The Canoeist and other matters

The story of a man who went missing after a solo canoe trip five years ago has become a fascinating tabloid story. John Darwin turned up alive a few days ago, presenting himself as a missing person at a London police station and claiming amnesia. My interest was first piqued by the revelation that his wife, Anne, had recently sold their two homes in the UK and had moved to Panama. She had also claimed John's life insurance, 'in good faith'.

Next came a photograph which purported to show John and Anne in Panama, a year ago. Shortly afterwards, John Darwin was arrested for fraud. Anne has since admitted that the photo of them is genuine.

So it seems that this guy feigned death, and lived it up in Panama, all the while leaving his sons, father and other relatives believing he was dead (unless they were in on it: the sons have now said that they don't want to speak to their parents, claiming that they knew nothing… it could be an elaborate new side to the scam but it sounds genuine).What kind of person can do something like that? Can money really be enough of a motivator to make you convince your own sons that you're dead?

The BBC had some scum sucker of an extradition lawyer who defended Pinochet during his tea parties with Thatcher, and he said that if she wanted to, she could delay the extradition by 14 months (Anne Darwin, that is, not Margaret Thatcher). I kind of think that if they can give the money back they should just be let off. They've pulled an incredible scam and the loss of their family should be enough punishment.

In other news, there was yet another mass shooting in the United States. Robert Hawkins shot 13 people with an AK-47 in an Omaha shopping mall, killing 8 (and then himself). Apparently, he split up with his girlfriend, lost his job and then just went berserk. I expect John at Iberian Notes to link back to his previous post about how these things happen elsewhere too. He does that whenever there's a mass shooting in the United States.

On a happier note, we had a great day in Premià de Mar today (it's a public holiday today as well as Monday: most Spaniards have a productivity-destroying week off, just 3 weeks before Christmas!). We're thinking of relocating there as we're not massive fans of the Vallès Occidental comarca where we currently live in a small flat. Gemma also grew up around here and I think that she'd actually rather move to Thailand or something. Premià might just be enough of a compromise. It's a nice town, with a pretty 'village' feel to it, probably because it's one of the few costal towns with almost no tourist accommodation. The flat we looked at had spectacular views of the Mediterranean (it was 'primera linea' – the first row of construction from the coast), and I could easily picture myself sitting out on the balcony as the sun sets, watching the boats come and go from the little marina. Well, we'll see: at any rate, we're in the market for a beach-front house. Any kind donors, please feel free to contact me.

December 6, 2007 | Catalonia, UK

Comments

3 Responses to “The Canoeist and other matters”

trevor on December 7th, 2007 1:42 pm

Re Premià: Dream on, the last village centre house I looked at there was falling down and they still wanted €700K. And sea level rises mean that you're effectively getting a leasehold…

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Tom on December 7th, 2007 1:52 pm

Yes, the prettier houses aren't cheap. But I've certainly seen places cheaper than that (700,000) online.

I'd rather not move to another flat, but if it was a bigger flat with views of the sea (and a shared pool, for example), I'd grin and bear it. Incidentally, prices per M2 in Premià are lower than here in Cerdanyola. Our flat has more than doubled in value over 5 years (though there's no guarantee that we could sell it now). I'm convinced that Premià is a town which will shoot up in value at some point in the future.

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Keefieboy on December 9th, 2007 11:36 pm

Re: the missing canoeist…he's been charged with fraud, his wife has arrived at Manchester Airport and been arrested, the Guardian describes the whole thing as an Ealing comedy plot that nobody would believe. The whole thing is surreal!

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