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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Mm11

A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Regist10
The Complete Mystery of Madeleine McCann™
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Mm11

A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Regist10

A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Verdi 04.08.20 22:28

Kate McCann's book entitled 'madeleine' - with a little m, can easily be described as the innocent explanation for anything and everything the police might find, such is the nature of the content.

Whether you follow that line of thought or not, this is what Kate McCann alleges to have transpired as regards the groups booking for the Tapas restaurant between Monday 30th April and Thursday 3rd May, when Madeleine was reported missing.  Whether or not the booking was also made for Friday 4th May is uncertain, the only detail contained in the PJ files is those in attendance at the restaurant on the Friday, not who had booked a reservation.  That in itself is curious.

This is what Kate McCann had to say about the Tapas reservation in the book 'madeleine'.

It wasn’t until a year later, when I was combing through the Portuguese police files, that I discovered that the note requesting our block booking was written in a staff message book, which sat on a desk at the pool reception for most of the day. This book was by definition accessible to all staff and, albeit unintentionally, probably to guests and visitors, too. To my horror, I saw that, no doubt in all innocence and simply to explain why she was bending the rules a bit, the receptionist had added the reason for our request: we wanted to eat close to our apartments as we were leaving our young children alone there and checking on them intermittently.’
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Again CMOMM is indebted to Tony Bennett for all his hard work in the quest for justice in the name of Madeleine McCann, published in August 2016, almost four years ago to the day.

Analysis and observations by Tony Bennett

THE COMPLETE MYSTERY OF THE BOOKING OF THE TAPAS RESTAURANT ON SUNDAY 29 APRIL

An account has been given by a receptionist at the Ocean Club of how a tall, thin man, on the evening of Sunday 29 April 2007, accompanied by a young girl said to be Madeleine McCann, was able to insist, for urgent reasons, that the Tapas 9 - contrary to all normal procedures - be allocated a reserved table at the Tapas Restaurant for the rest of the week,

It appears to be a settled fact that the Tapas 9 (or rather, most of them) did indeed eat their evening meal at the Tapas restaurant from Monday to Thursday that week, the table being booked for 8.30pm each night.

Before analysing this unusual event, it is necessary first of all to present the main statements I can find which relate to it.

Here they are:

Statement of Luisa Coutinho (Ocean Club Receptionist), 8 May 2007

Date: 2007/05/08

Luisa Ana de Noronha de Azevedo Coutinho

Occupation: Receptionist

Place of work: Ocean Club

She has been a receptionist at the Garden for 1 year, but has worked there previously.

The OC Garden reception has less functions than the main reception and deals with subjects relating to activities (Pool, Tennis) etc and excursions.

She points out that the family in question came via Mark Warner and this company takes care of all relations with clients and there is practically no contact between the clients and reception.

She adds that this family (McCann), like all MW clients had half-board,  that is breakfast and dinner. For dinner the guests could choose between two restaurants, the Tapas and the Millenium, the first being à  la carte and the second a buffet service, clients make their choice not only because of the food but because of the proximity of the restaurant to their accommodation. She says that the guests told her that the Tapas was of better quality but that it was difficult to reserve there as a MW guest as the MW daily quota was of only 20.

In this concrete case the reasonable option was the Tapas as the distance was only 40 metres from the accommodation as opposed to 200 metres from the Millenium.

She remembers that on Sunday 29th April one of the elements of the group arrived with the child Madeleine McCann, she does not know his name and can only say that he was male and tall and thin and that he approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30.

When questioned, she confirms that the man was not the father of the girl but one of the members of the group whom was often seen in his company.

The man justified his request by saying that the group had many small children whom they would leave alone when they went to dine. She said that at intervals some two parents would go to the apartments to see if everything was OK.

The deponent made some comments about the request, saying that the Tapas received many requests and that MW only had a quota of 20 per day, but upon the insistence of the guest she managed to make the bookings requested.

She confirms that it was possible to see the apartment from the restaurant, including the window of the sitting room.

She does not know in which bedroom the children were sleeping but upon being informed that it was on the opposite side of the apartment she confirmed that it would be completely out of sight from anyone at the restaurant.

That the most viable solution would be to leave the children with a baby sitter, which is the procedure normally adopted by clients.

Regarding the question as to the availability of the baby sitting service between 19.30 and 23.30, she confirms that the service exists and that it is free of charge. [the night crèche]

When questioned, she says that she does not understand, as the service is free, why the parents of Madeleine McCann did not use it.

When asked she says that the contact with this family was normal, like with other clients and describes them as "nice".

With regard to the date of the disappearance she says that she worked from 09.00 to 19.00 and only returned at 08.00 on 4th May.

It was on this day at 08.30 when she arrived that she was informed about the disappearance by colleagues.

She only knows what third parties have told her and from what she has seen in the press.

She never saw anything strange. During this interview she provided a book with the reservations for the Tapas restaurant.

No more was said, reads, ratifies and signs.

