry and dress five pairs of feet ("We then sat round the toddler pool for a while, dipping our feet in, and I took what has turned out to be my last photograph to date of Madeleine"), leaving six minutes to reach the crèche. Not impossible. But is it likely?

Kate McCann (again in 'Madeleine'): "Some images are etched for all time on my brain. Madeleine that lunchtime is one of them. She was wearing an outfit I'd bought especially for her holiday: a peach-coloured smock top from Gap and some white broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon – a small extravagance, perhaps, but I'd pictured how lovely she would look in them and I'd been right. She was striding ahead of Fiona and me, swinging her bare arms to and fro. The weather was a little on the cool side and I remember thinking I should have brought a cardigan for her, although she seemed oblivious of the temperature, just happy and carefree."

How curious? Kate thought Madeleine might have benefitted from a cardigan that afternoon, but not so Amelie, who was sitting immediately alongside her elder sister at the pool and likewise dressed in a short-sleeved top. Gerry too seemed oblivious to the temperature, although dressed only in his t-shirt (the one he is seen wearing aboard the airport transfer bus on the day of arrival) and shorts. Gerry was impervious to both hot and cold it appears, as the body that had just spent five days playing tennis in the sun had just about as much colour as one might expect to get from a Sunday spent dining out in the back garden.

Anyway, a proud mother allows herself a 'small extravagance' over her daughter's holiday wardrobe - then waits five days before she reveals it, barely 48 hrs. before the family are due to return home?

No, no. Madeleine must have worn her special holiday outfit prior to May 3. But then Kate ought not to have been pleasantly surprised by the confirmation of her own fashion sense that afternoon at the pool, where she describes herself as having previously 'pictured' Madeleine in her new outfit. Surely by Thursday she would already have seen Madeleine in her Gap-Monsoon ensemble at least once? (She'd been wearing her Disney pyjamas all week after all). And if Madeleine looked so lovely in her designer outfit on Thursday, she would have looked no less lovely when wearing it beforehand, and no less photographically tempting. Yet it took Kate until Thursday to seize the moment, despite being prepared to run back to their apartment to fetch her camera in order to take a snap of Madeleine holding some tennis balls ("She looked so gorgeous in her little T-shirt and shorts, pink hat, ankle socks and new holiday sandals that I ran back to our apartment for my camera to record the occasion").

Although Kate attributes this photograph of hers to the Tuesday (ruling out Rachel Oldfield or Jane Tanner's claim to it, whilst contradicting the Ocean Club's own timetable, which shows mini-tennis scheduled for the Monday) Madeleine's new holiday sandals were clearly unveiled at the commencement of the holiday, not nearer its conclusion. Perhaps by the Thursday Kate had already pictured Madeleine looking lovely in her designer wear after all.


http://www.mccannfiles.com/id232.html

bravo, I d like to meet a man with a mind like this. oh and good looks.  

Why the emphasis on telling us what Maddie was wearing and that those things were new? Is that intended to show care in some way? Or is it just an obsession with appearances?

AnnaEsse wrote:Why the emphasis on telling us what Maddie was wearing and that those things were new? Is that intended to show care in some way? Or is it just an obsession with appearances?

I agree with you Anna, those few sentences have always sounded contrived to me, all designed to make Kate look like an attentive mother l think.

There does seem to be an obsession amongst some mums these days with what their children wear and where it comes from, it's keeping up appearances!

Karen wrote:EXCLUSIVE to mccannfiles.com with thanks to Candyfloss - Jill Havern Forum
..........................

Ten minutes, during which to dry and dress five pairs of feet ("We then sat round the toddler pool for a while, dipping our feet in, and I took what has turned out to be my last photograph to date of Madeleine"), leaving six minutes to reach the crèche. Not impossible. But is it likely?

Kate McCann (again in 'Madeleine'): "Some images are etched for all time on my brain. Madeleine that lunchtime is one of them. She was wearing an outfit I'd bought especially for her holiday: a peach-coloured smock top from Gap and some white broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon – a small extravagance, perhaps, but I'd pictured how lovely she would look in them and I'd been right. She was striding ahead of Fiona and me, swinging her bare arms to and fro. The weather was a little on the cool side and I remember thinking I should have brought a cardigan for her, although she seemed oblivious of the temperature, just happy and carefree."

How curious? Kate thought Madeleine might have benefitted from a cardigan that afternoon, but not so Amelie, who was sitting immediately alongside her elder sister at the pool and likewise dressed in a short-sleeved top. Gerry too seemed oblivious to the temperature, although dressed only in his t-shirt (the one he is seen wearing aboard the airport transfer bus on the day of arrival) and shorts. Gerry was impervious to both hot and cold it appears, as the body that had just spent five days playing tennis in the sun had just about as much colour as one might expect to get from a Sunday spent dining out in the back garden.

