Sunday 15 December 2013

It is easier to fool people, than to convince them they have been fooled. [Mark Twain]

Ain't that the truth in the case of missing Madeleine McCann.  There are going to be a lot of very red faces when the Truth Of The Lie becomes known, and all signs point towards January 7th 2014, the final day of the McCanns v. Amaral libel trial.

It will not be the day of judgment unfortunately, that we will have to wait for, but it may well see Gerry and Kate on the witness stand giving evidence. They have asked for permission to speak, and for the for the moment are awaiting the Judge's decision.  So too is Goncalo Amaral, who has put in a similar request.  If the requests are granted, the trial will end with barristers for each of the parties summing up.

If this were the Wild West, the forthcoming trial would be the equivalent of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, the protagonists are finally coming face to face and they ain't messing about this time.  Unfortunately for them, the Lawman Goncalo Amaral is waiting for them, this time, he has back up, and they are big guns, whose testimony carries weight.  Lawman Amaral will not back down.

If I were a gambler, I would say the investigation was not going well for the McCanns.  The Smith family sighting has had the public airing they hoped to avoid, and everything has gone quiet, including the kerching of the online shop. 

Time has not been kind to the abduction story, or the incredible Team McCann Campaign, some might say, in retrospect, it all looks like staging, phoney even. The need to raise money for only one child went into the realms of ridiculous. The Fund stacked up to millions, the amount unknown, the 'transparent' Fund accounts give no details.  Yet, by November 2010, the McCanns were appealing for more money, £10 for a 24hr hotline, £20 for tat and £30 for more tat etc. We know previous phone calls were not followed up, not by the PI's, nor by the family, which makes it appear that the appeals had little to do with the 'Search'. 

At least two firms of private detectives employed by the McCanns have since faced criminal charges. It would seem, the only genuine report obtained by the McCanns was suppressed and the PI who wrote it was threatened with legal action should he ever make it public. 

Those still demanding we should believe the McCanns, because it would unkind not to, need to step out of Lilliput, take the blinkers off, and re-program their thinking - the child, Madeleine, was the victim, not the parents.  I really cannot see any way for all those red faces to be avoided, other than heavy panstick stage makeup, because some day soon they are going to have to say those words we all stumble over and hate to say, 'Sorry, I was wrong'.  









Friday 29 November 2013

SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE

Almost seven years on, is this case finally reaching a conclusion?

So many times we have been brought to the brink, only for the case to continue dragging along much the same as always.  This time however, I feel there is real change.  The original Crimewatch gave the impression that SY were working FOR the McCanns - ie. checking in for the approval of Gerry, Kate, Clarence and Carter Ruck.  I did not get a sense of that last night - there were no friendly references to Gerry and Kate, or indeed to Mr and Mrs McCann.  The tragic couple were not perched on stools telling us that they were not as happy as they could be, and there was no reference to their innocence.

Frankly if the best evidence Crimewatch could come up with after all that publicity, to support the McCanns' abduction story, was Kate doing her very animated impression of the curtains going whoosh (again), what were those very helpful 3,500 calls about? 

As for the unprecedented help the McCanns received, I think this was the result of a cascade effect.  On the night Madeleine disappeared the McCanns and their friends had address books full of influential people, and as we know they hit the phones with a vengeance. No time for actually searching.  The influential friends stepped in immediately, it was a tragic story and everyone wanted to look like the good guy, the hero running to the rescue of a beautiful child and her photogenic, erudite parents. Within a day they were in contact with No. 10 and soon had access to string pulling in every direction, including media moguls and A-List celebrities.  

Added to which Gerry and Kate could give lessons in assertiveness, they knew what they wanted, and they knew how to get it.  From not even knowing they needed a Fund, their fundraising reached heights never seen before or since in a missing child case.  £1m, £2m, 3m - they couldn't get enough. Each time the Fund dropped below 500k, they were back on our screens begging for more.  Their spending was as prolific as their Fundraising, one can imagine a gambler in Las Vegas, as long as he's got his gold watch he can carry on.  As long as we all believed Madeleine was alive, the McCanns had their gold watch, with the closure of the online shop and lack of age progression pictures in this latest update, the watch may well be pawned.   

It was the fundraising that won Kate the grand title of Ambassador for Missing People. The McCanns own Fund had raised millions.  Perhaps they even hope the philanthropic pair might gift anything remaining to their own coffers, once Madeleine (and her abductors) are found of course. As my oft quoted ex double glazing boss used to say, the answer to EVERY question is money. Although in my opinion Kate doesn't seem half so enthusiastic about raising funds for them as she was when raising funds for herself and hubby.  

I don't believe the McCanns have government assistance per se, they are merely astute at knowing who to contact and how to pressure them into giving assistance.  I would imagine once such 'assistance' has been given and received, the relationship would end in antagonism. For the McCanns backscratching is a one way street as demonstrated by McCanns speaking out against the press at the Leveson Enquiry.  That was one gigantic knife in many backs and pitiful to see grown men and women tying themselves in knots to sound humble and rebuked over their 'gross' mistreatment of the saintly pair.   

They don't have the power they claim to have, nor do they have public support, despite their practice of manipulating figures on their social network sites.  As for high level assistance. It should be noted that diplomatic assistance was quietly dropped very early on. Clarence gave up his government job to become the McCanns' full time spokesman.  A curious thing to do as the child could have turned up at any time, but regardless, he was no longer representing the government, but the McCanns in a £75k pa. private capacity. He gives the impression that he is speaking as an 'official' of sorts and I think this has led many to believe that the McCanns have the full support of the authorities, and indeed powerful friends. Perhaps, at one time they did, Team McCann was a popular bandwagon to jump on.  

The figures used by the McCanns to fool the powers that be into believing they have majority support are manipulated.  Are the public also being manipulated to believe that the 'authorities' support the McCanns? 

If they are, I don't think that is the case anymore.  As far back as 2008 (I believe), Clarence famously said 'The McCanns asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister but were only offered a medium level consul, which they declined.  Their access to David Cameron was via Rebekah Brooks - anything McCann related sees a massive rise in the sale of tabloids, and it suited him to grant the Review. The people the McCanns were dealing with, are among the most ruthless in our society, its how they got to the top. It looks to me as though people are distancing themselves from the couple, no one of note has spoken up for them at their Libel trial in Lisbon.  The McCanns were not able to produce a qualified psychologist to give evidence on their behalf.  Their witnesses came across as ill informed and ill prepared, as the learned Judge said to one lady 'go back to your life', it would appear the Judge is not buying it.  

Are we reaching a crescendo?  I believe so, something's got to give. 





Sunday 17 November 2013

TOO LEFT FOR THE LEFT - but Dennis Skinner is right.



These words were posted on Facebook this morning by the amazing Dennis Skinner - ye olde beast of Bolsover - I urge everyone to 'friend' this hero of the Left and share his posts.  This is the reality of Tory Britain, and fluffy words cannot disguise it.  The awesome Dennis, at the grand old age of 81 is still in the House of Commons kicking tory arse and speaking up for the people who elect him!