Luis Barros

on a date he cannot remember, the group, just the adults because the children were dining with the nannies, had been too late in making their dinner reservation at the Tapas, and an exception was made, authorised by his boss Steve [Steven Cova, see below], as the Tapas only provides for 20 dinners for half board clients as was the case.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LUIS_BARROS.htm

Steven Cova

He said that he was absent from Portugal between Sunday 29th April and the 2nd May 2007.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/STEVEN_COVA.htm

Kate - In Kate McCann’s book, ‘madeleine’ - 1

(Taken from a media report by Martin Fricker, ‘Kate McCann fears restaurant reservation booking tipped off Madeleine McCann's abductor, 9 May 2011)

“Madeleine McCann may have been snatched after perverts spotted in a tapas reservation book she had been left alone at her holiday flat, mum Kate fears.

The distraught 43-year-old told how she had ordered a table close to the ­apartment so she and husband Gerry could pop over to check on their daughter and twins Sean and Amelie as they slept.

“But the book was left open and in full view of other diners at the Ocean Club resort restaurant.

“Kate said: ‘It was by ­definition accessible to staff and, albeit unintentionally, probably to guests and visitors, too. To my horror, I saw that, no doubt in all innocence, the receptionist had added we wanted to eat close to our flats as we were leaving our young children alone there, checking on them intermittently’.

“Kate revealed the blunder in her new book Madeleine. Her three-year-old daughter was kidnapped while she and Gerry, 43, ate with friends. The GP discovered the security lapse when she reviewed Portuguese police files after the investigation was axed”.


Kate - In Kate McCann’s book, ‘madeleine’ – 2

(from ‘madeleine’, Kate McCann)

Today [Sunday] we’d been able to make a dinner reservation for the adult contingent at the poolside Tapas restaurant. Apparently, this restaurant, a canopied outdoor addition to the bar, catered for only up to fifteen diners in the evenings, and reservations could not be made until the morning of the day in question.

In spite of what we’d been told about booking the Tapas restaurant, Rachael managed to get a table for nine at 8.30pm pencilled in for the rest of the week after having a word with the receptionist at the pool and Tapas area.

…to explain why she was bending the rules a bit, the receptionist had added the reason for our request: we wanted to eat close to our apartments as we were leaving our young children alone there and checking on them intermittently.


Rachael Oldfield’s first statement, 11 May 2007

On Monday they were told that there was no room for all of them in the restaurant, but they obtained a special favour from a waiter and all dined together. In order to obtain this favour they said that the children were asleep and that they could not move anywhere else. For this reason, from this day onwards they would reserve a space in the restaurant (for the adults) for the following day.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RACHAEL-OLDFIELD-11-MAY07.htm


Rachael Oldfield’s Rogatory interview, 15 May 2008

We'd booked to eat in the Tapas Bar that night because The Millennium had just been one kind of a bit of trek and a bit too stressful with all the kids and it was thought it would be quite nice to have dinner by ourselves, so, erm, I booked a table for eight thirty in the Tapas for us


Matthew Oldfield’sStatement, 2007

As far as he [MO] is concerned, he wishes at this time to add that, in conversation with…on a date he does not recall with certainty but likely to have been on 7 or 8 May, he […] confided in him that that, at that time, KH [Kate McCann] had been particularly reluctant about coming to Portugal because she had had a bad feeling [presentiment] about the children of the group and the non-existence of the 'baby sitting' service.

Nevertheless, he relates that, they had discussed this problem resolving to make the trip since the operator had assured them accommodation sufficiently close together that, collectively, they had managed to assure the checking and supervision of their respective progeny....he adds that on leaving England they did not know the exact apartments which they had been allotted.... they were only informed of their respective apartments on arrival in Portugal.

[This (below) is taken form a different translation of the same words]

Nevertheless, he relates that…had asked the operator that they be provided with lodgings in close proximity to each other because, as a group, they intended to perform that kind of checking collectively over the children of each family.

Consequently, David had taken charge of negotiations with the operator to have all lodgings as close to each other as possible. Nonetheless, and because he was asked, he adds that on leaving England they did not know the exact apartments which they had been allotted.

Prompted about the dinner reservations/bookings at Tapas, he relates that the first time they made a reservation was on Sunday, not knowing who had made it. Asked if it could have been ROB the deponent admitted that that was possible, reiterating to not know for sure who had made it.
Relating to the other days, he clarifies that on Monday morning his wife undertook such reservation, adding still that it would have been for all the remaining days except for Friday, 4 May, as there was to have been a Tennis Club dinner that night.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MATTHEW-OLDFIELD-10MAY.htm

Russell O’Brien’s Statement, 2007

thus they opted to have dinner, after that day, in the Tapas Restaurant. That restaurant is situated next to the pool, in the patio areas of the block of apartments where they found themselves lodged. The deponent furthers that the daughters of David and Fiona Payne are very agitated, and that they preferred to be the closest possible to the apartment. All the couples agreed, without objections.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RUSSELL-OBRIEN.htm

Russell O’Brien’s Rogatory, 2008

We were booked into the Tapas bar, we ate there that night initially it was booked as a one off I think by Rachael as far as I am aware the table was booked for 20:30hours.  I am aware that Rachael asked to eat there each night for the remainder of our stay. This I believe was booked on the Monday morning as a block booking - the time was agreed by the group… if anything else was ordered there may have been a need to have made an additional payment.  I recall that orders may have been put onto a bar bill and paid at the end of the week...Generally of an evening we would drink beer or have a few glasses of wine

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RUSSELL-OBRIEN_ROGATORY.htm

Statement of Dianne Webster, 2007

The question asked, regarding the fact that, possibly, on the first day it was RUSSELL who had made the reservation at the restaurant, she admits that as possible, although she cannot be sure which of the two (RACHEL or RUSSELL) would have done it.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/DIANNE_WEBSTER_11-MAY07.htm

Tapas Restaurant supervisor, Tiago Rochas Barreiros

From the very beginning, a request was made to the restaurant workers to reserve a table for 20H30 until the end of the week.

