Re: Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book?

by ROSA 17.05.11 0:47

A very helpful book full of Lies & deception ( kate's new versions of her old lies)
Incriminating new information that could nail the mccanns
Kate mccanns mental status and much much more......
Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 321268

Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 321268

by **Tony Bennett** 18.05.11 8:11

I have now completed the summary and critique of Chaper 22, on page 6 of this thread, and now add an analysis of the final Chapter, Chapter 23. I've now added comments on the book from page 178 to the end.

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

SUMMARY AND CRITIQUE

Chapter 23 ‘Adapting to our New Life’

p. 349

Dr Kate says that on 4 May 2007 she changed from being Dr Kate Helay to being ‘Kate McCann’…“I’d become a different person…”

The next paragraph is about Madeleine becoming known as ‘Maddie’; Dr Kate: Madeleine would be the first person to correct anyone who makes the mistake of a shortening her name. I’m not Maddie. I’m Madeleine’. And quite right too…the press know what her name is and yet to this day they insist on calling her Maddie or Maddy. I find it quite disrespectful”.

Dr Kate: “We have all changed from the people we were. Gerry’s family miss their fun and gregarioius ‘baby’ brother…[he is now] a much more serious sibling who is always busy and usually exhausted. I’m certainly not as laid-back as I was…I’ve become more cynical…a little spark that used to be within me is missing”.

p. 350

There are then some paragraphs about the feelings of Dr Kate and Dr Gerry and how their life has changed. There is “the solid relationship between Gerry and me”, “…how lucky Gerry and I were to have found each other...I do feel lucky…The fact that we’re still together and doing OK is…quite an achievement…The statistics show that most marriages subjected to such traumatic experiences break down”.

But: “…Gerry was functioning much sooner than I was. I felt a tinge of resentment that he was managing to operate and I wasn’t; sometimes I found it almost offensive…On other days I would feel a failure for not being capable of doing as much for Madeleine as I could…I was consumed by my own grief [and] simply couldn’t give anything.

p. 351

Dr Kate: “Madeleine is there in my head all the time. Either I am consciously thinking about her or some reflex brings her into my mind, whatever I am talking about or doing…I know that being preoccupied and consumed isn’t helpful, either to her or to me”.

Dr Kate: “The awful sense of Madeleine’s fear I once experienced every waking hour has, however, eased a little. What remains is a lasting awareness of the terror she would’ve felt in the disorienting moment she first opened her eyes to find herself with a stranger. I cannot imagine this will ever fade completely”.

Dr Kate: “It was a long time before I was able to allow myself to take any real pleasure in anything. I couldn’t watch television, read a book, listen to music or follow the football, as I might have done to relax in my old life. I couldn’t go out to the cinema or out for a meal. I couldn’t browse in the shops…How could I possibly take pleasure in anything without my daughter?”

p. 352

Dr Kate: “Gerry…was able to switch off from time to time and I’m sure that was a great help to him. I felt guilty for his sake that I couldn’t do the same”.

There is a lot more about Gerry’s feelings and her feelings.

Examples:

“There’s something particularly distressing about seeing a strong man reduced to a heap, crying like a baby…”

He was crying while sitting with Sean and Amelie watching Madeleine and Gerry’s favourite episode of ‘Dr Who’.

“Occasionally…I’ve longed for a chance to…even just to feel Gerry’s arm around my shoulder, but he simply hasn’t had the strength”.

p. 353

“Gerry’s worst days don’t usually coincide with mine...”

“I took a cognitive approach to getting our sexual relationship back on track…It seems to have worked”.

Dr Kate: “…I was gradually, very gradually, able to allow myself some pleasure and relaxation in general…it certainly took well over a year…Just acknowledging this slow personal ‘improvement’, however, brings a wave of guilt over me. My life is weighed down with guilt: Guilt for what happened to Madeleine, guilt at surviving this whole horror, guilt that our family…have had to experience any of it, guilt for not being quite the person or wife I once was…guilt about talking even five minutes for myself. Perhaps being a mother and a Catholic is a double whammy when it comes to guilt”.

p. 354

And then: “…the knowledge that I am a stronger and more able woman that I was a couple of years ago helps me to shake of a little of that guilt: I recognise this as a postive development, for Gerry, for Sean and Amelie, and for Madeleine”.

