Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Rita … "More dark satanic mountains!"

Thanks a lot for Becky for coming up with a few more web snippets (videos) for our enjoyment :

"A few more for you…. I would love to be able to help out on a more permanent basis, as you were asking for help the other day.  My only problem is that I’m freelance so sometimes I’m busy, sometimes not.  Just going into 4 months of very long days, so I know I won’t be able to offer on a regular basis yet, but will help where I can Der". Many thanks Becky, some nice videos.  I am still hoping that someone else will come forward to help with these snippets. 

Machico Antigamente (and some nice music to accompany it):

It seems a lot of effort to go to, just to mix a jug of Poncha, but I thank him for it! VIDEO

I made the mistake of watching this when I was hungry. Gastronomy week in Machico 2009. VIDEO

Many thanks to Paul (Paul do Mar) for this piece :

Bird-watching in the Madeiran islands

The total number of birds that can be observed on the island of Madeira which includes its Natural Park, almost three-quarters of the island, is around 220 species!

Bird-watching in Funchal: Ponta da Cruz is by far the best seawatching point in Funchal: Cory’s Shearwater, Bulwer’s Petrel, Little Shearwater, Manx Shearwater and sometimes Madeiran Storm-Petrel, Fea’s Petrel and White-faced Storm-Petrel can be spotted here.

Bird-watching in Calheta region

Ponta do Pargo has a very diverse birdlife. Because it’s still a very remote area, it has not changed over recent years and mixed woodland, agricultural fields and derelict houses define the landscape. Almost every species of passerines that occur in Madeira can be observed here. Seabirds like Madeiran Storm-Petrel and Cory’s Shearwater can also be seen here. Sometimes trans-Saharan migrants make a resting stop here

The best seawatching site on Madeira? Porto Moniz. Go to the coach parking lot, overlooking the natural swimming pools and look for a concrete wall, a good place to watch from. Here you could find: Fea´s Petrel, Bulwer’s Petrel, Cory’s Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Little Shearwater and Manx Shearwater. If lucky, it is also possible to see some whales and dolphins. Best time for seabirds is from late April to October.

Bird-watchers usually come to Madeira looking for rare seabirds, and the endemic species and subspecies of landbirds. Most of them are resident so it’s possible to find them almost every year.

Paul is a member of SPEA. Here is a LINK to a really useful Factsheet, available in English, on bird-watching in all the Madeiran islands. Happy Bird-watching!

The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept eurozone interest rates on hold at a record low of 1% for the ninth month in a row. Member countries’ economies remain fragile and no increase in borrowing costs was expected this month. Some are showing signs of recovery, but with inflation low and continuing fears about the health of certain members, it is seen to be too soon to move rates. Credit / Source : BBC

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 08/02/2010

MADEIRA

CMF orders contingency plan. The Municipality of Funchal has invited tenders for the preparation of the Municipal Emergency Civil Protection Plan. There are national and regional guidelines for drawing up these plans. The first phase will be dedicated to the assessment of the levels of various risks already defined at the national level, each council indicating those that will occur most frequently in that municipality. These include national disasters such as landslides and those that can be generated by human means, for example from the transportation of hazardous material. In the second step, a survey of the existing resources available at the civil protection level to meet a catastrophe, such as a fire. These include bombeiros, council teams and contractors. The third phase is preparation of the plan itself. It will then be tested by simulation exercises. The company will have a year to draw up the plan which has a starting value of 150,000 Euros.

Neglect after bad weather. The Association of Friends of the Ecological Park of Funchal on Saturday visited the parishes of Faial, São Roque do Faial and Porto da Cruz. There are still areas of danger and neglect after the storms, jeopardizing homes and the expressway. There is a significant possibility of intense rainfall until the end of March so it is essential to take preventative action and clear areas.

Five ‘7 Wonders of Portugal’ pre-finalists. Update on yesterday’s story. In this region, the following five of the nine original entries go forward to the next phase of the competition: Cabo Girão, Floresta Laurissilva, Ilhas Selvagens, beach at Porto Santo and the fossilized reefs and galleries of the Ilhéu da Cal.

POLITICS

Hospital will not meet the MPT. The Health Service of the Region (SESARAM) have not responded to the request made by the MPT (Earth Party)  last October. They asked the administrators for a meeting to discuss whether economics prevented the admittance of patients to hospital. The MPT have received complaints from users of the health service about lack of humanity in the hospital and discriminatory situations. The MPT are now handing the case over to the Ombudsman. They want to know if the hospital is governed by economic criteria when deciding whether or not to admit a patient. The MPT state, "Anyone who is a lifelong taxpayer is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect when ill."

Ismael critical of the stance of the CDS in Ribeira Brava.  The centrists say they will still submit proposals favoured by the population. The mayor, Ismael Fernandes, says his rejection of these proposals is not an obsession but a necessity as they are not part of the Plan of Action or this year’s Budget. Rafael Sousa (CDS) argues that such "proposed ideas were presented by the very people who feel the need for something to be done." "Why not change the Plan and give priority to works that are understood to be more useful," he challenges. "It is the people who decide at the time of voting on who actually cares." Ismael Fernandes continues unabated, stating that the Plan and Budget did not have the agreement of the opposition parties, so it was not the majority of the Municipal Council that accepted proposals that were not part of our election manifesto, they were approved by the majority of ribeira bravenses. A PS councillor considers this position to be too uncompromising and the PSD should show openness "to the possibility that opposition proposals are also viable and contribute to the improvement of the county."

CULTURE

Alberto Sousa sings on Valentine’s Day.  Alberto Sousa is a young Madeiran tenor who is invited by the Amigos do Conservatório de Música da Madeira (AACMM) to sing at the ‘Serenata de S. Valentim’ on February 14th at 18.00 at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias. He will be accompanied by the Hungarian pianist, András Ervin Hennel, already well known to people in Madeira. The recital will consist of popular operatic themes. At present, Alberto Sousa is studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London for a Master’s Degree. Tickets are on sale at the theatre.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

REGION

Registration for the Festa da Anona. The 12th edition of the Exhibition of Regional Anona takes place on the 27 – 28 February. Farmers can now enter the event until the 23rd February. The stands at Faial will be judged on the Sunday. The show helps to promote Faial and possibly increase exportation of the custard apple to Continental Portugal and France.

EVENTS

Driver assaulted at zebra crossing. The attack on a car driver on the Caminho do Poço Barral, near a large commercial area, happened eight days ago. At 23.00, she stopped at a zebra crossing to allow three ‘false pedestrians’ to cross. They pulled the car door open, dragged her into the road and stole her purse and phone. They then damaged the car when they realised the purse was empty. The woman’s immediate reaction was to leave the area as soon as possible, returned to her house then called the police an hour later. The police went to the area but could not find the suspects.

More later maybe … especially if someone would be kind enough to contribute something …

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … “Madeira soil erosion”.

 

I saw this photo on Flickr titled ‘Natures Fireworks’, which I thought was very clever and appropriate. It was taken in the Farmers Market in Funchal.

 

 

 

Many thanks to Tom for sending in this link : “The Greek debt crisis has spread to Spain and Portugal in a dangerous escalation as global markets test whether Europe is willing to shore up monetary union with muscle rather than mere words … Credit default swaps (CDS) measuring bankruptcy risk on Portuguese debt surged 28 basis points on Thursday to a record 222 on reports that Jose Socrates was about to resign as prime minister after failing to secure enough votes in parliament to carry out austerity measures … Parliament minister Jorge Lacao said the political dispute has raised fears that the country is no longer governable. “What is at stake is the credibility of the Portuguese state,” he said”. UK DAILY TELEGRAPH It had 112 comments by 9 pm yesterday! 

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 07/02/2010

MADEIRA

Laurissilva among the favourites. The list of 77 candidates for the next stage of the competition, ‘7 Natural Wonders of Portugal’, will be released today for public voting between 7 March and 7 September. These have been chosen from the original 323 entries and there will be 11 chosen for each of the seven categories.

The nine wonders of the region
Ilhas Selvagens – Located about 163 miles from Madeira, they represent the extreme south of the country. The Nature Reserve of Selvagens was established in 1971 and is one of the oldest reserves in Portugal.

Ilhas Desertas – Biogenetic Reserve since 1992 and Nature Reserve since 1995, the Ilhas Desertas are one of the last strongholds of Lobo-marinho. They are also an important centre for nesting seabirds.

Floresta Laurissilva – Considered World Natural Heritage by UNESCO and classified as a Biogenetic Reserve by the Council of Europe, the Laurissilva is endemic to Macaronesia.

Cabo Girão – Located in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, it is the highest promontory in Europe with a height of 580 metres. The viewpoint of the site is one of the most sought after.

Fajã dos Padres – Narrow strip of land along the coast, under a cliff about 250 metres high, this fajã is located on the south coast of Madeira and is endowed with an agricultural area of excellence.

Pico Ana Ferreira – About 283 metres above sea level, it is the highest point of the western part of the island. At its peak there have developed a spectacular set of prismatic columns known as ‘piano’.

Praia do Porto Santo – Stretching over six kilometres between Vila Baleira and Ponta da Calheta, the golden sandy beach is one of the attractions of Porto Santo and the sand has therapeutic capabilities.

Cabeço dos Laranjas – On the islet of Cima (Porto Santo), you can see a spectacular outcrop of fossils of red algae, known locally as ‘oranges’ for their striking resemblance to that fruit.

Galerias do Ilhéu da Cal – In the largest island of Porto Santo, where the limestone mining industry began in the XVIII Century, today there are wonderful galleries where you can see subaquatic lava flows and volcanic ash.