They were clients of the Tapas restaurant which they began frequenting the 2nd day of their arrival to the OC.

[He goes daily to the family's apartment in order to bring them lunch…].

That every day around 13H00, he heads to No. 4-G (where the family of the missing child is staying) and to No. 4-1 (where 10 people are lodged) to deliver lunch. He repeats this routine at 20H00 to take them dinner.

That the payment for alcohol, not included in the vacation package, was paid by credit card. This payment was made by random members of the group of nine.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/TIAGO_BARREIROS.htm

Holidaymaker unable to use the Tapas Restaurant - 1

"On the night of Madeleine McCann's disappearance we could not get a table at the Tapas bar and decided to get a takeaway from there and have it at the apartment"

Proc15 p3907 - 3908

Holidaymaker unable to use the Tapas Restaurant - 2

"I tried to reserve a table at the Tapas Bar for that night but it was fully booked ... we decided to order a meal from the restaurant and we dined together in our apartment"

CR5 30-32

Holidaymaker unable to use the Tapas Restaurant - 3

"I believe that there was some sort of agreement with the Tapas bar, as they appeared to have a reservation every night, and it was impossible for other guests to book a spot there."

CR5 25-29

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

An analysis of who said what about each issue:

When was the booking made?

Coutinho – Sunday
Luis Barros - No details given
Steven Cova - Was alleged to have 'authorised' this unusual meeting
Kate McCann – Sunday
Rachael Oldfield – Monday
Matthew Oldfield – Sunday, then Rachel booked it on Monday for the rest of the week
Russell O’Brien - Sunday, then Rachel booked it on Monday for the rest of the week
Dianne Webster – ‘On the first day’
Tiago Barreiros – ‘From the very beginning’ – but began ‘frequenting’ the restaurant on the ‘2nd day’
Holidaymaker 3 – Not stated

Who made the booking?

Coutinho -Tall thin man who was with Madeleine McCann when he made the booking and was often seen with him – but not Madeleine’s father
Luis Barros - Not stated, but he says he made the decision after contacting his boss Steven Cova

Steven Cova - Said to have authorised the Tapas restaurant booking, but says he was not in Portugal from Sunday 29th April to Wednesday 2nd May    

Kate McCann – Me and Gerry
Rachael Oldfield –  Me (Rachael)
Matthew Oldfield – I don’t know who made it on Sunday. Might have been Russell O’Brien, I really have no idea
Russell O’Brien - Rachael
Dianne Webster – Russell O’Brien, or possibly Rachael
Tiago Barreiros – Not stated
Holidaymaker 3 – Not stated

How long was the booking for?

Coutinho – The rest of the week
Luis Barros - No details given
Steven Cova - No details given
Kate McCann – The rest of the week
Rachael Oldfield – We had to re-book it every morning
Matthew Oldfield – Someone booked it for Sunday. Rachael booked it for the rest of the week
Russell O’Brien – Rachael booked it as a one-off for Sunday. Rachael booked it for the rest of the week
Dianne Webster – Not stated, but she seems to mean ‘all week’
Tiago Barreiros – Not stated, but implies that it means ‘all week’
Holidaymaker 3 – Not stated

What was the purpose of the booking?

Coutinho – McCanns said ‘So that we can check on the children’. She said why don’t you use the free night crèche?
Luis Barros - 'Because the children were having dinner with the nannies'
Steven Cova - No details given
Kate McCann – So we could check on our children
Rachael Oldfield – The Millennium restaurant was too far away and it was stressful to eat with the children
Matthew Oldfield – No reason given
Russell O’Brien – We didn’t want to go to the Millennium any more and wanted to be near the children
Dianne Webster – No reason given
Tiago Barreiros – No reason given
Holidaymaker 3 – Not stated

I think from this we can draw these probable facts

1 The statement of Luisa Coutinho is by far the most detailed and for a number of reasons has the ring of truth about it

2 Therefore a booking was made by ‘a tall thin man’ on the Sunday – no time is given

3 The identity of the ‘tall thin man’ is not known

4 Both Russell O’Brien and Matthew Oldfield say that the ‘tall, thin man’ was not them

5 The ostensible reason given by whoever made the booking was basically ‘We don’t want to go to the Millennium any more, and we must be near our children so that we can watch/check on them’

6 It is reasonable from the accounts to assume that the Tapas 9 all ate at the Tapas Restaurant, at least from Monday to Thursday, if not Sunday as well

7 Luisa Coutinho clearly made a strong challenge to the tall thin man’s suggestion that they leave their young children in their apartments all evening and was not convinced that they were justified in not taking up the free ‘night creche’ facility.

