Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Vic … Christmas lights, with one of those new year greetings that should change date automatically tonight, but one second late. In fact it is there as a reminder about tonight, just in case anyone had forgotten!

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 30/12/2008

‘The Azores want to steal the cruise ships from the Port of Funchal’. Not surprising that is the main story of the day, as it is found out that in an aggressive move the cruise companies are being ‘seduced’ into sailing into Ponta Delgada instead of Funchal. After an investment of €50 million in the port there, new facilities are being used to woo lucrative stop-offs, and in one case already the ‘Queen Victoria’ has succumbed. That was only the 48th cruise ship visit there this year, the 14 of those since August brought 18,000 passengers. A spokesman said that although 2009 would be much the same as 2008, 2010 would be a year of growth for visiting cruise ships, and 2011 would be a ‘boom’ year. Because of the good conditions of the port in the Azores, it was awarded 3rd place by the ‘Cruisers Tourism Convention of Europe’, for the best ports in Europe.

The star of the show tonight may not be the famous firework display, but Cristiano Ronaldo, on his way back to Madeira after his team won on Monday. He will stay here over new year and return to England for his next game on Sunday.

Intensive traffic and jams in lower Funchal on Monday, due to the flock to the Winter sales, tourists, and people on holiday. More of the same was predicted for yesterday. Ahh! so there is some money around after all!

After new hospital management cleaned out all the old unwanted doctors a couple of months ago, the new brooms are now working their ways through the nursing level. Nurses and the trade union are all cheesed off, the staff are demotivated, and they feel as if they are treated as inferiors in the medical profession.

Other News :

From 15th January, the street vendors now found in Almirante Reis, will be moved into the fruit market in Funchal (Mercado dos Lavradores).

Those planning to see tonight’s fireworks out at sea might be disappointed with the weather, especially if booked on a smaller boat. 3.5 metre waves are forecast, and the port authorities have issued a warning. The Porto Santo Ferry does not intend to change it’s plans, and 5 cruise ships are expected to be present to see in the new year, which is expected to see “less wind and rain”. The €1.2 million firework display was expected to proceed as planned. Hotel occupation for tonight is at 90%, 5% down on last year.

The weather, so far, seems a lot better today, but it’s very unpredictable at present. I was told last night that if it does get bad the show (fireworks?) might be put back until tomorrow night. That apparently has happened before, but not in recent years. If I hear anything more I will post a message here later on, and if anyone else hears anything could they please do the same?

Generous visitors to Madeira Forum donated 2,450 presents (new and used toys etc), which were delivered to three institutions responsible for underprivileged and sick children.

Madeira airport on average registers around 60 aircraft movements a day, but that ‘soared’ to 109 on Monday, with an estimated 14,000 passenger movements … but that is nowhere near being a record. The period between 23rd December and next Monday will see 935 flight movements in total.

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Talk about ‘how the other half live’. After my afternoon stroll nearly everyday I go to the public library for an hour to read whatever comes to hand. It’s all part of my Portuguese learning regime, because I get too easily distracted at home, but the truth is I nearly always nod off after about half an hour. Anyway, last week I went on Monday, and went to go again on Tuesday intending to ask what days the library was closed, as there was no notice saying so. It was already closed on that Tuesday when I arrived, with a notice in the window saying ‘Closed’, nothing more. I asked someone and he thought they might all be off at Xmas lunch, but as this was around 3pm I thought they won’t be coming back now and left it to the Wednesday … you guessed it closed again. So what with the two public holidays, I don’t know why they bothered to open up at all that week. This week I went in Monday, had my half hour kip, and went and asked about the opening days this week. Just tomorrow she said. So add the days together and that is 7 days of closure out of 10 weekdays, an average of 3.5 days off a week. If you apply that logic to the 17 public holidays in 2009, then in theory the excessive numbers of librarians get 60 days off a year, and that is just in public holidays. I now understand why they don’t put up a notice advising closure dates … they must be totally embarrassed! I say excessive numbers of librarian, because there are between 3 and 4 librarians most days, and about the same number of visitors it seems, and the number of books and visitors they have there would fit easily in my pantry. I got told off once for putting the books away when I had finished reading, and when I said I was just trying to help, I was told by an almost tearful lady “but it’s our job”. These are my observations about this library, and not a whinge … so I will not be leaving Madeira, just in case someone suggests that I do.