On 10 December the McCanns went to a Golf Society dance; they danced and Dr Kate “actually enjoyed it. It felt a little strange but I wasn’t consumed with guilt as is often the case in these situations. Gerry looked really happy, almost glowing. It felt good to share some smiles and laugher with my lovely husband”.

Dr Kate then explains how their ‘Tapas 7’ friends “live with the additional trauma of having been with us when the abduction took place…”

p. 355

Dr Kate says that some of her friends have suffered major problems in their lives, such as family bereavements and cancer, but “…sometimes our depleted reserves of time and strength have prevented us from doing as much as we would have wanted [to help them]”. Another paragraph discusses their feelings towards their friends and their friends’ feelings towards them.

p. 356

Just as Alan Pike predicted, the McCanns have lost some old friends but also made new ones. People’s reactions to them are discussed in another paragraph. Some find it all “too painful to bear”.

“One of the big changes in our life has been the loss of our anonymity – something I’d always taken for granted…Cynics will argue that we ‘courted’ the media (God, how I detest that expression)”.

p. 357

Dr Kate: “Every decision we have made in the last four years, and every encounter with the press, has been undertaken in Madeleine’s interest, not ours”.

Dr Kate continues that”…Our relationship with the media remains finely balanced and uneasy”. There are many comments emphasising how the press is necessary so that the public can be reached and help ‘continue the search for Madeleine’ and to enable them to “publicise requests for information related to any new developments in our investigation”.

COMMENT: Like being seen wandering behind a couple in Dubai, like looking for an Australian-speaking ‘Victoria Beckham-lookalike’, and like looking for a gypsy gang leader in Portugal who was collecting European children for wealthy North African families and once had a drinking session with now-dead paedophile Raymond Paedophile who on his deathbed wrote a letter (delivered by a ‘mystery man’) to a son who hated him and from whom he’d been estranged for 20 years or more and whose son then burnt the letter before deciding to speak to the Sun about its contents.

Dr Kate: “Engaging with the media is like riding a tiger”.

There is then a long paragraph about how Dr Kate feels ‘very self-conscious in public places’ and how she now finds shopping: “…a trial. When I have to do it, I fly in and out as quickly as possible”.

p. 358

She once went shopping and was “feeling exposed [with] tears welling up. A colleague suddenly grabbed her by the arm and said: ‘Kate, you look so scared. Hold your head up. You have nothing to feel bad about’. I worried that if people saw me smile or laugh, they’d think it was inappropriate. After all, I thought it inappropriate myself”.

Dr Kate: “I even worried about silly things like shoppers spotting me buying groceries in Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury’s and frowning on me for not going somewhere cheaper like Aldi and putting the pennies saved into Madeleine’s Fund”.

Then she was also afraid when Sean and Amelie were having tantrums and Dr Kate would worry about what people would think of how she handled them: “I was unsure how I should react…In my old life there would probably have been a few stern words…Now, though, with everyone watching me, I didn’t feel I could speak firmly to them in public, let alone raise my voice”.

p. 359

A couple of paragraphs deal with how Sean reacted when taken for swimming lessons. Initially he cried buckets, screaming: ‘I want my Mummy’. But after a few lessons, he was fine and has learnt how to swim.

Some people are very kind: “It is heartening and comforting when shoppers come up to me in the supermarket and say: ‘How are you, Kate? We’re all behind you’.”

p. 360

There is more about visiting psychics and mediums, one of whom knocked on the McCanns’ door as they were having Christmas dinner; others just drop by and say: ‘I thought we’d call in on you while we were travelling this way’. Dr Kate: “…some of their actions can be a little disconcerting”.

Dr Kate: “I feel much more vulnerable than I did four years ago, particularly as a parent”…I’d never, ever considered the possibility that a man night steal my baby from her bed. Since that night my anxieties for Sean and Amelie have escalated. I’ve worried more about accidents, illness and, not surprisingly, about whom they are in contact with”.

Dr Kate: “I’ve worried about the future, about the children going off to university…I don’t want them to go. I want to hang on to them and keep them close and safe…”

COMMENT: Yet she spends a fair amount of time away from them…going to meetings, doing interviews, attending conferences with lawyers, court hearings, visiting the Hubbards in Praia da Luz regularly, and so on.