When will society accept that punishing those trapped by poverty by taking away the little they have, will not turn them into pillars of the community?  The good Lord himself said, 'the poor will always be with us' - albeit he was using it in a selfish way at the time, the first bit is eternal. Society is a mixture of the brilliant, the stupid, the creative, the ordinary, the hard working and the feckless, and unless crazy scientists can isolate and eradicate the genes that like to drink, party and take drugs, we're pretty much stuck with it.

Punishing the feckless achieves nothing.  In fact it makes their lives, and the lives of their families worse.  Grinding poverty perpetuates the stress, the depression, life becomes merely a day to day existence.  This new wave of toryism will break up families who are already under stress, the NHS, Housing Benefits, and every charity involved with homelessness are stretched to breaking point.

What is the point of the Bedroom Tax?  It is a costly exercise in bureaucracy to satisfy the petty minded whose neighbour may or may not have a spare bedroom.  These are the politics of spite - no savings are being made.  Do the smug workers who support this petty, spiteful tax, get a flatscreen for the loo and congratulate themselves that elderly people who have lost their marbles are being turfed out of the homes they have had all their lives, or that the bedridden are deprived of essential overnight care? The Bedroom Tax will of course free up lots of property in areas earmarked for investment, whilst also getting rid of the undesirables.  Not that that could possibly influence anyone's vote.

Our high streets are shells, shops are boarded up, people are queuing at food banks.  Why anyone had faith in Gormless George Osborne I will never know. If young people think this is normal life in Britain - its not!  I was a child of the 60's, but even those before me never suffered the indignity of waiting in line for food.  The class dunces have brought about a triple dip recession.  The kind of manmade economic disaster that brought the world to its knees in the 1930's and a huge upsurge in the arms industry thereafter.

Bravo to Dennis Skinner, the politician of the people, and bravo to Russell Brand for breaking celebrity ranks to speak out against the atrocities being committed by this government.  Nothing has been saved, the borrowing has gone up - and lets hope there is a public enquiry into who made money out of Atos once the dust has settled.  These tories are carpeting their own destinies, and they see gated communities with the riff raff living on the outskirts.  

Lets get this 'workers and shirkers' diatribe into context.  Its really no different to the sickening 'deserving and undeserving' poor, the sick and disenfranchised judged by the Victorians on their capacity for obedience and sobriety. It can even be compared to the middle ages when the national pastime for church goers was throwing rotting cabbages at those unable to support themselves.  These days Tory Party spread the love with billboards on double decker buses.  If they have a slogan competition, I'm going with 'Kick A Pleb' - I suspect Cameron hasn't forgiven the hoody for dipping his wallet when he gave him a hug.  I jest - as if.

The contented workers of course, are up at dawn merrily singing and dancing like that 'who will buy this wonderful morning' scene in Oliver.  Except they are not.  On the whole they are doing repetitive, thankless tasks for as many hours as they can bear in order to save another embarrassing trip to the Food Bank.  Thats the reality for many as zero hours contracts become the norm, who was it who wanted rid of the Unions?  The employers now hold all the cards and the millions of unemployed can take or leave it.  If you won't work for a pittance, we will have you back next week working for nothing. There will be some fat turkeys and raised glasses at the Christmas tables of the bosses this year, I'll be bound.

The smug workers accept their lot and buy into the idea that depriving the lazy bastards who don't open their curtains til midday of cash will somehow make their own lives better.  It won't.  These ideas are coming from people who think workers' disputes can be resolved by a darn good thrashing, they have absolutely no idea of what life is like on a sink estate.  Unemployed parents will not give up the Diamond White and the fags, anymore than the Judge will forego his pre luncheon tipple of brandy. The kids will go without shoes, the rent won't get paid but the booze and fags will stay.  That is the reality, because when you are living in hell being blotto is sometimes the only way out.

Even the Labour party responded to the public's demand for more Law and Order.  'We'll march the dirty rotten sods to the nearest cash point and fine them £100 on the spot', said Workhouse Master Blair - which did make me chuckle, and think yeh, good luck with that.  He's obviously never met a Chav on a sink estate - they mostly bank with Cash Converters.

Generation after generation are caught in a poverty trap simply do not have the resources to escape. Everything costs money and life on basic essentials leaves no room for self improvement.  From the very start they are disadvantaged.  The schools on the sink estates are deprived of money because they do not perform as well as those in the leafy suburbs, who are rewarded.  Having already been pre-labelled 'chavs' they become regular targets for the police, they acquire cautions, minor convictions - a record that ensure they will never, ever, get a legitimate, well paid job.  Those who screamed for the blood of the daft kids who got caught up in the riots of 2011, must now face the reality that those kids will most likely face a life on benefits, because they will never pass a CRB check.

The cuts the tories are inflicting now will have long term effects that will be catastrophic.  Imagine the NHS 20 years hence,(should any part of it survive) coping with the results of today's poor diets, worsened as cheap is replaced by cheaper?  Will there be enough prisons to cope with the feckless? Will alcohol be priced out of their reach? Will the world be a better place if that lonesome old tramp dies in a freezing doorway without the cider that used to get him through the night?

The words of Nye Bevan should ring in all our ears.  The pampered elite running today's show are no different to their forbears.  They want the same things.  Cheap, or hey ho, free, labour for their factories (shops, call centres, etc), and they should be encouraged with generous tax breaks to get richer by 'employing' (lol) more workers thus removing them from the jobless figures and teaching the lazy bastards a lesson. To demonstrate tory thinking, you must think of the population, not as people, but as a resource. Employees become units, eg. over a £250k lunch with the PM,  Dave might say 'well how many units do you need' to his mate with the fat wallet who wants to open up a few more sweat shops. Its like they have brought slavery in through the back door by discovering a loophole.

There is a cruelty to Tory ideology that should send shutters down all our spines.  Nothing is being gained by these benefit cuts.  Official statistics show that benefit fraud is less than 0.1%.  The shambles that is ATOS, is costing more than it is saving.  The death, trauma and stress that is being inflicted on the most vulnerable in our society is incalculable.  May God forgive these people for what they are doing, I know I can't.

I want to add my voice to the protest and when history looks back on these times it will see that 53 years after Nye Bevan's death, the Tories haven't changed one bit - and they never will.














Thursday 14 November 2013

RELATIONSHIP ADVICE, NAH

I sometimes wonder whether I should use my acquired wisdom to give other women relationship advice, then I laugh at the very idea of it, the advice should come from the victor and I'm the example the smug relatives cite, to illustrate how it can all go wrong. 

My sin?  I choose to be alone.  In the old days I would have been stoned for it, but now society goes for the softer option of social exclusion, finger pointing and talking behind your back.  Other women clutch their husbands arms as you waft by, and nervous men stand rather than risk your pouncing on them should they occupy the seat next to you. I sometimes feel like whispering 'I wouldn't have wanted you 30 years ago, and I don't now, relax'.  There are anthropological and psychological reasons for women over 50 no longer needing a mate, but for me the reasons are quite selfish.  I have raised the kids, I have looked after my parents, I want time now to focus on my own interests.    

