A Question of Myths

(Feb 27th, 2011)

A reader has posted the following comment on the post "A Tad Too Posh?":

“Tex, I often think people 'look' but they do not 'see' what I see is a group of very relaxed people enjoying themselves.  

Absent from this group is Kate and Gerry, why are they absent, it is the end of the holiday when will they have the opportunity to meet these 'friends' again. And thats it....they are NOT bothered they are NOT friends they are just a bunch of people on holiday, the Mccanns are not part of this group and never were, that is why we have the 'pact of silence' and the returning of the mega money from the Express Newspaper to Kate and Gerry from Tapas..none of them are involved with Mccanns, and they do not want to be involved. 

These people, the Tapas crew have been caught up in something not of their making. We need to go back to the start, go over it and then it will be clearer.  

Whatever happened, it was before 3rd that is why Mccanns are absent from Paradiso.”

 Anon,

Thank you for your comment.

Although we do both see a “very relaxed people enjoying themselves”, I must disagree with you, in what you deduce from what you see.

I see just relaxation and you seem to see relaxed perversity beyond words.

To me, they’re just having a cup of tea (or whatever), watching the sea freshly caressing the white beach sand with each wave… whilst to you, they’re just having a cup of tea (or whatever), watching the sea freshly caressing the white beach sand with each wave, but doing all that knowing that some of their friends, or even just acquaintances, have their own kid dead in their arms, at that moment, and less than half a mile away…

I may not be friends with you, but, the fact that I’d be in the knowledge that your had your dead daughter with you, would stop me from any joyous behavior.

If I were to be made up criminal scum, and wanting to cover-up, for whatever sick reason, for a “friend” that was “in trouble” and that that “trouble” was his/hers dead daughter, I may would have engaged in acting out some sort of a “relaxed” scene.

They are either a group of “very relaxed people enjoying themselves” (pardon the repetitive quote), which means that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the life of these people at the time these pictures were taken, or they are group pretending to be very relaxed and enjoying themselves.

You, like me, seem to see the first. But unlike me, go and make deductions based on the latter.

That would basically answer your comment, but you do bring up an interesting subject, which as almost recurrent as the "McCann Negligence Myth", which is the "McCann Outcast Myth".

It seems to be consensual that the McCanns were set apart from the group, yet, there’s absolutely no proof of that.

Another forum/blog myth?

We know for a fact that the McCanns were not in the Paraiso with the remainder of the group at the time of these pictures. However we could let our imagination run wild, and even question THAT fact. Were the McCanns REALLY NOT in Paraíso? The only proof is that they don’t appear in the pictures, but could be around the corner, careful not to be caught up in the CCTV pictures.

Am I being ridiculous? No, according to those that say that these pictures are “play-acting”, then one must assume that ALL actors involved knew “the stage” well, and some may have opted to stay in the “backstage”.

Maybe you didn't consider that. Back to reality.

For me, it’s a FACT that the McCanns were NOT with the group on the late afternoon of May 3rd. Those stills portray genuine relaxation, and the McCanns are not in them.

But that is a single instance, and a single instance doesn’t make a rule.

For me, the fact that Kate would be jogging, as she says she was, and for Gerry to be playing tennis, as he says he was, or playing golf, as he doesn’t say he was, are perfect natural activities and don’t provide any clue that they were outcast from the group,

You do have a lot of other clues that show that this group was far from being a group. Or a cohesive one. Or one that behaved as one would expect such a group to behave if they were “together”.

I’m not saying or implying that they didn’t get along with each other, because, as you know, I think they did, and did REALLY get along VERY WELL with each other…

A group on holiday usually comes together, especially if they’re flying in, this one doesn’t.

On Monday I do believe that Jane and Russ say they did watersports alone, on another occasion that Kate and Gerry say they play tennis without the others of the group, where they were somewhere else, I haven’t checked this totally, but Kate and Gerry also say they went to Sagres, etc…

With the exception of the "Tapas dinners" (which we know didn't exist), show me one activity they all did together.

I know one: the two hour initial tennis lecture followed up by torturous long walk all the way to the Millenium.

So much so, that I would like to start, right here and now, my own "blog myth": that walk was so hard and difficult, that to this day those streets have become haunted, and to this day, there are some locals who swear on their souls that when the moon is full, the “Tapas moans & groans” can be heard in the night's silence…

Back to reality again, any other events where the T9 participated in TOGETHER as a GROUP?

