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Gerry's Blog/Diary - Days 51 to
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Day 100 - 11/08/2007
- Saturday
Day100. Just another day but a significant
milestone that we prayed we would never have to face without Madeleine.
The prayer service here in Praia da Luz had a huge media presence, but in no way being
intrusive, all aligned outside. The service itself was fantastically
well attended with a huge turnout from the local community, which was
very important to us.
The service was very comforting. There were contributions
from Kate and myself, our family, the Anglican and Portuguese
communities. Haynes, the Anglican minister, said a few poignant words
about the events of this week, which were very touching. We said prayers
for Madeleine and other children who are suffering.
Everyone in the congregation lit candles, which were placed on the
altar. The message from the service was that although 100 days
have passed we have not given up hope of finding Madeleine.
In the afternoon we went to a local swimming pool and play
area with the kids and their cousins. They had a great time swimming,
playing with tennis balls and generally messing around. Needless to say
they also managed an ice cream! It has been really good for the twins
having other children here, especially since they have not been to the
kids club for a few days.
We spoke to our family about the events in Glasgow and Liverpool.
There was warm response at both venues and clearly many people are very
happy to show support. Unfortunately we did not see any of the coverage
on television. We did see highlights of the English premier league last
night and note many of the clubs chose to wear Madeleine t-shirts and
wristbands as well as playing the Don’t You Forget
About Me video. There was also events at the rugby internationals and Ascot racecourse with 12 international jockeys wearing
Madeleine t-shirts. The fact that so many people are prepared to show
solidarity with us in our search for our daughter does help restore our
faith in humanity.
There was a statement from the Portuguese
police today regarding the recent activity in the investigation and
media speculation. They confirmed that there are new leads and that we
are not suspects in Madeleines disappearance. Other
tests are outstanding and Kate and I do hope that these take us forward
in finding out who took Madeleine and where she is. Unfortunately we
have to add patience to our other characteristics. |
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Day 99- 10/08/2007 -
Friday
Today Kate and I did a series of TV
interviews for Portuguese and foreign TV. It has always been very
important to us that we speak to the Portuguese people directly since we
are in their country and have received such tremendous support,
particularly from the local community. We again talked about the
YouTube channel Don’t You Forget Me which was launched yesterday.
Naturally we were also asked about the events of this week, which has
been incredibly difficult for us with wild speculation in the media. We
have always been told that the police had an open mind about Madeleines abduction and that all
scenarios were possible.
In the first few days after Madeleines disappearance it was so difficult for us
not to imagine the worst case scenario: that she had been taken and
murdered, particularly in light of the statistics on child abduction.
However as the massive investigation and extensive search did not find
any evidence of serious harm to Madeleine, we started to hope that she
would be found alive. This belief has been encouraged by the police and
reinforced by the experts at the National
Center
for Missing and Exploited Children on my recent visit to Washington. There have been a number of
children recovered, even after years of abduction, and whom the
authorities had thought must be dead.
Everything we have done in the last 99 days in the campaign
to help find Madeleine has been driven by fact that all our family and
friends feel that there is a reasonable chance Madeleine is still alive.
Kate and I, like all parents of missing children will always have that
hope unless we see concrete evidence to the contrary. It is this hope
that has sustained us along with the overwhelming support we have
received from family, friends and well-wishers. As parents, we have
always said we need to know what has happened to our daughter who has
been such a massive part of our life. If the current police activity
does uncover new evidence that Madeleine has been seriously harmed we
should be the first to know.
We have always felt that the best chance of finding
Madeleine is through the police investigation. We have done our best to
get relevant information in to the enquiry, particularly from tourists
who were in the
Algarve
around the time of her abduction. The fact that Madeleine could have
been moved out of
Portugal
easily in the first few hours has been the reason the campaign has had
to have an international dimension. One in six missing children in
North America are found as a direct
result of high awareness through distribution of posters and media
exposure.
Tonight we attended the weekly vigil to pray
for Madeleine and other missing children. These services have a calm
serenity, which allow us to contemplate quietly. There was also a vigil
in Rothley
attended by family and friends. Tomorrow we will be marking the 100 day
very quietly with a prayer service in Praia da
Luz. Other family will be at the world pipe band
chamionships in
Glasgow and on the streets in
Liverpool. A number of sporting events will also be marking
the day.
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Day 98 - 09/08/2007
- Thursday
We did a series of pooled
interviews for TV and the press. The focus was to discuss the launch of the
YouTube
channel Don’t you forget about me which we have devised
in conjunction with Google and the International Center for Missing and
Exploited Children. YouTube is used by tens of
millions of people mainly in the 16-24 age group. We
think this is an incredibly exciting innovation to raise awareness of missing
children. The channel is launched at lunchtime today and will have other videos
of missing children. Families and other agencies will be able to upload videos
of children that will help to raise awareness of their disappearance.
The rest of the interviews focussed on the events of the
last week. We again emphasised that we do not know of any evidence that
Madeleine has been seriously harmed and everything we have done is in the belief
it is likely to increase the chances of finding her. Unfortunately the media
attention has been very intrusive and we have taken the children out of kids
club due to the disruption caused. We hope this settles down and the kids can
get back into their routine which has kept them very settled in the last 98
days. It is a shame that the media attention has also impacted on other
holidaymakers which we certainly dont want.