Loveable as some of the old rogues are, men are a different species altogether - they need lots of attention and looking after.  I don't have the patience anymore.  My sanity returned when I reached the menopause, it was as though a light went on, all the fog disappeared, and I finally realised men were more trouble than they were worth*.  For me anyway. I don't hate them per se, but there's usually something about them that irritates me intensely.  Why, for example do TV Guide disputes with sons turn into showdowns?  Eg, films: 27 Dresses .v. Die Hard with a Vengeance? There are no winners in these situations.

The good news for men everywhere is, I've lost me MoJo.  Firemen and service engineers can breathe a sigh of relief and enter my home safely - the negligees are packed away in mothballs.  I much prefer winceyette and a cup of cocoa these days, which is probably a good thing.  My track history with men is terrible - my younger son says I turn them gay. Sadly, he has much ammunition, one poor fella I innocently invited home for a drink, was thereafter seen walking round the town wearing black leather and a dog collar.   I hasten to add, I merely gave him an inspirational speech on releasing his inner child.  I often felt said son secretly wanted to sabotage my potential romances.  When I showed him a pair of pink sparkly stilettos I bought to wear on a date he shook his head smugly and said 'my job is done'.  He had a point. Someone who moans about their bleeding feet all night is never going to get another call. 

I've taken to blaming hormones for what I like to refer to as 'my rock and roll years' - doing so absolves my conscience and allows me to chuckle at the crazy things I did in the name of love.  I have a theory that our brains are overtaken by our reproductive hormones during our fertile years, its as if when we walk up to a bar our oestrogen says hello sailor to the testosterone of the good looking guy standing next to us and the urge to mate becomes overpowering.  Its primal, the wire in the brain that says 'no, very bad idea' is overruled by a rush of blood to the naughty bits.  Its based on science, and would be a great excuse if you were ever caught in flagrante delicto.  Of course it could swing either way, and might result in a very non scientific punch in the eye.  

Society has adapted to our need for love, sex, companionship and a macho protector to watch over us as we raise our young.  If we are sane enough, we choose a like minded partner with similar goals and the love will evolve into deep lifelong friendship.

However, since time began, most women have made a scramble for the knuckle draggers, the fire starters and the chest pounders, the ones who put all their energy into procreating and making fire water out of rotting grapes.  Their wiser sisters meanwhile had the sense to shackle themselves to the more prosperous hunters and gatherers and were moving into bigger caves with all the mod cons.   

The more deranged among us want the additional entertainment of someone to fight with.  Its as though we have been seduced by the Bronte sisters and Dolly Parton in our quest to find a bad man to stand by.  We walk past the sensible fellow in the cardie with the highly polished Cortina to get to the rebel without a clue because he's got the seductive, haunted eyes of James Dean and life in a trailer might be fun.  

We kid ourselves that it wasn't our fault and put all the blame on the other half we selected. Yet we return to them time and time again, believing the power of our love can change the ending when all the evidence in front of us, shows that it wont.  The reality is, we just can't stay away from the object of our desire, a crazy little voice in our heads keeps singing Maybe This Time.  Within 5 minutes of that knock on the door we find ourselves giggling with the enemy over a glass of wine and smooching to Tamla Motown classics.  By that stage, the hormones have firm hold of the control panel and they keep pressing the nooky buttons. 

I'm not really sure anyone in love is susceptible to advice from those who bear the battle scars. They have to actually burn their fingers before they accept that the fire is hot and repeatedly sticking their hand in there will never change the outcome.  The only advice the crazed up lovelorn will accept, is from someone who has reached similar heights of insanity over a another human being.  Someone who knows the pain of waiting for a telephone to ring and and who is willing to tag along on night stakeouts.  Preferably your best mate, who will pour you gin and sing along with you to 'Never Gonna Dance Again' at 4.00 in the morning, then phone your boss at 9.00 to tell him you ate a dodgy lettuce leaf the night before and if you ever stop throwing up, you might come in for a couple of hours.  

Digressing slightly, said boss once sent me a very long letter listing all my faults and threatening me with the sack . It was quite passionate and extremely verbose, but not in a good way.   Its amazing how much emotion an angry person can pack into a text without using actual swearwords. Whilst he very much appreciated my showing up now and again, he wondered if I might consider turning up at the same time as everyone else?  At that point I sensed a bit of sarcasm and the next 3 pages didn't get any better.  It was amazing he found so much to moan about, I was hardly ever there.  It was love of course that had taken my eye off the ball, but that's another story for another day.  

On the basis of the aforementioned, its probably best I avoid employment advice too. 

Did I ever learn anything and more to the point, do I have any sensible advice?  Hell yeh, don't let the hand you hold, hold you down**.












*In case he is looking in, this excludes Jack Nicholson, who is an old reprobate I could put up with for a week or two

**author unknown, sadly.

Monday 28 October 2013

INTERVIEW YOU WON'T SEE

SF:   So Kate and Gerry, you here in Lisbon today to sue Goncalo Amaral the former Co-ordinator of the Portuguese investigation into the disappearance of your daughter for 1.2m Euros.  Do you consider the Portuguese people are still on your side?

Gerry:  I'll answer that.  Clearly we are white, middle class, well educated and good looking, it must be obvious to everyone, that Goncalo Amaral is jealous of us.  We are here for this child Margaret  Madeleine, and we need everyone to give as much as they can.

Kate:  We're obviously Madeleine's parents Sandra, and we are willing to do anything to shut the bastard up, it was all going so well, and, um..........

Gerry:  The key thing is, Goncalo Amaral is not British.  How can it be right that people listen to his opinion?

SF:  May I ask why you did not sue Goncalo Amaral when his book was first released

Gerry:  We had clear objectives and deliverables Sandra, obviously there was no point in suing him until he had received his royalties cheque.

Kate:  Sandra, we are Madeleine's mummy and daddy [sighs] and the best way to ensure Goncalo Amaral feels misery and fear is to take away all his money.  We won't stop.........

SF:  Are you concerned that this latest revelation, your suppressing evidence of potential abductor might harm the search for Madeleine

Kate:  when all the pieces of the jigsaw came together it was important to concentrate on the man seen by Jane Tanner because he didn't look like Gerry.

Gerry:  And you see the thing is Sandra, releasing that report and those e-fits would have detracted people from donating to the Fund, it was stacking up until Goncalo Amaral starting investigating us.

Kate:  We are obviously Madeleine's parents Sandra, we couldn't afford to investigate TWO sightings, we only had £2.5 in the Fund, and the mugs donations had dropped because of THAT book.

Gerry:  You heard that didn't you?  The book of Goncalo Amaral was damaging the Fund Search, and we wanted people to concentrate on what we told them so they would keep giving generously.

SF:  And what for the future Gerry and Kate?

Gerry:  Well we are not as happy as we could be

Kate:  A big libel payout would make us much happier.

SF:  Kate, Gerry, thank you.





Monday 21 October 2013

I'M NOT A BLEDDY HATER LORRAINE!