1,000 participants in the Carnival of Câmara de Lobos. 18 groups will participate in this traditional parade held on the evening of February 15th. This year it will include the Associação de Animação Geringonça and  Malta do Furor (Achada de Gaula) and two other newcomers: Banda Filarmónica do Caniço e Eiras and the Escuteiros de São Martinho. Participants from various institutions, of all ages. The parade begins at 21.30, starting at Avenida Nova Cidade and ending at the car park of Baía de Câmara de Lobos.

Plans for Vila Giorgi and Castanheiro in discussion. From 18 February to March 17, plans for the redevelopment of this area of Funchal will be available online. The mayor noted that this is a very balanced plan when it comes to shopping, houses and services as it sets a percentage for each. In between Rua das Pretas and São Pedro, there will be a plaza of 1,700 square metres under which there will be a car park with 450 spaces, and 150 of these will be reserved for local traders. Vila Giorgi is a private development consisting of a five star hotel with 44 rooms and a block of 33 apartments. The detailed plan of the area Ornelas will be available between 18 February and 10 March.

Court establishes that the driver responsible for a fatal accident had no licence.  The accident occurred on the 25 October 2008 near the viewpoint of Cabo Girão. At around 3 am, the car hit a stone wall causing the death of one of the occupants, an 18 year old man and the other was seriously injured. At the time, it was a popular location to practice dangerous manoeuvres. The driver had no licence and the car was uninsured. The driver was still learning at a driving school and had only been in possession of a car for a short period of time.

 

 

PT and PSP used in ‘phishing’. If there is an e-mail in the mailbox with the logo of the police and PT (shown), it should be deleted immediately. Clicking on one of these logos takes the user to a copy of the website and an executable file is immediately downloaded.

ECONOMY

430,000 Euros for the Open de Golfe and Rali Vinho Madeira. Turismo de Portugal will provide 330,000 Euros for the Golf Open and 100,000 Euros for the Madeira Wine Rally. This is 30% of the total needed for the golf tournament at Porto Santo, and the Regional Budget will provide an additional half a million Euros. The Wine Rally also needs 1 million Euros in funds and will receive 650,000 Euros from the government.

 

JORNAL DA MADEIRA – FRONT PAGE NEWS

‘Healer’ takes money and gold at Caniçal. A case of doorstep fraud. A woman and her son knocked at the door of a house where a 40 year old woman lived with her son. The visitors tried to sell clothing but the resident was not interested. The street vendor then changed the course of conversation, claiming that she was a registered healer, reading palms, tarot cards etc. She wanted money for powerful remedies which would be fully effective. Over a period of several days, the victim handed over 3,500 Euros in cash and gold items, totalling 5,000 Euros. The police have found the two suspects, assumed mother and son, and some of the items but not the money. The local people commented on the ridiculous way in which this has happened.

EVENTS

Five robberies in Calheta. Five burglaries in recent days but the assailants have not been caught. Most of the damage has been by the forced entries rather than items stolen. Two houses at Ledo, two at Palheiros and the Junta de Freguesia have been robbed.

ECONOMY

Loja do Cidadão and Dolce Vita have a new innovation. A new information system will be installed in these two areas in Funchal. The user of the Loja do Cidadão can find out their place in the queue for their chosen service and estimated waiting time. The service is also accessible on the second floor of the Dolce Vita commercial mall, so the user can shop or consume food while waiting. This service will be inaugurated at 18.00 on Monday February 8th.

CULTURE

Cortejo folião animated “Festa dos Compadres”. This was the first time this parade has taken place in Santana during the Festa dos Compadres. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, 16 groups from the primary and secondary schools took part. The parade was followed by musical entertainment. Prizes were awarded to the best participating groups and the best participant. The Ball of Compadres followed at 22.00. Many, including families, watched this procession especially as it was the initial one. It is to be kept as a separate additional event from the main parade, which is on the following Sunday afternoon (this afternoon).

 

 

 

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

500 waiting for tobacco consultations. The search for help in quitting smoking grows, but Madeira cannot provide an adequate service, lacking facilities and doctors to cope. [Why is a doctor needed I wonder?]. Outside of Funchal, only Câmara de Lobos can actually offer consultations to help smokers. It has been two years since the publication of the directive of the Directorate General of Health, which called for the creation of specialized clinics in all health centres and hospitals, but decentralization has still not happened.

In politics : Social Democratic Party and Socialist Party without proposals since the Summer – The two biggest parties only came up with two projects of decree in the current legislative session. It’s a good point actually. With the distractions of the regional and national elections, Christmas, the PS leadership election, the Regional Finance Law, and the bad weather, it seems that the politicians here have taken the opportunity for a verrrrry extended Summer holiday.

Many [suffer] damages without the right to compensation. The majority of the storm damage caused over the past weeks, will not be covered for repair or replacement. Natural disaster damage can be covered, such as that experienced recently by thousands of people, and can be remedied, but only for those who have appropriate insurance. The other option for some, is to find someone else to blame, but Saint Peter (São Pedro) himself is exempt from such claims. This is pretty much the situation facing those who are victims of natural phenomena, that may or may not be worsened by human intervention. And the problem is that, except for compulsory insurance associated with bank loans for house purchase, the majority of homes in the region (especially rural) are not insured. The article also has a helpful ‘Question and answer’ session fielded by the Insurance Institute of Portugal, as well as citing various laws that cover this area with insurance policies.  Just for Martin’s benefit, after raising the subject at the weekend.

 

Today’s main news headline : Bad debt threatens health – The Regional Health Service owes 147 million Euros to suppliers, that admit withholding supplies from the hospitals and health centres. With wisdom the people say : health doesn’t have a price. But the truth is that on Madeira it costs plenty, more than the money that the Region makes available. The shortfall is paid through the long waiting lists, as well as from the medical suppliers whose ‘financial health’ for a long time has been connected to the [life support?] ‘machine’. At the end of 2008 the Regional Health Service (SESARAM) had to pay €147 million to the suppliers, a scary figure if one considers the impacts on the suppliers of essential products to health centres and hospitals. Several other large figures are presented, all related to various categories of debt, or lack of equity, and the Diário once again labels another major organisation as ‘technically bankrupt’. 60% of the health budget on Madeira is used to pay doctors, nurses, and other staff. Skipping through the meat of the article, the Diário changes tact somewhat, and then reports that the average costs of public expenditure per head of population here (in general terms) is 36% higher than in the Azores. In medical terms the two archipelagos compare differently, with Madeira with 2.5 doctors and 7.7 nurses per thousand of population, and the Azores with 2 doctors and 6.7 nurses for the same numbers of people. Both sets of numbers are however well lower than the European average. Madeira spends on health an average per head of population of €1,312 [per year?] compared to €960 on the Azores. So where does that leave us you ask, with a health service in technical bankruptcy? What can we do to protect ourselves in our times of greatest need. Whilst we can all do things to lessen our risk of needing health care, like Uncle Bertie packing in those toppling Cuban cigars for instance, the answer of course lies in Poncha. More research and investment is needed in Poncha, and I am prepared to do my bit to help. Where health facilities are being starved by suppliers of essential medical supplies, low cost Poncha substitutes are the key. We could allocate different flavours for different illnesses for example, with the traditional lemon being used to treat problems with stress and depression, whilst the rather more sickly maracujá flavour could be used for ladies with problems.The main sport / football headline today : What lacked in the paint remained in the points – The game in Barreiros was delayed because one could not see the lines on the pitch. But neither that, nor a barely tolerable performance stopped Marítimo beating União de Leiria [1-0], and overtaking Nacional, defeated  [1-0] in Olhão. The unimpressive photo with this story has the lions share of the front page of the Diário, with the rather bizarre scene out on the football pitch, of a solitary man and a pot of paint and a brush, repainting the seemingly non existent white lines on the pitch. It could only happen here … a premier league match, a cut field with goalposts, two football teams, a refereeing team, a couple of thousand fans, … but someone had forgotten to mark out the pitch, and nobody noticed until it was too late!!! Luckily the game wasn’t televised, as this embarrassment can hopefully be maintained on Madeira. It must have been quick drying paint too. The plot of distraction obviously worked as Marítimo overcame the opposition to win. Well done lads, good tactics (said through gritted teeth).

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

Read the rest of this entry →

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Rita … Banana wash production line at the co-operative in Madalena do Mar.

"I had always heard of Madeira as an island that was out there off the African coast but only old people went there and the weather might be dodgy. But I got the opportunity to visit it at the end of January this year and how wrong was my perception. It is a beautiful island with varied and magnificent scenery – mountains, valleys, tropical gardens, golf courses, wind surfing. There is plenty to do even at night time with a huge selection of restaurants and plenty of bars with music and night clubs. So I found out that it is not just for the over 70s". MORE

I have no idea where this photo was taken, it was on a website unrelated to Madeira, but the tug boat is called ‘Funchal’. Is it here, or can anyone shed any light on the vessel?

Many thanks to Pete who emailed me with this creative and very sensible suggestion :

Mosquitoes in your garden? Try planting these! Marigolds, Ageratum, Catnip, Rosemary, Geraniums, Basil, Lemon Balm, Garlic and onion. I have also seen on eBay Mosquito Dunks that you drop in water.  I personally like to try plants rather than chemicals because they are safer for pets and the environment. You can also help by emptying water containers regularly that plants stand in, including anything that stores water.  You can find other plants and ways of getting rid of Mosquitoes by searching the internet. If they fail, you still have a colourful garden, which everyone can admire.

