The repair of the blinds in the master bedroom

Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

Châtelaine wrote:Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

The 1st May.

". Questioned, the deponent states that in the scope of his functions and the day before the disappearance of the child, he only came into contact with the mother of the same, whose name he does not know;
. This happened on Tuesday, the first of May, in the sequence of a service that he had to carry out in the apartment where this family was staying, also known as Block G5, Letter A;
. This serviced was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, together with his colleague who is named Mario, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents of the minor;

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LUIS-FERRO.htm

Thank you very much, Seahorse!
I knew, it was early in the holiday week, but not exactly when.

Hypothetically there could have been an accident with the straps of the blinds [fatal strangulation - unfortunately something which can happen to unattended children, especially in unfamiliar surroundings] in the only place, where there cannot be discussion/doubt about the presence of cadaver scent.

The same day, the second full day of the holiday, the same employees were asked to explain the workings of the washing machine ...

Châtelaine wrote:Thank you very much, Seahorse!
I knew, it was early in the holiday week, but not exactly when.

Hypothetically there could have been an accident with the straps of the blinds [fatal strangulation - unfortunately something which can happen to unattended children, especially in unfamiliar surroundings] in the only place, where there cannot be discussion/doubt about the presence of cadaver scent.

The same day, the second full day of the holiday, the same employees were asked to explain the workings of the washing machine ...

Châtelaine wrote:Thank you very much, Seahorse!
I knew, it was early in the holiday week, but not exactly when.

Hypothetically there could have been an accident with the straps of the blinds [fatal strangulation - unfortunately something which can happen to unattended children, especially in unfamiliar surroundings] in the only place, where there cannot be discussion/doubt about the presence of cadaver scent.

The same day, the second full day of the holiday, the same employees were asked to explain the workings of the washing machine ...

Yes, that could be a possibility. It happens quite often tragically.

I can't find a clear picture of the blinds in the parents' bedroom, but here's the bedroom:



I never realised the windows were like patio doors.

So the blinds would go all the way to the floor?

seahorse wrote:I never realised the windows were like patio doors. So the blinds would go all the way to the floor?

Does anybody know if those doors led out on to the balcony with the flowerbed under it? All those places have Eddie in common. Also another random idea - it has often been thought that the holiday photos might not be entirely genuine. Some people think this is because she might have died earlier in the holiday. But could it be because she was in the flat for long periods and the photos are designed to show that she was 'outside' when she wasn' t? Probably completely wrong but worth sharing my thoughts. Best to answer that on another thread to avoid this one going OT though.

Châtelaine wrote:Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

From witness statement of Luis Ferro maintenance man.

Questioned, the deponent states that in the scope of his functions and the day before the disappearance of the child, he only came into contact with the mother of the same, whose name he does not know;
. This happened on Tuesday, the first of May, in the sequence of a service that he had to carry out in the apartment where this family was staying, also known as Block G5, Letter A;
. This serviced was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, together with his colleague who is named Mario, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents of the minor;
. In this sequence, the deponent and his colleague also taught the mother of the child how to operate the washing machine;

ETA should have read thread to the end questioned already answered.

None of us know what happened Chatelaine, so your original idea might be right but there is no harm in thinking of new ideas! I can also answer my own question from earlier on this topic. I found this report http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PAUL_GORDON.htm which states that the master bedroom of the flat has double doors that lead to the balcony (veranda). This ties up with what was said earlier about Eddie on the balcony and in the flowerbed below. If you add to that the story about the blinds in the bedroom needing fixing on May the 1st and a lot of things are making some kind of sense. May still be totally wrong but this is what my boss calls 'joined up thinking'!

seahorse wrote:

Châtelaine wrote:Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

The 1st May. This service was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents

Isn't that almost exactly the official time of the tennis balls photograph? An amazing coincidence

"Joined up thinking" is my middle name, Cat :-)

Neveronasunday wrote:

seahorse wrote:

Châtelaine wrote:Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

The 1st May. This service was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents

Isn't that almost exactly the official time of the tennis balls photograph? An amazing coincidence

***
If ever, I would want to analyse the credibility of one of their photos, the tennis balls photograph is my "favourite". Not only because the child looks like frightened and eager to please therefore, but also because there are too many people claiming to have made it ....

Neveronasunday wrote:

seahorse wrote:

Châtelaine wrote:Anyone remember what day the shutters in 5As master bedroom [where cadaver odor was detected] had to be repaired?