It is about time those who fawn over the McCanns stopped with the name calling.  For whatever reason, they are viewing this case through rose tinted glasses, never stopping for one moment to consider that their deeply entrenched, starry eyed judgement of this grieving couple might be wrong?

I don't believe the McCanns, and if anyone bothered to do a quick public opinion poll, it would soon become apparent, that not many people do.  The huge audiences they attract are not sympathetic to their plight, merely astonished that the debacle continues.

Like hundreds of thousands of others out there, I don't hate the McCanns, I hate being lied to.  I hate that these breakfast sofa Queens consider that their opinions are the only ones that matter, and that anyone who views this case differently to themselves must be low life scum who are persecuting the bereft parents of a missing child purely out of spite and malice.  How little they think of the non professional classes who make up a large chunk of their audience.

They have accepted, without question, the word of parents who admitted they left their children alone, almost every night of their holiday, even when their oldest child asked them why they didn't come to herself and her brother when they cried.  As heartbreaking as that is, the parents then went out again, and that child is missing, probably dead.  Are these commentators aware that on May 1st Madeleine cried non stop for over an hour, sobbing and screaming inbetween?  Are they aware of the distress of the elderly lady in the apartment upstairs, hearing this child cry and being unable to do anything? Are they holding their hands over their ears and saying 'that's horrid, I'm not listening'?

They are accepting, on the word of two former suspects, that experienced detective Goncalo Amaral and the Portuguese police who investigated Madeleine's disappearance are incompetent and corrupt, as too are the officials who run the Judiciary.  The final report does not say the parents are innocent, the final report says they lost the opportunity to prove their innocence. Kate refused to answer police questions and the entire group refused to return for a reconstruction.

Of course among the McCann watchers, there will be gloaters inevitable in a case such as this. Gloaters for non Blackadder fans, are people who crowd around to gloat at others' misfortunes.  The McCanns did of course give all of us an opportunity to pat ourselves on the backs, because unlike the good doctors, we would never have left our tiny children on their own to go out to dinner, so we are better than them.  However, those who wanted to say that, got it out of their system long ago.  Now the hot news is a Gerry lookalike wandering around PDL at 10pm with a Madeleine lookalike.  I could have tripled the length of that last sentence by stating it couldn't possibly be him, but I couldn't bring myself to type it.  Of course, my omission will lay me open to all sorts of hate mail, but, seriously, what are the chances of Gerry having a doppelganger in PDL, out and about enjoying the night air at the same time as himself, and making off with a child who looked exactly like Madeleine? They even had matching chinos with buttons down the side.  Spooky huh?  I say the aforementioned with trepidation, because I fear a future where questioning the McCanns will lead straight to jail without passing Go.

I must be careful. The watchers are watching our words.  I'm already on the Hate List of a known McCann enforcer.  Its kind of like the old McCarthy Blacklist, with name calling and character assassination. They keep track of my internet activity 24/7, its a bit creepy, but on the plus side, as a narcissistic writer I always have readers, and lucky me, they never miss a grammatical error!   They have after all these years, pretty much done their worst, but I still live in fear of them catching a picture of me scratching my arse and placing it alongside a picture of an outsize orangutan and a Spot the Difference caption.   I have confidence and paranoia issues.  I could cry sometimes, but it makes my eyes go puffy.  McCann supporters can be very cruel.  I wonder if  Lorraine and her colleagues are aware of the activities of the enforcement arm of the McCann campaign - have they ever bothered to look?

Over ninety percent of those who do not believe the McCanns are reasonable, logical people, from all walks of life, who simply find this story has gone so far into Wonderland that it no longer makes sense, not that it was up to much in the first place.  Those brave enough to dip a toe, will soon discover they are far from alone in their doubts.  Sadly, such is life, as in any movement or campaign, there is a small minority who cross the line, but for the majority of us who discuss this case, bad taste is bad taste, no matter what side you are on.  These journalists have the communication skills to challenge opinions they do not like, so why resort to ridiculous assertions and name calling?

Those of us on the receiving end of this constant abuse are here because we took an interest in the tragic case of a small girl who disappeared from her bed while on holiday.  We were alarmed at the disparities in the parents stories, their increasingly odd behaviour and the horrible feeling that we were being manipulated.  We had no idea then that we would come head to head with a fully armed media war machine that would go to any lengths to shut us up.

There is no evidence of abduction, and grown ups don't like being told to believe in something for which there is no definitive proof.  I believe God has the same problem.  The majority of child abduction cases involve the parents. It is not unreasonable to ask why Kate and Gerry McCann should be above suspicion.  A wicked crime has been committed, we should never forget that.  This case should not be about sympathy and support for the parents, it should be about discovering the fate of the child.  Rather than calling us names and dismissing us as 'haters' Lorraine et al should at least have the courtesy of listening to our reasons for not believing, and engage in civilised debate.

Why, for example, do they accept unconditionally  the word of two former suspects over that of the long serving detective Goncalo Amaral, his entire team, the English police involved in the original investigation and the Portuguese Judiciary?  Every lead was exhausted, the files, available to all, reveal  a thorough and transparent investigation carried out by the PJ, the biggest missing child search in Portugual's history.

Lorraine, Jane, Allison etc, should put aside their prejudice, and read the Portuguese investigation files, or even the book of Goncalo Amaral - its a more reader friendly version of the files, before judging this kind and dedicated cop, so cruelly.  He is not the monster portrayed by the McCanns and their spin doctors as the first few pages of The Truth of The Lie*, will quickly reveal.  They should also accept that a large number of their viewers and readers are among those so called 'haters' and 'nutcases' because they are astute enough to know when they are being lied to, even if the accomplished journalists and presenters don't.









*http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/madeleine-mccann-in-books.html




Friday 18 October 2013

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

As the dust settles after these major developments, are we any wiser as to whether or not Madeleine McCann will ever get the justice she deserves?

I'm torn.  DCI Redwood is a canny fella.  He could outfox Cool Hand Luke if they went head to head in a game of poker.  Only a few months ago, he told us most sincerely, that they were looking for a 'live' Madeleine, but this much heralded latest Crimewatch had no age progression photographs and there were no appeals for Madeleine sightings.  No appeals from the parents to Madeleine or her kidnappers either.  The World's Most Wanted is a Magic Eye picture of a man who looks suspiciously like you know who, seen carrying a child by the Smith family.  

Those of us familiar with this case, know the Smith sighting is not new.  We also know, for whatever reason, the McCanns have never featured these photofits in any of their campaigns.  Scotland Yard seem to be going along the same lines as Goncalo Amaral, but presumably they will be permitted to follow these lines through to conclusion.  If this were a whitewash, they are following the right path to get the wrong answer.  Of course they could be like a group of scientists trying to repair a rocket in space, they must find a solution using only the parts that are available to them. The PJ files will always be available for comparison with their own.  