I rarely see shore fishermen around where I live, but on Monday there were twenty or more on the contained beach of Rib. Bra., a prohibited fishing area! I wandered over to peer at the catch, and I think they were Dourados, but I am no expert. They were all a decent and consistent size as well, probably 15 – 20cm long. I wonder if the offshore farm at Campanário has got damaged again, like it did in April when they lost tens of thousand of Euros of stocks in the storms. Anyone else spotted an unusual number of fishermen near them?

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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 Tobi … especially for those doubting Thomas’s outside Madeira that don’t believe we were suffering severe weather conditions over Xmas … this was taken after Saturday night.

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 29/12/2008

Another road death, this time a 19 year old man riding a motorbike on Sunday afternoon in Ponta do Sol. He was overtaking another vehicle on the Estrada Regional dos Canhas when he lost control of the motorbike. He had only had his driving licence one year. That’s 27 road deaths this year.

The president of SPAD (Society for the Protection of Domestic Animals) says that animal adoptions during 2008 were down 7%, while the total number of abandoned animals they handled amounted to 5,500 over a two year period, with 2008 being 25% up on 2007. After all it’s hard work “SPAD is in despair” and to make matters worse it has financial problems, though these should ease in 2009 when the councils (câmaras) of Madeira start making their agreed contributions. After the law for dog registration came in, coupled with an extensive sterilisation campaign during 2008, I can understand the disappointment they must be feeling to see all their efforts thwarted by those who have no respect or responsibility for animals, probably fueled by the poor economic situation. However, as painful as it might be to think about it, if you add the situation for the rest of Madeira, where SPAD don’t have much involvement, then the true abandonment figures must be far worse than those given.

The 6km ‘São Silvestre’ race(s) in Funchal on Sunday evening was won by a man from Keyna and a woman from Portugal. In total 1,129 athletes took part, almost a new record. Madeira’s best runner achieved 11th place.

It’s been on the national news as well as here, but flu is hitting the population according to the clinical director at Funchal Central Hospital, and is hitting the ‘at risk’ groups. Old people and those with deficiencies in their immune systems were flocking to the ‘urgencies’ department at FCH over Xmas, as there were no other medical facilities open. Many of the ‘at risk’ groups are offered free vaccinations, but those who took advantage are still getting affected but with much lighter symptoms than those not vaccinated.

In another article, the same clinical director warns that the Xmas festivities is not just about drinking, after over 20 people were admitted to FCH in alcoholic comas over the period. “People should start to think that the festa is not about alcohol, more alcohol, and yet more alcohol”, adding that alcoholic consumption on Madeira is normally very elevated, but gets even worse at Christmas.

The other front page story was about the situation in Gaza.

Other News :

Madeira invests 70% more (per bed) in the promotion of tourism than the average for Portugal, and receives more assistance from Portugal in this respect than any other part of the country … fortunately with positive results.

In Calheta, the road between Lombo do Salão and  Rabaçal is in such a bad state that many tourists think they have got lost and are on the wrong road, and some even turn around and go back rather than risk the many large potholes. That is the claim of one dweller along that road, who says for many years now promises have been made to resolve the situation, but the politicians who make them never keep their word. A politician telling lies, whatever next! Still if that is the route to reach the new cable car at Rabaçal then no doubt something is in the pipeline, and enquiries by the Diário to the authorities reveal that in 2009 something is planned (again).

A thin paper again today, and I managed to whiz through every story, but not much of general interest.

