The Tennis Ball Photograph Revisited

by **crusader** 12.07.19 20:43

I hope someone can help with this. I know Madeleine played tennis on Monday, [assuming she was still alive then] but it look`s to me like it was on the grass. I believe this because on Sunday it says parachute grass time. Then at the same time on Monday it say`s mini tennis grass time. I cant find anywhere else on the activity sheet where they played tennis.

by Guest 12.07.19 21:28

crusader wrote:I hope someone can help with this. I know Madeleine played tennis on Monday, [assuming she was still alive then] but it look`s to me like it was on the grass. I believe this because on Sunday it says parachute grass time. Then at the same time on Monday it say`s mini tennis grass time. I cant find anywhere else on the activity sheet where they played tennis.

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What exactly is it you are trying to fathom crusader?

The activity sheet is not significant, it's only a generic schedule of a weeks activities. In reality the actual activities at any one session would depend on many factors - the weather, how many children were signed in for the session, the general disposition of the children in session, the child carer's whims and fancies etc. For example, they couldn't very well play mini tennis if only one or two children were present nor indeed go swimming if a child is aquaphobic nor go sailing if it was wissing with rain.

by **crusader** 12.07.19 21:54

Thank`s for that Verdi, now I`m even more confused. I know according to the activity sheet that they did parachute grass time on Sunday because we have seen the photo of Madeleine with the parachute. We also have seen the mini sail changed to the day after because of the weather. So some of the other activities could have been rearranged as and when .I think I`m taking the activity sheet too literally.

by Guest 12.07.19 22:03

crusader wrote:Thank`s for that Verdi, now I`m even more confused. I know according to the activity sheet that they did parachute grass time on Sunday because we have seen the photo of Madeleine with the parachute. We also have seen the mini sail changed to the day after because of the weather. So some of the other activities could have been rearranged as and when .I think I`m taking the activity sheet too literally.

Sorry to confuse you even further but a fuzzy image of children, one claimed to be Madeleine McCann, with a parachute was first introduced by the Netflix film, apparently provided by holidaymaker Neil Berry, who had a few ripping yarns to tell of the friendship between his own daughter and Madeleine during the week of 28thApril/3rd May 2007, such bosom buddies were they. A never been seen before image I might add.

smilie

by **crusader** 12.07.19 22:09

Ha Ha, along the same lines as Bridget O`Donnell`s fantasy.

by **Jill Havern** 12.07.19 23:00

crusader wrote:Ha Ha, along the same lines as Bridget O`Donnell`s fantasy.

And Vicky Boyd with her 'spot the waterslide' fantasy [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Guest 13.07.19 0:14

There's a thread somewhere here on CMOMM - it's titled Bearing False Witness.

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by **Tony Bennett** 13.07.19 7:28

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] made a very good point above about the mini-tennis probably taking place on the GRASS on the Monday, and NOT on the tennis courts.

Is it not fascinating that after 12 years we eventually get ONE, and ONE ONLY, photo of Madeleine involved in the daytime creche activities?

And that one-and-ONLY photo of her in her creche group was taken on SUNDAY MORNING.

Does this not strengthen still further the case for Madeleine having suffered a serious event of some kind after lunch on the Sunday?

And it's still further evidence in support of Petermac's truly brilliant analysis of the Tennis Balls Photo in his magnificent e-book. The stories about who took this photo, when, and under what circumstances, cast severe doubt on whether that photo is what it is cracked up to be

by **Jill Havern** 13.07.19 8:40

Tennis balls chapters from Peter's e-book:

21. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Close friend, confidante, and uncritical McCann supporter, journalist Tracey Kim Kandohla seems to suggest this may be about to happen.
In a Mail Online article recently, à propos the McCanns’ blog site, she said:
“Pictures include the iconic last known image of Maddie in pink sunhat and clutching tennis balls while on holiday “

22. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
My interest in this particular image was rekindled after the recent newspaper article by Tracey Kandohla, a vehement and uncritical McCann supporter and personal friend of Kate, who referred to the Tennis Balls Photo (TBP) where she says:
“Pictures include the iconic last known image of Maddie in pink sunhat and clutching tennis balls while on holiday “ Having researched it further, some are now tending towards the conclusion that it could indeed be the ‘last photo’ of Madeleine Beth McCann, taken some hours after the Pool photo.
-----------------

Thread moved to Debate Section.

by taurus47 13.07.19 8:44

How many young children, under the age of 5 would be able to play tennis? A tennis court would be intimidatingly huge and it's doubtful that hand/eye co-ordination would be such that they could even hit a ball with a racquet. In my opinion of course.

by Guest 13.07.19 12:29

Mark Warner Holidays

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I doubt the mini club were being taught competitive tennis technique. More likely playtime to help develop their cognitive and motor skills.