The 1st May. This service was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents

Isn't that almost exactly the official time of the tennis balls photograph? An amazing coincidence

Ah but did Kate not say she left them to fix the blind after they showed her how to work the washer? Probably retrofitted as she realused her boo boo.
Will see if I can find reference.

While you're doing that, CI, here's confirmation that the tennis lesson was also 10-11am on 1 May, coinciding exactly with the blinds being fixed

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/Georgina_Jackson.htm

"She relates it was one of the preferred activities of the McCann couple in that they had several lessons throughout the days and up to the date of the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, it being that the child also had a class, on Tuesday, 1 May (10-11h00), that class [in which] she was among a group of children was conducted by the deponent."

Now what can all this mean? Is the tennis balls photograph an "alibi" for the photographer as well as the subject? At the tennis rather than in 5A?

The fact that the master bedroom is one of the few places where Eddie appears to have indicated cadaver scent (rather than possibly blood) makes me think it's worth concentrating on

I do recommend looking at this timeline for 1 May which I shall also be ploughing through in the next few hours (link below):

http://forum2.aimoo.com/MadeleineMcCann/Tuesday-May-1st/TUESDAY-May-1st-Timeline-from-Statements-1-796618.html

Then there is this weird story

" in Barragem do Arade reservoir, 35 miles east of Praia da Luz where the four-year-old went missing on May 3 last year. Five days into the search, the divers - of the local firm Dive Time - have already found a 15-ft length of blind cord knotted together ... "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577580/Divers-search-lake-for-Madeleine-McCann.html

Best I can do for now is where Kate says Madeleine and Ella arrived at the tennis courts during Gerry's lesson which started at 1015. Therefore Kate was already there. Now even supposing the workmen arrived at bang on 10 then showed her how to work the machine it's a bit of a stretch to believe she was already chatting to Rachel by the courts.
From the bewk

Thus Kate McCann tells us in her book (madeleine), clearly and unambiguously, exactly where her daughter Madeleine was that Tuesday morning, May 1st. She arrived at the tennis courts, together with Ella O'Brien, during Gerry's tennis lesson, which had started at 10.15. She was not therefore where she should have been at that time – with her kid's club playmates, at the pool.

Of course there is confusion as to when the photo was taken anyway.

Thanks to Anna Andress

I've spent the day today feeling quite confused about what the police are being reported as having said, such as the statement about the tennis balls photo in today's Sky News article. The voice-over on the video on this page describes a tennis match played by Kate and Gerry as being the "backdrop to her last photo." I don't recall reading about that tennis match and Maddie being ball girl in any of the statements by the McCanns or their friends. The tennis balls photo was originally stated to have been taken by someone, Kate McCann or Jane Tanner, on the day that Madeleine's creche group took part in "Mini Tennis." That was on Tuesday, May 1st 2007, according to Kate McCann in her book, "Madeleine."

Kate McCann states in her book that she ran back to the apartment to get her camera to record the occasion. So, she wasn't playing tennis and Madeleine wasn't being ball girl on the occasion that photo was taken! Rachael claims that Jane Tanner took the photo. There is also a question of who was actually there at the time because of discrepancies in describing which tennis court the Mini Tennis was held on and whether it was taken on that day or on another day. If the tennis balls photo was taken at Mini Tennis on May 1st, how can it be the "last photo," of Madeleine when Sky news prints the image below as having been taken on the day before Madeleine disappeared, which would be May 2nd?

Found this with thanks to Dr Martin Roberts who is quoting from the bewk I think.

Kate McCann (2011): 'On Tuesday 1 May, after my tennis lesson, two maintenance workers came to have a look at our washing machine, which I couldn't get to operate. Gerry had also managed to break the window shutter mechanism in our bedroom shortly after we'd arrived, in spite of the sign asking guests to be gentle with it. What can I say? It's the Gerry touch . . . The two men looked at the washing machine first. Once they'd established that the problem was something simple – not quite as simple as me not having pressed the 'on' button, but not much more complicated than that – I went to meet Gerry, whose lesson had started at ten-fifteen, leaving them to fix the shutter.'

Quick question as I've forgotten the answer...

Was it verified by anyone independent (maintenance workers etc) that the shutters were broke and were fixed when K said they were.

Same question for the washing machine as well......

Thanks.

Andrew wrote:Quick question as I've forgotten the answer...

Was it verified by anyone independent (maintenance workers etc) that the shutters were broke and were fixed when K said they were.

Same question for the washing machine as well......

Thanks.