The problems and the mysteries

1 Who was the ‘tall thin man’?

2 Who was the child with the tall thin man?. Was it actually Madeleine McCann?

3 Based on Russell O’Brien’s daughter Ella being in the Lobsters group that week, could Luisa Coutinho have mistaken Ella for Madeleine?

4 What was the precise time that the booking was made?

5 Was there just one booking (on Sunday or Monday), or were there two (Sunday and Monday?)

6 Who actually made the booking? It seems we have six possible candidates: (a) Kate on her own (b) Kate and Gerry (c) as yet unidentified tall thin man (d) Russell O’Brien (e ) Matthew Oldfield (f) Rachael Oldfield

7 Why is Kate, so precise about so much else in her book, so very vague about this booking, just “Today we’d been able to make a dinner reservation for the adult contingent at the poolside Tapas restaurant”

8 Why was the tall thin man so insistent?

9 Was ‘finding the walk and taking the children to the Millennium restaurant the real reason for this Tapas restaurant booking, or was there a very different reason?

A few other observations:

A. The Millennium Restaurant is said to be 500-700 yards from Apartment G5A and the Tapas restaurant. Buggies were available at the Ocean Club. That should have been an easy walk of no more than 10 minutes, probably less.

B. What plans had they made about child care in the evenings (a) when they made their booking and (b) before they travelled to Praia da Luz? Did they really plan in advance to leave them on their own in the evenings? Personally, I very much doubt it.  

C. (grabbed from another place) QUOTE: “What does Kate McCann have to say about the Tapas booking? No mention of a tall man, Rachael is the one who told the receptionist they were leaving the children alone. It  never crossed Kate's mind that leaving the children alone was a bad idea? She claims she was committed to leaving the children alone right from the start. Was she?  She says ‘we’ (who is ‘we’? made a booking, but not when it was decided nor when it was booked”.

D. (also grabbed from another place) QUOTE: “I am interested in this because the receptionist who took the booking seems to have mistaken a small dark haired woman for a tall thin man accompanied by a child. I would be very interested in knowing what other diners had to say, but there’s no interviews with them in the files”.

https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t13064-the-complete-mystery-of-the-booking-of-the-tapas-restaurant-on-sunday-29-april

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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Secondthoughts2 05.08.20 8:35

@Verdi

A very interesting and detailed analysis by Tony Bennett as one would expect.

So many points made.

May I offer a suggestion as to who the tall thin man might have been (if receptionist is correct in her statement that it was a man with a child who approached her, the man not being Gerry McCann)

David Payne and Gerry McCann were by far the two most dominant members of this group.  A pro-active pair!   Payne pretty much from what I can gather having in the main organised the trip.  The two who would have been the most pushy shall we say when attempting to get what they were after, be it a dinner booking or anything else (he mentions in his police statement that after having booked this holiday, he noticed Mark Warner were giving a 10% discount, and he was annoyed at this so contacted them to ask for their booking to have this 10% applied!)  As such I think it would have followed that the tall thin man would have been David Payne, and his own daughter Lily who was around Madeleine's age.   Was she a blonde child like Madeleine?

It stands to reason that the little girl by his side would have been his own daughter and not Madeleine McCann.

I say this also as in Payne's police statement he mentions that Lily, his daughter went to a different daytime group/creche facility than his younger child.   Stating also that Fiona his wife would drop off the younger child at the facility at Ocean C. reception side.  He, dropping Lily at the Tapas reception area.

As table bookings had to be made first thing in the morning, would seem reasonable to suggest that HE, Payne could have played a part in the booking of the table for the evening meal, as he would have been at the tapas area/reception of a morning dropping off Lily.

So I agree with Tony Bennett that this receptionist has no reason to lie, and that her statement that a tall slim man with a little girl (Lily?) has a ring of truth to it.

What does not make sense is that Payne does NOT in his statement mention that he had any part in the booking of the table!

From Payne's police statement:

'I think you know when we ate at the Millennium on the first night we you know we'd give them, what I said before, the it's a bit away and everything and, and I can't remember whose idea it was but you know well we thought the Tapas bar, that's much better why don't we try and err book there. Err I think, I think it was Rachael, she's very organised and err you know whether she just booked for the first night at the Tapas and then decided that she's gonna book for subsequent nights err at the err not the main reception but the reception leading into the Tapas area, the Paul with I think the lady's Sylvia, and so she booked the err you know from early in the morning because I think they had to get in early to make sure that you know they could guarantee, there's only so many people who could eat there.'


Strange is it not for Payne, who is very vague about much, in his police witness statement, emphasises that it was the Tapas reception and not the main reception where the booking was handled.


Something which caught my eye as I read his statement (or rather scanned it) is that he states that during the day, they would leave the key to their apartment under the mat outside the apartment door?


Why oh why would anyone in their right mind staying at a holiday apartment leave the key to same under a front door mat? 


But that in the evenings, the key was given to Dianne Webster for safe keeping?


Safety of their children/their belongings according to the statements of group, seems to have been less than lacking!


Kate's book:


It wasn’t until a year later, when I was combing through the Portuguese police files, that I discovered that the note requesting our block booking was written in a staff message book, which sat on a desk at the pool reception for most of the day. This book was by definition accessible to all staff and, albeit unintentionally, probably to guests and visitors, too. To my horror, I saw that, no doubt in all innocence and simply to explain why she was bending the rules a bit, the receptionist had added the reason for our request: we wanted to eat close to our apartments as we were leaving our young children alone there and checking on them intermittently.’