Anyway, a proud mother allows herself a 'small extravagance' over her daughter's holiday wardrobe - then waits five days before she reveals it, barely 48 hrs. before the family are due to return home?

No, no. Madeleine must have worn her special holiday outfit prior to May 3. But then Kate ought not to have been pleasantly surprised by the confirmation of her own fashion sense that afternoon at the pool, where she describes herself as having previously 'pictured' Madeleine in her new outfit. Surely by Thursday she would already have seen Madeleine in her Gap-Monsoon ensemble at least once? (She'd been wearing her Disney pyjamas all week after all). And if Madeleine looked so lovely in her designer outfit on Thursday, she would have looked no less lovely when wearing it beforehand, and no less photographically tempting. Yet it took Kate until Thursday to seize the moment, despite being prepared to run back to their apartment to fetch her camera in order to take a snap of Madeleine holding some tennis balls ("She looked so gorgeous in her little T-shirt and shorts, pink hat, ankle socks and new holiday sandals that I ran back to our apartment for my camera to record the occasion").

Although Kate attributes this photograph of hers to the Tuesday (ruling out Rachel Oldfield or Jane Tanner's claim to it, whilst contradicting the Ocean Club's own timetable, which shows mini-tennis scheduled for the Monday) Madeleine's new holiday sandals were clearly unveiled at the commencement of the holiday, not nearer its conclusion. Perhaps by the Thursday Kate had already pictured Madeleine looking lovely in her designer wear after all.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id232.html

This is very interesting and reminds me of the importance of this 'final' photograph. It is another aspect of this case that highlights some serious issue with the timeline connected with the photograph.

Maybe there are some people here from the past Daily Mirror forum? I was one of a group of people from that forum who analyzed and discussed this photo to a great extent, and the conclusion was that it was not real.

This became even more evident when I posted a picture (I believe I was the first but not sure, and that does not matter) of what I believe was from the church, that showed the wall and on it an image of Madeleine, the same image of her as in the 'final' photo, but alone, and with a background wall which would have been extremely difficult to photoshop onto the image (as was highlight in the other forum, it would have been much easier to put Gerry in than remove him due to the background wall).

This aspect of the case is probably the most significant for me because it suggests something was wrong before the evening, perhaps before that day.

margaret wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Why the emphasis on telling us what Maddie was wearing and that those things were new? Is that intended to show care in some way? Or is it just an obsession with appearances?

I agree with you Anna, those few sentences have always sounded contrived to me, all designed to make Kate look like an attentive mother l think.

There does seem to be an obsession amongst some mums these days with what their children wear and where it comes from, it's keeping up appearances!

Were those details the most significant about Madeleine's last days on holiday? The shops the clothes came from are important?

'I've had the best day ever, mummy'.....that happened to be the same day too..

All these coincidences happened the day she was 'abducted'



'I looked down at her and thought, how lucky I am and how beautiful she is'...last day too.


And the fact that was the ONLY night he supposedly went into the room to do a check

Why is there no person to come out apart from the family that supposedly were at the pool and saw the mccanns and Madeleine at the pool one day.....no person that saw Madeleine, no person that saw what she wore and what she was doing and what she was like......bit like the non gossip about the mccanns in newspapers.....know body knew them, know body dated Gerry or has any gossip about either off them apart from the hot lips Healy bit.....were the mccanns and the rest off their mates the only people in that resort or what.


If Madeleine went to the crèche that day then one off the nannies must off seen what she was wearing, surely.

I presume that was the Boyd family who supposedly saw Madeleine.

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/press/1may7/first-19-05-07.htm

Part of the article is on this link. It's very strange that, in view of the magnitude of the Madeleine story, it appeared originally only in an obscure magazine with a follow-up a year later in The Sun.

It's pure hokum in my opinion; would a 3 year old boy really have the vocal ability (and concept of time) to ask if the missing child was the one he had "played with yesterday"?

I'm not brave enough to have tackled Kate's book myself but I know from a reliable source that she makes no mention of this supposed meeting herself and for once I think she is more believable. Sorry, Mrs Boyd, I appreciate what that does to your credibility!

As for the infamous pool photo, what other reason could there be for it not being produced for several weeks other than that it was NOT taken on 3rd May 2007? I don't think that it and the photo with the tennis balls could have been taken a day or so apart - unless it is possible for a child to age a couple of years in that period!

Not Born Yesterday wrote:

As for the infamous pool photo, what other reason could there be for it not being produced for several weeks other than that it was NOT taken on 3rd May 2007?

And this is the part that I feel does not get enough attention.

GA's theory and other theories focus on the Tapas night. But what evidence is there that Madeleine was seen that afternoon or even the evening before? For this reason I believe that GA was less successful because he came to the wrong conclusion based on the right evidence. Unless of course GA had evidence that 100% proved Madeleine was seen before this (which if this exists, I have not seen it).