Also many thanks to Elaine (out West) … from yesterday’s Diário de Notícias :

Exhibition unites painting, literature and music – The works of six artists and the texts of six writers, inspired by various musical pieces, are part of ‘Third Bank’, an exhibition opened yesterday which will be open to the public until February 26 at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias. Sofia Moniz Alves is the coordinator for the ‘Third Bank’, which includes contributions by Ana Luísa Amaral, Pedro Proenca, Teresa Gonçalves Lobo, Fernando Pinto Amaral, Nuno Júdice, Regina Chula, Avelino Rocha, Helga Moreira, Isabel Mendes Ferreira, Agostinho Santos, Lucia David and Porfirio Al Brandão. "The objective was to unite the art of bisexuality. Each writer was paired with each of the artists, making writing, visual art and music one work," Sofia Moniz Alves explained. To this end, next to each table is a text and an MP3 player with music that inspired the works. Also available to the public until 26 February is a catalogue of CDs, whose content is the basis of the exhibition. Entry is 7 Euros.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

For any nautical bloggers, RTP is following the Sagres Portuguese Navy training ship: SAGRES. The Portuguese Navy site has an English version

Diário online poll : How do you rate the debt of the region?

Alarming 79% ; Normal 8% ; Understandable 10% ; Negligible 3% ;

DIÁRIO 06/02/2010 – FRONT PAGE NEWS

Lagoa do Santo wastes two thirds of water captured. Built in the early 1980s with the purpose of irrigating Santo da Serra golf course and providing water for the municipality of Santa Cruz, the Lagoa do Santo da Serra has never been fully operational. This reservoir has a capacity of 1 million cubic metres of water but takes no more than a third of this amount. It was the first artificial lake in the region, costing the equivalent of 4 million Euros. The problem is the asphalt lining the reservoir so it was drained in mid-2009 but found to be in a worse state than expected. The reservoir has been redesigned and work will begin in May and is expected to be finished by mid-2011, when it should have a capacity of 700,000 cubic metres of water. Originally, the reservoir took water only from the Levada da Serra Faial which is currently being restored. New work means that it should be able to receive water from other sources, water from Ribeira de Boaventura via the Lagoa das Águas Mansas. To help irrigation of agricultural land in the area and provide water for the municipalities of Machico and Santa Cruz, there will be two additional new reservoirs: Lagoa da Portela and Lagoa da Ponta do Pargo.

MADEIRA

Ten places for foreigners. If approved in Lisbon, Madeiran employers will be able to hire only 10 workers from outside the EU this year. This proposal is by the Regional Executive. Last year, they wanted a quota of 20 and despite the Portuguese Government raising it to 58, only 22 were employed. Extra bureaucracy is needed and employment opportunities are dwindling as unemployment presently stands at 13,000. The large public works are over and there are no new investments. This is a national trend as last year only 25% of the quota for immigrants was used, filled by Venezuelans, Brazilians, Africans and Ukrainians.

Four robbers arrested by PSP. They are responsible for crimes committed in Funchal. A 34 year old Mozambican national was sentenced to nine months in prison. He was in possession of several items including computer equipment and perfumes, and was responsible for a dozen thefts from cars parked in public car parks. The police caught him in the act while he was inside a car after having forced open the door. Three suspects from Nazaré were arrested, aged between 18 and 27 years. They had violently robbed an 80 year old woman and most of the stolen item have been recovered.

PSP threaten Carnival floats. Eight days before the Carnival parade, the Regional Commander of the Police has met with the Regional Secretariat of Tourism and Transport concerning security arrangements. One of the changes brought forward is that floats are obliged to be covered by liability insurance in case of accidents which cause damage to third parties; spectators and those taking part. In a previous event a float slid for a few metres down the Avenida Zarco, causing a scare. There is confusion about whether the safety standards will be identical to last year or if additional checks will have to be made to the floats, which could mean significant changes to the bodywork and mechanics.

CARNIVAL PROGRAM

13 February, Saturday
Festivities in the Lower Town
10:00 – 13:30 – Carnival Party Band
10:00 – 15:00 – Marching Band
15:00 – 20:00 – Marching Band
19:30 – 23:00 - Puppet Theatre Group on the route of the Float Parade
20:50 – 21:00 – Fireworks
21:00 - Carnival Float Parade

Route: Departing from Praça da Autonomia (south side), Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses (southbound lane), crossing to the northbound lane (opposite the Marina Shopping Centre) and going up Rua Dias Leite, Infante Roundabout, Avenida Arriaga (northbound lane – as far as Banco de Portugal), Avenida Zarco (northbound lane), Rua Câmara Pestana and Praça do Município.

Themes of the groups taking part in the Float Parade

- "Treasure Island" - Veteranos da Folia
- "Divinities of the Sea" – Os Cariocas Samba School
- "Nymph Fantasies" – Associação de Animação Geringonça
- "The Portuguese Sea" – Associação Fura Samba
- "The Sea and Piracy" – Caneca Furada Samba School
- "The Revelry of the Ocean" – Turma do Funil
- "The Delights of the Sea" – João Egídio Andrade Rodrigues
- "Secrets of the Sea" – Fábrica de Sonhos

22:00 – Carnival Music Show, at Praça do Município

ECONOMY

Blue Merlin fishing tournament. The third edition of Madeira Blue Merlin competition is to be held during the 11 – 13 June in the sea around Calheta. Last year, there were 15 teams and this year, 25 will take part. They arise from Madeira, Azores, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the Canary Islands, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. Caught fish have to be released alive back to the sea. The winner will represent Portugal in the Hawaiian International Tournament in 2011. Teams consist of three to six members with another one to film for validation purposes. Registration fee is 600 Euros per boat. This tournament is intended to honour the surgeon António Ribeiro who at 96 years old was probably the oldest participant for this type of fishing.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

FRONT PAGE HEADLINES – Finance Law passed.  Finance Law must be met.

Diário highlights a constitutional challenge but Jornal da Madeira have only one paragraph about this possibility. Two long articles about the battle, giving their reasons and financial figures for the law since they say the public are confused. (Not surprising!) According to the Diário, there are eight days for the PS socialists to ask the Constitutional Court to judge the law and the Court has up to 25 days to rule, by which date it is too late to enact the law in time to focus on the State Budget of 2010. If unconstitutional, Cavaco Silva has the difficult decision to pass the law (political instability) or veto it and face the consequences of turning against Jardim. If he vetoes the law, it must return to Parliament and be approved by two thirds of the deputies. Later today in Diário, it was reported that Jardim said that the law is "not unconstitutional" but the PS request for a constitutional challenge is a "serious threat". He said the passing of the law shows the possibility of a "historic compromise" and might "liberate" Portugal from a "party that has no ideology or value". Jardim also says a coalition should be formed to govern Portugal.

Alcohol prevention. There will be a proactive prevention of substance misuse in a joint initiative by the police, Regional Service of Drug Prevention and the Alcoholics Association, Mão Amiga. It will last from 0.00 to 03.00 on Sunday morning in the main centres of nightlife in Funchal. Information leaflets on the harmful consequences of drug and alcohol abuse and other substances will be handed out by the police. Those interested will be allowed to try the ‘test balloon’, independently of whether they intend to drive, to allow them to determine their fitness to be behind a wheel. The drug prevention, rehabilitation and therapy teams will be available. This is to be followed by a police surveillance operation on the main roads of Funchal from 03.00 to 08.00, focusing on driving under the influence of alcohol. The representative from Mão Amiga says they want to inform young people on how to enjoy themselves without having to consume harmful substances. They are there to educate, provide information, answer questions, so people can meet them and see they are helpful and friendly, and to help those with an alcohol problem. It is more appropriate for young people to go out and meet real friends than ‘virtual friends’ through computers. The first harmful substance imbibed tends to be alcohol before some graduate onto drugs which are more difficult to abandon.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Martins Júnior is a beloved priest – He has been suspended since 1977, but continues to celebrate in Ribeira Seca. There are those faithful in the community, some with 50 years, waiting for the bishop, the confirmation and a canonical solution to the priest that they held in such high regard. "The crime of Padre Amado". Suspended nearly 33 years, Martins Júnior continues faithful to the community of Ribeira Seca. In July 1997 the then Bishop of Funchal suspended Martins from his post, and performing any acts associated with his former role. The charge was disobedience, and the first element of that was political activity, still in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution in 1974. It’s a long story, full of religious terminology that I don’t understand in any language, and I now wish that I hadn’t chosen this story at all. But anyway, Martins, now aged 72, never accepted the suspension order (or be tried by ecclesiastical court) and continued his priestlike activity until the present, undertaking Mass, baptisms and funeral duties in the parish of Ribeira Seca. The current Bishop of Funchal, D. António Carrilho, has said that he is hopeful of resolving the situation (but that was back in 2007).

In politics : Law of Finances agitates the Socialist Party – Bernardo Trindade and Miguel França deny conflict.  Carlos César [Azores] doesn’t believe in the presidential veto. The socialists are now looking for the resignation of President Albert João Jardim following the episode with the Regional Finance Law. Madeira’s representative in the Lisbon assembly, Bernardo Trindade, says that Jardim is now a problem for Madeira now that he doesn’t have a weapon against Lisbon. The socialists of Madeira do admit that the new law is fairer for Madeira than the one passed in 2007, as it has reduced the ‘positive discrimination’ that favoured the Azores. França was the only socialist MP to vote against the government, but any talk of a rift as a result in local politics is being played down.

Diabetes costs a packet – The costs have risen. On Madeira there is expenditure of €4 million per year on medicines. That cost is just for the regular medicine, the more expensive stuff is not included in that figure. There are around 26,000 diabetics on Madeira, and estimates suggest that there are another 50,000 that may already be pre-diabetic. The responsible director in Hospital Central do Funchal said that the cost in the last year had escalated around half a million Euros. This was in part down to the use of more effective medicines, that were more expensive.

