Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Sarah … a rather eyecatching fountain in the ‘Jardins Governor’

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 26/11/2008

“More than 400,000 lights and “thousands of kilometers of hose” (presumably the tubes with lights?) illuminate the arteries of Funchal with allusive pointers to astronomy. Galaxies of several colours, constellations, swirling formations, trees of stars, without forgeting the usual lighting formations in the trees and around the river banks, are transforming Funchal into a different environment. On 28th November the remaining lights for Christmas and new year will be switched on.” Sorry I have no photos to show you yet, but I am hopeful someone will send me some soon.

Anyway, enjoy it while you can as next year’s budget will see a cut of 13%, affecting Christmas decorations and new year fireworks funding, but the marketing and promotions budget for Tourism & Transport has been boosted by €655,000. Other cuts in this budget for 2009 include the wine festival (less €45,000), the Columbus Festival (less €10,000), and support to sporting events (less €12,000). Altogether the budgeted spending for 2009 will amount to €26.2 million, compared to €29.6 million this year.

‘Counting the pennies for ‘the party’. ‘Save’ is the watchword for consumers, whilst shopkeepers complain about the crisis. The approach of the big party month looks to be a frugal one. Despite many people having already received their Xmas paychecks and bonuses, no one is splashing out so far. In downtown Funchal shops are empty and compared to normal, shops are reporting a drastic reduction in sales.

‘Hospital chiefs dimissed by telephone’. Six directors in the hospital have already been dismissed from their posts after receiving a telephone call, and have already left the hospital (presumably in Funchal?) heading for early retirement. Tension is vey high amongst staff as sweeping changes and reorganisations are made by the president of the administration, with plenty more surprises expected.

Due to lack of funding firemen were unable to celebrate their anniversary date as usual this year, and their Christmas dinner is also at risk for the same reason. Normally the birthday event is attended by dignatories and partners in the world of firefightng, but this year it was reduced to a simple ‘toast’ drink and some aperitifs of peanuts and pistacio nuts. Bosses say that stretching finances for a Christmas party for 135 people is not justifiable, and that the main spending priority is to improve working conditions for firemen.

Talk about the inevitable, but members of staff in the municipal council of Câmara de Lobos are under investigation by detectives in connection with public and private works. The story points to irregularitites in the awarding of contracts (aka corruption?).

This must have been one of the most depressing news days of the year, with everyone apparently suffering a cheap and lousy Xmas … and it is still 4 weeks away! A real humbug news day! However as I type this I am being cheered by a live performance of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ by our local band, so that helps a lot.

Other news :

… jingle bells jingle bells jingle bells rock … The famous Michelin restaurant guide names ten nominations for Portugal to go in its edition for 2009. The only one on Madeira is ‘Il Gallo d’Oro’ with a one star rating (out of three). In fact one only one restaurant on the list made a two star rating. The evaluations are made by an anonymous team of ‘experts’ who make surprise visits to possible candidates. Can you believe there are only 10 listed restaurants in the whole of Portugal? My theory is that of all the possible candidates on Madeira, many probably were doing really well until the ‘assessor’ asked for after dinner coffee and got charged 3 times the normal price.

…rocking around the xmas tree… I have quickly been through the rest of the newspaper, but nothing stands out as a worth spending time on, so I am going to finish today’s blog early and go to take a look at the bookfair here that runs until 29th, with all sorts of fun events planned … let it snow, let it snow, let it snow …

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For anyone living on the west side this might be of interest. As well as a new swimming pool opening in Ribeira Brava in December, there is also a Gym (fitness room?) with a “Turkish Bath”, Jacuzzi, aesthetics or esthetics room, bar and restaurant. I was given a flyer yesterday with all the details, and it says that from the 12th to the end of December visitors can use the facilities free of charge, (although I doubt that includes the bar and restaurant). If you would like a scanned copy of the flyer with the location and details please email me.

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Anyone want free tickets for the Marítimo v Benefica football match (it’s on the 7th December I believe). There is an offer that takes place like this for all the Benfica and Porto visits (I am not sure about Sporting though), through Hiper Sã stores, but it is never advertised!

