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A question of character

9th September 2007 by Helena 3 Comments  

“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds; and until we know what has been or will be the peculiar combination of outward with inward facts, which constitute a man’s critical actions, it will be better not to think ourselves wise about his character.”

To many, George Eliot’s words will have a particular resonance as we watch the McCann drama unfold. I am glad to see so many comments on the previous blog, but I will not be swayed. I stick to my original conclusions; to quote the waitress in Thelma & Louise when asked who she thinks shot the man in the parking lot “neither of those two was the murdering kind”.

Of course I have no evidence. All I have is my own belief that I am a good enough judge of character and events to recognise a huge miscarriage of justice when I see it. If I believe that Kate and Gerry McCann murdered Maddy I may as well give up. If they are guilty then the world is a far worse place than I imagined.

I am happy to see them back home and hope that they will find some comfort in returning, albeit without their little girl. I can’t imagine what they will feel when they walk into her bedroom. But I am glad to see this latest debacle seems only to have made them stronger and brought them closer together as a family. Yet more evidence of their good character.

On a lighter note, here is a comment from Leonardo yesterday to his father as he got in the car.

“I love this car,” he said. “I love you daddy. I love Granny. I love everyone.”

What a splendid character he is.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2007


Filed Under: Children, Family, Life, blog --> Tagged With: character, question

3 thoughts on A question of character

  • Rupert says:
    9th September 2007 at 4:42 pm

    But, if I remember correctly, one of those women, Thelma or Louise, shot the bloke in the carpark…

  • okcmermaid says:
    10th September 2007 at 5:12 pm

    There is an old saying “If you want to figure out the intent of an action; look at the result” (paraphrasing) The result is: The McCanns have left Portugal. They have not given up on their search for their daughter; but they are now “out of the hair” of the Portugal police. The police probably did not initially investigate this incident perfectly. However, it is my understanding they had no previous experience with a situation of this manner – so no criticism intended. The McCanns — especially Kate McCann — were persistent in trying to find Madeleine. I can imagine Kate became quite a pest … I know I would be. So now, the focus has shifted and the hunter has become the hunted. We’ve seen this happen before. I still believe neither had anything to do with her disappearance.

    Also, thank you Helena, for not taking down your Find Madeleine link. She has not yet been found … and that link is to not give up the search for her. No matter who might ultimately be found responsible.

  • Oliver says:
    10th September 2007 at 8:15 pm

    Dear Helena
    You are to be commended for your efforts in keeping it in the public eye. The Mcanns need every friend they can find. to hear them jeered in Portugal is enougth to lose faith in human kind. How quickly people can turn. thank god they have returned and hopefully can take some wise council from their own and British Lawyers. the Portugese should take shame.
    No one should find it difficult within their hearts to see the unbelievable torment of the Mcanns.

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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