There are two main problems with the event occurring on Tapas night.

1)  the issues with the photo and its very late release, which happened only after Gerry went to UK and returned (the issues with this photo highlighted in my post above).

2)  why they would leave Madeleine alone again after the crying incident, the comment from the woman in apartment close to 5A, and complaints from Ocean Club staff.

Both these points suggest whatever happened was before Tapas night, with the leaving her alone again only making sense if it was a cover story.

AnnaEsse wrote:

margaret wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Why the emphasis on telling us what Maddie was wearing and that those things were new? Is that intended to show care in some way? Or is it just an obsession with appearances?

I agree with you Anna, those few sentences have always sounded contrived to me, all designed to make Kate look like an attentive mother l think.

There does seem to be an obsession amongst some mums these days with what their children wear and where it comes from, it's keeping up appearances!

Were those details the most significant about Madeleine's last days on holiday? The shops the clothes came from are important?

Just shows how common kate is, she thinks it is important to mention it. No class at all.

weissnicht wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

margaret wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Why the emphasis on telling us what Maddie was wearing and that those things were new? Is that intended to show care in some way? Or is it just an obsession with appearances?

I agree with you Anna, those few sentences have always sounded contrived to me, all designed to make Kate look like an attentive mother l think.

There does seem to be an obsession amongst some mums these days with what their children wear and where it comes from, it's keeping up appearances!

Were those details the most significant about Madeleine's last days on holiday? The shops the clothes came from are important?

Just shows how common kate is, she thinks it is important to mention it. No class at all.

Small children don't care what label is on their clothes. And on holiday, stuck in the creche all day, is it any consolation that the items they are wearing came from a comparatively expensive shop or would they rather be running around on the beach with their parents? "I'm in this creche, but never mind, my top is from Monsoon."

a peach-coloured smock top from Gap and some white broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon – "

I thought the colour was Pink? tried to find the pic of Madeleine by the pool, all kinds of permutation headings....nothing.!!!

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id280.html

The photo is on this link. The top certainly does look pink while what Amelie is wearing is peach.

Never in a million years is that a peach top. It's as pink as pink can be.
Either KM has a lousy memory or she's colour blind.
Afflictions which would be worrying given her former occupation of GP.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:http://www.mccannfiles.com/id280.html

The photo is on this link. The top certainly does look pink while what Amelie is wearing is peach.

Thanks NBY , I thought it was pink.!!! Looks as if she does have the white broderie anglais shorts on, maybe Amelie has the peach designer top on.

Actually, I wouldn't believe a word Kate says , according to Gerry's Mother Kate has a temper and one of the Family was heard her shouting at Gerry "It's me they are after , not you ".

God knows when that photo was taken. Given none of them look sun-tanned and Gerry's wearing his shuttle-bus T-shirt, it could have been taken the day they arrived.

I'm finding it hard to believe it was taken at any time in 2007 as the apparent blazing heat does not match the weather reports.

Does anyone know offhand what time the McCanns (and the Paynes) arrived in PDL on 28th April? I wouldn't have thought there was enough time for a trip to the pool to have been possible by the early afternoon.

Can someone remind me please of just why the time on Kate´s camera was an hour out? Why would it be an hour out if Portugal is the same time zone as UK?

oh mara thon, precisely, why would it be an hour out?

mara thon wrote:Can someone remind me please of just why the time on Kate´s camera was an hour out?  Why would it be an hour out if Portugal is the same time zone as UK?

Didn't the message with the photo when it came out was that the time hasn't been altered from the clocks going forward in spring?

margaret wrote:

mara thon wrote:Can someone remind me please of just why the time on Kate´s camera was an hour out?  Why would it be an hour out if Portugal is the same time zone as UK?

Didn't the message with the photo when it came out was that the time hasn't been altered from the clocks going forward in spring?

That is my recollection too. Kate forgot to "spring forward".

Thank you, I had forgotten the reason.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:I'm finding it hard to believe it was taken at any time in 2007 as the apparent blazing heat does not match the weather reports.

Does anyone know offhand what time the McCanns (and the Paynes) arrived in PDL on 28th April? I wouldn't have thought there was enough time for a trip to the pool to have been possible by the early afternoon.  

true, true - I think they didn't arrive until late afternoon, but I'd have to check. It was Dr Roberts' comment about Gerry's T-shirt that made me wonder whether that photo was taken on arrival. Mind you, the kids were wearing totally different outfits on the shuttle bus, so I doubt very much that photo was taken soon after they got there.

mara thon wrote:Can someone remind me please of just why the time on Kate´s camera was an hour out?  Why would it be an hour out if Portugal is the same time zone as UK?

I remember hearing Gerry saying that the camera was an hour out, and I vaguely remember him saying it was because Portugal is an hour ahead (which I then realised it isn't, which is what set off alarm bells for me about that damned photo).