Dr Kate has “spoken to Alan Pike about my fears…”

Dr Kate: “As advised by the experts, we’ve tried always to be open with Sean and Amelie and to answer all their questions truthfully as they arise”. She explain that Amelie “…became preoccupied with the idea that Madeleine might have run away…” The McCanns countered this by “…explaining the abduction to the children in the simplest and least frightening way we could…somebody had wanted her and taken her away”.

COMMENT: Not an easy task, explaining how a ‘monster’ took their sister from her bed one night.

p. 361

The children “…dealt with this new knowledge in a very matter-of-fact way: a naughty man had stolen their sister and now what we must do was find her. As they grow up, we continue to respond to everything they ask us carefully but honestly”.

Dr Kate: “…hand on heart, Sean and Amelie today are incredibly happy children, remarkably well adjusted, well rounded and emotionally in tune. We are so proud of them...In the years to come, I am sure they will find some solace in the fact that their Mum and Dad did everything in their power to find their big sister”.

Then follows some more paragraphs on her religious views.

Dr Kate says she’s doubted God’s existence and “been angry with Him. I’ve shouted out loud and on occasion I’ve hit things (I’m afraid even the church pews have had the odd thumping!)”.

She continues: “What I do wrestle with…is the inexplicable fact that despite so many prayers, almost total global awareness, and a vast amount of hard work, we still do not have an answer”.

p. 362

Dr Kate: “Millions have prayed [for Madeleine]. So if Madeleine is alive, why hasn’t God brought her back to us?…surely He could lead us to the truth and put a stop to the terrible anguish of not knowing?…how long do we have to wait?”

She continues: “How can so much suffering and injustice be heaped upon one family? It is said that God only gives you a cross He knows you can bear. Well, I’m afraid this cross has been far too heavy for far too long. For now, though, at least, my anger towards Gpd seems to have subsided…”

Dr Kate: “Darwin’s theories and chance don’t cover it for me…I believe in Him…”

Dr Kate: “I sometimes end up having serious words with God about His slow progress…Maybe I just need to be patient and trust Him”.

Dr Kate: There is one thing of which I am confident: I believe wherever Madeleine is, God is with her”, but…

Dr Kate: “Gerry has certainly struggled over the last year with his faith…he still believes in God [but] is no longer convinced of the power of prayer. In his words: ‘If prayer worked, we would’ve had Madeleine back a long time ago’.”

p. 363

Dr Kate: “Gerry has always believed that everyone possesses God-given talents which we should use to the best of our ability…”

The next paragraph explains how what has happened to Madeleine has “greatly increased public awareness…”

But not, says Dr Kate, public awareness of the risks of leaving very young, highly vulnerable children on their own.

No, for Dr Kate, what has happened to Madeleine has raised awareness of “…the whole issue of missing, abducted and exploited children”. There follows a list of the ‘missing children’ organisations that they have “tried to support”.

She refers to the celebrity bash they had at Richard Branson’s Rooftop Restaurant in Kensington on the 1000^th day since Madeleine was reported missing. It raised £45,000; half for ‘Madeleine’s Fund’ and the other half for ‘Missing People’ and ‘Missing Children Europe’.

Dr Kate emphasises how organisations have benefited from their campaigning: “In the wake of our 2008 campaign calling for a co-ordinated Europe-wide child alert rescue system, the Eiropean Parliament dedicated one million euros to fund projects aimed at developing interconnected child rescue alerts”. There is more about how these ‘child rescue’ schemes have developed, for example: “The U.K.’s new nationally co-ordinated child rescue alert was launched on International Missing Children’s Day, 25 May, 2010”.

p. 364

Dr Kate speaks of her hopes that “…national governments will demonstrate the will to protect our children, and acknowledge their moral obligation to do so”.

COMMENT: Unfortunately, she says nothing about the need to tighten laws to discourage parents from leaving young children on their own.

Then: “Sean and Amelie often talk about how their sister might escape, how we could rescue her and what they would do to the ‘naughty man’ who stole her”.

A long paragraph thanks Leicestershire Police and Jim Gamble, former Head of CEOP, for their help. Then: “…a harsh fact remains. Since July 2008, there has been no police force anywhere actively investigating what has happened to Madeleine. We are the only people looking for her”.