I think I have seen the repair note in the PJ files, for either that or David Payne's fridge!

Here you go from the maintenance worker....


370 to 371 Witness statement of Luis Filipe Monteiro Ferro 2007.05.07
02-Processos Volume II Pages 370 - 371

TRANSLATION BY INES




02_VOLUME_IIa_Page_370

02_VOLUME_IIa_Page_371

Luis Felipe Monteiro Ferro

Date/Time: 2007/05/07 13H00
Maintenance Worker
Portuguese

Concerning the issue of the process said;
. That he comes to the process as a witness;
. That he is employed in maintenance in the Ocean Club resort since March of 2006;
. That in this resort he is charged with maintaining the pools and all that is related to the lodgings;
. That in the sequence of his functions he circulates the resort, without restrictions, knowing it reasonably well;
. Questioned, states that he is aware of the missing English child whose name is Madeleine, a situation which he became aware of on Friday, the 04 of May, after the notices were released in the media;
. States that on the day of the disappearance of this child he worked at the resort until about 15H30;
. Questioned, the deponent states that in the scope of his functions and the day before the disappearance of the child, he only came into contact with the mother of the same, whose name he does not know;
. This happened on Tuesday, the first of May, in the sequence of a service that he had to carry out in the apartment where this family was staying, also known as Block G5, Letter A;
. This serviced was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, together with his colleague who is named Mario, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents of the minor;
. In this sequence, the deponent and his colleague also taught the mother of the child how to operate the washing machine;
. The woman in question was alone in the apartment;
. The only places of the apartment where the deponent and his colleague entered was the kitchen and the parent's bedroom;
. The deponent states that short of that service does not know of any other work carried out in the apartment since the arrival of that family in the resort and the disappearance of the girl;
. Questioned, the deponent states that days before the disappearance of the little girl, no one spoke to him strangely about the tourists, the children which accompanied them or other facilities of the resort. He also did not hear conversations of this nature with other persons;
. Regarding the presence of people or persons which presented with a strange conduct near the resort, in the past with special attention to the disappearance of the child, the deponent states that he noted nothing abnormal;
. States that only about four months ago he noticed the presence of three gypsies close to a resort warehouse, situated close to the Millenium Restaurant, who were taking existing firewood from there;
. The deponent knows that in that resort zone, as it is a zone of warehouse and also little traffic, it is frequented by individuals of gypsy origin looking for scrap;
. Various robberies have already occurred in this zone and the deponent is of the conviction that the authors of these crimes are individuals of gypsy ethnicity whose identification he does now know;
. Questioned, the deponent states that since the disappearance of the girl Madeleine, until today, he has heard no commentaries that could help clarify the motive for the disappearance, and as this, does not have more information that could help to this end;
.And nothing further was said. She has read the statement, finds it in conformity and signs it;
. The document is duly signed by me...
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LUIS-FERRO.htm

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARIO_MOREIRA.htm

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/LUIS-FERRO.htm

Yes, it appears it was verified then.

Eta - Just seen your post. Thanks CF.

chirpyinsect wrote:Found this with thanks to Dr Martin Roberts who is quoting from the bewk I think.

Kate McCann (2011): 'On Tuesday 1 May, after my tennis lesson, two maintenance workers came to have a look at our washing machine, which I couldn't get to operate. Gerry had also managed to break the window shutter mechanism in our bedroom shortly after we'd arrived, in spite of the sign asking guests to be gentle with it. What can I say? It's the Gerry touch . . . The two men looked at the washing machine first. Once they'd established that the problem was something simple – not quite as simple as me not having pressed the 'on' button, but not much more complicated than that – I went to meet Gerry, whose lesson had started at ten-fifteen, leaving them to fix the shutter.'

Given that Kate, according to her book, had tennis lessons from 9.15am to 10.15am, then that would mean that she would have had to rush back from tennis which finished at 10.15pm to make sure that she could be at the apartment when the maintenance workers arrived to show her how to operate the washing machine and also to mend the window shutter mechanism in their bedroom.

According to the rogatory of one of the maintenance men:

This happened on Tuesday, the first of May, in the sequence of a service that he had to carry out in the apartment where this family was staying, also known as Block G5, Letter A;
. This serviced was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, together with his colleague who is named Mario, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents of the minor;
. In this sequence, the deponent and his colleague also taught the mother of the child how to operate the washing machine;
. The woman in question was alone in the apartment;

At 10am on Tuesday morning Kate was still playing tennis as her session did not end until 10.15pm so who let the maintenance men into apartment 5A at 10am? Kate in her book makes no mention of finishing her lesson early.