Taking Tannerman out of the equation was a stroke of genius, and it was done in such a way that it absolved Jane of any fault, should questions be asked as to why the world's press has been saturated with disinformation for the past 6 years.  It also supports the prejudiced views of those who have bought into the myth that the PJ made a shambles of the investigation on the grounds that they are not British.  Where are we now?  Who knows, we will have to wait for old Cool Hand to make his next move.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

I must admit I wanted to throw things at the telly whilst watching the Crimewatch programme, I found the idea of changing peoples' perceptions accompanied by the McCanns telling us what wonderful parents they are, particularly grating.  I can see that it is imperative the focus stays away from the McCanns during the investigation, the McCanns have history of clamming up and hiding behind lawyers when the going gets tough, so we must be nice to them.  However, the urge to scream 'why can't you see what I can see' often overwhelms me.

My worry was that this huge media furore would wreck the ongoing libel trial in Lisbon.  Goncalo Amaral deserves his day in Court.  I am outraged at the cruel and systematic way in which the McCanns have set out to destroy Goncalo Amaral's life, using their 'Britishness' to give the impression that we are all complicit.  

Their motives are spite and greed.  They have nothing to do with searching for their child. I want the Court to reject their 'poor me' claim for 1.2m Euros, and I want the world to see that Goncalo Amaral is a good man.  A police detective who began an investigation into the disappearance of a little girl 6.5 years ago, and who won't write 'file closed' until that little girl gets justice.  

Far from assisting the McCanns with their current libel trial in Lisbon, I think the recent publicity has had the opposite effect. Amongst other things they cannot prove, they are claiming that their search was harmed by Goncalo Amaral's book. This is clearly not the case, the headlines have never gone away, and there are plenty right now.  

However, what will be particularly damaging to the Libel trial, is the fact that the McCanns, never used the Smith sighting in any of their campaigns or fund raisers. And worse, some might say they perverted the course of justice, by focussing the world's attention on  the shaky sighting of Jane Tanner who only got a glimpse of the 'abductor', from a distance and in poor light.  The description given by Jane Tanner was hopelessly unreliable.  Within days she changed it completely by identifying Robert Murat as the man she saw carrying the child, a man with light brown hair, a detached retina, and wearing glasses, and immediately following her identification of Robert Murat, 3 of the tapas group suddenly remembered that they had seen him that night too. Jane has said 'it could be' to almost every face publicised in a long list of Madeleine's abductors, from large eggs with hair, to George Harrison lookalikes.  Dave Edgar 'the only professional' investigator employed by the McCanns said Jane could even have seen a woman -  though in his defence, it was during the time they were touting the e-fit of Posh Spice. 

The McCanns employed an ex FBI artist to draw a composite sketch of Tannerman and released it with a great fanfare, using it thereafter as the face of the man who took their daughter.  Ahh, but they didn't know about the Smith sighting you may say. Not true, it was a line of enquiry being pursued by Goncalo Amaral immediately prior to his being removed from the investigation.  The Smiths were contacted by representatives of the McCanns, but honourable people that they are, they preferred to stick with the official investigation. Off musing, I'm beginning to see a film here, The Incorruptibles, an honourable detective who never gave up and a lovely Irish family who know the meaning of integrity. 

But back to the Smith sighting. How could the McCanns not know about it?  They spent £100k from the Fund on having the PJ files translated and Kate has been reading them for years.  They also spent a lot of money on private investigators, possibly in excess of £1m, are we to believe that these 'big boys'* (as described by Clarence) missed this vital evidence too?

Those of us glued to this case have always questioned why the McCanns never publicised this sighting, the most credible they had - it came from outside the group of friends, and it supported their claim that Madeleine was abducted.  The Smith family group consisted of at least 3 adults who saw the 'abductor' in close proximinity.  So close in fact, that Mrs Smith asked the man if the child was sleeping.  He did not reply.  Their statements are indeed a revelation, and will probably top the list should anyone care to google them, and I suggest if you have got this far that you do.  This story seems to have a new director, and the bits that had previously been discarded on the cutting room floor are now being restored.  










*Big boys now facing criminal charges.   

Friday 4 October 2013

We can all go home now

We can all go home now, the McCanns are not suspects, Scotland Yard have spoken and they are the world's leading Detectives with links to James Bond.

I do wonder though if they are keeping the heat off Kate and Gerry by exonerating the infamous pair halfway through the investigation?  Has there ever been a case in the UK or indeed anywhere in the world, where detectives have declared the main protagonists as 'not suspects'? Its quite an odd thing to do, especially as the investigation is ongoing and could potentially lead anywhere.  

The pro trolls on twitter are jumping for joy and those who have lost all faith in humankind after following this case, are pessimistic, and shouting 'whitewash', and 'I told you so'.  I'm not convinced, it would be a risky strategy, who knows how many are involved, and how many of those involved would stand up to close scrutiny should their own 'interests' be analysed? Is trolling on the internet a recognised profession?    

It looks as though a lot of people have big secrets eating away at them and they probably do not have the calculating personalities of Gerry and Kate. Something has got to give, not least the ever present danger that someone within their circle might spill the beans and outdazzle the starry pair with their own true story of what happened. They are clearly not honourable people, and why should the McCanns get all the cash?  

Anyone could crack at anytime in the future, and the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. It's a big old secret to have hanging over you, and it will never go away, because the McCanns won't.  'We won't stop' said Kate, 'ever'.  My sympathy goes out to all of those on their mailing list.   

As some of us already know, there are people in the inner circle, and indeed on the periphery, of this case who will go to any lengths to protect whatever the hell it is they are protecting.  Many of these proactive supporters are, shall we say, very unstable, so much so, that I even fear for the McCanns themselves.  The magnitude of what has gone on to cover up the disappearance of this child, cannot be underestimated, especially in cash terms, it runs to telephone numbers.     

Why not a whitewash?  Prime Ministers like to leave a legacy, and putting right the wrongs of a former Prime Minister would contribute to that. As it stands, any blame for things that have gone wrong in this case  in the past, can be lain at the door of Gordon Brown.  David Cameron can be the knight on the white steed, who charged in to put it all right.  He gave the go ahead for the Review, he gave another £5m of public money and the go ahead for a full investigation.  He must now produce a living Madeleine and a swarthy abductor or criminal convictions. Oops, will not suffice.   

I could of course be completely wrong, and we are at War (of the media kind) with Portugal.  How dare you victimise our stricken British citizens, you dastardly foreigners - we won the war you know!  Pip pip.  The good old Beeb, (BBC) are putting out a special edition of Crimewatch, for the UK and at least another 4 countries that will prove beyond doubt, the McCanns are caring parents who deserve our love and (financial) support - please see link to the Madeleine Fund paypal button in the credits. 

Our 'official government approved' documentary supercedes your 'Truth of the Lie' documentary, and if you won't give Kate and Gerry 1.2m Euros, we will prove you are just being horrid to them and our Navy will prepare for war.  You have been told!

  

Ps.  This announcement has nowt at all to do with ongoing libel trial in Lisbon.
Pps.  In the event Truth of the Lie has higher ratings and more believers we reserve the right to claim a further 1m Euros + for the McCanns' descendants and their heirs and any children Madeleine may have had.