Dr Kate then says she wants police forces across Europe to have “a more joined-up approach” to finding missing children. It happens, she says, in “crimes involving drugs, money-laundering and terrorism”, but not missing children.

p. 365

Dr Kate then develops the case for “An independent investigative review…”

She asks: “Who is the man Jane Tanner saw carrying a child?” and “Who is the man seen watching the apartment in the days before?” and “Have all those in the vicinity of the Ocean Club that spring…been eliminated on solid grounds?”

And: “There are still people who have not been interviewed”.

p. 366

Dr Kate: “There are lessons to be learned for the future, in terms of both the handling of crimes against children and the treatment we have received from the authorities…”

And: “…the perpetrator of this monstrous crime remains at large…[he] has been anonymous for far too long”.

Then: “We are still pressing the British and Portuguese governments to do more, or at least something”. She discloses that former Labour Home Secretary asked CEOP to carry out a ‘scoping exercise’ to establish whether a review could be of benefit. It was delivered to the Home Office in March 2010. She adds: “Although we have not seen it, it has been widely reported that it highlights some deficiencies in the investigation and hence areas that merit further attention”.

She explains that she has also met current Home Secretary Theresa may and “we have written to her several times”, but: “Currently we do not know whether we are any further forward”. She refers to their online petition in support of a review and whinges that they are “at a loss to understand” why the government and police have not agreed to a review and “why our request for such a review has gone unanswered”.

p. 367

The first paragraph on this page complains that “Crucially, we do not have access to all of the information that has come in to the inquiry”.

COMMENT: The McCanns claim that they want access to those witness statements and documents that the PJ have withheld in order to trace evidence of a possible abductor. Others suggest that it is because the McCanns want to know what the PJ has on them, in order to defend themselves against what might be incriminating evidence against them in those files.

Dr Kate says that these hidden PJ files are just “gathering dust”.

Then: “Madeleine is still alive until someone proves otherwise…there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest she has come to any harm, other than as a result of being separated from her family”.

Another paragraph lists the “many examples if abducted children being recovered years later”. They include:

Carlina White, stolen from hospital and traced 23 years later
Shaun Hornbeck, abducted when 10 and “recovered four years later”
Crystal Anzaldi, “snatched” at 14 months and “found” seven years later
Stephen Stayner, “kidnapped at seven, escaped from his abductor seven years later”
Jaycee Lee Dugard, who spent 18 years with her abductor (aged 11 to 29) before being found.

Dr Kate asks: “How many more children are out there waiting to be found?” Bolstered by this hope, we have moved forward”.

p. 368

Dr Kate: “We love [Madeleine] beyond words. We will never give up on her. We will not allow our story to end here”.

Dr Kate appeals for information…”If you know what has happened to her or where she is now, please open your heart and let us know. It is never too late to do the right thing”.

She closes by giving a PO Box to write to and the ’phone number of the investigation hotline - the very same telephone number used in 2008 by callers to the number and whose calls, according to the Director of Virginia. U.S.A.-based company iJet, were not followed up, indeed were totally ignored, by the McCanns and their advisers.

p. 369 is titled “A Call to Action” and asks people to “write to the Home Secretary and Prime Minister urging the British and Portuguese authorities to commission a joint, independent and comprehensive review of Madeleine’s case”.

by Guest 29.05.11 10:09

No wonder J K Rowling was quick to deny that she had any input in Kate's book. I hope that she is also now questioning whether it was a good idea to give the McCanns any sort of support in the past.

by **PeterMac** 29.05.11 11:27

Marian wrote:No wonder J K Rowling was quick to deny that she had any input in Kate's book. I hope that she is also now questioning whether it was a good idea to give the McCanns any sort of support in the past.

Indeed.
Rowling writes fantasy, understood by everyone, or one hopes by almost everyone, as untrue but permitted because it comes under the umbrella of 'fantasy fiction for children'.
Katey is purporting to write truth, or at least a 'version of the truth', but it is seen by everyone, or almost everyone, as a distortion of things that have been said or written before, even by Katey herself. She does not have the defence of 'fantasy fiction'.

by HotlipsHealy 29.05.11 11:35

Is it enough to get her in for questioning to find out why she and Gerry have so many versions of the truth? Their first version buggered up the investigation and their second version is taking the piss and making them money. It's just not right.

by Atilliator 04.06.11 2:59

There are two words that come to mind when reading page 129: own goal. I mean, especially in the light of the statement of Mrs Gaspar, one wonders what the writer was thinking of. BTW, although Kate McCann is credited as author, she might not have written that particular sentence.