According to Kate in her book: "I went to meet Gerry, whose lesson had started at ten-fifteen, leaving them to fix the shutter.......During Gerry's tennis lesson, Madeleine and Ella came to the adjoining court with their Mini club for a mini-tennis session. Jane and I stayed to watch them."

There is then a purple passage about how Kate is so choked with pride that she runs back to the apartment to get her camera and record the occasion.

However, according to the Lobster Mini Club activity sheet, Mini Tennis and grass time are from 10am to 11am on Monday 30th April . The activity for Tuesday from 10am to 11am is 'splash and swim' pool time.

It's possible that the activities were switched around but Kate does not mention this and there is no indication that this happened from the creche records.

In any event, it is quite clear from the Mini Club records that the Mini Club activity started at 10am, so - even if the activities had been switched and Madeleine and Ella's  group really had played tennis that day - Kate's claim that Madeleine and Ella's  group came to the adjoining court with their Mini Club for a mini-tennis session "during Gerry's tennis session" conflicts with the Mini Club activity timetable. Given that the Mini club activity session - whatever it was (!) started at 10am, then Madeleine and Ella and the rest of the Mini club Lobster group members would have arrived not during Gerry's tennis session which didn't start until 10.15pm but during Kate's hour long tennis session which didn't end until 10.15pm.

Tuesday morning is highly sensitive, imo. Not to mention the washing machine, shutters and also the Mini Club mini-tennis session.

Of note is that Kate is remarkably quiet about the events of Monday. No mention of what the children - including Madeleine - did that day. She only states that in the evening she and Jane went to the supermarket to stock up on a few 'essentials' as the next day was a public holiday.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id351.html

Am I right in saying that the only places in and around 5A where Eddie barked but Keela did not detect are the master bedroom,  the verandah and the flowerbed underneath? I know some plant branches were taken away for blood analysis but the results seem to have been negative

This represents a natural sequence because the bedroom double doors (with the blinds) open out onto the verandah  - though this has rarely been pointed out - and the flowerbed is directly underneath. Previously it looked as if the cadaver scent may have been all over the place

In addition, Tuesday morning (when the blinds were being fixed) looks significant. Too many people are unsure about what they were doing and the time lines are all over the place

"Luckily" we have the tennis balls photo to prove the whereabouts of two of them. But the photographer is disputed

It appears that some people may not have been where they said they were between 10 and 11 on 1 May

Maybe at least one of them was some way from Ocean Club that morning

seahorse wrote:Then there is this weird story

" in Barragem do Arade reservoir, 35 miles east of Praia da Luz where the four-year-old went missing on May 3 last year. Five days into the search, the divers - of the local firm Dive Time - have already found a 15-ft length of blind cord knotted together ... "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1577580/Divers-search-lake-for-Madeleine-McCann.html

From the PJ Files:

When asked about the events being investigated he [Mario Domingos Moreira] says that he only saw the girl's mother once. This happened during the exercise of his functions, and after instruction from his superiors he went to apartment 5 A.

His services had been requested because the shutters in the bedroom at the back of the apartment, facing the Tapas restaurant were damaged and with the aim of providing the mother with instructions regarding the operation of the washing machine. When asked, he said that the damage to the blinds was centred on the pull-handle, limiting their opening. He says that this kind of damage is quite frequent, given the fact of the need for some initial force to raise the shutter, sometimes associated with a lack of knowledge of the mechanism on the part of some of the tourists, who keep applying force, contrary to what is required, and which results in the violent destruction of the respective handles.

I'm starting a new thread as the discussion about the blind/shutter repair in the master bedroom may end up swamping the dogs

This link on the other forum comes from 2010 and it discusses this issue. However, it mistakenly deduces that the bedroom in question was the children's bedroom

But it's clear that the repair was in the master bedroom overlooking the Ocean Club and the Tapas Bar

http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t679-the-window-blinds-and-the-washing-machine-1st-may

I'm not knocking anybody - all genuine analysis and hypothesis is valid in my opinion, but it does show how theories can persist for ever even when they are wrong

poster wrote:

chirpyinsect wrote:Found this with thanks to Dr Martin Roberts who is quoting from the bewk I think.