Sounds like the rough weather is back, with rain and very strong winds forecast today.

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One thing I have noticed regularly is people going into bars and snack bars, ordering something, and afterwards saying they don’t have any money to pay for what they had. You would be surprised how much it happens over my way, and is probably an increasing phenomenon in the current financial climate, and I often hear a barman asking a customer first if they have the money to pay. As an owner of such an establishment, what can you do … probably not worth calling the police for a few Euros, so you have no option that to accept the ‘customers’ promise that he will come and pay in a few days. Imagine going into Pingo Doce and eating a few cakes, and then going to the checkout and confessing your act but saying you can’t pay (anyone tried that?). Anyway I just thought I would mention it because I saw a barmaid deal very competently with such a situation on Sunday. The customer came in and ordered a beer, and she said that he hadn’t paid his account from his last visit (about €7), and wouldn’t serve him unless he was going to pay that, which he agreed to do. She gave him his beer, and waited for payment of the total amount, only to be told by the customer that ‘he had no money’. She then made him hand over his wallet, emptied the contents on the bar, and took €3, as that was all that he had. She then refused to return his wallet unless he promised to come back the following night and pay the rest. He promised, but whether he went back or not I don’t know. Pretty impressive for a barmaid I thought, but there again she had told me a long time ago that her boss deducted any unpaid accounts from her wages.

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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 Jonathan … an Easyjet flight

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 28/12/2008

The main headline today is “Women more penalised by the low pensions”. Referring to old age retirement pensions where women have stayed at home to raise families, or have had little opportunity to go to work outside of the home in a ‘macho’ world, as it was then. Maria is 71 years old, and receives a pension of just €93 (I assume that is a month) whilst her husband receives €300. She worked at home doing embroidery work to help support the family, as well as working their land to put food on the table. There are many other women in the same situation, and 40,000 people receive pensions below the minimum wage. I guess that things are changing now with younger generations of women able to go out work, but you have to feel sorry for people on such low pensions, but they were victims of an old culture rather than a gender biased benefits system. Nether-the-less the state should do more to help, but I am not clear whether the social security system here can help poor people in retirement.

2009 is set to be a good year for those in permanent employment, with the possibility of having 150 days off of work due to the way the public holidays fall. Five of the 17 public holidays fall on weekends. Another five fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, giving the possibilities for ‘bridge days’ which join the public holiday to the weekend, but normally depend on the generosity of the boss. Anyway it is a long and detailed analysis, but add together 104 weekend days, 25 days annual leave, 12 public holidays, and another 9 they come up with (4 of which I an not clear on) then with a lot of luck and a kind boss, then you have the magic 150. It was a really pointless article really as the headline reads “Half of 2009 is going to be to relax”, but according to my maths that would need  183 days off! Add to that the fact that this year the ‘days off’ would have come to 154, so a reduction is not much cause for joy really. If you want the dates of the 17 public holidays you can find them here, or if you can’t access the chart here email me and I will send them to you.

http://www.dnoticias.pt/Default.aspx?file_id=dn04010702281208

Another article about the ‘São Silvestre’ race last night that  was due to have over 1,000 participants. Naming some of the athletes that took part. Two athletes that conquered medals in the Olympic Games in Beijing – the Kenyan Richard Mattelong, ‘bronze’ in the 3,000 meters obstacles and Eunice Jepkorir, ‘silver’ in the same distance, and other European and world champions ‘of quality’.

Finally, another article about the weather and the damage caused by the winds and heavy rain. Various rockfalls have blocked roads and disrupted traffic around Funchal, where council workers and firemen have had a busy few days, and damage has been caused to several buildings. In São António the force of the water was so strong in the drains that a steel drain cover was lifted off the road which then resulted in an accident.

