Non Functioning?

Janet Kennedy (Kate's aunt) taking about an early morning call by "non functioning" Kate on 4th May 2007. From an interview with her & Clarence by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] 11th June 2008.

"
AG: Now Janet, you must’ve been closely involved with them, at that stage, although you were in England at the time. Was there a point where Kate and Gerry decided that they needed to be proactive with the media - to positively engage with the media?
 
JK: I -- I’m not really sure myself about that, you know -- at the time -- It’s not something I’ve discussed with them.  My own feeling of the first few days was, you know, just try to get in touch with the Foreign Office, you know, to try and get some kind of help in terms of it being a foreign country.
 
I mean I know that the morning after it happened I -- Kate, you know, had phoned me because -- this sounds terribly trivial -- but they were due home the next day and she’d booked an online shop. I won’t give the name of the -- of the company -- of the supermarket -- and, you know, she sort of wanted something to be done about it. So I just went up to the house, you know, and erm -- to sort that out. And, you know, I just wasn’t prepared for the media interest at the house itself."

Non Functioning?  

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This beggars belief. My mother used to have a 'meals on wheels' type service delivering an evening meal. I can tell you that on the day she died, stopping this was the last thing I thought of. I got back to her house late that evening to find the delivery on the doorstep and by now stone cold. The next day, busy with going to the Registrar and funeral director, I got home just as they delivered. This was useful, because I hadn't eaten since breakfast myself, so it was good to have a cooked meal. Only then did I cancel it - about 48 hours later. I don't claim that I was 'non-functioning' either - I just had other priorities.

It's all about the money, so kate probably was afraid she had to pay for something she would get free in the Ocean club for many weeks to come.

lj wrote:It's all about the money, so kate probably was afraid she had to pay for something she would get free in the Ocean club for many weeks to come.

Must have been a Tesco delivery then - 'Every little helps', especially when you're only on two poor doctors' salaries........ Unless, of course, it was 'Every Lidl helps'?

Probably Kate was paranoid that the delivery items would just have been abandoned in the porch and then abducted by a burglar.......

I thought I was beyond shocked. This is off the scale. My God I really am speechless. And it appears this aunt only thinks it sounds trivial? What planet is she residing on?

There is something seriously amiss here and the British public better wise up.

I lose sleep over what I'm seeing on the news. There are people out there who should be taking the baton from us older generation and getting off their backsides to do something about it. If they don't 10, 20, 30 years from now, they'll probably be praying for a natural disaster to take them out of a living hell.

Completely off topic, but at the bottom of the page it says

Similar Topics: Tyrolean Pipes.

why is such as surreal thing there?

'Non-functioning' and far too 'busy' to search, which is unsurprising given that there were criminal, extradition, and family lawyers, a self-styled 'crisis counsellor', assorted priests, Foreign Office officials, Leics police liaison officers, and numerous relatives/friends thoughtfully flown in gratis by MW to meet and greet, not to mention planning a marketing strategy and setting up the all-important lifestyle 'fund' as a matter of urgency. 

Having all of that to contend with while briefing the UK press and supervising the PJ's investigation, it's a wonder the McCanns were able to find time to ferry the twins to and from the creche in order that they could continue their personal schedule of tennis, running, and generally lolling around the pool bar during those first few days after the disappearance of their eldest daughter.

Smokeandmirrors wrote:Completely off topic, but at the bottom of the page it says

Similar Topics: Tyrolean Pipes.

why is such as surreal thing there?

Perhaps in case Kate needs a puff or two to calm her nerves and function better??

Smokeandmirrors wrote:Completely off topic, but at the bottom of the page it says

Similar Topics: Tyrolean Pipes.

why is such a surreal thing there?

No idea but I have noticed other weird links before - can't find any at the moment though.

Perhaps we are being told to put our thoughts in our pipes and smoke them!

It is a link to a forum for pipe smokers!! 

You live and learn... 

Mirage wrote:I thought I was beyond shocked. This is off the scale. My God I really am speechless. And it appears this aunt only thinks it sounds trivial? What planet is she residing on?

There is something seriously amiss here and the British public better wise up.

I've just reads this and also totally shocked. Now this is just UNBELIEVABLE behaviour for a mother who has just lost her child.
Not normal. So this to me indicates that death occurred before 3rd May. She had already got used to the idea of M's death.

Amazing..who on this earth would care about online shopping deliveries when your child had been 'abducted' (giving her the benefit of the doubt..)