Whatever, there is no evidence to prove what activity took place on any one day at any one hour - least of all photographic evidence. Just one word against another.

Indeed there is a noticeable absence of evidence of any of the weeks events. Not even photographs of the adults messing around during the days and nights - funny that innit? Almost as though they want to wipe-out the whole experience. Most folk like to remember every moment of their well earned holiday, you would think more so if it was the last time your saw your three year old child - those last precious hours spent together. Memory and photographs are all you have left ....

by **Tony Bennett** 13.07.19 16:06

taurus47 wrote:How many young children, under the age of 5 would be able to play tennis? A tennis court would be intimidatingly huge and it's doubtful that hand/eye co-ordination would be such that they could even hit a ball with a racquet. In my opinion of course.

I have often wondered this myself.

A 3-year-old (as Madeleine was) would find it very difficult to strike a moving ball in the air with a racquet.

On the ground, maybe.

Are there ANY photos anywhere in the world of 3-year-olds playing any sort of 'mini-tennis' anywhere?

Do any other holiday/sports clubs anywhere in the world organise 'mini-tennis' or for that matter ANY kind of tennis for 3-year-olds?

by Guest 13.07.19 23:46

Tony Bennett wrote:
taurus47 wrote:How many young children, under the age of 5 would be able to play tennis? A tennis court would be intimidatingly huge and it's doubtful that hand/eye co-ordination would be such that they could even hit a ball with a racquet. In my opinion of course.

I have often wondered this myself.

A 3-year-old (as Madeleine was) would find it very difficult to strike a moving ball in the air with a racquet.

On the ground, maybe.

Are there ANY photos anywhere in the world of 3-year-olds playing any sort of 'mini-tennis' anywhere?

Do any other holiday/sports clubs anywhere in the world organise 'mini-tennis' or for that matter ANY kind of tennis for 3-year-olds?

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Mark Warners holiday promotion pitch..

Mini tennis

And, tennis coaching is not just for adults. We run LTA children's tennis courses for age 3 years upwards. We take children's tennis just as seriously as we do the adults. Our courses for younger players are all about fun, encouragement and learning new skills. Sessions are made up of small groups, split according to age and ability.

GEORGINA LOUISE JACKSON witness statement - 8th May 2007

Profession: Tennis instructor

Work location: Mark Warner The Ocean Club Praia da Luz

She relates it was one of the preferred activities of the McCann couple in that they had several lessons throughout the days and up to the date of the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, it being that the child also had a class, on Tuesday, 1 May (10-11h00), that class [in which] she was among a group of children was conducted by the deponent.

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by ROSA 09.08.19 13:44

Looking at the Tennis image I presume firstly that it's a sunny and warm time of day, there are no shadows surrounding her so I would expect that the photo was taken around noon when the sun is directly above her .

If this is really a photo of another child's body we can still look at the image and conclude that it was taken at the tennis court at the Ocean club that week the background is a match and try to predict when it was really taken also knowledge of the Weather patterns for that week might help.

I wanted to upload the Tennis image here but I can't see any upload icon I have forgotten how to post images. laugh

==========================

ETA: Tennis Balls Photo added

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by **Tony Bennett** 09.08.19 14:38

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] wrote:

Looking at the Tennis image I presume firstly that it's a sunny and warm time of day, there are no shadows surrounding her so I would expect that the photo was taken around noon when the sun is directly above her.

If this is really a photo of another child's body we can still look at the image and conclude that it was taken at the tennis court at the Ocean club that week the background is a match and try to predict when it was really taken also knowledge of the Weather patterns for that week might help.

COMMENT:

1 First of all, there are several Tennis Balls Photo threads on CMOMM and it's always best to post your thoughts on one of those so as not to cause a proliferation of threads on the same topic. It may be that a Moderator will move your post and my reply to one of those threads

2 Second, could I just ask if you have read, marked and inwardly digested all of the two excellent articles on the Tennis Balls Photo by 'Petermac'? - there are accessible on the forum. I think he has said all that he could possibly have said about that photo and if you've not read them already, you'd find they would ansewer pretty much all of your questions

3 Third, you wrote: "I presume firstly that it's a sunny and warm time of day, there are no shadows surrounding her..." REPLY: All the absence of shadows can tell us is that at the moment the photo was taken, there was cloud cover. It certainly doesn't tell us it was 'warm and sunny', does it?

