Madeira News Blog

Source :  Diário de Notícias 28/12/2007

If you have children that go to school here then you will need to be aware that there is a new law governing what weights they can carry to and from school. Clearly for health reasons, and probably not such a bad idea, the limits depend on the cycle / grade that the child is in and is deemed comfortable to carry for the age. Initially it sets a total limit, and also later it covers weights of individual books. I wonder who will enforce it … mum with her kitchen scales? With my fertile imagination I am just thinking aloud ” … Pedro, your rucksack is 200g overweight, let me just take out that bar of chocolate and bag of crisps … you will have to manage with just an apple today”.

Its reported that since xmas day, Funchal refuse collection services have collected 276 tons of rubbish, with the total expected to rise to over 400 tons. That was just the rubbish not separated for recyling, produced for or on Christmas day. On 1st January, once the revellers have started to head home, a team of 70 workers with cleaning machines and dustcarts will make a start on cleaning up the celebrations of the previous night.

You will be pleased to know that I won’t be contributing to that litter in any form, as I now won’t be going, like most of the population outside Funchal. It’s madness to take a car into Funchal that night, taxi … forget it, and there are no buses running to take people home. You would think with over a million euros to blow up with fireworks, that some form of public transport could have been laid on for the rest of the island.

When reading the print edition of the Diário last night (I normally use the online edition) I noticed a story I hadn’t seen earlier. Apparently despite the general disappointment amongst retailers there was one very very busy shop upon reopening after Xmas. I think it was in Madeira Shopping (Centre). It was a women’s lingerie shop, but according to the owners, they weren’t selling anything, just accepting back loads of red and black underwear of manekin size proportions brought by men, and exchanging it for fleshy coloured day-to-day items of more realistic proportions. So we already know that men are truly hopeless at this, but it seems to be international!

You have probably heard me winge before on the matter of fireworks being set off at most unreasonable times, and it’s still going on even with Xmas gone. The Diário reports that despite the financial difficulties families and shops are experiencing this year, the sale of fireworks is well and good, with the busiest days for selling yet to come. So how come with so little money for necessities, there is plenty for fireworks? As I have never yet seen a woman throwing a megabanger into the street, would it be a safe bet to put this down to men?

 www.madeira4u.com

Source : Diário de Notícias 27-12-2007

Front page news today is the poor sales in the shops over the Christmas period … the worst in 10 years for the shops in Funchal. In the last 15 months it claims that 1,300 jobs have been lost and 10 shops have closed.

Perhaps the people of Madeira have caught onto the fact that they can save a packet if they wait until the January sales? There is no mention of the new Dolce Vita Shopping Centre opening with over 50 new shops and numerous jobs. Lets face it, you can open as many new shops as you want, but if the population numbers are static or declining, and there is only so much money to spend, then that expenditure is just going to be spread about more. There may be increased tourism due to more flights and opportunities, but tourists for sure are not going to come here and do their Xmas shopping.

Different article, but linking in with the ‘sales’ theme, is an article about a new law changing the permitted window in which shops here can hold official ‘sales’ for selling off of their reduced price goods. I recall that until now there were winter sales and summer sales that both had to be held within defined dates. Any sales outside these dates had to be called something else (promotions, reductions. etc. … but not ‘Sales’).

So in case anyone is interested, the winter sales will in future be held between 28th December (tomorrow!) until 28th February, and the summer sales between 15th July and 15th September.

So if you have any cash left over after Xmas, or got given cash in lieu of pressies … get yer skates on to get the first bargains tomorrow!

You know, I would hate to be an email spammer … the poor souls didn’t seem to get any time off at Xmas.

www.madeira4u.com

Having gone through the Diário de Notícias this morning, sadly I have to report that there is no newsworthy news on Madeira today. As I last resort, I also read for the first time the Journal da Madeira, the government sponsored newspaper (couldn’t possibly be propoganda could it?) and again nothing worthy of mention.

So I have brought forward the full account of the preparations for the new year firework display, which was to be published late this week.

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By the time you read this the construction of the rigs, frames etc. that launch the fireworks will be complete, having had up until Xmas around 40 staff stationed in Madeira’s ‘military zone’  (in the shipyard) working for some time with around 17 tons of fireworks. Xmas is followed by a influx of more technicians and other staff, bringing the numbers up to around 100 in total for the later preparations.

The display is the responsibility of the company Macedo, a Portuguese company, who have been winning awards since 1959 for their firework displays not just in Portugal but as far afield as Italy, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Canada, Spain and Monaco. Their crowning glory was new year 2006/2007 when they entered the Guinness book of records for the largest ever firework display – that of course took place on Madeira. That gives them something of a reputation to live upto this year, and the boss Carlos Macedo knows that any slip-ups will disappoint the tens of thousands of spectators who will be lining the streets of Funchal and far beyond in this years event. He is the first to admit that the total elimination of some failure is practically impossible, and attention to detail is the key to minimising that risk. Macedo have already managed 6 such year end displays on Madeira, so experience is on their side.

As well as the critical positioning of the individual firework sets and displays, there is the complex matter of precisely timed and coordinated detination for the eight minutes of action, through the use of computers and radio transmissions (FM and VHF), permitted through the granting of a special licence. As well as the main control centres (2) there will also be a mobile control centre installed in a parked car somewhere, that can be called upon in the event of faults or problems.

The positioning of each display will be critical not just for visual effect, but also for safety. The more powerful explosions are situated well away from the Avenida do Mar, and where possible out at sea.

On the final day, there will be 383 people employed on the project, including catering and security staff, when those 66,000 explosions kick off.

As well as the public display at midnight, there will be thousands of fireworks going off on cruise ships, and around Funchal, and all over Madeira in private displays.

If you would like to visit the Macedo’s website, this is the link www.macedos.com.pt

If you have any special photographs of the event that you would be prepared to share with those people unlucky enough not to be able to attend, please email them to fireworks@madeira4u.com and we will publish a dedicated page on the website for all to see worldwide. The pictures can be of anything of interest and relevant to the night, and not necessarily just fireworks. If you wish to provide your details, an appropriate credit will be accompany your contribution. Many thanks in anticipation.

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Having today exposed the self-confessed Levada Mugger, the madeira4u undercover blog team is already working on another high-profile case to expose another of Madeira’s most wanted rogues. Rest assured, we will work to tirelessly to bring these people to justice, and clean up Madeira to again be the safest and most desirable place in the world to live and visit.

www.madeira4u.com