Other News :

According to a dentist specialising in dental implants Portugal has one of the worse dental care records, where the numbers of toothless people ‘is frightening’. Three out of 4 people over the age of 65 have missing teeth, and there are many with no teeth at all. No great surprise really, as there are many poor people who never see a dentist in their lives, due to the high relative cost of treatment compared to earnings, and the fact that dentistry is outside of the state health system. Talking to a man in town a couple of weeks ago, he wiggled one of his front teeth to show me one just about hanging on. I asked if he was going to the dentist and he said no, because it was too expensive. How can one eat with that thing flicking up and down with every chew … beats me!

Lots of political stories still, despite the Christmas break in the regional assembly, but all chewing over old stories.

I got it wrong about the official sales dates, they started yesterday and run to the end of February. Anything called ‘Saldos’ (sales) is governed by law and can only take place within the permitted dates in Winter and Summer, but a shop owner can call it ‘promoções’, ‘discontos’ etc. at any time of year.

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 Pirex … a sunbathing starfish … very unseasonal, but why not! (actually I presume it is dead as I don’t think they come out of the water voluntarily)

While most of the island was enjoying Xmas leftovers on the Friday public holiday, the good people at the Diário were clearly not included, as a thin but complete newspaper was produced for yesterday.

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 27/12/2008

Friday saw Funchal fairly busy with many places open, with last minute presents being purchased, but mainly unwanted gifts being exchanged. The newspaper refers to an invasion of Madeiran families in the main shopping centres. Meanwhile, in downtown Funchal, it was mainly tourists on the streets,  enjoying themselves and acquainting themselves with local traditions, delicacies, and “folklore”, dodging the rain when necessary. One of the picture shows a shop window with ’50%’ in big red letters. As the real sales cannot legally start until next week, I am not sure if that was advance warning or an interim promotion. The article says that normally there is a month allowed for goods to be exchanged, so why is it that everyone has to do it the day after Xmas … I really would like to know that?

The president of the Republic of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, feels embarrassed by Madeira. A meeting arranged in October for the PSD-Madeira (Social Democrat Party) has been cancelled by CS as ‘not convenient’. The meeting was arranged for the PSD to make several formal complaints about the way that Prime Minister Sócrates and his government have treated Madeira.

Even with no football this week, the sport still managed to get on the front page with “Race for the prizes returns in January” … pretty obvious and not really front page material me thinks!

The only other article was again about the row over the funding of politicians and political parties, the ‘jackpot’. This time a judge has defended the government of the regional assembly, saying that it has no constitutional power to change the formulas that determine the €5.5 million, or the way political parties are funded.

Other News :

In a move that will no doubt please some, from 1st January the law on property registrations changes, and instead of being tied to the particular ‘Conservatória’ of the area where a property is built, it will be possible to register at any office in the country. This is just one of a number of changes aimed at making property transactions simpler, and simpler means less for the lawyers, who are not so pleased about the situation. “Ready House” (Casa Pronta) allows someone to carry out many of the actions of a property purchase or sale in one office at one time, and that includes paying taxes, making the contract legal, exemptions for council tax, apply for dwelling rights, and change registration details.

Bulk gas prices are falling for both bottled and piped gas, but the reductions are not great, and are not being passed on in full to consumers by the reseller. For example the latest price cut takes a 13kg bottle of butane down from €21.04 to €20.45, when delivered to a property (it is less when brought at the retailers premises). 

Financial crisis or not, the popularity of cruise ships visiting Madeira continues to rise with 2009 set to be a record year. 2007 saw 262 visits, this year will achieve 285, and already for 2009, 307 visits are predicted. The most regular visitor is likely to be the ‘Thomson Celebration’ with 29 visits scheduled, being one of the few cruise ships that operates throughout the year, and there are also some debut cruise ship appearances planned.

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Anyone fancy doing a guest blog in 2009? It can be anything Madeira related, factual, personal experiences, scientific studies or whatever. The blog is always open to contributions anyway, so please have a think about it and maybe I will get a day off for a change. Maybe even a group blog? Believe me, when you find your contribution in print for the whole world to see, you will feel 1.828 metres tall.

