The Reconstruction letters - Another Scoop for the Bureau

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Another Scoop for the Bureau

There has been much idle talk of material held back from the case files – but now we have some from our sources!

The Bureau is proud to bring you additional correspondence between the UK and Portugal regarding the reconstruction question in April 2008. Anyone who takes the trouble to compare these with those already available in the case files will immediately recognise their authenticity.

Anyone who has never seen the existing material would do well to look it up in the relevant “Reconstruction section” on the Maddie Case Files website. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction.

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Paulo Fernando Gaspar Rebelo,

XcpLP/2314

Dear Paolo,

Hope you are well. The Portuguese legal obligations of witnesses that you outlined, including the important provision that they are bound to attend if requested, has been passed on to the group. They seem to have been surprised that they cannot refuse to attend.

Dr O’ Brien and Miss Jane Tanner have now responded and it is fair to say that they have modified their position. They say that they are extremely anxious to return for the reconstruction but would ask that a couple of minor points be dealt with before they book their tickets.



1.Since the conditions won’t be quite the same as in May 2007 they have asked that all vegetation should be duplicated by the use of plastic plants to the size and colour that existed in May, including, in particular, all trees. They have pointed out – quite fairly in my opinion – that in view of the differing tidal conditions certain features, such as the beach, should be restored to their exact dimensions and contours as of May 3 2007. This would involve large scale import of shingle and sand from the appropriate source which, their lawyers say, is the north west coast of Morocco.
2.Lighting. M/S Tanner, who is extremely anxious to take part, has pointed out the risks of misunderstanding due to the different light conditions at this time of year. She has requested, I think quite reasonably, that arc lamps be installed in the appropriate environs to synthesize the correct light level. Her lawyers have pointed out that Pinewood Studios Specifications 4/32 International would apply: this would mean three Grade Two thirty thousand lumens arc lights per one hundred and seventy square metres and the appropriate diffusing screens as well as remote mixing software etc. English union requirements would have to be met for staffing levels.
3.Mr O Brien, who is very keen to take part, requests that in the interests of verisimilitude his sick daughter should be in some way incorporated, otherwise the possibility exists that it would not be a genuine duplication.His lawyers apparently believe that the employment of a midget of the correct size and shape would be acceptable but of course would need some weeks familiarization and training to see how it performs in nappies.
These requirements seem acceptable to me, Paolo. Hope the golf is going well.

Yours, Stuart

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Paulo Fernando Gaspar Rebelo

MNT/ex/SL4

Dear Paolo,

In answer to your query we estimate the cost at around £176, 423 which includes £47,250 CIF for the four thousand tonnes of Moroccan graded sand/shingle but not transport costs from landing port to PDL, so you would need to budget for 476 truck loads. Plus the training costs of the midget – which would be – whoops! -large! Sorry.

Dr Payne and Fiona, who were here for supper last week, have made the following constructive response: they are extremely keen to assist in any way with a reconstruction, especially since the legal position was explained to them, but have one or two slight reservations. These are:

1) Air traffic. In view of the critical importance of what was heard and said that night Dr Payne – and this was very strongly supported by Fiona – felt that extraneous noise would have to be excluded. His lawyers have therefore requested that all air lanes from latitude 40.20 westwards, including the Transatlantic Air Lane ZC421, be cleared and suspended on the day of the reconstruction to ensure satisfactory auditory replication.

2) Fiona, who’s an exceptionally good cook by the way, has pointed out the great difficulties involved in duplicating her outfit that day. She has some 256 scarves but, for some reason, she no longer possesses the one she was wearing that evening. The same goes for her shoes. She believes that the appropriate apparel and footwear can easily be made for her, although in the case of the shoes, which would require a hand made last etc, Lobbs of St James’s, London, according to her lawyers, are the only shoemakers with the requisite expertise.

3) Otherwise it’s all go!

Is it true that Goncalo has been threatening to shoot you? He’s a bit of a card, isn’t he?

regards, Stuart.

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Paulo Fernando Gaspar Rebelo

Du/PED/376n

Dear Paolo,

In answer to your enquiry the UK arm of the International Air Travel Association has said that the cost, including compensation charges, would be some £537,000. All flights to Madeira, by the way, would have to be suspended for the day. M/S Payne’s scarf, together with two spares in case of accident in transit, and made from Himalayan cashmere would be £743. 50 and Lobb of St James’s have quoted a waiting list of three months, £15,271 for the last and £17, 647 for the shoes.

Now, the latest response. I had a phone call from Dianne Webster whom you may remember was more keen than any of the others to help with the reconstruction from the word go. She tells me however, that her son-in-law, David Payne, an excellent golfer by the way, and her daughter the delightful Fiona, have never mentioned to her that you wished to go ahead.

After talking to him last night she rang to ask if she really would be arrested if she set foot in Portugal! I reassured her on this, of course, but she is still troubled because Fiona – who likes to joke – seems somehow to have convinced her that there is indeed a warrant out for her in Portugal! And not an arrest warrant but an execution warrant, stipulating that death shall be by the garrotte. When she realizes it was all a joke I think she will be with us. She wishes to know, by the way, in what year these events are supposed to have taken place.

I will send more information as soon as I receive it. That Casa Pia business sounds a bit hairy!

Yours, Stuart

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Posted by john blacksmith at 15:25

I thought it was serious at first reading about the sand.LMAO, Brilliant

soulthief wrote:I thought it was serious at first reading about the sand.LMAO, Brilliant

Me to soulthief I thought wow letters not seen before that have been witheld. Got me going for a few secs lol. It really is very funny though.

[quote]

2) Fiona, who’s an exceptionally good cook by the way, has pointed out the great difficulties involved in duplicating her outfit that day. She has some 256 scarves but, for some reason, she no longer possesses the one she was wearing that evening. The same goes for her shoes. She believes that the appropriate apparel and footwear can easily be made for her, although in the case of the shoes, which would require a hand made last etc, Lobbs of St James’s, London, according to her lawyers, are the only shoemakers with the requisite expertise.



Sorry, but this blog from blacksmith has made my day.. soooo funny

Like Stuart, I find these requirements well within the bounds of what could be expected in the circumstances. What is a reconstruction worth if it can not be exactly duplicated.