All you have to do is spend at least €25 in any Hiper Sã supermarket, and in your shopping include 2 Coral products of your choice (packs of beer). You can get your free ticket at the checkout or customer service desk. You can get more tickets by multiplying the requirements stated. Tickets are due to be delivered to the stores on Monday afternoon.

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Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog comments page), please send any unreported Madeira news, topical photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – anyone can join in! Thank you!

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Pirex … Garajau (looks like that was taken before the storms last April?).

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 25/11/2008

The main headline today is the discovery by CMF (Funchal Council) that a vehicle scrap yard ‘Vasco Gil’ is also being used to dump household rubbish, a prohibited and unlicensed activity. Combined with spilt car fuel, old tyres, and gas bottles the whole place is a recipe for a serious fire. The operator of the site has contracts with hotels who use the facility to dispose of packaging when they have machinery and metal equipment taken away to be scrapped.

PSD-M vice president Jorge Moreira, talking on the Madeiran government’s decision to bypass the teacher assessments by giving them all a blanket rating of ‘good’, guarantees that teachers here will never be treated like those on the continent. He said that although the situation here was resolved in defiance of national ambitions, there may still be support for the national teachers strike Wednesday next week, to show solidarity with continental colleagues. A smart move by PSD-M as far as next year’s election results go, as not only does it secure teachers votes, teachers obviously influence children’s opinions. A smart move for education though? … I doubt it somehow.

After Portugal’s early first democratic steps, 25th April 1974 has become an important date for the people. However, there were many people who did not accept democracy, and ‘revolution’ was still in the air. The last serious radical military attempt to overthrow democracy, then failed on 25th November 1975, a day that is marked on the Portuguese calendar. Half of the parliamentary opposition members, including all the socialists (PS) refused this year to mark the date in protest against the failure to mark the 25th April and the crushing of minority party rights by the PSD-M, and boycotted the day’s sessions. Everybody in the opposition parties have criticised the fact that the Madeira assembly does not commemorate the 25 of April of 1974, but include, in their annual calendar, a session dedicated to the 25 of November 1975. 

Yesterday was the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’, and the Diário reports that domestic violence is still alive and strong on Madeira, and that just during the 3rd quarter of this year 250 inquiries had been opened on the matter. 129 of these originated in Funchal and Câmara de Lobos (plus a bit of Santa Cruz) with just one on Porto Santo Island. Nationally, reported domestic violence increased by 10.8% between 2006 and 2007, whilst on Madeira the increase is nearer 40% compared to 2007.

The Venezuelan election also gets front page coverage again.

Other news :

From January 2009, management of Madeira’s 49 health centres (centro de Saúde) is to be split into 4 regions; Greater Funchal, East Zone (Câmara de Lobos to Calheta, Porto Moniz & São Vicente), West Zone (Machico, Santa Cruz, Santana), and Porto Santo Island. Each zone will have a director. The objective is never to lose contact with the patients and the real problems of the population. I don’t know about the people and population, but the grouping plan seems to have lost contact with my compass!

In a ‘good’ week on the via rápida last week, there were just 12 accidents, with no injuries. Across Madeira just for the last weekend there were 34 accidents, with 2 serious  and 16 light injuries.

Lack of public and private investment in Calheta is resulting in “emigration” of the population and affecting the future of the area, says one of the town councillors. The problem is that the municipal plan was never approved , having been suspended in the summer of 2007.  He claims that Calheta is ageing, as the youngsters from Ponta do Pargo through to Arco are getting out to find work elsewhere, mentioning parts of Africa as the most popular destinations.

The regional secretary for tourism and transport has appointed a new director for tourism, after the previous post holder left a few months ago. Raquel França, 34 and from Funchal, has already started her new job. Lets hope she does a better job than the previous ‘jolly boy’.

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Re yesterday’s daily photo, a message from Ulf on the Aland Islands: “Just for your information, The tree in your blog today is a Kapok Tree (Chorisia speciosa). I believe that this particular tree stands on the east side of Ribeiro Seco on the south side of the bridge. Here we have some 20 cm of snow and cold. We can’t wait to come to Madeira in January! Yours! Ulf.” Thanks Ulf, nice to hear from you, and I am actually one of the few blog readers who knows where Aland lies.