On reflection - perhaps we are being too harsh to Kate. Perhaps that is what she meant by 'non functioning' - didn't think to search for her daughter, but did think of trivia like a box of groceries!

ultimaThule wrote:'Non-functioning' and far too 'busy' to search, which is unsurprising given that there were criminal, extradition, and family lawyers, a self-styled 'crisis counsellor', assorted priests, Foreign Office officials, Leics police liaison officers, and numerous relatives/friends thoughtfully flown in gratis by MW to meet and greet, not to mention planning a marketing strategy and setting up the all-important lifestyle 'fund' as a matter of urgency. 

Having all of that to contend with while briefing the UK press and supervising the PJ's investigation, it's a wonder the McCanns were able to find time to ferry the twins to and from the creche in order that they could continue their personal schedule of tennis, running, and generally lolling around the pool bar during those first few days after the disappearance of their eldest daughter.

Errrm, they were too busy to ferry the twins to the creche, right from the start. It's in the book- a terrible inconvience a few days after 3/5 :'we had to collect the twins ourselves' - but don't worry, someone else was found to feed them. Thank goodness!   

As for the interview in the first post - why won't she say which store? She isn't asked so why mention it at all unless it is sensitive? Waitrose? Fortnum and Masons?

It would have been interesting to have seen the shopping list , I wonder if it DIDN'T contain any items that were Madelienes personal favourites ?...in this period of time they seem to have spent most of it covering their arses...as this cancellation seems to have been a priority perhaps we should ask why ?

Rasputin wrote:It would have been interesting to have seen the shopping list , I wonder  if it DIDN'T contain any items that were Madelienes personal favourites ?...in this period of time they seem to have spent most of it covering their arses...as this cancellation seems to have been a priority perhaps we should ask why ?

May just have been an excuse to have Ms K. go to the house to remove some incriminating evidence, should the house be searched later by Cops?

Wait a minute!  This would be Friday, they weredue back on Friday night probably late so NO delivery of anything on tthat date I'd think.
So deliverywould be Monday unless Saturday deliveries are made.

Why did she need to go to the house to cancel an order? Kate could just have given her the name of the supermarket and JK could have phoned them - referring to Sky news if necessary.

. A scent of fish pervades all their actions...

The Mcs had a week's holiday booked : this is 7 nights, so the travelling days to and from PdL  would have been Saturdays, Sat being the first night of their  stay and Friday 4th being the last.
 Due to leave sometime Sat 5th May.

tigger wrote:Wait a minute!  This would be Friday, they weredue back on Friday night  probably late so NO delivery of anything on tthat date I'd think.
So deliverywould be Monday unless Saturday deliveries are made.

Why did she need to go to the house to cancel an order? Kate could just have given her the name of the supermarket and JK could have phoned them - referring to Sky news if necessary.

. A scent of fish pervades all their actions...

I use Waitrose or Ocado, both of which deliver 7 days a week - Monday thru Sunday - as do the other major online supermarket services.

As a point of information on completing an online order, payment details (card number etc) are entered on checkout but no monies are deducted from whatever account has been used until delivery has been made.   As far as I'm aware a signature is required on delivery and, in the event that no-one is home, it's unlikely the order will be left in, say, a porch or garage.  

Having arrived on 28 April, the McCanns and the Paynes were due to depart Faro airport sometime during the afternoon of Saturday 5 May and would probably not have arrived home much before 7pm.  Given the delays that can occur with any form of travel I would avoid booking an online shop to arrive on the day I was due to return home, and more particularly if I was not due to arrive in the UK until the early evening.  

In order to cancel an online supermarket delivery it's necessary to either log into the relevant account using the chosen password or call the shop's customer services helpline.  If KM's non-functioning state caused her to forget her password, the helpline number could have been found by any of her relatives/friends either online or by a call to any branch of the supermarket concerned.

Under the circumstances, I find it odd that it was deemed necessary for Aunty Janet, who was obviously a trusted keeper of the key,  to enter the Towers on Saturday 5th May and equally odd that an online shop delivery was arranged for that date unless she was going to be on hand to receive it - in which case, why not simply pre-arrange for her to stock the fridge and pantry with basics such as eggs, bread, and milk, sometime during that or the previous day and arrange for an online order to arrive on the Sunday morning when the family could more or less guarantee they'd be home to receive it?