Ah, say you, that PROVES that the McCanns were NOT part of the group.

Then, do tell me what other activities, or activity, besides the Paraíso's May 3rd afternoon, did the remainder T7 participate in, TOGETHER as a GROUP.  

None? That’s about right.

Add that to some unexpected, or even odd behavior from a group who are supposedly connected to each other on a holiday, like each couple being responsible to pick up their own kids.

One would expect, from such friendly relationships, that one adult would suffice to pick up all the “group’s kids”. We’re not pinpointing the McCanns on this one. They acted like all others during the week (or so they all say).

And we won’t get into the check-ONLY-the-McCanns-kids-system at dinner, because we know these checks didn’t exist.

But we do know about some “lonesome” activities from some of these people/couples. Or that they say they did (most of which we don't believe happened, and some we've already proved they didn't).  

Kate’s alleged jogging.  

Fiona’s alleged jogging.  

David going into Kate’s apartment.

According to Carol Tranmer-Fenn's statement, the likelihood of Russell leaving Oldfield’s apartment. Gerry alleged playing tennis.

Russ and Matt's inexistent watersports, allegedly leaving David to do his all alone…

People seem to forget that the McCanns were the “focused on” couple, so you know much more about them then you know about all the others.

 The others basically either confirm the other couple’s activity or justify what they were doing on the afternoon of May 3rd.

We don’t know of any activity these people did together, do we? Even the arrival at the pretence Tapas dinners, is all uncoordinated, and the faked children checking system, after five nights, still requires a lot of oiling up to do, as we still have plates requiring to be reheated…

If you look at the Paraíso CCTV picture, you can see a relaxed group of people, but you can also see that the group comes in “bunches” and not as a whole, as, once again, we would expect from a group enjoying a beach holiday TOGETHER.

They leave also separately as if each one had his/her own agenda, and the common denominator between them was not the group, the beach or the sun.

You may use “united” as adjective to qualify this group AFTER Maddie disappears, but there’s no perception of unity before that. The McCanns were as much part of this group, as all the other T7, as we have NO PROOF otherwise.

To say that the McCanns are total strangers to this group makes inexplicable the solidarity shown in the following hours, days, and months, by those other seven people, an attitude that your comment implies never happened.

If that was the case, why did Fiona Payne rush to Lisbon during the trial, when things went all wrong for the McCanns?

I can’t also see ANY reason for David Payne, using him as example, to take the responsibility for having been the one to organize the holiday if he didn’t know the McCanns from the Smiths.

Nor, for the remainder of the group pictured at Paraiso to say that they had dinner with the McCanns at Tapas.

Yes, their relationship has eroded and they’ve practically broken up, but that is AFTER the events. Do not mix things up.

You might be implying that the people were caught up in something AFTER these pictureswere taken , and that that something happened on the day BEFORE.

What, one has to ask? Were they blackmailed after these pictures?

 But, from the pictures, there’s absolutely no difference between Maddie dying on May 2nd, and these people being blackmailed late evening May 3rd, and Maddie dying on May 3rd, and these people being blackmailed that same late evening, May 3rd.

These pictures, unlike you say, DO NOT prove any timeline, besides the fact that the watersports storyline is false, but that's something you're not questioning.

And if they were being blackmailed, (which would mean that there was a relationship between these people and the McCanns) what did they have to fear?  

Being part of an secret medical experimentation so horrific that would jeopardize national security?

That brings us to another “forum/blog myth” that REALLY needs to be debunked: “The PdL Medical Convention Myth”.

Many have assumed, because the T9 is made up 6 doctors, that there was some sort medical secret meeting taking place during that week.

Or that, being more benign, that the holiday was paid by some medical company and that the whole cover-up would have been to protect this company’s name.

Or maybe a mixture of both of the scenarios.

But the majority of people on the holiday were NOT doctors, certainly not the major players.

We can see only 2 other docs, Julian Totman and Louise Hume,

There may be more, but Carpenter. Edmonds, the Weinbergers, Balu, Berry, Jensens were not.

That makes up a group of 8 doctors.

Less than the tennis group that ALLEGEDLY reserved dinner for Friday, I think.

Maybe it's better just to keep things simple.