The Kapok Tree is a large, deciduous, tropical tree that is native to tropical America, Africa, and the East Indies. It can grow to over 60 metres towering over it’s rivals in forests. That’s why it’s seeds are dispersed in ‘cotton wool’, so they can blow away to germinate. The ‘cotton wool’ is collected in some countries and is used to stuff pillows and mattresses.

www.madeira4u.com

Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog comments page), please send any unreported Madeira news, topical photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – anyone can join in! Thank you!

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Eiryl … that odd looking fruit that explodes into airborne cotton wool in the spring. I have no idea what it is called?

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 24/11/2008

The câmara (council) of Santa Cruz has had to go begging to it’s bank manager to borrow €10 million to pay and service its debts accumulated up until the end of 2007. The president of the câmara manages to put a good spin on the matter though, saying that he has secured a deal at around a 5% interest rate, compared to the 11 0r 12% they were paying before, saving around €500,000 in annual interest charges. Local businesses will no doubt be delighted that money due from 2007 is at last going to be paid, saving some from the edge of bankruptcy, whilst residents will no doubt be worrying about where the money for repayments will be coming from.

The ferry service that runs between Portimão, Madeira, and the Canary Islands is continuing to operate throughout the winter, but based on current booking levels it will be operating at a loss. Having been in operation 5 months now, the ferry has passed its ‘break even’ point to date, with August (8,700 passengers) being the best month. In contrast November’s bookings are down as low as 1,044 passengers. Each round trip costs the ferry owners around €52,000 in fixed costs. Madeiran’s are the biggest users of the ferry with 45% of boarders starting at Funchal.

That’s it from the front page, as the other stories are football (of course) and about the elections in Venezuela.

Other news :

The proposed cable car at Rabaçal is back in the news, with the announcement that the on-line petition against the project has now been submitted to UNESCO with 5,291 signatures (although the petition is still active). http://www.petitiononline.com/247132/petition.html

Moving to the ‘Economy Section’ : A heart warming story, that was no doubt the highlight of the holiday for many tourists on-board the ‘Sea Pleasure’ catamaran, relates to the rescue of a trapped turtle nearly 4 kilometres from the coast of Ribeira Brava. The young Caretta Caretta (common turtle) was spotted tangled up in fishing nets by the crew and tourists, and a detour was made to make the rescue adding an additional 30 minutes to the trip. The skipper of the catamaran said that the turtle was slightly injured from it’s struggles to free itself, but was lucky to be alive in that he was trapped above the water and hence able to breathe.

A new ‘chain store’ furniture shop has opened in Funchal, specialising in modern furniture, textiles, lighting etc. The shop, ‘Opostos’, is the first presence on Madeira for a brand that is currently operating in the Portuguese, Spanish and French markets.

As part of a European wide pollution reducing initiative, CMF and the bus company Horários do Funchal are planning on introducing a ‘non polluting’ bus service between Funchal centre and Praia Formosa (far west Funchal).

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I heard on the radio this morning someone saying that the new series ‘Flor do Mar’ on TVI was unrealistic. The scenery seems realistic enough, however there was even a scene in Ribeira Brava in last nights episode where an old guy got really beaten up by a gang wearing balaclavas, and that was unrealistic, as I have never seen a balaclava here. As for the rest, there was domestic violence, men having affairs, and a dog that was poisoned … thankfully nothing realistic there? Still not seen my house though!

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I noticed that somebody asked about Madeira’s elections on the forum recently. This is my understanding. There are 7 types of elections held here. They are:

Election of the President of the Republic of Portugal

Election of the President of RAM

Election of European MPs

Election for the regional assembly of Madeira

Election for the parliament of the republic

Local elections (Câmaras – Municipal Councils)

Local elections (Freguesias – Parishes)

Anyone know any different?

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Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog comments page), please send any unreported Madeira news, topical photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – anyone can join in! Thank you!