I think page 129 is going to cost the McCanns a lot of credibility. I for one find that sentence totally inappropriate. It's going to turn a lot of people off.

by **PeterMac** 04.06.11 7:28

I am still astonished that the proof readers and lawyers let it through in that form. There are many other ways in which the same thing could have been implied. And to insist that she wants the alleged predatory Pae*** and Madeleine, and the twins to read it is almost beyond belief.
I wonder what the Old Age Pensioners who gave so much money and have now been conned again into buying the book in the belief that it will help the search, think of it.

by Guest 04.06.11 9:34

Does anyone know if any of our illustrious media (not just The Sun) actually quoted the stomach-churning piece on page 129 and, if so, were there any letters in response?

by Guest 04.06.11 10:07

Marian wrote:Does anyone know if any of our illustrious media (not just The Sun) actually quoted the stomach-churning piece on page 129 and, if so, were there any letters in response?

Hi Marian, I don't think one newspaper has quoted it, and who can blame them. It was carefully edited out.

by Guest 04.06.11 10:09

Welcome to Attilliator

welcome2

by Guest 04.06.11 10:19

Looks like our newspapers do not willingly choose to feed paedophiles then. Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 759815

What a shame that Kate McCann didn't have the same set of morals as them. Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 93316

by Guest 04.06.11 12:52

The British media is very quick to denounce some paedophiles, Gary Glitter and Jonathan King being two obvious examples and, whatever we may think of them, at least they have been punished for their crimes and we can but hope that they are no longer breaking the law. Then there was the infamous naming and shaming of known paedophiles which led to vigilante mobs on the streets. By the way, does anyone know if the story that a paediatrician's home was attacked was real or was it just a joke at the expense of Sun readers by suggesting that they were too dim to know the difference between the two? However, there is in my opinion (and I don't think I'm alone) what I describe as a "better class" of paedophile which is allowed to flourish completely unchallenged and any reports of their activities are swept firmly under the carpet. It's a funny old world isn't it?

Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 921124

Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 921124

by LittleMissMolly 04.06.11 22:29

Marian wrote:The British media is very quick to denounce some paedophiles, Gary Glitter and Jonathan King being two obvious examples and, whatever we may think of them, at least they have been punished for their crimes and we can but hope that they are no longer breaking the law. Then there was the infamous naming and shaming of known paedophiles which led to vigilante mobs on the streets. By the way, does anyone know if the story that a paediatrician's home was attacked was real or was it just a joke at the expense of Sun readers by suggesting that they were too dim to know the difference between the two? However, there is in my opinion (and I don't think I'm alone) what I describe as a "better class" of paedophile which is allowed to flourish completely unchallenged and any reports of their activities are swept firmly under the carpet. It's a funny old world isn't it?

But of course Marion ... didn't you know? All real paedophiles sidle around in dirty macs, looking swarthy and shifty eyed. People can tell they are paedophiles from the moment they lay eyes on them and of course they are uneducated and incapable of maintaining any sort of relationships with adults.

They couldn't possibly be living amongst us, cheek by jowl... disguised as our friends, neighbours, family members, teachers, priests, doctors, lawyers, judges, bankers, professionals .... now could they?

Its one of my biggest hobby horses ... when will people realise that anybody could be a paedophile - that there are no stereotypes sad

by Guest 05.06.11 12:06

Thanks LMM for the vote of confidence. I can even feel a shred of sympathy for people like Raymond Hewlett when the media tries to convince us that they are the root of all evil and need to be eliminated. I don't condone anything that he or any other known paedophile has done but it's not right that others possibly a lot more prolific go unpunished. This was brought home to me when I learned of the Hollie Greig case; while I do not know if her story is true and even if it is, it may have no connection whatsoever with Madeleine, I became convinced that there are certain groups of people who are above the law and can get away with literally anything. I guess that I am very naive to have got to this stage in my life to realise that!

by Guest 05.06.11 12:18

There seems to be quite a few things in Kate's book that is getting the Criminologist Pat Brown very excited !!