Today’s main news headline : Societies ask for €100 million more – The loan aims to avoid bankruptcy of the Development Societies and of Madeira Parks. The loss is €98.5 million, and the businesses pay just 18% of the costs.

The main sport / football headline today : Expectations boosted – With the defeat of Sporting, Marítimo and Nacional have a new incentive in the fight for a European placing. Huge surprise to know that Sporting lost at home against Académica last night. The action with our local teams starts at 3 pm, but only on the radio TSF-M / RTP.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine out West … Dried herbs and chillies on sale in Funchal Market

"Toward the end of last year, a delegation of top producers from Madeira – Blandy’s, Henriques & Henriques, Justino’s, Barbeito and Borges – paid a visit to Prague. … Vintage Madeira is a seemingly ageless creation, very much a case of "the older, the better," as attested to by such connoisseurs as the legendary Madeira Club in Savannah, Georgia. ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MADEIRA WINE ARTICLES

"The Isaiah Davenport House Museum will uncork an affable taste of early Americana this month as it hosts "Potable Gold: Savannah’s Madeira Tradition" during a special series of programs. Offered to the public only on Friday and Saturday evenings in February, "Potable Gold" involves sampling two types of Madeira wine and allows participants to experience the circa-1820 house at dusk, after the usual visiting hours, said museum Director Jamie Credle". AND ANOTHER

There’s a free album download offer on this website, but it’s limited to 15,000 so don’t hang about :  OFFER

We’re back to the minnows in this weekends football fixtures. On Sunday Nacional goes to Olhanense for a 3 pm kick-off. An hour later Marítimo host União. Neither game is televised.

If one could go around not knowing having seen the latest news, the Regional Finance Law amendments were approved in Lisbon yesterday, even with the Socialist government voting against it … "Portuguese lawmakers approved a regional finance law Friday that could add to the budget deficit at a time when investors are growing increasingly concerned about the state of Portuguese public finances.  Opposition lawmakers pushed through the legislation against the votes of the ruling Socialist Party, which currently form a minority government". EVEN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COVERED IT 

And on the same subject, this article evaluates the impact of the decision MARKETWATCH

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 05/02/2010

Residence at risk of falling down the hillside. A house in Larano in Porto da Cruz is at risk of falling down the slope on which it was built due to landslides caused by recent rains. The foundations are now visible and the cement has cracked so part of a small wall has collapsed. The owners are unaware of the situation as the house is only inhabited at weekends and there is still furniture left outside. Neither the local council or fire department were aware of this situation.

More than 50,000 Euros for Haiti. Between 18 January and 4 February, the Diocese of Funchal collected over 50,000 Euros to help the earthquake victims. A Mass in Cabo Girão received 10,264 Euros, Caritas collected 680 Euros, the Igreja do Colégio collected 2,000 Euros and the School at Curral das Freiras raised 1,150 Euros.

TAP extends its network to destinations in Africa. TAP will have three flights a week from Lisbon to Morocco. Its passenger numbers in the African sector have increased 129% since 2001. It is the only sector in 2009 where there was growth. With this new route in June, there will be connections to eight countries in Africa from Portugal.

Jet2.com begins regular flights to Madeira on May 3rd. Low-cost company sells Manchester – Madeira flights for 260 Euros round trip. Jet2.com already flies from Faro to two cities in the United Kingdom. According to the British press last week, this new route might benefit the British who have accommodation on the island (second home or timeshare). Trips are sold on the website at base prices of around 100 Euros. The return price reaches around 300 Euros because in addition to fees, Jet2.com charge separately for the carriage of luggage, check-in, choice of seating, meals and insurance. jet2 website

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

Three houses in danger. At least three dwellings are at risk of being swept away by slippage of earth at Serra Velha de Baixo in Curral das Freiras, near the Ribeira dos Socorridos. The families have been advised to leave their homes. The council agree that a wall is needed to support the earth which cannot hold the amount of water flooding onto it.

Car and warehouse destroyed. In Corujeira de Dentro in Monte. Both the car and warehouse were destroyed by debris swept down onto the road by flooding. The car owner has difficulties feeding his animals (dogs, chickens and rabbits) as road access is blocked by the landslide. Initially, residents at the other end of the road were isolated until the council made the road minimally passable. The land that collapsed is privately owned so the council have refused to help the residents.

Festa dos Compadres. This is a tradition specific to Santana. It is patently ironic, sarcastic and has a lot of social criticism. The compadres are made in secret and are effigies of social figures. On Saturday 6 February at 17.00, there is the cortejo folião with nearly a dozen groups from schools, followed by music starting at 18.30 on a stage erected in front of the council building. Next to this building, a tent has been set up where there will be a ball of ‘Comadre e do Compadre’ at 22.00, 3 Euros entrance fee. The main parade is on Sunday 7 February, starting at 16.00. The public judgement of the compradres occurs at 17.45, ’sentencing of the compradres’. Awards presented at 19.00 for the best floats and troupes followed by musical entertainment from 19.30 to 22.00. The final day of the festa is Thursday February 11th, starting with fireworks at 12.00 and the traditional event ‘Os compadres passeiam a camadre’ occurs at 20.00. The council hope the festa will help the economy of Santana by bringing in tourists and raise the spirits of the population, needed after the area has been battered by storms. Program on Santana Council website

‘Revolt of the Flour’ was 79 years ago. On February 4 1931, the islanders rebelled in a movement that became known as the  ‘Revolt of the Flour’. On 26 January 1931, a law was passed that monopolized milling and was known as the ‘Decree of Hunger’. This ended free wheat and flour imports, handing the monopoly to a group of millers. The riots spread and lasted until the 9th February. The Companhia Insular de Moinhos was targeted and on the 6 February, an assault on the firm left five dead and many injured. The law was repealed but the island suffered reprisals by the central government sending armed forces to make arrests and deportations. The climate of terror and instability lasted until the ‘Revolt of Madeira’ on April 4th against the dictator Oliviera Salazar. On April 11th, the ‘Revolting Movement’ installed a democratic government in Madeira but this succumbed to the dictatorship’s military offensive on 2 May.

CARNIVAL 2010

Fábrica dos Sonhos [Dream Factory] reveal secrets of the sea. There are about 150 members in this troupe which is known for originality. They will represent marine animals; jellyfish, mermaids, starfish and crabs. The mermaids and jellyfish are the leading figures. The Veterans are dressed as fish and the procession will be a sea of colour incorporating silver and blue. A group of Hot Dancers open their parade and a group of ‘fish’ close it. The dancers rehearse at the Rua das Pretas, no 16.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

25 years of gastronomy – Machico brings Mariza. The silver jubilee of the Machico Gastronomy Fair this year will be graced by top (living) fado singer Mariza, on 4th August. The visit will form part of her tour ‘Terra’, which is the title of her new album, and includes performances in Egypt and the Royal Albert Hall in London. So it looks like Machico has all the money then! It’s definitely a great idea to pull in the punters to the fair, but whether they will be spending their money on ‘gastronomy’ or not we will have to wait and see.

Law approved yesterday doesn’t bring any money – The alterations to the controversial Regional Finance Law were passed. Without dividends. The defeated socialist government will do everything in it’s power to stop the application of the law, starting with a constitutional challenge. The defeat was substantial, with 87 socialists voting against, and all the opposition and one socialist (França of Madeira) voting in favour, 126 in total. You would have thought that this was the big story of the day, the week, and even the year, but the Diário editor thought not, giving it just a corner of the front page. Surely nothing to do the fact that Uncle Bertie actually succeeded in his quest to change the LFR. I wonder what the other loopaper newspaper, the Jornal da Madeira, has plastered all over it’s front page?

Today’s main news headline : 2008 bill : bad debts cost €23 million just in interest. The problem arose from the delays in payments of debts by the Regional Government, the majority of which were to contractors that had responsibility for the execution of public works.

Lagoon continues not to generate earnings – The reservoir of Santo da Serra never reciprocated to the €4 million investment, 30 years ago. But there are new works in May. With a reduction in capacity. 

 

 

The main sport / football headline today : Final effort of Madeira in order to bring World Cup teams – Covilhã chosen, it remains to hope that Portugal undertakes training here in the last few days. And only if the the political environment were to help. The series points also to other squads. Not sure I got that last bit 100% correct, but anyway the main picture of the day shows a nice overhead view of the Sports Stadium of Madeira, at the back end of Ribeira Brava. If it is being suggested that that is the venue to attract national teams to warm up for the World Cup in South Africa in June, then it’s a good choice. But they will need to get the cleaners in first I would imagine, as it has hardly been used since it was completed, and must be full of cobwebs by now. A study group, made up anonymous Madeiran citizens with various backgrounds, has concluded that our island is the perfect place for preparation for teams competing in the competition. That group has persuaded an otherwise apathetic Regional Government to support a project called ‘Mundial 2010, pré-estágios das selecções apuradas para a Fase Final – Opção Ilha da Madeira’, which forgetting the first part is putting forward Madeira as an ideal training option. One interesting selling angle, is that Madeira has the identical climate and humidity as South Africa, and is geographically actually a part of Africa, but has the safety aspects of being European. The locations put forward are in Ribeira Brava and Camacha, as well as the two football stadium complexes of Marítimo and Nacional. I reckon the teams that qualified some months ago will have probably already booked up long ago their preparatory destinations, but we might pull something off with a bit of luck, and maybe even have the chance to ‘knobble’ the opposition before June.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

Read the rest of this entry →

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … "For the butterfly lovers. taken Friday 29 January at Funchal Municipal Gardens".