We did manage to have a quiet dinner with
our family and the kids. |
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Day 97 - 08/08/2007 -
Wednesday
Kates parents left early this morning. We did a
short interview on how our faith has helped us during the last 3 months since
Madeleines
abduction. Given the events of the last few days we need to draw even greater
strength from our faith and everyone who has supported us.
With the huge
amount of media attention on us again it is very difficult to do anything with
the kids without them being filmed and it is unfair on them. There is a huge
amount of speculation in the media that Madeleine is dead, particularly with the
obvious change in strategy of the investigation recently. At our meeting with
the Portuguese police today we reaffirmed that we have to believe Madeleine is
alive until there is concrete evidence to the contrary. It is this belief that
has driven everything we have done in relation to publicising
Madeleines disappearance over the
last 3 months.
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Day 96 - 07/08/2007
- Tuesday
Kate and I managed an early morning run today. It was pleasantly cooler, with a
refreshing breeze, which made a nice change. The media presence in Praia da Luz is at its greatest since the first couple of weeks,
as is the amount of speculation and rumour regarding the investigation.
This morning we agreed to do a short, pooled interview that was made available
to all broadcasters worldwide. We wanted to make it clear, that as far as we
know, there is still absolutely no evidence that Madeleine has been seriously
harmed and Kate and I have to believe she is still alive. The Portuguese police
have assured us on numerous occasions that they are looking for Madeleine and
not a corpse. Of course all possibilities are being considered and the police
have to be certain before eliminating any of the scenarios. It is absolutely
right that we are subject to the same high standards of investigation as anyone
else. Kate and I have, and will continue to assist the police in every possible
way.
We hope there is a breakthrough in the investigation very soon. In the meantime
the campaign to keep the public involved in the search for Madeleine continues.
We are always trying to think of ideas that will reach people who may not have
heard of Madeleines
disappearance. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon working on forthcoming
events but did manage to squeeze in a much-needed haircut! |
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Day 95 - 06/08/2007 -
Monday
Today was again very busy. Lots of
e-mails and telephone calls to family and friends who have been involved in the
campaign to find Madeleine. I went to a large office store in
Portimao to buy a new printer and ink, both of which were
badly needed after all the posters we produced this last week.
There has been lots of media attention on the latest police searches. We are
pleased that the investigation remains so active and we are cooperating fully
with the Portuguese and British police, as we have done since day 1. We
continue to hope and pray daily for that vital breakthrough or sighting that
will lets us be reunited as a family. |
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Day 94 - 05/08/2007
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Sunday
2nd version new website
We attended church this morning as usual. The local
priest father Manuel is on holiday so the mass was all in Portuguese and
although quicker than normal we did not understand too much of the sermon.
I note there was a lot of coverage of
Kates
interview in the Sunday newspapers today. I managed to read one of them and
certainly seemd to sum up very well how we are
feeling and coping without Madeleine. The key message is that we are doing
everything we can to help find Madeleine.
After lunch we had
a meeting with
our campaign manager and
Kates family to run through a few things which will
be happening this week. There was going to be a lot of media here leading up to
the 100 days although we still hope we will not get to that marker, even before
this latest search by the Portuguese police.
Kate and I popped back down to the church later on tonight to say a few quiet
prayers for Madeleine. The town is much busier at night
than when we first came
here on holiday and ieven compared to a few weeks
ago.
Computer glitches now sorted out thanks to Calum at
infohost. |
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Day 94 - 05/08/2007
1st version old website
We attended
church this morning as usual. The local priest father Manuel
is on holiday so the
mass was all in Portuguese and although quicker than normal
we did not understand too much of the sermon.
I note there was a lot of coverage of Kates interview in the
Sunday newspapers today. I managed to read one of them and
certainly seemd to sum up very well how we are feeling and
coping without Madeleine. The key message is that we are
doing everything we can to help find Madeleine.
After lunch we had
a
metting with
our campaign manager and Kates family to run through a few
things which will be happening rhis week. There was going to
be a lot of media here leading up to the 100 days although
we still hope we will not get to that marker, even before
this latest search by the Portuguese police.
Kate and I popped back down to the church later on tonight
to say a few quiet
prayers for Madeleine. The town is much
busier
at tnight than
when we first came
here on holiday and ieven compared to a
few weeks ago.
Computer glitches now sorted out thanks to Calum at infohost. |
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Day 93 - 04/08/2007 -
Saturday
2nd version new website
Another early start to the day
as I dropped the crew who did some filming for the website
and other forthcoming events. Kate and I did a short
interview reviewing the last 3 months and the search for
Madeleine. We spent the rest of the day with the kids and
Kate’s family. We were all glad it clouded over in the
afternoon to give us some respite from the intense heat.
The most recent searches by the police have attracted a lot
of renewed media interest with satellite trucks arriving
back in Praia da Luz. It is likely that some of the British
Broadcasters will also come back out.
We were all
very tired and we managed to get off to bed at 10.30pm,
which is very early for us by recent standards |
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Day 93 - 04/08/2007
1st version old website
Another early start to the day as I dropped the crew
who did some filming for the website and oth |