I can't wait to hear what she has to say. Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 50899

Prosecution Exhibit 1: 'madeleine' - What's in the book? - Page 3 50899

by maebee 10.06.13 0:56

Haltingly I told him about the awful pictures that scrolled through my head of her body, her perfect little genitals torn apart".

"Her perfect little ge*****s torn apart". Words fail me. No mother would even think of her daughter's ge*****s, let alone mention that they were "perfect"

And ........... She has come to no harm !!!!!!!

by Peneda Geres 10.06.13 1:18

maebee wrote:

Haltingly I told him about the awful pictures that scrolled through my head of her body, her perfect little genitals torn apart".

"Her perfect little ge*****s torn apart". Words fail me. No mother would even think of her daughter's ge*****s, let alone mention that they were "perfect"

And ........... She has come to no harm !!!!!!!

Disgusting indeed, regarding Madeleine's genitals, that woman needs help for the sake of her twins.

by **PeterMac** 10.06.13 8:23

Peneda Geres wrote:
Disgusting indeed, regarding Madeleine's genitals, that woman needs help for the sake of her twins.

And this is the woman who explained her laughing and apparent lack of emotion in interviews as something that had been advised to do so that the predatory Pae*** did not get off on it.
I have tried for a long time to be professionally neutral towards the McCanns as individuals, but they do not make it easy.

by Guest 10.06.13 12:26

Yes it is difficult to remain neutral at times.

I try to keep to the philosophy of hating what the McCanns do and say, not them personally as I do not know them.

However, the more I see and hear of their antics, the more I realise that I would never want to know them personally!

A reminder of Kate's mother's foot in mouth quote that the book was originally for the twins' benefit only.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/248058/Madeleine-McCann-book-was-for-twins-eyes-only#ixzz1N264WFex

by Seek truth 12.06.13 8:13

Peneda Geres wrote:
maebee wrote:

Haltingly I told him about the awful pictures that scrolled through my head of her body, her perfect little genitals torn apart".

"Her perfect little ge*****s torn apart". Words fail me. No mother would even think of her daughter's ge*****s, let alone mention that they were "perfect"

And ........... She has come to no harm !!!!!!!

Disgusting indeed, regarding Madeleine's genitals, that woman needs help for the sake of her twins.

Sounds like she said this for the reader, deliberately.

Thinking about the fund maybe?
glee

by Liz Eagles 12.06.13 8:25

maebee wrote:

Haltingly I told him about the awful pictures that scrolled through my head of her body, her perfect little genitals torn apart".

"Her perfect little ge*****s torn apart". Words fail me. No mother would even think of her daughter's ge*****s, let alone mention that they were "perfect"

And ........... She has come to no harm !!!!!!!

That word 'Harm' has been bandied about so much by TM.

So, limiting the definition of the word 'HARM' only to Madeleine as her parents and their hired hands (paid for by other people) seem to believe their own version of the meaning of 'HARM' it's worth a discussion to let lesser mortals understand what they mean by that word.

by russiandoll 14.08.13 9:43

Borrowed from library for a 2nd reading, plenty in there which makes you shake your head in disbelief.
I did not imagine it the first time round, Kate McCann did in fact write:

that her 3 year old daughter knew the names of the main characters from a book written for much older children, " Harry Potter."
that this 3 year old, while there was a man delivering a Chinese takeaway at their front door and a man having a suspected heart attack in her living room, and while Gerry was phoning an ambulance , wheeled in her toy medical trolley, took a stethoscope from it and placed it on said man's chest saying " boom boom! " as she did so. Kate, a doctor, watched and wondered at this " surreal" incident.
that she was sent clothes to choose by the Oprah studios for her appearance on the show, then got her hair and make up done.
that the relevant people in Rome were making the required prep. for the visit by her and Gerry.
that Clement Freud cooked for her, a detailed description of the meal and the offer of a strawberry vodka.
that various celebs and politicians attached themselves to their campaign,
military- like language used for the campaign and phrases denoting a battle
about Gerry having a moment in church, seeing a light [ he did not hear voices like Joan of Arc, note] then getting all fuelled up with a desire to be proactive.
she almost gives Gerry the credit for inventing the well-worn cliché NO STONE UNTURNED [ I prefer its sister-phrase no turd unstoned]

How did anyone, even a believer in the abduction story as told by the McCanns, read this and give it 5 stars? The rampant narcissism alone should decrease its rating by any reasonable person imo.
And note I have not even mentioned p.129, f*****g tosser, the reaction to the dog alerts ....

by Guest 14.08.13 15:51

Well done Russian Doll!

