IDES OF MARCH II - THE END OF THE SEARCH

UPDATE:  12/01/18

Bizarre, that the rabid 'antis' and the rabid 'pros' are singing from the same hymn sheet in their belief that Operation Grange are performing some kind of cover up.  The 'antis' believe they are covering up for the parents and the 'pros' believe they are covering up for government agents.  Other than that, their arguments are pretty much the same.

The 'antis' drawn to the case by their penchant for conspiracies have been resolute on the 'cover up' theory since day 1.  And that's where their thinking has stayed and festered.  But conspiracy is not altogether a dirty word, conspiracies can and do happen on a daily basis.  There has been a conspiracy in the missing Madeleine case.  If there hadn't been, it would have ended 10 years ago.  It is when conspiracies go off into the land of fantasy and speculation, that they become problematic, in a time wasting sense.

All the 'pros' commenting on my blog are convinced that not only is there a cover up, but that all the police working on the investigation are corrupt.  Not the sort of thing you would expect from someone speaking on behalf of a missing child and to whom everything they have asked for has been given. 

The McCanns, it could be said, have good reason to be angry with Scotland Yard and Operation Grange.  They haven't found the McCanns' missing daughter nor have they convinced the public that they [the parents] were not involved.  But those are the not the reasons given by the pro defenders, they cite other unrelated cases as evidence of police corruption. 

Ideally they would like Madeleine's case to be filed away unsolved.  Why? and Wtf?  That's not a good result for Madeleine or her parents, it means no-one will be looking for her.  I suspect SY have told the parents Madeleine is dead, and they are not accepting it.  But I suspect the result they hoped for, Madeleine is alive and findable, is the least likely conclusion of OG.

It seems the remains of the McCann Media Monitoring department (not their finest) are using my blog to plant seeds of distrust in Operation Grange.  Do they have no hope whatsoever that OG will produce evidence that clears the parents and their friends completely?  Why so negative towards a report that hasn't been published?  What are their fears? 

Why aren't the Pro McCanns pro Operation Grange?  Why aren't they thanking and defending those detectives who have put so much time into searching for their daughter?.   I have watched many docu-dramas where the loved ones of missing people bond with those police officers who pick up the cold case files, they become friends of the family.  There doesn't appear to be any bonding here, nor any sense of gratitude for what Operation Grange are doing.  They are playing a two hand game -  publicly thanking Scotland Yard, but privately sending out social media warriors to diss them.  

Sadly for them, they no longer have the power to destroy a police officer's life and career in the British tabloids, as far as I know, none of the UK tabloids have run with OG officers having lunch or coming off a 24hr shift, or indeed infantile name calling like 'sardine munchers'.  I sincerely hope there is some sort of ruling, or mutual moral agreement between the police and the media, not to target the private lives of police officers working on homicide cases.    The media has much to be ashamed of in it's persecuting of targets selected by the McCann family, police officers especially.   

But a quick word on protests.  With so many other far more newsworthy topics, it's likely there will not be much interest in the conclusions of Operation Grange.  Most people have never heard of it and don't care.  But those who have a good idea of how far the rabbit hole actually goes will not accept the cover up of the initial actions of the incumbent government and the British police agencies who flew out to PDL.  The imperialistic assumption that our police are better than your police.  Gerry and Kate are already in a prison of their own making.  They are stuck with the fake goody two shoes personalities they themselves devised.  They left no room for human error, they are perfect.  An oft used word in Kate's book.

The strive for perfection can send even the most stable over the edge.  Think of an OCD guy mowing a camomile lawn in exact horizontal lines, being confronted by a small mutt cocking a leg? Or worse, squatting?  For myself, perfect is not a word I use often, not even when my Yorkshires are flowing over and a dark crunchy brown.  Even my sponges, at which I am now genius level, I prefer to use the term 'Paul Hollywood handshake'. 
For my disasters, I growl at my guests to fill in the feedback form, if they dare!        

But I jest.  I strive for perfection with my writing, and I torment myself daily for not being good enough.  I want to blame everyone and everything else, but I accept it's all down to me.  Even if I write something blinding with thousands of hits, I am left in terror that I won't be able to do it again.  An artist's life is not a happy lot!  Nor is the life of anyone seeking an insane level of perfection.   

But back to the idea of protests when Operation Grange ends.  Do enough people feel that strongly?  I suspect not.  Gerry and Kate are not cartoon villains like Toby Young, they are the parents who lost a child.  An angry mob shouting for their arrest is never going to be tasteful or endearing.  

I think on the angry mob front, all that remains is the half a dozen who post in the cesspit and in MMM.  Most people have managed to keep their interest in this case in perspective.   Personally, I wouldn't be happy if the blame for not finding Madeleine was placed on the PJ and Goncalo Amaral. Though I don't think for one minute that will be happening, because if it were, the McCanns right now, would be jubilant. 

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The announcement of DCI Rowley's retirement in March has sparked off another round of posts that put 2 and 2 together and make 5.  I doubt Mr. Rowley (I don't know his rank) had much, if anything to do with the case of missing Madeleine.  As a senior officer, the Madeleine case was probably one among hundreds that he oversaw, whether he or someone else is in overall charge, won't make any difference to the outcome. 

 

I get the impression most people still believe there is a cover up afoot and when the funding ends in March, that will be it.  It will be filed under some sort of Official Secrets that decrees it should not be looked at for 75 years.  That is probably the ideal end game for those feeling very uncomfortable right now, but realistically, it's very unlikely. 