How did Kate McCann know that the book sat on a desk at the pool reception for most of the day?
Or, 'probably accessible to guests and visitors?' 

To her horror, she states that the reason for their 'request' -LEAVING THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN ALONE IN THE APARTMENTS, AND CHECKING ON THEM INTERMITTENTLY -we can't forget that part) could be read by others!

Extremely doubtful that any receptionist would write at length the reason as to why someone made a booking, rather than just log it.

The irony in Kate's tall tale is that she doesn't see the irony!


To the horror of the world - Kate and Gerry McCann, their friends ALL, according to them - decided to LEAVE THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN ALONE IN THE HOLIDAY APARTMENTS EVERY EVENING.  

Leaving doors unlocked they said.   Stating that they went in through unlocked patio doors FOR ALL AND ANYONE WATCHING TO SEE!  (Can you open a patio door from the outside if closed over tightly I wonder?  Do they have handles on the outside?)

And if truthful they boldly claim they also announced this to the receptionist.   

Kate McCann went down the route of 'SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE READ THE TAPAS BOOK' to create a bit of drama deflect responsibility for her daughter's disappearance on innocent staff of the Ocean Club.  Despicable of her.

But, if she wants to play that game, and wants everyone to believe that this is what a receptionist wrote in the book, and that the entry in book may have alerted a 'bad man' to the fact ALL THOSE LITTLE KIDS WERE HOME ALONE then it follows that someone, the bad man
-
MIGHT HAVE HEARD WHOEVER MADE THE BOOKING TELL THE RECEPTIONIST, THAT FOUR APARTMENTS WOULD HAVE, EVERY EVENING, EIGHT VERY YOUNG AND VULNERABLE KIDS, IN BED, AND ALONE, NO ADULT SUPERVISION, AND DOORS UNLOCKED (in some cases) this detail, these words had to be spoken aloud to the receptionist.

So Kate McCann - right back at you.   Whichever of your friends spoke to the receptionist, could have been overheard!

Not forgetting that anyone watching the apartments (as they would also like the world to believe happened) could hardly miss seeing her and Gerry going in through an unlocked patio door!   Yet she attempted in her story book, to lay blame on a staff member.

It is astonishing though how Kate McCann cannot see that her actions in leaving her kids alone so vulnerable, in an unsecured apartment, night after night, could even remotely have contributed to the disappearance of her daughter.

She/they do not accept in any way whatsoever that they could be responsible in any way.  They defend to the nth degree their every action.  Their every decision.   Stating that ALL that they did was above board.  That it was responsible parenting.   And stating also that they received thousands of communications from others telling them they 'did well' shall we say!

Yet how easily she is to accuse/insinuate/lay blame/ whatever you want to call it, on an innocent member of staff at that holiday resort.

Piece of work, I think is the expression I am looking for.
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Guest 05.08.20 10:21

far as he [MO] is concerned, he wishes at this time to add that, in conversation with…on a date he does not recall with certainty but likely to have been on 7 or 8 May, he […] confided in him that that, at that time, KH [Kate McCann] had been particularly reluctant about coming to Portugal because she had had a bad feeling [presentiment] about the children of the group and the non-existence of the 'baby sitting' service.
Matthew Oldfield's statement jumped out at me as being a very odd addition to it. He doesn't specify The Ocean Club just Portugal in general. Were her concerns for the children on holiday with that group irrespective of the accomodation or indeed the country? Baby sitting services and other childcare facilities are usually well documented features of a holiday establishment such as this and even the smallest amount of investigation IE: holiday brochure or website would identify them or lack thereof. The Ocean Club had all of the above.
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Doug D 05.08.20 22:20

Verdi:
 
‘Whether or not the booking was also made for Friday 4th May is uncertain, the only detail contained in the PJ files is those in attendance at the restaurant on the Friday, not who had booked a reservation.  That in itself is curious.’
 
The T9 party were not booked into the Tapas Bar on the Friday night as such, but there was a block booking for 12 people for the ‘tennis group’.
 
Quite who these 12 were is not clear, but T9, plus Totman, Wilkins, Curtis and the two coaches would make fourteen, without partners for these three players.
 
Are we seriously supposed to believe these were the only tennis players that week who would have been interested in the end of holiday social?
 
GM
KM
DP 
FP
DW
‘She added that in the days preceding the disappearance of Madeleine, after breakfast she would play sport (especially tennis)’
RO’B
JT
MO
RM
Julian Totman
Jez Wilkins
On Monday 30th, April, 2007 I joined the tennis lessons provided by Mark Warner, the tour operator. There were five pairs. There were 3 females and a male, I found to be Jerry’ (This makes little sense).
 
Curtis ………….
 