4 Fourth, you wrote: "...we can still look at the image and conclude that it was taken at the tennis court at the Ocean Club that week the background is a match" REPLY: I agree that there is a match for the tennis court and that the photo, or most of it, was probably taken at the Ocean Club tennis court. However, again, it isn't possible at all to deduce from that, that the photo was taken the week the McCanns were in Praia da Luz

5 Fifth, Petermac's careful analysis shows that almost certainly the Tennis Balls Photo was NOT taken on Kate McCann's camera, the one that we can be sure was used for the three playground photos taken on the Saturday, and for the 'Last (Pool) Photo (taken Sunday)'. Given that the McCanns and their friends claimed that two or three different people may have taken the photo on two or three different days, the level of doubt about the true provenance of this photo must be very high. PLease see Petermac's articles for further discussion of this aspect

6 You wrote: "...knowledge of the weather patterns for that week might help..." REPLY: This has been repeatedly discussed in detail on the forum. Here4's a summary of what we know for certain about the weather that week in Praia da Luz:

Sat 28th April - Sunny and warm, except for some cloud cover during the evening

Sun 29th - Sunny and warm all say, scarcely a cloud in the sky

Night of Sun 29th/Early morning Mon 30th - A Cold Front passes over Praia da Luz, bringing with it much cooler weather

(Mon 30th
(Tues 1st May - Cloudy, cooler, windy and with occasional rain
(Weds 2nd

Thurs 3rd May - Same as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until about 5pm, when the sun began to shine bringing warmer weather

7 If the analysis of CMOMM, MMRG, Richard Hall, Petermac, Lizzy HideHo Taylor and many others is correct, and IF this photo was taken that week, it could only have been taken Saturday or Sunday. As both those days were sunny, it doesn't look like the Tennis Balls Photo was taken on either of those days

8 This thread: 'THE SEVEN PHOTOS THAT PROVIDE THE BIGGEST CLUE AS TO WHEN MADELEINE DIED' may also be of interest to you. It was recently updated to include the new photo of Madeleine McCann produced for the Netflix 8-part Madeleine McCann documentary series:

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by Guest 09.08.19 15:42

Indeed, there are almost as many tennis ball threads on the forum as there are the last photograph and smithman.

This is the lastest so, rather than drag another from the deep distant past, I am merging member ROSA's thread here.

Please let this be the last ....

by Guest 09.08.19 15:50

ROSA wrote:Looking at the Tennis image I presume firstly that it's a sunny and warm time of day, there are no shadows surrounding her so I would expect that the photo was taken around noon when the sun is directly above her .

Even when the sun is in it's zenith I would expect to see some shadow. Try it yourself!

Meanwhile, this might be of interest to you..

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by ferrotty 09.08.19 18:32

Verdi wrote:
ROSA wrote:Looking at the Tennis image I presume firstly that it's a sunny and warm time of day, there are no shadows surrounding her so I would expect that the photo was taken around noon when the sun is directly above her .

Even when the sun is in it's zenith I would expect to see some shadow. Try it yourself!

Meanwhile, this might be of interest to you..

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Beginning of May the sun will not be directly above, that wont happen till Mid summer.

by **PeterMac** 11.08.19 10:12

Which makes it early evening, Saturday, low cloud bank on the horizon blocking out direct sun from the sunset. So still a nice evening, but no shadows.
As we have said before. Many times.

by taurus47 11.08.19 11:41

In view of the many discrepancies of the authenticity of this photo and the recent comment regarding the cropping of said photo from the narrow portrait format (I am no expert regarding cameras and photos I hasten to add!); has anyone considered that this could be an old photo of Kate? The clothing which the child is wearing looks rather old fashioned to me - especially the shorts and the sandals. I think the style of shorts was rather popular at one time as I have photos of my own daughters wearing similar ones, and they are a similar age to Kate now. Just a thought...

by Guest 11.08.19 13:46

You having a laugh?

Why go to all the trouble?

Has anyone considered this might just be an ordinary genuine photograph of Madeleine McCann, somewhere in the universe, clutching tennis balls?

There is scant evidence of Madeleine's presence as a living being at the Ocean Club complex after the weekend of the family's arrival. Indeed, the only tangible indication is by way of photographic evidence - scant to the point of virtual non-existence.

The playground photographs - taken on Saturday afternoon/early evening or sometime on Sunday.

The tennis ball photograph - said to have been taken, no evidence as proof, mid-week. This puts a living Madeleine in-situ later in the week.

The poolside photograph - said to have been taken early afternoon on Thursday 3rd May.

Et voila! A pathetic attempt by team McCann to show a living Madeleine throughout the whole week.

Question is .... why would they need to do that?

As I've said a trillion times over, families take scores of holiday snaps, especially where kids are around. More so since the advent of digital photography and mobile phones.