 

Can you imagine the announcement:  'We know what happened to Madeleine McCann, but we are not telling anyone' or 'We don't know, were nearly there a couple of time and thanks for the top ups, but we got nothing' or 'none of us have got any intention of telling anyone what we have been doing this past 6 years, so don't ask'. 

 

There is no diplomatic way to end this multimillion pound investigation without questions being asked.  I was going to say, public outcry, but, see previous blog, the McCann case has slipped right down the public interest scale.  If it ended with no result however, even the moderate would protest.

 

From the perspective of Gerry and Kate McCann, they fear their enemies are salivating at their impending downfall.  They may well be right, their fame has attracted the worse of human nature, but this is not a case to feel smug about.  No-one wins.  I personally have never had any interest or stomach for retribution, nor the punishment side of crime and punishment and it's not the focus of this blog.   It is horrible to see anyone suffer, even if they have brought that suffering on themselves.

If the objective of Operation Grange was to clear the parents of all suspicion, their actions have done the opposite.  If they are to relieve the parents of that ominous cloud, they will have to prove Madeleine was abducted by a stranger they failed to catch.  Can you imagine the CVs of the 30+ detectives assigned to Operation Grange.  'Spent 6 years working of a missing child that failed to achieve a result'.  

Once you apply logic to the arguments of those who claim the investigation is a cover up, you can see how nonsensical their arguments are.  They completely overlook the human factor.  The men and women working on OG are human beings with emotions, opinions and values.  This case is about a missing child, the victim is their focus.  To assume that they would conspire to cover up the disappearance of a child is insulting.  I cringe at the insults hurled at the known names of the detectives who have worked on this case.  The childish allegations that these men and women are using this case for excursions to the Algarve are, effectively, telling us that is what they would do, because where else could the idea have come from?  Most people aren't scumbags.  Even I, not the world's best employee, gave everything to the jobs I had - aren't we all inherently driven to be the best that we can be?  Why would any one of those officers meekly accept
a glaring gap in their career history?  Or indeed a skeleton that may at any time, fall out of the closet

The case of missing Madeleine was a huge knock in the faith if human nature, in a way it was an awakening.  Almost daily confirmation that the MSM did in fact have the power to make a lie, the truth.  Had Madeleine disappeared before the internet, the alternate truth, the story of Goncalo Amaral would have been contained by borders.  Now, no matter how many victories a claimant has against the tabloids, they cannot stop the spread of news and information on the internet.  The first point of call for most people's news. News agencies can no longer distort the news by showing just one angle because most people carry around camera phones.  And there is no legal way to stop alternate views from being discussed on social media.   

Goncalo's Truth of the Lie, is not available on the shelves of British bookshops, but it is instantly available, and translated, online.  As are the Portuguese police files. Kudos to Gerry and Kate on that one, not even Donald Trump can get a book banned!  Perhaps Clarence should mention it in his CV and get it off to the Donald immediately.  And for those who accuse me of 'hate', yes, hands up, I do indeed have an extra special dislike for book banners and burners.

I do happen to believe, that the truth will out in March.  And I think March will be a very good time to release news some would prefer was overtaken by bigger events.  The mad reign of the self anointed God that is Donald Trump, will come to a spectacular end, by March I am sure, and the fall out will spread to the UK, as the British public question Theresa May's over eagerness to deal with him.   An influx of scandals may be fighting for the front pages and the headlines.  Interest in the Madeleine case is probably at it's lowest ebb, but, depending on the revelations, it still has the potential to cause another massive media wave.  It might be that a human interest story could distract the public's attention from bigger things that are going on, or it may in itself be the bigger thing, depending on how deep OG go. 

Everyone I think, even the parents, have given up on the possibility of Madeleine's disappearance having a good ending.  Neither Madeleine or her remains have been found, and some will never accept closure until she is.  The parents may well know the conclusions that Scotland Yard have reached, and it may be they have rejected them.  There is a good chance they will re-start their own search for a live child, in which case any rift between the parents and the police will become glaringly apparent.  

I believe it will end in March, and with the precedent set by the PJ, the investigation files will be transparent, especially as these files will have to be added to the PJ files when the case concludes in Portugal.  The only narrative that will fit the facts and evidence available is the true one.








Ps.  Ferrero Rocher - My struggle! 

A dear friend gave me a box of the delicious, naughty little delights,

Step 1.  Put box in fridge to chill min. 10 mins.  OK, 8, 5 at an absolute push.

Step 2.  Attempt to open box and shriek in horror on discovering it is impossible, only Thor could get the lid off!

Step 3.  Get large carving knife and do what's necessary, sledgehammer must be absolute last resort.

Step 4.  Reconsider carving knife - is it worth 13 hours waiting in A&E, where said little ball of scrumptiousness will have to be prised from the cold dead hand they are trying to re-attach.  Yep.  Still totally worth it.

Step 5.  Discover see through cellotape attaching lid to box.  Doh.  Feel I should write a stern letter to the makers telling them they should have a large warning such as 'Remove invisible film.  Do not attack with carving knives or chainsaws!  How many Ferrero Rocher accidents must there be?  (actually, I don't know if there have actually been any), but it's still a good question.

Step 6.  I'm in.  And have stopped at 4. 

St. 7.   5,  I'm going to stop at 5.  :)