Dan Stuk – Coach
 
Georgina Jackson  - Coach
‘….Questioned, she relates that she knew the McCann family as part of her work, since she gave them tennis lessons, as a couple, parents of the missing Madeleine, as well as the other couples who accompanied them.’
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Guest 06.08.20 0:06

Further observations of Tony's analysis of the Tapas reservation.
If Luisa Coutinho dealt at some length with the 'tall, thin man, was she not able to identify him from photographs of the men in the group when questioned? What made Coutinho sure that the child was not the man's daughter. This is quite an assumption to make and I wonder what evidence she provided to suggest the child was not his. Did she call him by his name or seem agitated in his company? 
In my previous post in this thread I picked up on MO's addition to his statement that said KM was 'particulary reluctant' about coming to Portugal as she had a pre-sentiment about the children. It is quite strange that this man wanted to add this and not her own husband. Was he aware of anything else going on and was using this opportunity to introduce the idea though Kate?
Leaving a key under a mat is a rather odd thing to do on a holiday. It makes me think it was so that people could come and go undisturbed. Why would it have been necessary to divulge in a statement as nobody could have ever known it, but the fact he (DP) chose to reveal it intimates its significance as a piece of information.
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Verdi 06.08.20 0:52

miffy8 wrote:far as he [MO] is concerned, he wishes at this time to add that, in conversation with…on a date he does not recall with certainty but likely to have been on 7 or 8 May, he […] confided in him that that, at that time, KH [Kate McCann] had been particularly reluctant about coming to Portugal because she had had a bad feeling [presentiment] about the children of the group and the non-existence of the 'baby sitting' service.
Matthew Oldfield's statement jumped out at me as being a very odd addition to it. He doesn't specify The Ocean Club just Portugal in general. Were her concerns for the children on holiday with that group irrespective of the accomodation or indeed the country? Baby sitting services and other childcare facilities are usually well documented features of a holiday establishment such as this and even the smallest amount of investigation IE: holiday brochure or website would identify them or lack thereof. The Ocean Club had all of the above.

Gerry was quite keen on the Portugal idea, attracted by the sporting facilities, children’s clubs and activities on offer. I was more reluctant. It wasn’t that I didn’t fancy the resort – and it certainly wasn’t that I had some kind of premonition, because I didn’t. My reservations were more practical. The holiday was quite pricey, and although Madeleine, Sean and Amelie were good travellers, I just wasn’t sure that it was worth all the packing and hassle involved in flying three children under the age of four to Portugal when there were plenty of alternatives in the UK. We’d had two great breaks to Center Parcs the previous year and I was sorely tempted to stick with something similar this time.

madeleine by KATE MCCANN

I can't begin to understand why Matthew Oldfield waffled on about Kate McCann's presentiment, but then I find it difficult, if not impossible, to fathom the groups combined statements.  To say they are at variance must be the understatement of the millennium.

Whatever, David Payne made the arrangements for the group holiday. He was fully aware of the Mark Warner/Ocean Club childcare facilities available  It's extremely unlikely he didn't pass the information on to his travel mates before departure.

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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by crusader 06.08.20 11:39

Verdi said:
Whatever, David Payne made the arrangements for the group holiday. He was fully aware of the Mark Warner/Ocean Club childcare facilities available  It's extremely unlikely he didn't pass the information on to his travel mates before departure.

The only two people who don't mention the childcare facilities  in their statements are,
Kate and Dianne Webster.

All the others knew, and I'm sure Kate did, that they would have to check on their own children before they went to Portugal, they admit to knowing about the arrangements in their statements.

Jane Tanner, in her rogatory statement, said they decided to eat at the tapas at the welcome meeting.
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Guest 06.08.20 11:52

, I just wasn’t sure that it was worth all the packing and hassle involved in flying three children under the age of four to Portugal when there were plenty of alternatives in the UK.
But hang on a minute wasn't that a consideration when they went to Majorca when the twins were even younger and needing even more paraphanelia!
The ONLY difference between holiday packing for 3 kids under 4 to go to Portugal or stay in the UK is the method of travel of the luggage IMO!
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Verdi 07.08.20 1:52

Thinking more on the Tapas restaurant booking, I'm not sure I see the importance of who booked, when and why.

There also appears to be a little confusion on the subject by taking the Ocean Club receptionist witness statement as the focal point and weighing against the various components of the McCann group.  Why would the McCann group purposely mislead about the Tapas restaurant booking, what does it matter?  They were quite entitled to use the facility under the terms of their holiday booking, it's not a crime so why would they try to mislead.

The receptionist's witness statement on the other hand is open to conjecture.  Again the statement is not recorded verbatim so there is plenty of scope for misinterpretation - which appears to be the case here.  My first thought is why any one of the group approached reception to book a restaurant reservation, from my own experience of holiday accommodation if you want to speak about anything relating to a restaurant you approach the restaurant manager or head waiter.

Okay, so let's assume the Ocean Club or Mark Warner specifically operate a different system - which I doubt, according to the group's witness statements, again not recorded verbatim someone booked a reservation for the Tapas restaurant on Sunday 29th April and then Rachael Oldfield organized the group booking on the morning of Monday 30th April for four nights, Monday - Thursday inclusive.  Friday 4th May being a prearranged tennis group dinner.

I really can't see anything particularly strange about this as regards the Tapas restaurant booking.  The group, between 8 and 9, ate at the restaurant every night - confirmed by witness statements and the restaurant reservation.  That is a simple fact.

Whether Madeleine McCann truly disappeared on Sunday 29th April or Thursday 3rd May or any time in between, how does that necessitate a block Tapas restaurant reservation for the week?  If there was a plan to simulate abduction it could have been successfully executed on one day alone, without the group dining together at the Tapas restaurant every night.