Madeira’s favourite son (no not Rúben Micael) celebrates his quarter century today. Happy 25th birthday Cristiano Ronaldo.

On a December afternoon in 2007, billionaire Jose Berardo walked into the attorney general’s 18th-century headquarters in Lisbon to rat out executives at the Portuguese bank on which he had staked his fortune. Berardo, whose 7 percent share in Banco Comercial Portugues SA was worth about $1 billion at the time, says he met with Attorney General Fernando Pinto Monteiro for two hours. The investor handed Portugal’s top prosecutor several folders of evidence showing that executives at Portugal’s largest publicly traded bank had allegedly used offshore companies to try to boost the share price and their own bonuses. Berardo says he hoped his disclosure would spur the prosecution of the Oporto- based bank’s chairman, with whom the investor had clashed over governance issues, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its March issue. BLOOMBERG ARTICLE about one of Madeira’s more colourful characters, though I doubt that he is (or was) a billionaire (ah, just noticed, a dollar billionaire … that’s different!).

Joe Berardo Wikipedia page : HERE

"Parliament’s budget and finance commission will vote on the law in what may test the minority government’s ability to control spending at a time when Portugal faces pressure to reduce its debts. The dispute revolves around a proposal to grant the semi-autonomous island of Madeira payments worth 82 million Euros — a proposal supported by the main opposition, the centre-right Social Democrats. The government said passing the bill could send the wrong message to markets as the country struggles to convince credit rating agencies that it can reduce its budget gap to 3 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 from 9.3 percent in 2009. "The country won’t understand that, in the current budget situation, it has to make extra payments to Madeira," said Cabinet Minister Pedro Silva Perreira, adding that Madeira has higher income per capita than the rest of Portugal". For those who have been reading so much about the Regional Finance law in recent weeks and months, this may be the article that helps to explain to them and the international community the implications of what is going on. The daft thing is that the Social Democrat support was originally just a pre-election bargaining element of mutual benefit from last year, and that seemingly rather trivial commitment (at the time) could now bring down the Portuguese socialist government, not to mention sending negative ripples through the European economy. RFL

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 04/02/2010 – FRONT PAGE HEADLINES

The fault was not just the bad weather. "When you buy land to build, you should not be concerned only with the view." That is the advice from a University geologist when he analyzed the storm damage in Madeira, stating that rain and landslides are natural situations in Madeira. Losses could be minimized if the land was properly surveyed for suitability before construction work began, for example if it is near a stream that is likely to flood or at the base of an embankment. He also criticized public authorities for licensing buildings in perilous places. The quality of construction can also make a difference. Councillors and mayors also admit that the councils were partially to blame.

BALANCE IN FUNCHAL

Millions – Just to repair pavements damaged by rain, the Council will spend a million Euros and the final amount will rise above this figure, ensures Albuquerque.

Homeless – The landslides left six families homeless because of the storm. In Funchal, five people were housed temporarily in a pensão.

Closed – 30 roads were closed in Funchal. The situation was more complicated in Curral dos Romeiras. Yesterday morning, it still could not reached by bus.

Waterless – Several areas in Santana yesterday were without drinking water due to difficulties in accessing the sources.

Works – Miguel Albuquerque says it is urgent to solve the problem of Ribeiro da Nora and is willing to work with the Department of Infrastructure.

The coast – The Barreirinha, Praia de São Tiago, Ponta Gorda and especially the Lido were damaged. The Lido pool will close for work between Easter and the beginning of the season.

Half a million visit gardens and spent 3.5 million Euros. Garden Tourism is more competitive and diversified and is a specialist tourism niche. In 2008, there were 583,583 visits to the three main gardens in Funchal which have an entrance fee: Jardim Botânico Eng.º Rui Vieira, Quinta do Palheiro Ferreiro, and Jardim Tropical Monte Palace. The importance of this type of tourism to Madeira is the British market and throughout Europe, gardens are enjoying a significant boom period. 60% of visitors to the Quinta do Palheiro Ferreiro were independent visitors and the other 40% in organized groups. Whereas in Jardim Tropical Monte Palace, 90% of the visitors were independent. The tourists who visit gardens during the spring are mostly from Western and Northern Europe and during the summer months, are from Southern Europe. It is estimated that 41.4% of all tourists visit one or more gardens. The writer and environmentalist, Raimundo Quintal, also highlighted the importance of the concept of Botanical Hotels, for example: Hotel Casa Velha, Quinta do Arco,  Hotel Quinta Splendida, Quinta Jardins do Lago and the Resort Vila Porto Mare. Despite this, Madeira does not have a strategy for promoting garden tourism. He advises strategies are needed to accommodate family visits, links to the Flower Festival and more websites created to convince garden lovers that you can visit all year round.

PND protest in Belém. "Dr. Alberto João Jardim saw us and got angry." This assurance was given by Gil Canha, one of the four self-styled "horsemen of the apocalypse". Four members of the PND protested yesterday with a banner asking "Help Madeira but do not give any money to Bokassa", an allusion to the African dictator with whom Jaime Gama compares Jardim. José Manuel Coelho shouted slogans stating that Jardim wants money to support his political propaganda machine and to maintain the Regional Assembly which costs €17 million a year but does not function. Spending on football and Jornal da Madeira were also criticized. He also stated that Jardim only goes to Lisbon to ‘extend his hand’ (ask for money).

MADEIRA

Influenza support services close tomorrow. Special Influenza A Clinics (SAG) will shut at the end of tomorrow. They are at health centres in Santo António (Funchal), Câmara de Lobos and Machico. With the closure of these clinics, people living in Funchal and Curral das Freiras, at the onset of symptoms, should use the Emergency Department at the Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital in Funchal.  Residents at Calheta should go to the Health Centre at Calheta, Machico and Santa Cruz residents to the Health Centre at Machico, Porto Moniz residents to the Health Centre at Port Moniz, Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol residents to the Health Centre at Ribeira Brava, Santana and São Vicente residents to local health centres. All these centres are open 24 hours a day. In Câmara de Lobos (except Curral das Freiras), residents can attend the local health centre between 16.00 – 24.00 on weekdays and 08.00 – 24.00 at weekends and holidays.

25 drug traffickers caught in 4 months. Between October and January, the PJ (Judicial Police) have caught 25 drug traffickers possessing enough illegal drugs for 74,000 doses. This figure was revealed yesterday with the news that a 33 year old African was arrested at the weekend at the airport with 2 kilos of heroin in his suitcase – 20,280 doses. The drug was destined for the regional market. The police spokesman stresses again that the increased quantities of drugs seized are due to the police adapting to the changing habits of traffickers and not do not indicate an increased number of users. During this period, 60,000 doses of heroin were seized, the main drug smuggled into the region. 9 of the arrests were made in January.

ECONOMY

Embroidery promoted in Italy. The traditional Madeiran embroidery (Bordado Madeira) will be promoted at the ‘Immagine Italia & Co.’ fair in Florence. The Italian market is the second most important for regional embroidery.  The fair is aimed at professionals of the renowned Italian textile sector and international textile firms. Madeira will be represented by the Head of the Promotion Department at IVBAM and representatives of two regional embroidery firms: João Eduardo de Sousa, Lda and Soebol-Exportador de Bordado Madeira, Lda. The luxury market is targeted and known buyers and new customers sought.

Climber-Stirling will continue flying to Copenhagen this summer. It is thought the Nordic market will recover later this year. Of the three Scandinavian countries and Finland, Sweden is the only one showing no signs of economic recovery. The link to Copenhagen by Climber-Stirling will continue during the summer season and a tour operator has increased the number of seats bought on their planes and SATA flights. Travel groups with outlets in Nordic countries, Thomas Cook and Primera Travel, are also optimistic. There is competition with Southern European resorts offering sea and sand and the Azores, which is marketing more aggressively this year.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

CARNIVAL 2010 – OCM leads the Carnival procession.  The group Caneca Furada will involve the Orchestra of Madeira with the conductor Rui Massena. This will be the first time an orchestra has taken part in a Carnival parade in Portugal. Caneca Furada presents the theme ‘The Sea and Piracy’. The group consists of  50 people with two floats representing galleons. The musicians will be dressed in gold and silver costumes representing pirates from the 16th Century. In 1556, pirates came to Madeira and raided chapels and monasteries and also stole cereals and women. The youngest women were the most valuable and often become pregnant. In local residents in Caniçal and Porto Santo, there are still noticeable traces in skin colour and blonde hair. The nuns fled with some valuable religious pieces, hiding in an area now called Curral das Freiras. Dancers will represent pirates (brightly coloured costumes), naúfragos (castaways) dressed and painted white, nobles, nuns and settlers to the island.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Convicts from ‘Cancela’ in basement in poor conditions – The ’special’ prisoners who were transferred a year ago from Viveiros were put in a female wing. The women passed to the ‘punishment zone’.

Today’s main news headline : Cavaco makes opposition back-off in order to secure the government – Yesterday, after the message of the Council of State, the President of the Republic returned to pressure the opposition in the direction needed to avoid a crisis that Teixeira dos Santos [Finance Minister] last night made a point of showing was imminent. Everything down to the calculations of the finances of Madeira. Today is D-Day. All the indications are that today the opposition parties in the Portugal Parliament will support the amendments to the Regional Finance Law, put forward by Madeira, and the socialist government will lose the vote to try and stop it. You can watch it live on ARtv Parliament Channel.