Kate McCann (2011): 'On Tuesday 1 May, after my tennis lesson, two maintenance workers came to have a look at our washing machine, which I couldn't get to operate. Gerry had also managed to break the window shutter mechanism in our bedroom shortly after we'd arrived, in spite of the sign asking guests to be gentle with it. What can I say? It's the Gerry touch . . . The two men looked at the washing machine first. Once they'd established that the problem was something simple – not quite as simple as me not having pressed the 'on' button, but not much more complicated than that – I went to meet Gerry, whose lesson had started at ten-fifteen, leaving them to fix the shutter.'

Given that Kate, according to her book, had tennis lessons from 9.15am to 10.15am, then that would mean that she would have had to rush back from tennis which finished at 10.15pm to make sure that she could be at the apartment when the maintenance workers arrived to show her how to operate the washing machine and also to mend the window shutter mechanism in their bedroom.

According to the rogatory of one of the maintenance men:

This happened on Tuesday, the first of May, in the sequence of a service that he had to carry out in the apartment where this family was staying, also known as Block G5, Letter A;
. This serviced was carried out between 10H00 and 11H00, together with his colleague who is named Mario, and consisted of the repair of a blind in the room of the parents of the minor;
. In this sequence, the deponent and his colleague also taught the mother of the child how to operate the washing machine;
. The woman in question was alone in the apartment;

At 10am on Tuesday morning Kate was still playing tennis as her session did not end until 10.15pm so who let the maintenance men into apartment 5A at 10am? Kate in her book makes no mention of finishing her lesson early.

According to Kate in her book: "I went to meet Gerry, whose lesson had started at ten-fifteen, leaving them to fix the shutter.......During Gerry's tennis lesson, Madeleine and Ella came to the adjoining court with their Mini club for a mini-tennis session. Jane and I stayed to watch them."

There is then a purple passage about how Kate is so choked with pride that she runs back to the apartment to get her camera and record the occasion.

However, according to the Lobster Mini Club activity sheet, Mini Tennis and grass time are from 10am to 11am on Monday 30th April . The activity for Tuesday from 10am to 11am is 'splash and swim' pool time.

It's possible that the activities were switched around but Kate does not mention this and there is no indication that this happened from the creche records.

In any event, it is quite clear from the Mini Club records that the Mini Club activity started at 10am, so - even if the activities had been switched and Madeleine and Ella's  group really had played tennis that day - Kate's claim that Madeleine and Ella's  group came to the adjoining court with their Mini Club for a mini-tennis session "during Gerry's tennis session" conflicts with the Mini Club activity timetable. Given that the Mini club activity session - whatever it was (!) started at 10am, then Madeleine and Ella and the rest of the Mini club Lobster group members would have arrived not during Gerry's tennis session which didn't start until 10.15pm but during Kate's hour long tennis session which didn't end until 10.15pm.

Tuesday morning is highly sensitive, imo. Not to mention the washing machine, shutters and also the Mini Club mini-tennis session.

Of note is that Kate is remarkably quiet about the events of Monday. No mention of what the children - including Madeleine - did that day. She only states that in the evening she and Jane went to the supermarket to stock up on a few 'essentials' as the next day was a public holiday.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id351.html

Thanks Poster. The 30th April is a very odd day.
There were rumours that they went to Sagres that day, but this has never been confirmed.

This is also the day they brought Madeleine to the crèche in the afternoon at 15.15 and took her out again at 15.30.

The following annexes are missing from the PJ files:

"7 - Anexos 63 and 64:

Analysis of creche registers

Dated 30 April (Anexo 63) and 1 May (Anexo 64)"

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MISSING_PAGES.htm

ETA just looked and they are not missing, they're to be found in Anexes 58 and 59. In Annex 58 PJ states that Madeleine was checked out at 17.30 on 30 April.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/OUSTROS_APENSOS_11_VOLUMES.htm

Neveronasunday wrote:I'm starting a new thread as the discussion about the blind/shutter repair in the master bedroom may end up swamping the dogs

This link on the other forum comes from 2010 and it discusses this issue. However, it mistakenly deduces that the bedroom in question was the children's bedroom

But it's clear that the repair was in the master bedroom overlooking the Ocean Club and the Tapas Bar

http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t679-the-window-blinds-and-the-washing-machine-1st-may

I'm not knocking anybody - all genuine analysis and opinion is valid in my opinion, but it does show how theories can persist for ever even when they are wrong

Thanks NOAS. That's a good idea.

Perhaps Candyfloss or Freedom would be so kind to move the posts on the blinds (from the Capabilities of the Dogs thread) over here.