I really can't see the connection nor the importance of the Tapas restaurant booking.

Date: 2007/05/08

Luisa Ana de Noronha de Azevedo Coutinho

Occupation: Receptionist

Place of work: Ocean Club

She has been a receptionist at the Garden for 1 year, but has worked there previously.

The OC Garden reception has less functions than the main reception and deals with subjects relating to activities (Pool, Tennis) etc and excursions.

She points out that the family in question came via Mark Warner and this company takes care of all relations with clients and there is practically no contact between the clients and reception.

She adds that this family (McCann), like all MW clients had half-board, that is breakfast and dinner. For dinner the guests could choose between two restaurants, the Tapas and the Millenium, the first being à  la carte and the second a buffet service, clients make their choice not only because of the food but because of the proximity of the restaurant to their accommodation. She says that the guests told her that the Tapas was of better quality but that it was difficult to reserve there as a MW guest as the MW daily quota was of only 20.

In this concrete case the reasonable option was the Tapas as the distance was only 40 metres from the accommodation as opposed to 200 m from the Millenium.

She remembers that on Sunday 29th April one of the elements of the group arrived with the child Madeleine McCann, she does not know his name and can only say that he was male and tall and thin and that he approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30.

When questioned, she confirms that the man was not the father of the girl but one of the members of the group whom was often seen in his company.

The man justified his request by saying that the group had many small children whom they would leave alone when they went to dine. She said that at intervals some two parents would go to the apartments to see if everything was OK.

The deponent made some comments about the request, saying that the Tapas received many requests and that MW only had a quota of 20 per day, but upon the insistence of the guest she managed to make the bookings requested.

She confirms that it was possible to see the apartment from the restaurant, including the window of the sitting room
.

She does not know in which bedroom the children were sleeping but upon being informed that it was on the opposite side of the apartment she confirmed that it would be completely out of sight from anyone at the restaurant.

That the most viable solution would be to leave the children with a baby sitter, which is the procedure normally adopted by clients.

Regarding the question as to the availability of the baby sitting service between 19.30 and 23.30, she confirms that the service exists and that it is free of charge.

When questioned, she says that she does not understand, as the service is free, why the parents of Madeleine McCann did not use it.

When asked she says that the contact with this family was normal, like with other clients and describes them as "nice
".

With regard to the date of the disappearance she says that she worked from 09.00 to 19.00 and only returned at 08.00 on 4th May.

It was on this day at 08.30 when she arrived that she was informed about the disappearance by colleagues.

She only knows what third parties have told her and from what she has seen in the press.

She never saw anything strange. During this interview she provided a book with the reservations for the Tapas restaurant.

No more was said, reads, ratifies and signs.

https://mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LUISA_COUTINHO.htm


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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Secondthoughts2 07.08.20 13:03

Morning @ Verdi

The statement by the Tapas receptionist from your post :

 She remembers that on Sunday 29th April one of the elements of the group arrived with the child Madeleine McCann, she does not know his name and can only say that he was male and tall and thin and that he approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30.


Also from her statement:


'...but upon the insistence of the guest (i.e. the tall slim man) she managed to make the bookings requested.'



Also from your post:


'according to the group's witness statements, again not recorded verbatim someone booked a reservation for the Tapas restaurant on Sunday 29th April and then Rachael Oldfield organized the group booking on the morning of Monday 30th April for four nights, Monday - Thursday inclusive.  Friday 4th May being a prearranged tennis group dinner.'



IF receptionist statement/recollection is correct as above, then the booking for the entire week i.e. Monday - Thursday was arranged on Sunday 29th April by a tall slim male with Madeleine McCann by his side.


A very insistent male by her account! 


Pushy shall we say?  


Now there were two particularly pushy males in the group -.  Gerry McCann and David Payne.  


Receptionist said it was NOT Gerry McCann. 


Leaves us with David Payne!


And as David Payne organised this holiday, asking for discounts to applied etc, stands to reason he would be the one, for that and other reasons as I stated in an earlier post (he dropping off one of his children in mornings at tapas reception side of complex) that more chance it was him, Payne, than say O'Brien or Oldfield!


Yet, in Payne's statement, he makes no mention whatsoever about approaching the receptionist (with Madeleine McCann or any other child) and insisting on having a booking for the whole week shall we say?


(Did any other of the males in the group make a statement confirming or otherwise that it was they who made this booking, and that they had a child with them at the time?)


In grand scheme of things Verdi, I am in agreement, the relevance of this booking may/not have had any bearing or have made a hoot of difference to what became of Madeleine McCann


But what it does throw up is that a receptionist gave a very detailed account of this booking.  The date it was made.  That it was for the whole week.  And also describing the person who made the booking.  Adding also that Madeleine McCann was with this person.


IF RACHAEL OLDFIELD MADE THE BOOKING FOR THE WHOLE WEEK (whole week being Monday - Thursday evening)  on the morning Monday 30th April ----


Could/would it be possible for a receptionist who was able to supply all of the details which she did - a tall slim male/ with a child/ lots kids to be left on their own/ needing booking whole week/ client being pushy/ insisting they have this booking etc etc/ receptionist having had lengthy interaction with client, and having to get authority to accept booking - THEN GET IT SO WRONG so as to confuse this tall slim male (no matter who he was) with RACHAEL OLDFIELD?  And on a completely different day?