Could we be allowing the eau d'cod that pervades everything the McCanns say and do to cloud our judgement on this one, tigger, or was Aunty Janet serving as housekeeper on 5 May 2007?  Given the extension to her niece's holiday with its uncertain return date, was there need to shroud the furniture in dustcovers, strip beds and launder all bedlinen, together with any items left lingering in the laundry basket before the family's departure?

ultimaThule wrote:

tigger wrote:Wait a minute!  This would be Friday, they weredue back on Friday night  probably late so NO delivery of anything on tthat date I'd think.
So deliverywould be Monday unless Saturday deliveries are made.

Why did she need to go to the house to cancel an order? Kate could just have given her the name of the supermarket and JK could have phoned them - referring to Sky news if necessary.

. A scent of fish pervades all their actions...

I use Waitrose or Ocado, both of which deliver 7 days a week - Monday thru Sunday - as do the other major online supermarket services.

As a point of information on completing an online order, payment details (card number etc) are entered on checkout but no monies are deducted from whatever account has been used until delivery has been made.   As far as I'm aware a signature is required on delivery and, in the event that no-one is home, it's unlikely the order will be left in, say, a porch or garage.  

Having arrived on 28 April, the McCanns and the Paynes were due to depart Faro airport sometime during the afternoon of Saturday 5 May and would probably not have arrived home much before 7pm.  Given the delays that can occur with any form of travel I would avoid booking an online shop to arrive on the day I was due to return home, and more particularly if I was not due to arrive in the UK until the early evening.  

In order to cancel an online supermarket delivery it's necessary to either log into the relevant account using the chosen password or call the shop's customer services helpline.  If KM's non-functioning state caused her to forget her password, the helpline number could have been found by any of her relatives/friends either online or by a call to any branch of the supermarket concerned.

Under the circumstances, I find it odd that it was deemed necessary for Aunty Janet, who was obviously a trusted keeper of the key,  to enter the Towers on Saturday 5th May and equally odd that an online shop delivery was arranged for that date unless she was going to be on hand to receive it - in which case, why not simply pre-arrange for her to stock the fridge and pantry with basics such as eggs, bread, and milk, sometime during that or the previous day and arrange for an online order to arrive on the Sunday morning when the family could more or less guarantee they'd be home to receive it?

Could we be allowing the eau d'cod that pervades everything the McCanns say and do to cloud our judgement on this one, tigger, or was Aunty Janet serving as housekeeper on 5 May 2007?  Given the extension to her niece's holiday with its uncertain return date, was there need to shroud the furniture in dustcovers, strip beds and launder all bedlinen, together with any items left lingering in the laundry basket before the family's departure?

Possibly a 'cleaning job' similar to the one in PdL if Kate is really particular about things being pristine, possibly also to put nice fresh new pillow cases onto the beds for when the children get home, even maybe get some new toothbrushes in.
It would also serve as 'definite proof' (if the need were to arise) that no 'pre-planning of a prolonged stay in Portugal' (were such a thing to be implied or suggested) could possibly have been envisaged, otherwise, why would Kate have organised food to be delivered to her house in UK.   

It's still a mystery to me why a pillowcase was chosen for the control sample DNA. Pillowcases and indeed pillows are easily swapped.

I was under the impression that JK went there on Friday.

The essential point of this story was to relate how many journalists were already there. Did JK need to speak to them?

Must have done the house prices no good for quite some time round there.

By  Saturday might the PJ unexpectedly have asked for Maddie's DNA?   On Saturday the children's clothes were washed at OC laundry.

tigger wrote:It's still a mystery to me why a pillowcase was chosen for the control sample DNA. Pillowcases and indeed pillows are easily swapped.

I was under the impression that JK went there on Friday.  

The essential point of this story was to relate how many journalists were already there. Did JK need to speak to them?

Must have done the house prices no good for quite some time round there.

By  Saturday might the PJ unexpectedly have asked for Maddie's DNA?   On Saturday the children's clothes were washed at OC laundry.

Do we have any note of when exactly aunty was asked to go to the house, and when she spoke about the journalists already being there ? I do believe the delivery was Tesco's and I think it is only recently, that home delivery has really caught on and is delivered also on Sundays. Back in 2007 I'm not sure that Sundays were delivery days.... does anyone know differently.

tigger wrote:It's still a mystery to me why a pillowcase was chosen for the control sample DNA. Pillowcases and indeed pillows are easily swapped.

I was under the impression that JK went there on Friday.  

The essential point of this story was to relate how many journalists were already there. Did JK need to speak to them?

Must have done the house prices no good for quite some time round there.

By  Saturday might the PJ unexpectedly have asked for Maddie's DNA?   On Saturday the children's clothes were washed at OC laundry.