Recovery under pressure in order to save the fountain of the saint. The fountain of Santo António da Serra is in a poor state, and the local council has been forced to act. It is the oldest and an important historical feature in the parish of Santo da Serra, but the condition is deteriorating year after year. The plan is to restore it and reposition it at road level, where it will be less exposed to water erosion.

 

A lot of rain doesn’t give one permission to waste water – The excess of rainfall doesn’t signify an increase in the groundwater levels. Sometimes it even can reduce the uptake. Despite the huge Winter rainfall, the IGA warns that there may not be sufficient water for the Summer. The warning was issued by the Regional Secretary for the Environment, and backed by the organisation responsible for water management, saying that a Winter with intense rainfall can be as bad as a dry one. It gets a bit technical after that.

The main sport / football headline today : UD Santana suffers a new blow – The club is prevented from signing players. Football club União Desportiva de Santana, currently bottom of the league table, was sentenced by the disciplinary panel of the Portugal Football Federation, for failing to pay an ex-player Luís Pedro Ferreira da Gama, who was sacked without just cause. The club has been prohibited from signing new players, and renewing contracts with existing players, and making other financial commitments.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

"Portuguese finance bill threatens political crisis. Portugal moved towards a political crisis last night as its finance minister appealed to opposition parties not to defeat the minority Socialist government over a regional finance bill that he said would undermine the country’s international credibility". UK FINANCIAL TIMES

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

Read the rest of this entry →

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine out West … Aboboras out to ripen in Lombada da Ponta do Sol.

Many thanks to Beck for this video link of stormy seas in Lugar de Baixo on 28^th December.

Madeira’s Bryde’s Whales. "A variety of cetaceans are present in Madeiran waters, including Bottlenose Dolphins, Short-finned Pilot Whales, Common Dolphins and Sperm Whales. However, one species that is attracting scientific interest, and which is present around Madeira each year, is the Bryde’s (pronounced ‘brood-ess’) Whale". MORE

"We know that you have heard of the Boston Tea Party, but have you ever heard of the Madeira Wine Party? The Madeira Wine Party, which occurred several years before the Boston Tea Party, was also a demonstration against British domination over the colonies. On that occasion, it was against the rationing of Madeira, the favorite wine of the colonists. The sloop Liberty had tried to land at Boston Harbor with a cargo of Madeira wines consigned to John Hancock, the first signer of our Declaration of Independence. The British seized the shipment, which set the colonists into action. A conflict took place and, as the story goes, Hancock won out and finally received his wine". From news-leader.com, but is it serious?

I timed it, and I spent an hour and a half on Tuesday going through the list of websites that I go through every day to find the ’snippets’ and had to abandon the task through lack of time, and I just can’t keep it up in future. I did ask a few days ago if someone could take this on, even on a best endeavours basis, and didn’t get any responses, although Becky independently came up with two batches of really good links under her own steam. Much appreciated Becky.

As I said at the time, it doesn’t need any Portuguese translation skills, just reviewing the websites listed (which would be sent to you daily), and then choosing the best and most relevant sites, and formatting something to post on the blog. I will hang on another day or two, and then I will discontinue this feature if no one comes forward to help. Sorry, but I just have too much else to do, and I cannot spend the rest of my life still working at 10 pm at night.

Sheila very kindly translated and sent in this article :

Here is another example of  the way some Madeirans are giving foreign tourists a bad impression of this beautiful but flawed Island. The story is from yesterday’s Diário de Notícias.

Many foreign tourists are vowing never to return to Madeira because of  the ill-treatment of animals which they have seen on the Island.

Jutta Heinemann and her husband are examples of this growing trend. The German couple came to Madeira for the first time a few years ago when their cruise ship made a stop-over in Funchal. They liked the City so much that they decided to come back and spend more time on the Island. This year, they came for 10 days. With the help of guidebooks, they took trips to the interior of the Island where they found many mistreated animals. Dogs in particular came to their attention when they noticed that many were kept on chains that were too short, had no shelter and were forced to lie in their own excrement.

The Heinemann’s also saw starving cats and a goat kept in a small shack, without drinking water, and attached to a chain so short that it could not even lie down. These sights affected Jutta and her husband so much that they now say that they will not return to the Region. "Madeira is such a beautiful Island but, having seen how animals are treated here, we have no desire to come back" Jutta explains. She adds that the images of abused and neglected animals have prevented her from sleeping during her stay. "When people choose to keep an animal, they should realise that they are taking in another member of the family for some years and that the animal needs to be fed, treated well and to be given care and affection. Many people in Madeira are unaware of the real needs of a domesticated animal", she believes.

Jutta, who is a member of Deutscher Tierschutzbund, an animal protection organisation, could not remain indifferent to the plight of  animals in Madeira so she has adopted three dogs from SPAD (Madeira’s Society for the Protection of Domestic Animals). In a few weeks, she will adopt another dog, rescued by the couple during their stay in Madeira and placed by them in the care of SPAD. The delay is caused by the fourth dog needing a course of vaccinations before it is permitted to travel.

The help given by people like the Heinemann’s is not enough to overcome an animal welfare problem in Madeira, similar to that which also exists in mainland Portugal, Spain, Southern France and Italy. Tourists are asking why the authorities in all these areas cannot intervene to organise campaigns for the sterilisation of stray animals and to impose fines on people, who abandon and mistreat animals. Until then, at least four dogs will soon be starting a new life in Germany.

This is one of the luckier Husky dogs, well kept and fed, and full of confidence

This one is less happy with life, and wishes to make that known to his owner

Sorry Sheila, not to make light of a very serious problem, but it’s my way of coping with such unpleasant matters. Der

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 03/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Court suggests that the Ports Authority charges more fees. The Court of Auditors suggests that APRAM amends irregularities in licenses and concessions that it has granted to private enterprises. Examples of such cases are the Restaurante Vagrant and the Terminal Marítimo da Cimentos Madeira. The OPM, Beer House, Vagrant and Cimentos would have to pay more for their licences and concessions. The Court wants APRAM to rewrite the regulations to conform with the Water Act so there is transparency, equality and proportionality in setting the rates. The port operation (OPM) is legal and Cimentos Madeira does not pay taxes as there is no evidence of its use. Companhia Logística de Combustíveis da Madeira in Caniçal has chosen not to pay user fees as it disagrees with the bill issued. New licensing would add another 6.5% to present revenue. The Vagrant restaurant has been unlicensed since 2002 and the Beer House is also illegal. The Court also criticized the Council of Funchal for holding a competition for tenders before having a licence to occupy the space.

PS want special taxes for concessionaires. Via Litoral, Via Expresso, OPM and SDM may have to pay 2.5% more on their assets. The Socialist Party want to increase revenue as income tax receipts are down. They state that only taxpayers with significant income who have been immune to the economic crisis will be affected by their tax proposals. This week in the Legislative Assembly, the PS will present three draft legislations. They suggest: a tax on companies supplying public services; a special tax on aggregate extraction, and an alteration of the use of taxes from the Estradas da Madeira. New revenues should help the poorest sections of the population, for their education and health services, and for road safety and to help victims of road accidents.  Large companies will have to pay 2.5% on their mobile assets, for example OPM (Operation of Ports of Madeira) and SDM (operate the Free Zone – International Business Centre). They suggest that for every ton of extracted inert material – rock, gravel, sand etc.-  5 Euros is paid to the region.

MADEIRA

BAD WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

Stream overflowed into workshop. The water in the Ribeiro Fernando in Camacha overflowed and debris blocked the E.R. 205. The local population used spades, shovels and farming implements to clear the road rather than wait for the council to bring in machinery. An aluminium workshop was flooded despite their efforts and two houses were at risk. A section of the road was closed off and some cars became stuck in the mud. Family displaced in the Lombo da Quinta. (Photo). Four people were evicted from a residence in São Gonçalo after a supporting garden wall collapsed. The family were awakened at 4 am by the noise and were later instructed to leave for safety reasons. The house is still under the five year guarantee and there have been construction faults for which the owners are having to take the builder to court. They have worked in South Africa for 32 years and have invested their income in this house. Roads turned into rivers. In Machico and Funchal. In Moinho da Serra in Machico, several cars parked overnight on a road were swept away by water and debris which had clogged a swollen stream. Residents had previously warned the council that this might happen. Porto da Cruz awakes unrecognizable. Roads flooded and cars dislodged by the force of the water. Two homes flooded with significant losses and will take a lot of cleaning. Trail of destruction in the north. In Santana, houses and schools flooded, landslides, roads impassable and overflowing streams. A family had some of their belongings destroyed when their house was flooded. They live on 540 Euros a month and there are eight members in the family. High seas did no damage to the port or marinas. Despite high waves, no damage reported to the Port of Funchal or marinas at Funchal, Quinta do Lorde, Calheta, Machico and  Porto Santo. The City Council of Funchal triggers the emergency fund. Work on the pavements alone will cost more than 1 million Euros. Three families have been displaced and 30 roads damaged. A record level of rainfall was recorded in Funchal: 111 millimetres per square metre.

ECONOMY

Sales of new cars falls 45% in nine years. Sales of new ‘light’ vehicles (passenger and commercial) has fallen from 6,199 vehicles in 2001 to 3,412 in 2009. In 2009, there were 23.9% fewer vehicles sold than the previous year despite increases in 2004 and 2008. The data is encouraging as sales rose in the last four months of 2009. The sale of commercial vehicles fell 36.8% in 2009 which could be the worst year ever. Firms will have to reorganize and restructure, cutting the number of vendors and improving customer service.