Another idea I have for 2009 is to compile a diary of worthwhile events all over the island. It’s hard to define worthwhile, as that is pretty subjective, but I would think that a purely religious festa held inside a church might be out of scope, whereas the run in Funchal today would be included. I don’t think a comprehensive list already exists anywhere, but if I am wrong please point me in the right direction. It would need people to contact me when they know of or stumble across something suitable, with a little bit of detail. Any thoughts?

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 … Some rather spectacular looking flowers that I don’t recall having seen before. (Come on Ulf, I bet you know what they are called)

I was a bit surprised to find there was a Xmas day edition of the Diário, on-line at least. My fault for looking I guess, but it was pretty ‘thin’ anyway. There was no edition yesterday though, so the blog will be back on schedule tomorrow.

Front Page News : source Diário de Notícias 25/12/2008

Intense rain and strong winds did some damage through to early on Xmas morning. Fallen trees, several car accidents, and even some flooding are all blamed on the weather. Strong winds have been causing landing problems at the airport, and Tuesday night several planes were unable to land immediately, and needed “several attempts” (a bit scary I bet!). Also, a river got blocked and flooded into several houses in Quinta Grande.

There was a serious injury at sea on Wednesday when the ship ‘Saga Ruby’ was being brought into port under very difficult sea conditions. One of the crew of the tug boat ‘Boqueirão’ was hit in the face by a towing cable, causing serious injuries that were being treated by a plastic surgeon. Also, while ashore, a very ill passenger from the ‘Saga Ruby’ had to be rushed to hospital by an air force helicopter.

The other lead article was about the nightlife entertainment going on over Xmas and yesterday, and I was surprised to see how many places were actually open on Christmas night.

Other News :

Apparently eating too much in one sitting at Christmas can make you ill, especially when there is alcohol involved. You learn something here every day!

The bin men in Funchal were rather pleased after the market night on Tuesday in Funchal, as there was much less rubbish to clear up than usual and the job was all finished by 9am on Wednesday. A council spokesman said that was not due to people being tidier than usual, but  was more to do with the heavy rain affecting the number of people attending. The emergency services weren’t so pleased however, as 14 people had to be treated that night for alcohol intoxication.

Proof that the Portuguese people have less money to spend this Xmas comes in the form of less cash withdrawals from ATMs (multibancos), to the tune of €18 million compared to the first three weeks of December 2007.

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This is interesting. This website claims that the new sandy beach at Machico is illegal under international law. http://www.wsrw.org/index.php?parse_news=single&cat=105&art=997

The claim is from Western Sahara Resource Watch, who say that the Sahrawi people were not consulted in the sale of the sand to Madeira. Is the evidence strong enough that we should we boycott the beach in protest?

I bet they didn’t ask Tobi if they could use his photograph, and they certainly didn’t contact me about quoting the blog, not that I mind (in fact I am quite flattered).

The bad weather seemed to peak last night, and today a few patches of blue sky have appeared. There has been so much rain that most of the dry areas in the river bed of the ‘Ribeira Brava’ have been washed away, leaving the duck population of around 80, near to the sea, high and dry and without much to eat. If anyone has stale bread, grain, sweetcorn, or anything else suitable they can spare, I am sure them ducks would be eternally grateful.

Thanks to Sarah for this event information:

Sunday 28th December – São Silvestre Race – Round the city of Funchal, at 9 pm. I am assuming it is this :The Madeira Athletics Association will hold the 50th edition of Round the City. This event is considered to be one of the oldest contests of this kind in Portugal and Europe. As in previous years, this contest has brought to Madeira some of the most important athletes of the national and international panorama. The route is approximately 6,000 metres in length and in each race there is an increasingly greater number of registered participants.

No games this weekend for our local football teams.

Have a great weekend!

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!