Madeira News Blog

After 9 days of blog chaos, we are finally back on line. All the temporary blogletts have been transferred over (some with some noticable presentation problems), but nether-the-less ’tis now done.

The ’surrogate’ blog will be disconnected and all the buttons and bells should work as normal, but any problems please drop me a line – thanks!

No time left to compose any stories as this job has taken so long, but it will be back to normal tomorrow with an unmissable story for all electricity consumers on Madeira (I have been known to exagerate in the past).

There are also some new comments that didn’t appear on the ’surrogate’ blog, in particular on the subject of condominiums.

Also, if anyone noticed that my spelling was improved the last week or so, well that was because there was a spellchecker under that arrangement. Now you are going to see the real me again, spelling warts and all!

Things to look forward to in the next week:

A report from our correspondent on Porto Santo

Carnival photos (if I get sent any that is, Tobi, you there?)

Pinch, punch, first of the month for tomorrow

www.madeira4u.com

Blog for Wednesday 30th January, 2008

Source : Diário de Notícias 30/1/2008

Some sad stories in todays news, starting off with some distressing news and photographs of sea creatures in trouble as a result of getting caught up in or eating human rubbish discarded in the sea. The pictures show a turtle totally incapacitated after getting caught up in discarded fishing netting, but the story also goes on to explain the often fatal impacts of human rubbish on other sea creatures such as seals and dolphins.

The other is about the number of animals ending up with SPAD, with January already one of the worst months ever. In January 2007, SPAD received 110 homeless animals, whilst already this month it has received 211, mostly dogs. SPAD is always stuck for space to keep animals, and for other resources, and things just seem to get worse. It may be that SPAD is a victim of it’s own publicity, as their work gets good coverage in the media, and people are now taking homeless animals to SPAD instead of leaving them roaming the streets. Also, many of the
admissions come from holiday makers, who are not used to seeing stray animals roaming the streets in their own countries.

If you can help SPAD in any way, details are on the website in the ‘Resources & Information’ section.

Yesterday morning ‘Operation Stop’ using 30 police offices, stopped and checked 385 drivers and vehicles. Aside from one arrest, there were 47 minor offences, 10 serious, and 2 very serious. The operation which started at 7.30 in the morning was unannounced, and as well as catching many drivers by surprise, it also caused traffic congestion in Funchal and in surrounding areas.

If anyone is going to Carnival this weekend (or any of the other days) and has any photographs they would be prepared to submit to madeira4u, I would be grateful. I will create a dedicated page as I did for the new year celebrations.

www.madeira4u.com

Blog for Tuesday 29th January, 2008

Source : Diário de Notícias 29/1/2008

Leading story in the ‘Madeira’ section, is about a female police officer who had been assigned to traffic duty, near to a school who was hit by a balloon filled with water, from one of the upper floors. Thankfully she managed to identify the dangerous criminals involved, and they will be punished in accordance with the school regulations. Leading story … lovely!

Somewhat deeper in the same section, is a slightly more disturbing report about a ‘robbery’ last Thursday at 10pm, when a driver who stopped at traffic lights in Funchal was robbed at ’syringe-point’. The man entered the car as it was stopped, and demanded money. The victim, who had little money, was ordered to drive to a cashpoint, but the criminal eventually left with just a wallet and some keys, which surprisingly turned up again in the victims mailbox the following day. The police have managed to identify the culprit from photographs in their files. In case there are any policemen who read this blog and have not already realised, this is what drug related crime looks like … the clue being the syringe!

In another serious crime story, this time involving corruption  in the world of banana’s, five master criminals are to be sentenced next month for their roles in Madeira’s greatest ever banana swindle. The ‘Banana Five’ faced 7 charges between them, the most serious one carrying a maximum 8 year prison sentence.

The real madeira4u blog page is regrettably still out of action, pending 3rd party repairs … as yet there is no indication of when it will be fixed … of course they continue to take my monthly support fees! Sorry!

www.madeira4u.com

Blog for Monday 28th January, 2008 

Source : Diário de Notícias 28/1/2008

To the delight of some for sure, it seems that from next month all the rural taxis (all outside of Funchal) are to have meters installed, at a cost of between €805 and €905. Although it seems all in the world of taxi drivers is not well as a result of the introduction of these meters. Does this theoretically mean the end of ‘rip-off the foreigner’ taxi trips? Probably not, as apparently Funchal taxis (which have had the meters for a long time already) can still manage to fleece their customers, often by quite staggering amounts, but how do they do it? Do they switch the meter off, or charge for non-existant luggage, or charge night rate during the day time? Can anyone shed any light on the matter?