Like most all that the group have said in official statements or otherwise, nothing adds up.   So many quite obvious and proven lies and inconsistencies.  Of that there is no doubt.


In most instances, we can see the reason behind their untruths.  We can see what it actually is they were attempting to cover up by their words.


At other times they appear unfathomable.


Like this one.  


On surface one has to ask - IF this was Payne or another male member of the group who made the booking for week - WHY would they not have simply stated this, if it bore no relevance or threat to their stories/to Madeleine's disappearance?


Payne, was at pains though (pardon pun) in his statement to make it clear it was Rachael Oldfield who made booking as she was such an organised individual?  


IF it was him - Did he not want it known he was with Madeleine McCann?


Was he with Madeleine McCann?   Seems unlikely as in morning I would imagine she was at breakfast with rest of her family in their apartment.   And Payne I would imagine with his own family at breakfast.  And he did state that the bookings for Tapas restaurant had to be made early morning to be sure of a place.


Was it him and his own daughter?    If so, then why the mystery?


Are we saying the receptionist made up the entire story?  Why would she?


Quite an elaborate tale to tell from a receptionist who we must assume was telling the truth as as far as we can tell she had no reason to lie...on other hand, the tall slim man, just might have...
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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Secondthoughts2 07.08.20 13:17

Just a thought -

It says that a book recording Tapas Restaurant bookings was provided.

Perhaps/not it showed the actual date the bookings were made and not just the date the booking was for?  

Even a name of person making booking?

Or at very least a name to be applied to the booking entry (even if not the name of the person making booking  --- McCann Party/Payne Party/Oldfield Party or whatever?

When we book a table at a restaurant we give a name.

And would the staff I wonder have taken a contact mobile number in case there was any need to speak with persons in general making bookings for any reason?
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Post by Verdi 07.08.20 13:22

Thank you for that very elaborate summation St2.

You however overlook the salient point..

She points out that the family in question came via Mark Warner and this company takes care of all relations with clients and there is practically no contact between the clients and reception.

I question whether or not a receptionist who admits having 'practically no contact' with Mark Warner clients, would be able to say with any degree of certainty that the man who booked the reservation was not Gerry McCann and the child with him was Madeleine McCann.

When trying to unravel the truth behind Madeleine McCann's disappearance, diligent CMOMM members have taken great pains to interpret the various witness statement who claim to have seen Madeleine during that week. All the statements have been considered tenuous, aside from apartment 5a cleaner. Not to say or imply they are lying but simply a case of mistaken identity.

That aside, I'm not suggesting the receptionist mistook a man for a woman, Rachael Oldfield, to the contrary..

Verdi wrote:Okay, so let's assume the Ocean Club or Mark Warner specifically operate a different system - which I doubt, according to the group's witness statements, again not recorded verbatim someone booked a reservation for the Tapas restaurant on Sunday 29th April and then Rachael Oldfield organized the group booking on the morning of Monday 30th April for four nights, Monday - Thursday inclusive. Friday 4th May being a prearranged tennis group dinner.

But as I said, I don't see the importance of who booked, why and when so I don't wish to spend hours further trying to explain the rationale.

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A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation Empty Re: A Tale of the Tapas Restaurant Reservation

Post by Verdi 07.08.20 13:25

It says that a book recording Tapas Restaurant bookings was provided.

https://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/TAPAS_BOOKING.htm

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Post by Secondthoughts2 07.08.20 13:55

@ Verdi  

Indeed I read that there was book provided with details of bookings.   I just wondered as to the content.  Were there contact mobile numbers contained therein, or names of whomever made bookings, or indeed was there a name attached to a book, as I said, say McCann Party or whatever.   I'm just curious if any detail of this to be found?
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Post by Secondthoughts2 07.08.20 13:56

@ Verdi

Entirely in agreement.  I would say also as I did previously that the receptionist it would appear has mistaken whoever this child was (I would say Payne's own daughter) with Madeleine McCann.  So easy (and not just in this case) for persons to mistake little blonde girls of similar age (who one does not know well) for one another.  Absolutely.

Although receptionist points out that in general Mark Warner deals with their own clients and there is 'practically no contact' between them and Ocean Club reception -  IN THIS INSTANCE it appears to be to the contrary - she claims in her statement that there WAS contact and considerably so.  To have had 'quite a lengthy discussion with this tall slim man' (and not directing him elsewhere, i.e. to speak with Mark Warner Company?) is something we cannot ignore - whether it has relevance to Madeleine's disappearance or not.   That contact was made, yet no male member of group has claimed to be the person she speaks of.

It may well be the case also that this receptionist would not have known Gerry McCann from Russel O'Brien, or Payne or Oldfield or any other male guest at the Ocean Club,  absolutely... 

But it simply does not account for her stating that a male (a member of the McCann party?) made that booking -  a tall slim man who was very insistent in getting his way - yet not a one of the males in group has admitted to it being them.

So it if was NOT any male member of the group - WHO WAS THIS TALL SLIM MAN?

Brings you right back to - Was the receptionist then lying and why?
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