Reading the book only once is more than most people can stand.

I know that not everyone agrees with me here, but for me, the singing of Pussycat Dolls songs is more inappropriate for a 3 year old than Harry Potter or Doctor Who.

by aiyoyo 14.08.13 16:12

russiandoll wrote:Borrowed from library for a 2nd reading, plenty in there which makes you shake your head in disbelief.
I did not imagine it the first time round, Kate McCann did in fact write:

that her 3 year old daughter knew the names of the main characters from a book written for much older children, " Harry Potter."
that this 3 year old, while there was a man delivering a Chinese takeaway at their front door and a man having a suspected heart attack in her living room, and while Gerry was phoning an ambulance , wheeled in her toy medical trolley, took a stethoscope from it and placed it on said man's chest saying " boom boom! " as she did so. Kate, a doctor, watched and wondered at this " surreal" incident.
that she was sent clothes to choose by the Oprah studios for her appearance on the show, then got her hair and make up done.
that the relevant people in Rome were making the required prep. for the visit by her and Gerry.
that Clement Freud cooked for her, a detailed description of the meal and the offer of a strawberry vodka.
that various celebs and politicians attached themselves to their campaign,
military- like language used for the campaign and phrases denoting a battle
about Gerry having a moment in church, seeing a light [ he did not hear voices like Joan of Arc, note] then getting all fuelled up with a desire to be proactive.
she almost gives Gerry the credit for inventing the well-worn cliché NO STONE UNTURNED [ I prefer its sister-phrase no turd unstoned]

How did anyone, even a believer in the abduction story as told by the McCanns, read this and give it 5 stars? The rampant narcissism alone should decrease its rating by any reasonable person imo.
And note I have not even mentioned p.129, f*****g tosser, the reaction to the dog alerts ....

Did she not also say Gerry performed brilliantly (or something to that effect)?

The only possibility that Madeleine can be into Harry Porter, Dr Who, or beyond her years movies is if she suffers Asperger's syndrome.
Some Aspie have a keen interest in one thing to the extreme, and often the thing that interests them, they retain info regarding the subject/field like a photographic memory. I know of an Aspie like that, very much into movies no matter of which era, and he can talk about his obssessed interest at supersonic speed often only to his parents and never to outsiders. Aspie does not like change of routine, and can go into a meltdown if routine is changed.

It makes you wonder at the reason behind the access to medical records.

by russiandoll 14.08.13 17:08

I agree about the Pussycat Doll songs, although I would guess that it was chorus only and Maddie got the words [ hopefully] wrong. Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me not nice coming from the mouth of a little one, even if lyrics not understood!

Re Harry Potter, my thoughts are that maybe Kate like some adults read the books and watched the films. I doubt very much that Kate read any of the HP books to her daughter, maybe though Maddie was watching when films were on, asked who's that ? getting the names of the main characters.
I would be very surprised if she remembered the names, however, unless her interest was maintained, and I really can't see many parents watching these films with children aged 3. Way too advanced for that age, no matter how bright.

It was the scene with the toy stethoscope which I found insulting to my intelligence. A crisis and we are meant to accept that a 3 year old realised it was a medical situation, a collapse ? I accept with parents as doctors that Maddie at some time was told how to use the toy stethoscope and that the beating heart noise was made so she could understand : boom boom. But that she was allowed anywhere near a person in distress?

She would have been picked up or taken by the hand by someone before she got anywhere near the collapsed man I am sure.
But that does not make for an interesting anecdote.

Also, key points in her young life...her 1st birthday, when she started nursery. I would have expected some memories of those in the book.
Plus the eye defect. Nada.

by aiyoyo 14.08.13 18:38

russiandoll wrote:I agree about the Pussycat Doll songs, although I would guess that it was chorus only and Maddie got the words [ hopefully] wrong. Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me not nice coming from the mouth of a little one, even if lyrics not understood!

Re Harry Potter, my thoughts are that maybe Kate like some adults read the books and watched the films. I doubt very much that Kate read any of the HP books to her daughter, maybe though Maddie was watching when films were on, asked who's that ? getting the names of the main characters.
I would be very surprised if she remembered the names, however, unless her interest was maintained, and I really can't see many parents watching these films with children aged 3. Way too advanced for that age, no matter how bright.