But then, the McCanns appear to be the exception to just about every rule in the book.

by **PeterMac** 11.08.19 16:51

Playground photos have big fluffy cumulus clouds in the background.
Therefore Saturday late afternoon. - confirmed by everyone else's photos on Flickr
Sunday was CAVOK, totally cloudless horizon to mountains. - confirmed by everyone else's photos on Flickr
Therefore Pool Photo was Sunday lunchtime.
Tennis balls photos has no discernible shadows, therefore either heavy cloud cover or late afternoon/evening when the sun was down and behind a convenient cloud back. As it was on Saturday evening. - confirmed by everyone else's photos on Flickr

The evidence is there. All people have to do is look at it.

by **Tony Bennett** 11.08.19 19:10

taurus47 wrote:In view of the many discrepancies of the authenticity of this photo and the recent comment regarding the cropping of said photo from the narrow portrait format (I am no expert regarding cameras and photos I hasten to add!); has anyone considered that this could be an old photo of Kate? The clothing which the child is wearing looks rather old fashioned to me - especially the shorts and the sandals. I think the style of shorts was rather popular at one time as I have photos of my own daughters wearing similar ones, and they are a similar age to Kate now. Just a thought...

In the judgment of many, while the face is clearly Madeleine, the body seems to be that of another girl.

Reasons given include:

1A - Chunkier, older-looking body
1B - Marks, scratches and/or bruises on the arms and legs
1C - Body colour reddish unlike the pale white skin of Madeleine on the Last (Pool) Photo
1D - Girl wearing shorts and sandals, maybe not Madeleine's.

2 - The background and angle of shot tend to confirm that this IS the Ocean Club tennis court and not somewhere else.

3 - Petermac's analysis strongly suggests that Kate McCann did NOT take this photo despite her elaborate tale of asking Madeleine to 'hold that pose', and wait while she rushed back to her apartment and got her camera.

4 - Two or three different people claim to have taken the photo.

5 - It is claimed to have been taken on two or three different days.

An explanation that fits these facts exactly is that this is

a previous photograph,
taken at the Ocean Club tennis court,
on a day and at a time when there was cloud cover,
taken by another person, not the McCanns,
of another girl,
with Madeleine's head shopped on to the body of the girl.

.

by ROSA 16.09.19 11:45

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The 2 pink sunhats look the same this has probably been covered
I think Kate passed some of Madeleines clothes and belongings to Amelie.

by **Tony Bennett** 16.09.19 11:54

ROSA wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The 2 pink sunhats look the same this has probably been covered
I think Kate passed some of Madeleines clothes and belongings to Amelie.

In the fabled 'Last Photo', which evidence (originally discussed on CMOMM) now suggests was taken on Sunday 29 April and not Thursday 3 May as the McCanns claimed...

...Madeleine is wearing the WHITE sun hat and Amelie the PINK one with a floral pattern on it.

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It's impossible to tell from the Tennis Balls Photo whether that pink hat has a floral pattern on it - or not.

by ferrotty 16.09.19 12:05

That hat looks like it's been turned inside out, look at the tip of the hat and also the holes are pink suggesting the hat is indeed pink inside.

by ROSA 16.09.19 12:15

@Tony thanks for that I only just noticed the floral pattern on Amelie's sunhat and the very pale pink shorts Amelie is wearing look like the shorts Maddie is wearing in the tennis photo hand me downs most likely.

by ROSA 16.09.19 12:29

ferrotty wrote:That hat looks like it's been turned inside out, look at the tip of the hat and also the holes are pink suggesting the hat is indeed pink inside.

Yeah looks like it the tennis photo hat is a big hat with the ends turned back 3 or so inches.Were the parents ever asked to produce Maddie's holiday clothing for the Police I wonder like the Tennis outfit the pool outfit (last photo ) the playground outfit although I do remember seeing a photo of 5a with that pink hoodie which Maddie was wearing in the play ground photo hung over a chair or her squeaky shoes we have only seen her pyjamas so far.
thinking

by ROSA 16.09.19 12:36

Then again if the Tennis photo is a photoshopped image of a different child's body with Maddie's head then nothing was handed down to Amelie no top or shorts I feel the Police should of demanded to see all Maddie's holiday clothes in the first few days of her being missing .

by **Tony Bennett** 16.09.19 13:06

ROSA wrote:Then again if the Tennis photo is a photoshopped image of a different child's body with Maddie's head then nothing was handed down to Amelie no top or shorts I feel the Police should (have) demanded to see all Maddie's holiday clothes in the first few days of her being missing.

Agreed.

But the British Ambassador interfered with Goncalo Amaral's investigation and stopped them from doing that.

It was one of the very first signs that the top levels of the British government were already implementing a plan to make sure that the truth about what really happened to Madeleine McCann would never be made known.

Twelve years and four months later, DCI Nicola Wall and Operation Grange are still at it