Ppps. The Madeleine Corporation are presently working on a Room 101 prototype should the government documentary fail.  




For indepth discussion:
http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/portal


Tuesday 1 October 2013

The Mythical Child

I know I keep harping back to A Few Good Men, but I really do foresee one of those Courtroom drama moments on Wednesday when Gerry takes the stand.  Lets face it, he's quite a character. Will he try to flirt with the Judge as he did with lovely Sandra Felgueiras?  Will he treat the Defendants' lawyers as if they are a bit simple, maybe speak to them crossly, as though he were their dad? Will he discuss Team McCanns' very clear objectives, their wider agenda? Balloon days and candlelight vigils, a Madeleine Day for the whole world? 

Perhaps he will discuss the mental health issues suffered by himself and his wife.  Jeez, you'd need a couple of weeks for that and 'ologists' of every variety will be writing about it for years to come. For myself, it will be one big old blog with everything my itchy little fingers have been dying to say this past 6 years.  

But I digress, I am particularly looking forward to hearing about the McCanns' obsessive desire to keep all horrid headlines out of the UK.   Maybe a clue lies in Kate's reaction to the first police suspicions: 'what will my parents say'.  Indeed. 

By now it must be clear to the whole world and its wife, that the McCanns are using the Madeleine Fund to finance malicious libel actions against anyone who questions them.  Not content with the huge financial rewards the McCanns had already received, they also wanted the Law changed to protect them against any crisis they may have in the future,  Happily, the government momentarily regained its senses before altering the 1689 Bill of Rights to protect 'The Search for Maddie', and sanity prevailed.  

Madeleine didn't reach the age of 4, the mythical child did. The cherubic picture of Madeleine in her red dress, bore no resemblance to the up to date picture of the little girl clutching the tennis balls that had been taken that week.  Regardless, the cute toddler picture was the one the parents decided to go with and by dawn the tapas group were handing out hastily run off A4 copies of the baby faced Madeleine in her Christmas frock.  

The picture became iconic, the pretty angelic child grabbed our attention, appealed to all our maternal and paternal emotions. The mythical child drove the mythical search, the only thing real was the cash that was piling up.  By June 2007, the McCanns went from not knowing they needed a Fund at all, to a desperate need for more and more cash. The newspapers rushed to get first front pages of a pretty little blonde girl peeping out from her Moroccan Mother's backpack without questioning why on earth an impoverished family from rural Morocco would want to steal a western child?  The search became more ridiculous and the headlines more sensational.

The parents registered their copyright to the mythical Madeleine brand and saturated the media with heart rendering pictures and appeals to the masses.  Again and again, the parents told us there was no evidence Madeleine had come to any harm, she was a real, findable child who could be returned to her loving family if we all prayed and contributed to her Fund.     

The mythical Madeleine is growing up before our eyes, as age progression pictures remind us of how she might look now.  We have a 6 year old Maddie,  an 8 year old Maddie and even an Asian Maddie, handy I suppose if her skin changes colour or she is being raised by a nice family with a place in the sun.  The UK backed the 'Madeleine is alive' myth, our own Scotland Yard producing the most recent image for the McCann Fund Campaign and a Court is threatening a man with prison if he dares say otherwise.  

The thing is, what does 'search' actually mean? I think it should be clearly defined, because some of the more virulent McCanns supporters are criminally insane.  I fear for young blonde girls the world over.  Actually, I fear too for swarthy foreigners who walk funny and of course Victoria Beckham lookalikes.  Obviously, child snatchers, the lot of them.  But sticking with hope.  I doubt there is a doctor or dentist on this planet who is not aware of Missing Madeleine and her very distinctive eye, presuming of course that she is being well cared for.  The 'Cleveland' option is unthinkable.

From a non cuckoo land perspective, the fact is both the blood and cadaver dogs alerted in Apartment 5A and Madeleine has not been seen for more than 6 years.  Why then are people being prosecuted for believing she is dead? 

Thursday 26 September 2013

KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid

I am a huge fan of The Thick of It, UK political satire for the uninitiated, an hilarious programme once you get past the cussing.  I actually find it quite amusing the number of ways in which they can use and abuse the 'F' word.  The Thick of It gives we mere mortals, an amazing insight into the machinations of politics. The main protagonist, Malcolm, is supposedly based on Alistair Campbell*.  As the wonderful Armando Iannucci has not been sued, we can only believe it is pretty close to what actually goes on.

By dawn on 4th May 2007 the story of Madeleine McCann disappearing was headline news on all the channels.  A break in had occurred, and a child had been abducted.  There was no room for speculation, those were the facts. The journalists did not have to write their own scripts they were being provided with them, straight from the horses mouth via several relatives and McCann enthusiast Michael Wright. As we now know, it was a carefully manipulated campaign, designed to appeal to the public's heart and of course, its purse strings.  How did Gordon get involved.  Vanity probably.  Politicians love nothing better than a popular bandwagon to leap on, particularly one that includes a cherubic little girl with a photogenic family who embody all that puts the Great into Britain.  It must have been a huge Oops moment, when they discovered there was more to the case than first appeared.  By then of course, it was too late to backtrack and they had to grin and carry on regardless.  Again, I refer you to 'The Thick of It'.   

I think orders probably came from on high that the parents were to be treated with kid gloves in the half arsed hope that it would all go away.  If it didn't, the story of 'Missing Madeleine McCann' made global headlines and lots of [publicity seekers] wanted a piece of the action, and a mention alongside an appealing pic of the missing child. It shows their fans what kind compassionate people they are,   I doubt those wellwishers imagined the McCanns would still be whining about what a hard deal they had 6 years later, and asking for more cash to put it right. 

The tv studios embraced them, their mumsy she-wolves protecting the stricken parents from the mythical mobs of haters and pitchforkers trying to batter down the studio doors.  Those doubting the McCanns were clearly jealous of the charming couple's loving marriage/beautiful children (minus one)/comfortable life etc, etc.  If you weren't with them supporting the search, you were against them, ergo a hater, ergo a chav.  

Alleged threats brought them more headlines and more donations from nice people. The 'masses' obviously hated the McCanns because of their success. So, they made a tiny mistake. All parents do.  Shame on the rabble who were only booing them because they had all their own teeth and good jobs. Journalists empathised with them, they were PLU (People Lie Us), one or maybe two generations away of the tenements who had made good. The McCanns were nice people who go to properly run holiday resorts and hotels, just like them, not on half price boozy excursions to Benidorm. How could it possibly be their fault?  The prols were obviously too blinded by their lust for Kate's earrings and matching necklace to have any understanding of the case. 

I'm going to have to say it, there is an underlying class war going on here.  The 'pro's' tend to be right wing extremists whose favourite word is 'ban'. They can apply it to almost everything.  When they are not trying to ban things, they are advocating a good thrashing for the riff raff who have the audacity not to believe the saintly pair.  Not for them a kebab and a swig of white lightning, the McCanns' cocktail parties are probably wall to wall with ambassadors and Ferrero rocher. No doubt discussing high profile good causes they can attach their names too, whilst ignoring the most obvious good cause of Kerry Needham.  