POLITICS

Who hurt Socrates? Since 2005, Jardim has been offensive to the Prime Minister of Portugal – "The great enemy of Madeira" -but they must sit together today at the State Council meeting. Jardim has stated that Socrates has an "obsession" against Madeira and he is "concerned" about  "Who in Madeira has hurt the man?" In a television interview, Jardim questioned the reasons why Socrates "looses his temper" with Madeira. Is it because of different political parties? Is it because of political autonomy in Madeira? Is it because Madeira can progress with different policies than Lisbon? Is the answer to these questions the fact that since 2005, there have been controversial statements from Jardim about Portugal.

CULTURE

Funchal has a new window on the past. Agulha e o Dedal (Needle and Thimble) recreates a sewing room from 50 years ago. This one-room house-museum opened yesterday at Rua Câmara Pestana No 6, 1 º A. The project is an idea of Manuela Castro who also created the house ‘Velhos Encantos’ and the grocery store ‘Venda do André’.

 

Rosa Lobato Faria died yesterday in Lisbon. The 77 year old Rosa Lobato Faria died in a Lisbon Hospital yesterday after post-surgical complications and anaemia. This poet, novelist and actress was born in Lisbon in 1932. She was an announcer for RTP in the 1960s and acted in the Portuguese soap opera, Vila Faia, and in several films. Her writing started later on in life, from 1995 to 2001, writing novels, poetry and award-winning songs. The loss of her husband in 2008 was a hard blow and she tried to overcome this through work.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

RSI beneficiaries will be able to carry out voluntary work. The PSD will arrange a legislative amendment to the RSI (Social Integration Income) that will allow beneficiaries who have the capacity to work, to be able to do voluntary work. This was after a meeting with representatives of Caritas, a charity that provides support to families in need. The charity wants more cross-checking between institutions for better coordination of support to households. They want to combat dependence on support. Such voluntary activities will benefit the community, for example: help the bombeiros clean the serras, clean neighbourhood gardens, care for children in nursery schools and work in centres for the elderly. Caritas is receiving an increasing number of requests for support by parents, especially when the husband has been made unemployed.

Good photo on yesterday’s Funchal Daily Photo, ‘Stop Waves’.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Museums lose visitors – The trend of rising visitor numbers recorded from 2001, was interrupted in the last two years.

Dangerous carelessness – The weather couldn’t explain all the damage done.  At the time of building, more rigor is needed.

Today’s main news headline, and also the main photo. A picture of a semi-smiling Prime Minister José Sócrates sat at the same table as a glaring President Alberto João Jardim. Deputy of the Socialist Party of Madeira disobeys Sócrates – If the PS intransigence continues, Luís Miguel França will today help facilitate the amendment to the Regional Finance Law. Hmm, dangerous ground crossing party boundaries, and a career ending opportunity for França perhaps. In another article Jardim says the the country "lives in a carnival", and that the resignation of the prime minister would be "the best for the country".

The controversial [Regional Finance] Law was addressed in the Council of State, that sees no reason for Sócrates to resign, but the President of Madeira opted for silence. Not like you Uncle Bertie. Bit out of your depth with the heavyweights perhaps?

Leaders of the PND Madeira protested in Belém. That would be the Rabbit and his colleagues then, of the New Democratic Party creating yet another spectacle, this time at the parliament in Lisbon.

 

Pay-to-view gardens yield 3.5 million Euros – ‘Garden Tourism’ is a competitive and differentiating niche, but it is not promoted in the best way by the Region.

 

 

 

The main sport / football headline today : More errors – The scandals and suspect refereeing occur in the football matches of the young people of Madeira. Rui Marote, president of the Football Association of Madeira recognizes that not everything is as it should be, but he ensures that everything is being done so that the referees can do a good job. "Nobody makes mistakes on purpose" he says. But club officials from various directions disagree, criticising the quality of refereeing at youth level, weak technical resources, and little propensity for teaching. the Diário decided to pick the story of the training coordinator of Boaventura to illustrate the complaints, following a match from two weeks ago. "Our team of youngsters was at the ground of Andorinha and ended up with 7 players sent off!", he complains. The article finishes with statements from 10 officials from regional clubs, all saying pretty much the same thing.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

Tobi has very kindly sent in some video ’snippets’ for you perusal. Many thanks.

This is a nice video – Madeira 1951, no sound though. MADEIRA 1951

More of the bad weather   -   Funchal

More of the bad weather   -   Santa Cruz

This is a great one from the hotel at Santa Cruz – OUTDOOR POOL WITH WAVES

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Jaquine … Funchal marina

"Madeira is a sub-tropical Portuguese island in the mid Atlantic Ocean. Every January it hosts a week long walking festival providing three or more daily guided hikes with various levels of difficulty. The event is the brainchild of writer and photographer Terry Marsh who, this year, had to supervise from a distance as he was recovering from heart surgery. He needn’t have worried; for many of the participants this was their third year and they knew exactly where to go and what to do". A report on this years Madeira walking Festival, with photos HERE

A couple more web snippets … many thanks to Becky.

A blog entirely dedicated to the movement of Cruise ships visiting Funchal. Who’d have thought it?! It’s in Portuguese so good luck! Strangely interesting though, even if you don’t understand it. FUNCHAL CRUISE VISITS

Should any of you be thinking of landing a plane at the Aeroporto in windy weather perhaps you should look at this before you attempt it. On a separate note, I had absolutely no idea that every time I landed at the airport, the onboard computer was saying “Retard… Retard…” Of course I have since learned that ‘retard’ is a perfectly normal word if you’re used to flying planes (which I am not) but it’s still going to make me smile on my next landing when I say to the Captain under my breath, “Retard… Retard…”

Also a couple of news stories from Becky … many thanks.

Bad weather causes landslides, flooding and fallen trees – Santana is the county most affected with many roads closed. The heavy rains that fell during the night in Madeira caused several landslides, floods, falling trees and walls, but there is no record of personal injury. Madeira airport is operating normally and only in the morning, due to rain, an aircraft had to depart from Porto to Lisbon. The county most affected by bad weather is Santana, where they have already recorded several roads closed due to landslides in Faial, Cruzinhas, São Roque do Faial and São Jorge Arco, according to a contact by the corporations of the 11 municipalities in the region.

Wall in Monte at risk of falling on public
It is with some trepidation that residents of Caminho do Pico in Monte, are facing daily life with regard to driving or walking on the path that gives them access to their homes.  A large section of the wall of the Quinta Jardins do Imperador has fallen and seems to point to an imminent collapse, which may well happen if the ancient wall of stone wall is subjected to another period of intense and prolonged rain.  For some time, the residents have felt some fear crossing the street and yesterday, with the fall of the wall, the feeling of insecurity has grown.  The stones did not cause personal injury or material damage. But given that the wall maintains land where the gardens are planted with large trees, residents fear that the next collapse might have other consequences.  Earlier this month a tree fell due to the wind. Thankfully, the section of wall which saw the fall is still tough. The Fire Department of Funchal attended and placed grids to draw attention to the instability of the wall.  The authority has been informed of what happened.

The article below is a full and exact translation as reported yesterday … many thanks to Vanessa Swesnik :

Brazilian Tourists to Arrive for Easter – Tour operator from Salvador da Bahia organizes a trip to Madeira in April. Brazilian tour operator, BIS (Brazil International Service), headquartered in Salvador, Bahia added a trip to Madeira to its Portugal package.

Lucia Bichara, President Director of BIS, confirmed with the DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS that the first clients to travel to our island next Easter will arrive by chartered flight from Salvador to Lisbon.

In recent years BIS has chartered a number of flights to Portugal, especially for New Years and other special occasions such as Carnival and Easter. Starting in 2007, the year in which it increased operations to our country, the Bahian operator focused the Portugal promotion in other Northeastern markets, creating a second charter flight from Recife, Pernambuco.

In recent statements to the DIÁRIO during the inauguration of the International Tourism Exhibition, Lucia Bichara emphasized that the clients started showing more interest in visiting Madeira starting last year. Beyond the few individual programs leaving from Madeira that partner with other Portuguese operators, BIS’s President Director felt the necessity to create its own programs which included a visit to the autonomous region with transport, accommodations, and a detailed schedule of excursions; all of which will take place with the support and collaboration of Madeira’s Windsor Travel Agency, representing the Brazilian operator here in Madeira.

Even though the tours are still on sale for another two months until the actual travel date, Lucia Bichara is very satisfied with the reception of the trip and hopes to bring a few dozen Brazilian tourists this Easter.

Although there is no official direct promotional activity from regional tourist institutions to the Brazilian market, Madeira has appeared in several travel and general interest publications thanks to the arrival of Brazilian journalists who depend on support from the Regional Tourism Directorate of Madeira (Direcção Regional de Turismo da Madeira- DRTM) and local hotels on their excursions to the archipelago.

During the largest tourism fair in Latin America, the Fair of the Americas last October in Rio de Janeiro, the DRTM was present and noted many of the people who visited the Portugal pavilion had an interest in visiting Madeira – they also noted many questions from travel agents who want to send their clients to the archipelago.

Lucia Bichara thinks a good beginning has been made, but that there must be more promotion directly to consumers and to the travel agents who resell the product. In this instance in particular, there is everything to gain from the identification of successful hotel brands in the Brazilian market that are not only easily identified in Portugal and Madeira, but that also have their headquarters here. Such is the case with hotel groups Pestana, Porto Bay, Dorisol, and Enotel.

The Brazilian market currently has a lot of potential in terms of travel. Despite being a country that has up until recently been labeled “Third World” due to pockets of extreme poverty in its most densely populated areas, the truth is that in economic terms, Brazil is one of the most important countries in the world, with its economy ranking in fifth place globally according to international organizations.