Going back to a blog I did last year about a restaurant that ripped us off on a couple of beers we brought, well I was told by someone else at the weekend that he went to the same place (in Ribeira Brava) and got charged €3.75 for
a pint of beer! To add to that, a waiter who was working there said that he left because they gave him an ultimatum, that he had to increase his 7 hour working day to 11 or 12 hours, without any extra pay (and this is on the state
minimum wage mind you). I don’t feel quite so bad now that I know it is not just foreigners, but anyone that breathes is a legitimate target.

Going back to todays news, there is a story about a police “megaoperation” that took place over Saturday night and early Sunday morning in areas between Sâo Martinho and Caniçal, which resulted in the apprehension of several individuals and hundreds of doses of drugs and narcotic substances.

Blog for Sunday 27th January, 2008

Source : Diário de Notícias 27/1/2008

The Hiper Sã supermarket chain is looking for new land to build yet another superstore. This time they want to build in Câmara de Lobos, and have already been making enquires for premises in the vicinty of the recently opened Modelo store. That should put a few more businesses out of commission in the area, just what was needed in a region that is probably already the most deprived on Madeira.

Little else worth reading in the newspaper today. I think Madeira is having a news relapse. So in the spirit of good entertainment, here is a piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago, waiting for some space to put it.

CONDOMINIUM WOES

‘Condominiums’ are common on Madeira for apartments owners, or those who live in places with shared facilities. They are theoretically governed by law, but in practice they can be (and often are) a real nightmare for the owners once a condominium management company has been appointed, and also where members don’t pay their dues.

I heard one story a couple of weeks ago where the electricity bill for the common areas of the building wasn’t paid because of non payment of fees by some owners, and the supply was cut off for a few days … no lift, no lights, and worst of all no electricity for the water pump.

Blog for Saturday 26th January, 2008

Source : Diário de Notícias 26/1/2008

The government has earmarked the grand sum of €1.6 million to tackle the problem of a rat infestation affecting Madeira. Starting from August, when 30 tons of rat poison are due to be delivered here and lasting until the beginning of 2010, the campaign will focus on the worst affected areas, many of which include farms where the rats are eating the bananas and other crops. The governement says there is no risk to the population of Madeira, and that the poisons will be used carefully to ensure that there is no chance of children being poisoned. One of the main types of rat which are causing the problem reproduces rapidly, giving birth 4 to 6 times a year, with litters of between 6 and 12. First I
have heard about a rat problem, as I think I have only seen two in four years and one of those was as flat as a pancake on our road. You have to question the timing of the clean up operation, as by my calculations if they wait until August the rat population could increase tenfold in that time. It would help if the litter problem was tackled, as it seems to be second nature for many local to discard their rubbish in places they shouldn’t, kids especially.

In a national story, the head of the association (order) of lawyers has called for the creation of a commission to look at the issues of corruption within the country. Of particular concern is the poor management and accountability for public funds, and the costs and expenses incurred that nobody understands. Probably not a bad idea, as stories and rumours of corruption are rife on Madeira, though I suspect poor judgement is the cause much of the time. However, you cannot help but wonder why the pot is calling the kettle black, when corruption is rife amongst many of his own members in the legal profession. My suggestion would be to wait until August, when that big delivery mentioned above
arrives, and take the opportunity to clean up two species in one swoop.

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Photo : One of Ribeira Brava’s peacocks – anxiously awaiting the forthcoming mating season, when he can start his noisy screaming ritual once more

Blog of Friday 25th January, 2008

Source : Diário de Notícias 25/1/2008

The smoking issue just won’t go away. After the president of Madeira was caught earlier this week smoking illegally in a hotel restaurant, it now turns out that the government is looking into ways to make the filthy habit more acceptable in bars, cafes etc. It seems that the Spanish ‘no smoking’  (v2.0) model is the favoured approach, which would mean that any establishment, regardless of size and the existence of smoke extraction equipment, would be able to be either a ’smoking’ or ‘non smoking’ establishment. Now that’s democracy, and now I realise why Madeira is called an ‘Autonomous’ region of Portugal. What an innovative suggestion … I wonder why no one had thought of that one before?

Normally I find most of the local news of little interest, even though often quite quaint. Stories about the governments inaugurations, lightweigh political squabbles, planning and construction blunders, school lunch menus, you know the sort of thing. However, in browsing through todays paper online, a small front page story caught my eye that I could have quite easily missed if it wasn’t for a vaguely familiar looking photographic view … exactly the same view I see when looking out from my veranda, and from more or less taken from the same position, but slightly above because my roof is clearly visible.

Boy, I feel so much better now that my local council is thinking about the matter.

So, if the blogs stop … fear the worst! 

www.madeira4u.com