But I digress, there will always be conspiracy theories surrounding this case, some may even have legs.  I see it more as a runaway train driven by person(s) who don't know how to stop.  Is it lunatic (A) with his wider agenda? or lunatic (B) with her obsessive hatred?  What a combo.  Keep it simple, stupid.







*I believe Alistair found it amusing.

Ps.  Is it just me who has a  bit of a crush on bad boy Alistair?  And could it be used as part of an insanity plea in the future?    

Tuesday 24 September 2013

HATE AND GREED v TRUTH AND JUSTICE

So the kidnap threat gets filed away with all the other McCann press releases. No evidence of it. The trolls are not waving screenshots to back up the claim, and even if they did, they are not relevant (thank you Blacksmith ).   

The McCanns fought Goncalo Amaral's application for the trial to be heard in private. A small victory, but they got the press and cameras they wanted.  They got the headlines too, but at what cost to the twins, we can only imagine. This time however, it does not appear to have worked.  The public have not risen up in horror at the atrocities perpetrated on the suffering parents.  There have been no comforting chats about horrid anti middle class people who are jealous of them, on Lorraine's sofa and I doubt any stern letters have been sent off to the Portuguese Ambassador. The rioting in the streets Kate predicted hasn't happened.  Pretty sure the latest sensational headlines haven't helped the McCanns' press victim image one bit. Anyone following this trial will know they had a choice. Wonder what Hacked Off will make of that? 

People are beginning to question why the McCanns are pursuing a claim for 1.2m Euros from the detective who investigated the disappearance of their daughter.  They don't like his findings, who would? But does that really entitle them to all his cash and belongings? Hope they are not setting some sort of precedent.  'You said I did it, but can't prove it - gimme yer house'.  

What on earth is this trial all about?  Apart from money that is.  In my opinion, it is based on an irrational hatred that borders on insanity, and unbelievably a small group of professionals are going along with it.  What ho, nice work if you can get it.  They are however, faffing about telling us how depressed Kate was, how the twins may sometime in the future read something unpleasant (err, thats a future ALL kids can look forward to) and poor Gerry couldn't go on. Lets not forget, they could spare themselves (and us) all the pain simply by returning to Portugal en masse for a reconstruction and Kate answering the 48 questions. Its a bit like Dorothy's ruby slippers - it has always been within their power.  

Unfortunately their persecution of Goncalo Amaral has finally caught up with them.  They couldn't stop the trial - and they tried.  As expected, it has opened up all sorts of cans and worms are flying about everywhere.  Not least the revelation by Michael Wright that he has been 'monitoring' forums and social network sites since 2007. Has he sat on his hands for the last 6 year ignoring all the horrible things people were saying about his best buds?  

Those of us targetted by Team McCann's 'monitoring' would be very interested to hear more about this little revelation from the police.  Be in no doubt, the internet campaign has played a major part in this scam, and those of us on the receiving end of the 'monitoring' (defamation/intimidation/ threats etc) will be asking the police who the tormentors are and what action will be taken.  There is testimony that confirms this was an organised campaign.  But I'll save the internet wars for another day. 

Kate wants Goncalo Amaral to be miserable and live in fear.  But thats not enough, what she really really wants, are the royalties from his bestselling book. The McCanns did not sue Goncalo as soon as the book came out, they waited a year before issuing a Writ.

While the McCanns case is based on hate and greed, Goncalo Amaral's is based on truth, and justice for a little girl who went missing on 3rd May 2007, he has remained focused on seeing his job through until the end.  A hero of our time, a man who lost everything but kept his pride, his dignity and his honour. Now thats the film I want to see - the good guy comes up trumps!

For Goncalo this case is about the truth.  The truth that he and his team did not let the little girl down. The McCanns were lying when they said the PJ were doing nothing.  They had in fact launched the biggest missing child search in Portugal's history. Goncalo and his team worked night and day searching for Madeleine, giving up their holidays and neglecting their families.  The McCanns were criticising the police and most especially Goncalo on the world stage.  In the interests of Free Speech, was he not entitled to counter that with The Truth of The Lie?  





Truth of the Lie can be read here:
http://frommybigdesk.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/madeleine-mccann-in-books.html


Saturday 21 September 2013

GONCALO'S ACE

I think the kidnap threat is a sexed up version of the supposed death threats on the Madeleine Facebook group.  The McCanns were unbelievably successful with that particular scam and got the front pages of several tabloids.  Internet trolls are a hot topic at the moment and a great way to get sympathy.  By tweaking a few details they have made the latest version more sensational by changing the target from Kate to the twins.  Again, they are shamelessly using those children to manipulate public sympathy.  In my opinion that is wrong on every level and it needs saying!  

The story can no doubt be quickly disproved, but they have the headlines they wanted - 'Kidnap Threat to Twins'.  By the time it is revealed as a hoax, the damage will already have been done. All the public will remember is the kidnap threat. Similarly while most people recall that Goncalo's Amaral's book was banned.  The fact that the ban was overturned and it is back on sale passes them by.    

The McCanns still appear to be pulling the strings, they have learned a lot media tricks over the years.  Goncalo was obviously way ahead of us in asking for the trial to be heard in private.  He probably foresaw what was going to happen. The McCanns will fight back with what they do best. Negative propaganda. They are clearly prepared to get down in the mud and the blood and the beer with this latest outrageous story.  Lets hope the Judge can see the histrionics for what they are.  As for Dr. Amaral. he really doesn't have to do very much at all, he has an Ace up his sleeve - The Truth.  


Wednesday 11 September 2013

FORCA GONCALO Part II

Almost a year ago I wrote a blog entitled Forca Goncalo, it was ahead of a trial that turned out to be postponed.  At that time I was irked at the personal attacks on Dr. Goncalo Amaral and the particularly vindictive way in which they used his marriage problems and personal life to attack him.

I wanted to speak out on behalf of warring couples everywhere and extend a middle finger to those smug marrieds who sit holding hands and never exchange a cross word. 

We cannot even begin to imagine the stress Goncalo and Sophia must have been under this past 6 years. The McCanns had launched the most successful media campaign for a missing child the world has even seen, and Detective Amaral was the evil baddie keeping the angelic cherub away from her tragic heroine mother.  The world hears what it wants to, and the basic fairytale premise was shifting tabloids by the baleful. 

In defence of Goncalo and Sophia, no human could have withstood the the pressure they were under.  And if on occasion the words, 'I love you, I hate you' have been thrown around, so what?  If a person goes through their life never having a love so passionate it drives them insane, I pity them.  Time heals, it gives you something to giggle about in your dotage. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtkIpuVmDkY

To Sophia and Goncalo

The calm, calculating McCanns however, remain firmly stuck together, God help them, surviving a trauma that would have torn most families apart.  Their relationship remains unscathed, apart from Kate's rather undignified 'I couldn't make love to Gerry' on the front page of the Sun.  In recounting her holiday, in her 'honest' book Kate merrily relates: Gerry off for his third tennis match of the day while she calmly bathes the three best behaved toddlers in the world. I personally would have rugby tackled him before he reached the door and set about him with a frying pan, while screaming 'its my holiday too'.  