It woud be understandable if JK had gone round on either the Friday or the Saturday to ensure the premises were secure so why the need to mention an online supermarket delivery?

With regard to the pillowcase, I read somewhere that a police officer waited outside while Gerry went into the Towers to retrieve items containing Madeleine's DNA.   If true, what controls were put in place to ensure that what was determined from these items was, in fact, the child's DNA profile?  Were the McCanns allowed to swab their own mouths in the comfort and privacy of their villa before handing the swabs to an officer who was waiting outside the front entrance?

ultimaThule wrote:

tigger wrote:It's still a mystery to me why a pillowcase was chosen for the control sample DNA. Pillowcases and indeed pillows are easily swapped.

I was under the impression that JK went there on Friday.  

The essential point of this story was to relate how many journalists were already there. Did JK need to speak to them?

Must have done the house prices no good for quite some time round there.

By  Saturday might the PJ unexpectedly have asked for Maddie's DNA?   On Saturday the children's clothes were washed at OC laundry.

It woud be understandable if JK had gone round on either the Friday or the Saturday to ensure the premises were secure so why the need to mention an online supermarket delivery?

With regard to the pillowcase, I read somewhere that a police officer waited outside while Gerry went into the Towers to retrieve items containing Madeleine's DNA.   If true, what controls were put in place to ensure that what was determined from these items was, in fact, the child's DNA profile?  Were the McCanns allowed to swab their own mouths in the comfort and privacy of their villa before handing the swabs to an officer who was waiting outside the front entrance?

No clothes with DNA or shoes or toothbrush available for Maddie's  DNA  in PdL.

No clothes or shoes available either in Rothley - would all have been washed just before they left? Surely the children's clothes from the day before the holiday would be in the laundry basket?  Unless they went on holiday with all her shoes.
- and free of charge the children's clothes got washed in the OC laundry on Saturday.By that time they were swamped with female relatives who could surely have washed a few things - iirc it was ONLY children's clothes washed by OC.

tigger wrote:

ultimaThule wrote:

tigger wrote:It's still a mystery to me why a pillowcase was chosen for the control sample DNA. Pillowcases and indeed pillows are easily swapped.

I was under the impression that JK went there on Friday.  

The essential point of this story was to relate how many journalists were already there. Did JK need to speak to them?

Must have done the house prices no good for quite some time round there.

By  Saturday might the PJ unexpectedly have asked for Maddie's DNA?   On Saturday the children's clothes were washed at OC laundry.

It woud be understandable if JK had gone round on either the Friday or the Saturday to ensure the premises were secure so why the need to mention an online supermarket delivery?

With regard to the pillowcase, I read somewhere that a police officer waited outside while Gerry went into the Towers to retrieve items containing Madeleine's DNA.   If true, what controls were put in place to ensure that what was determined from these items was, in fact, the child's DNA profile?  Were the McCanns allowed to swab their own mouths in the comfort and privacy of their villa before handing the swabs to an officer who was waiting outside the front entrance?

No clothes with DNA or shoes or toothbrush available for Maddie's  DNA  in PdL.

No clothes or shoes available either in Rothley - would all have been washed just before they left? Surely the children's clothes from the day before the holiday would be in the laundry basket?  Unless they went on holiday with all her shoes.
- and free of charge the children's clothes got washed in the OC laundry on Saturday.By that time they were swamped with female relatives who could surely have washed a few things - iirc it was ONLY children's clothes washed by OC.

Most children in UK have a rain mac(for summer) and a warm winter coat and a small jacket/anorak.    Is it possible Maddie only had one coat? all those aunts and two doting grannies would surely have made sure she had those????????

I doubt that we will ever get to the bottom of how the pillowcase was collected, but surely even our own ‘drunken, sardine munching etc etc’ police would follow some sort of basic protocol for collecting, bagging and labeling such an item, wouldn’t they?

A correct pillowcase is probably a good control sample, especially for the dribblers amongst us, as well as the odd hair & skin cells, but would need to be lifted carefully and bagged immediately to preserve all of this evidence, which is why I can’t envisage GM being allowed to go in and collect it himself, but hey-ho.

Similarly it makes absolutely no sense that the PJ were unable to find a suitable control sample in the apartment.

ultimaThule wrote:[...]
With regard to the pillowcase, I read somewhere that a police officer waited outside while Gerry went into the Towers to retrieve items containing Madeleine's DNA.   If true, what controls were put in place to ensure that what was determined from these items was, in fact, the child's DNA profile? [...]

***
I'll have to search, but my recollection is, that the police officer went in and Gerry waited outside ...