I know of a child with Asperger who can name every character in all the movies he's ever watched even at the tender age of 4.
He was big into movies, even now at the age of 12, spending all his spare time watching movies whenever he's allowed.
He can name every character and remember every detail of all the Steven Spieberg movies, and is even into watching old movies going as far back as movies made in the 1940s "Gone with the Wind" etc. When he was aged nearly 8 he started writing scripts. Now at aged 12 he continues to be very imaginative with his scripts. He does very well academically, but in all other aspects of real lives, he is very inadequate, often having meltdowns and driving his mum (my friend) up the wall.

It was the scene with the toy stethoscope which I found insulting to my intelligence. A crisis and we are meant to accept that a 3 year old realised it was a medical situation, a collapse ? I accept with parents as doctors that Maddie at some time was told how to use the toy stethoscope and that the beating heart noise was made so she could understand : boom boom. But that she was allowed anywhere near a person in distress?

She would have been picked up or taken by the hand by someone before she got anywhere near the collapsed man I am sure.
But that does not make for an interesting anecdote.

Also, key points in her young life...her 1st birthday, when she started nursery. I would have expected some memories of those in the book.
Plus the eye defect. Nada.

by aiyoyo 14.08.13 18:38

russiandoll wrote:I agree about the Pussycat Doll songs, although I would guess that it was chorus only and Maddie got the words [ hopefully] wrong. Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me not nice coming from the mouth of a little one, even if lyrics not understood!

Re Harry Potter, my thoughts are that maybe Kate like some adults read the books and watched the films. I doubt very much that Kate read any of the HP books to her daughter, maybe though Maddie was watching when films were on, asked who's that ? getting the names of the main characters.
I would be very surprised if she remembered the names, however, unless her interest was maintained, and I really can't see many parents watching these films with children aged 3. Way too advanced for that age, no matter how bright.

I know of a child with Asperger who can name every character in all the movies he's ever watched even at the tender age of 4.
He was into movies big time. Even now at the age of 12, spending all his spare time watching movies whenever he's allowed.
He can name every character and remember every detail of all the Steven Spieberg movies, and is even into watching old movies going as far back as movies made in the 1940s "Gone with the Wind" etc. When he was aged nearly 8 he started writing scripts. Now at aged 12 he continues to be very imaginative with his scripts. He does very well academically, but in all other aspects of real lives, he is very inadequate, often having meltdowns and driving his mum (my friend) up the wall.

It was the scene with the toy stethoscope which I found insulting to my intelligence. A crisis and we are meant to accept that a 3 year old realised it was a medical situation, a collapse ? I accept with parents as doctors that Maddie at some time was told how to use the toy stethoscope and that the beating heart noise was made so she could understand : boom boom. But that she was allowed anywhere near a person in distress?

She would have been picked up or taken by the hand by someone before she got anywhere near the collapsed man I am sure.
But that does not make for an interesting anecdote.

Also, key points in her young life...her 1st birthday, when she started nursery. I would have expected some memories of those in the book.
Plus the eye defect. Nada.

by Guest 14.08.13 19:39

I do remember when my son - aged about 4 - got out his little plastic tool kit and copied what a plumber was doing to the boiler. I wish he still had some skills like that now.....

It's possible there may be an element of truth to Kate's story but with a fair bit of poetic licence added.

When my son was a bit older there was a spate of songs around with titles like "I want your sex", "I wanna sex you up all night" and "I touch myself" - don't ask where!

I'd have been mortified as a mum if he'd sung any of those in public!

by **tigger** 14.08.13 20:06

No Fate Worse Than De'Ath wrote:I do remember when my son - aged about 4 - got out his little plastic tool kit and copied what a plumber was doing to the boiler. I wish he still had some skills like that now.....

It's possible there may be an element of truth to Kate's story but with a fair bit of poetic licence added.

When my son was a bit older there was a spate of songs around with titles like "I want your sex", "I wanna sex you up all night" and "I touch myself" - don't ask where!

I'd have been mortified as a mum if he'd sung any of those in public!

This story was from before the twins were born so she'd have been 20 to 21 months old, making it rather more difficult to believe.