In contrasting their own Stepford Family existence to the family life of the Amarals, they have placed themselves in the unfortunate position of having to hold hands and coo at each other whenever a camera is pointed in their direction.  One shudders at the thought. I know which couple I prefer.

The McCanns have been the perfect media couple.  A fine example of family life in Britain today (apart from losing a child) and role models for the riff raff. They were used to spearhead the Amber Alert Campaign, preaching to us (their fave role) Kate became Ambassador and Gerry headed up Hacked Off.  Hopefully there will be enough left in Fund to erect statues in Rothley town square. 

However, before they start knocking up the cement, they should know their automaton behaviour is fooling no-one other than their 'Misery' inspired fanbase.  Or 'the possessed' as I have come to think of them

The sane people in the UK, and there are still a few of us left, wish you all the best for tomorrow Dr. Amaral. You are a credit to your family, to the PJ, to your Nation, and to the fight for truth and justice everywhere.  Forca Goncalo.  



Monday 9 September 2013

Oscar Wilde - A Libel Trial of Woe

Oscar Wilde with Lord Alfred Douglas 'Bosie'


In the summer of 1891, a passionate love affair began between two men, that scandalised society and ended the career, and some might say, the life, of one history's greatest literary geniuses.


Oscar Wilde


The magnificent Oscar Wilde, was by then 38, an established author,  and a renowned wit - the most sought after guest at every dinner party.  A flamboyant character,  he may not have been the full on 'Lord Byron - Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know', but he was perhaps a cheekier, some might say, more eloquent version - a linguist who could cram into a few words, that which the rest of us dare not say out loud - even if we could. His humour was risque, his lifestyle questionable, but this only enhanced his popularity, until that was, at the height of his fame he became locked in a legal battle, that no-one could realistically win.    

The whole saga began in the summer of 1891 when Oscar met the vivacious and strikingly handsome 22 year old Lord Alfred Douglas - Bosie, as he was affectionately known. It led to a passionate and tumultuous relationship between the pair, that would wreck the author's life and send waves of panic through the establishment.  Oscar Wilde's downfall began with a libel trial that would send shivers down the spines of potential libel claimants for evermore. 


Lord Alfred Douglas 'Bosie'


Bosie was the youngest son of the Marquess of Queensberry, yes he of the Queensberry boxing rules. The Marquess was one of the old establishment, a stern, angry man who had recently lost his eldest son and heir Francis, to suspected suicide.  There were rumours of an alleged homosexual affair between Francis and the then Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, when he had been Foreign Secretary.  Lord Queensberry was a melting pot of rage and his youngest son, Bosie's relationship with Oscar Wilde incensed him. 


The Marquess of Queensbury


From what we have have seen so far of this poisonous little tale, homosexuality was pretty rife among politicians and the landed gentry at that time.  But, like the poor dying of hunger, it was a taboo subject - something you didn't talk about at the dinner table. From what I can see and from the historical research I have done (Black Lace novels), the ruling classes were pretty much up to all sorts - as long as it didn't scare, or indeed involve, the horses.

The golden couple of the age, Oscar and Bosie, were a breath of fresh air in Victorian London.  They crossed barriers of good taste and propriety and encouraged others to do the same. It was all jolly good fun.  The saucy sniggers became full blown guffaws, corsets were unbuttoned and closet doors were flying open. Society was changing.  
Oscar strode the world's stage


'This angered the workhouse master, and he swore by all the Gods'*. Lord Queensberry was very angry indeed that his son was flaunting his unconventional relationship all around town.  He was determined to have revenge on Oscar Wilde, no matter what.  Thus began Lord Queensbury's campaign to wreck Oscar Wilde's life. The final straw for Oscar came when Lord Queensbury left a calling card with a hotel porter, accusing Oscar of 'posing as a sodomite'. Its meaning is open to interpretation, but in any event, the devastating evidence presented by the Defence during the libel trial rendered word games unnecessary.   

Why did Oscar go ahead with his libel trial knowing that so much could be brought against him?  Perhaps he felt he had no choice. The Marquess of Queensberry was never going to end his vendetta. In issuing his libel writ, perhaps he thought that his powerful rhetoric would win the day, and that the society he had charmed and enlightened would stand by him. Sadly, he was soon to discover that his meteoric rise to the highest echelons of society could only be matched by his catastrophic fall from grace.  When there is a threat to the establishment, they quickly close ranks.  You wont find any spontaneous choruses of 'Consider Yourself One of Us' in any Jane Austen ball rooms. 



As the great and good condemned homosexuality from the pulpits, Oscar Wilde served two years hard labour.  His fortune lost and any new found liberal attitudes towards sex had been stamped out. Sulky aristos climbed back into their wardrobes to read about dashing highwaymen and their wives resumed their tut tutting. Considerably more of God's little creatures were shot and torn to shreds to the shouts of 'tally ho', while the servants were made to pray more and work harder. I expect sales of flogging gear went up. 

Oscar Wilde became the martyr for their sins. He was the sacrifice they were willing to make in order to maintain the status quo. If they were seen to punish a sexual deviant, they couldn't possibly be guilty of it themselves. The only thing they lacked was a crucifix.   

I do not know why Oscar Wilde pursued his case to Court. He was indeed guilty of much he was accused of and he was guilty too, of believing that others could see the world as he saw it.  He may even have been naive, or perhaps brave, enough to think he could change public opinion, and perhaps even the laws on homosexuality.  He began by defending himself confidently, eloquently telling the world about the love that dare not speak its name.  But by the end, he was defeated.  The civil trial led to criminal trials [homosexuality was illegal] and a number of rent boys, were only too willing to appear for the Defence. Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labour, his health was destroyed and he died far too young.   


The love that dare not speak its name

Perhaps love had driven him insane, who knows, maybe he was the Irish upstart who held a mirror up to the shallowness of the ruling classes.  It reflected their own hedonism, and it was held by someone who knew secrets about them. Perhaps the world did for a moment, tilt a little towards liberalism, but the influence of the sombre old Queen and her long dead dictatorial husband, brought society back to its rigid, ordered, Apollonian ideology, a society where there was no place for non conformists. Homosexuality clearly flew in the face of the accepted family values espoused by the glorious Regina, the aged Queen who refused to acknowledge lesbianism on that grounds that women wouldn't do that. Homosexual men did not fare so well.  They lived in fear of being blackmailed and caste out of society. Victorian values were firmly established during those years, and even now, sentimental old tories smile with fondness at the idea of restoring them. 

Oscar's libel trial was ill advised. Perhaps his passion had driven him into the realms of megalomania, a common trait in geniuses, he was not listening to the sound advice of his friends. He knew he was right to complain about Lord Queensbury's harrassment of him but in claiming libel he was putting himself in the dock.  








*Christmas Day in the Workhouse - Author unknown.