Brazilian tourist spending increases in Portugal. The Brazilian currency, the Real, has gone through a very robust phase and has permitted Brazilians to look to the foreign holiday market with more enthusiasm.

Portugal has achieved preferred status with Brazilians heading to Europe over the past few months, due in large part to the fact that Portuguese airline, TAP, has the largest flight network from Brazil to the Old Continent (67 flights to nine airports per week). Thus, Brazilian tourist spending went up by 41.1% to $24.5 million this September compared with the homologous month of 2008, and it went up 16.7% to $25.986 million in October according to the latest information available from the Bank of Portugal.

September was the first month in which a shift occurred in Brazilian tourism and travel spending abroad, with an increase of 59.5% to 1.236 million US dollars; whereas since October there were sharp drops of two digits in most cases. ORIGINAL IN PORTUGUESE

Tom sent in this photo he took yesterday. "Just minutes ago wall gave in, all banana trees dropped down on the Travessa São Luise. Too much rain for the past 24 h. Thanks Tom.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 02/02/2010 – MADEIRA

Public works stain beachfront at Câmara de Lobos. For months, part of the seafront at Câmara de Lobos has been tarnished brown by the discharge of sludge into the sea from public works under the responsibility of the Regional Government. It is most noticeable at the area in front of the Praça da Autonomia, from the mouth of the stream at Vigário. This has been triggered by the construction of the new expressway linking the Estreito and Jardim da Serra, and reinforced by a municipal road linking Ribeiro da Alforra and Limoeiro, constructed by the side of a stream and a few hundred metres from its mouth. Debris from the work enters the stream and then flows directly into the sea. The mayor acknowledges the interference with the beautiful scenery but it would be impractical to separate and retain the sludge, as the work is near the town, stream and the coast. He hopes that it will finish before summer.

Lack of leadership in the National Scouts Corps. The lack of leaders is put down to the fact that it is difficult for adults of parish communities to be available for training and that society is "increasingly selfish". The leaders are voluntary and are not paid. Most adults take refuge in the excuse that they have no time. The regional head also pointed out that Baden-Powell, when he started the scouting movement more than 100 years ago, stated that the biggest fault of mankind is selfishness. The present training course has 18 candidates who should be ready by the end of the year. In the region, there are about a thousand scouts spread over 15 groups.

Police seize more counterfeit notes. This week, the Judicial Police seized more counterfeit euro notes. A dozen 20 euro notes, this time in Machico and Caniçal. Three individuals were eventually identified and the manufacturer, a minor, was referred to the Family and Minors Court and the printing equipment seized. On several occasions in recent weeks, counterfeit notes have been detected but are not related to this latest event. The Bank of Portugal website provides information for discerning the authenticity of banknotes.

Barreirinha left abandoned. The storms in December destroyed the offshore concrete platform and deposited pieces of concrete in the swimming pool. Since then, waves have washed rubbish into the leisure complex – cardboard, plastic and bottles. Tourists still visit the area which is run by FrenteMar. The bathrooms, bars and showers are shut and the staff who work there during the summer have been redeployed to other areas. There is no entrance fee during winter as the number of visitors is less than 10 per day. The restoration work will not start before spring and it will probably not be ready for the new season. The alternative area for visitors and residents of this part of Funchal is the Praia de São Tiago.

ECONOMY

Peugeot and Citroen cars have an identical defect to the Toyota. The group PSA own Peugeot and Citroen and will recall 600 cars in Portugal. The models Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 have a faulty accelerator pedal. This is a preventative campaign and the owners will be notified by mail. Toyota have recalled 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and these cars were all manufactured in the Czech Republic.

POLITICS

PSD highlight the activities of the Centro da Mãe. This is run by a charity dedicated to supporting young mothers. The headquarters are at the Avenida Luís de Camões in Funchal and were visited by members of the parliamentary committees of Education and Social Affairs. The charity supports 92 young mothers in various municipalities in the region. These mothers have problems with social exclusion and the centre promotes inclusion back into society. The centre receives young mothers in difficulties, many of them teenagers who usually leave school when they become pregnant or after the birth of their children. The centre provides education and training, parenting skills, helps in job searches, provides fitness and yoga classes and other activities.

Cavaco forces dialogue. The President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, wants to force the Prime Minister of Portugal and the President of Madeira into dialogue. He has convened the Council of State where tomorrow, the political and economical situation of the country and the Regional Finance Law will be discussed. Cavaco Silva stresses the importance of consensus, and the need is great because the law drafted by the Regional Government has become a battleground between the government and the opposition. There have been many proposals for amending the law to make it acceptable to the socialist Government of Portugal, accusations and counter-statements. Portugal stands to loose 80 million Euros to Madeira and the Azores.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

‘Clean Portugal’ attracts Madeiran volunteers. This project has been inspired by a similar one in Estonia in 2008. The campaign ‘Clean Portugal’ has about five dozen volunteers in Madeira for the event to be held on March 20th. Across the country, there are about 20,000 people interested and the goal is to have 100,000. The project is also open to partnerships with companies and institutions, public and private entities that can help with resources. A TV station is helping by broadcasting videos related to the project on the theme of waste and the environment. Sites needing cleaning up are increasing in number and are added to the computer program by volunteers as they are detected. Information on how to volunteer is on the website: LIMPAR PORTUGAL.

DIÁRIO BAD WEATHER STORIES

 

Six schools closed for the safety of students and staff. 15 sections of roads closed as a precautionary measure. Shops inundated in lower Funchal. Floods, landslides and raised manhole covers. Landslides and fallen trees in the higher zones of Curral dos Romeiros and Babosas in Monte. In the city centre, a tunnel of the Cota 40 was flooded. Some shops were flooded at the area of Sé, among them the souvenir shop Bazar Oliveira. Also flooding along the Rua das Murças to the Rua do Carmo. Bad weather wreaks havoc in Machico, Porto da Cruz and Santa Cruz. Several roads in Machico county have been turned into streams, dragging debris and parked cars. Some homes were flooded and agricultural land devastated. In Porto da Cruz, a landslide caused a hole in the roof of a house. In Santa Cruz, strong surf flooded the promenade and a garden in front of a hotel.

— Many videos on Diário website yesterday. VIDEOS

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Today’s main news headline : Well actually there is only one real story : Bad weather around Madeira. Not a very imaginative headline I know, but the great photo, which takes up 90% of the front page, makes up for that HERE

From there it is just one weather story after another.

 

 

At the end of the day yesterday, the bad weather headed towards the South, with the sea invading the costal areas of the cities. Before that, during a night and a day, nourished [?] rain had spread chaos around the  island. It was a record rainfall in the city of Funchal. It has never rained so much in the space of 24 hours in Funchal. The measurements collected by the Meteorological Observatory in the city, between 9 am Monday and the same time yesterday, revealed a precipitation of 111 mm, thrashing the previous record of 90.6 mm in 1956. In Pico do Areeiro, the figure was 184.7 mm, which was in fact significantly lower than records from the past. The worst downpour measured was in Santana, where 36 mm fell in the space of an hour. The island was on a red weather alert during 9 hours yesterday, the highest level possible, after the forecast originally resulted in a yellow (third level) warning. Just picking out a few key points from the main article today about the weather, it talks of cars being swept away by the force of the water, houses flooded and some areas with access completely cut-off, like Curral das Freiras (Nun’s Valley). Communications were also cut off there, not just the landlines, but also mobile phones could not be used. The Diário reporting vehicle when trying to get to the area, in the end was left trapped on the access road between two landslides. The same thing happened to a Funchal bus, that had to wait to be freed. Loads of other stuff in the newspaper and on the TV, and the pictures and footage explain the situation much better than I can do in words. Also some great links and photos below from Tobi.

Santana was the county hardest hit, with landslides, areas cut-off, and families that lost what little they had. Several roads were impassable, and two schools were closed.

Porto da Cruz and parts of Machico awoke unrecognizable. Bad weather damaged parts of Machico, Porto da Cruz and Santa Cruz. Land slides caused a hole in a roof of a house in the Sítio do Massapez.

Schools closed in several districts and families had to leave their homes. Six schools were closed in total, due to the bad weather, but the situation should return to normal today.

More than ten roads closed – stretches closed as "precaution".

Shops flooded in ‘downtown’ – Although affected to a lesser extent, Funchal also didn’t ‘escape’ the effects of the bad weather.

In politics : Socialist Party of Madeira proposes a special tax for  concessionaires / franchisees – The PS-M want Via Litoral, Via Expresso, OPM and SDM to help to increase the revenues of the Region. Great idea to sting these public companies with an extra 2.5% tax, but I suspect that a close inspection of their accounts would show them all to be pretty much technically bankrupt already. Somehow I don’t see the PSD politicians, some with vested interests, voting in favour of this proposal.

TC [Auditors Tribunal] wants the ports to charge more through taxes.

The main sport / football headline today : Rúben participates in the Lions humiliation – FC Porto thumped (5 – 2) Sporting and heads to the semi-finals of the Portugal Cup. And what a fine performance from our local lad Rúben Micael, from Câmara de Lobos, who has slotted into the Porto team like a fresh crisp €500 note into Uncle Bertie’s back pocket. The lofted cross to set up Falcao for his goal was just perfection.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

Tobi has kindly sent in some bad weather links … many thanks :

Santana Video
Funchal Video
Santa Cruz Video

PHOTO : Monster impact against the sea walls sending waves up a good 10/15 metres … The Forte de São Tiago disappears behind a wall of water!

TOBI’S OWN PHOTOS 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

Read the rest of this entry →