Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Tobi … a view down to Calheta Beach

Apart from on the radio and TV, not much sign of the European elections here. I have had one piece of junk mail so far from the Christian Democrats, and I have only noticed two billboards put up in town. Long may it stay that way. It will be my first time voting, so has anyone else done it before? I have a voting card, but do I need to take my marriage certificate and every other document under the sun, like you normally do when entering any government office?

Paul, in Paul do Mar, inspired by an article on the blog this week has written an article on Wikipedia about the Madeiran tenor Lomelino Silva, aka ‘The Portuguese Caruso’. Paul is now trying to track down any recordings or samples, films, photos, or anything on-line, so if anyone can help please contact me and I will pass it on. The new CD is now on sale in FNAC, it is called ‘Lomelino Silva, O Caruso Português’. Read the Wikipedia article HERE

I have now removed the ‘Tips & Help’ posting from the top of this blog, updated it, and moved it elsewhere. If you need to find it again, I have placed a link on the ‘Useful Links’ menu on the right hand side of this page.

Please don’t forget that news articles will now be posted at various times during the day – Check back regularly and keep yourself up to date.

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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(31st May). ‘Sun And Free Entrance Compose The Beaches – The good weather takes many people to the beaches, even with a very high UV factor’. Even the clouds that descended over Funchal yesterday afternoon didn’t deter people from Lido*, Ponta Gorda, Gavinas, and the other free beaches. Some people said that they no longer use the beaches that charge entrance fees. Today also has a very high ultra violet warning. (*I believe access to Lido is free for a temporary period?).

‘The Thematic Park At Santana Is Going To Have A Time Machine’. The attraction will show visitors old images of Madeira "which curiously continues until the year 2419", a thousand years after Madeira was discovered. I wonder if Uncle Bertie will feature in those later years, or perhaps that will be saved for another display about the dinosaurs of Madeira.

Ribeira Brava Distinguished With ‘Accessible Beach’ Flag – It is the first beach on Madeira to display the flag that shows that there is special access provisions for disabled people, people with mobility problems, pregnant women, and the elderly. The award is made by the National Committee of Coordination for the European Year of People with Disabilities. To obtain the award, six criteria must be met : Pedestrian access,  parking provision, access to bathing area, beach crossing path, adequate sanitary provisions, and access to help / first aid. Other less critical considerations are access to bars and restaurants, and availability of amphibious wheelchairs (which Ribeira Brava doesn’t have). The award, which has been running since 2004, already covers dozens of beaches in Portugal and the Azores. 

(30th May). ‘The ship Santa Maria offers tickets at €15 for the Atlantic Festival – Cheaper tickets for Madeirans’. Demand to see the firework displays is high, and the company that owns the ship will do Saturday night trips out to see the event from offshore. The tickets are on sale at the booking office at Funchal Marina. The outing departs at 10pm, returning at 11.30pm, and includes a glass of Madeira Wine. Other Portuguese and foreigners can book tickets at hotel receptions and travel agencies for €25. I am sure someone will have something to say on the price differential … over to you!

(29th May). ‘SATA Brings New Aircraft To Porto Santo – The new plane has less seats, but will be more modern’. The two Bombardier Dash Q200′s have already arrived on the Azores, but for now have a Canadian registration. They will fly the Madeira – Porto Santo route from the start of next year. They have already been painted in the new SATA group ‘brand’ that uses the slogan ‘The Atlantic and you’. The planes already have 11 years of service, having been used by the North American company Horizon. They will substitute the ATP which currently does the Porto Santo route, and will be more modern and more efficient for the job. There will only be 37 seats, compared to the 65 currently, but the new planes will be able to make more journeys. SATA also awaits delivery of four new Dash Q400′s, with capacity for 80 passengers, and these will be used in the new year on routes between the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands initially, and later for Faro and also the islands of Cabo Verde.

‘Post of Madeira In Lisbon ‘Despejado’ By The AICEP’. A couple of things there I can’t work out, but the gist of the article is that Madeira has been kicked out of it’s space in the tourist information offices in Lisbon, a space it had shared with the Azores over many years. Turismo de Lisboa took the action without consultation, and surprised Madeira, although the Azores had already made alternative arrangements. The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport may have known, but probably wasn’t given time to make alternative arrangements. The search is now on to find somewhere else suitable.

(31st May). ‘Rodrigo Underwent The Bone Marrow Transplant – The baby is going to spend a few days in recovery in isolation’. The half-hour procedure took place in Lisbon yesterday afternoon, and the first results of the intervention are awaited. He was diagnosed with leukaemia 6 weeks after birth here on Madeira, and after months of searching, a bone marrow donor was eventually found in Germany.

‘Security Worries Estreito de Câmara de Lobos – The population demand the reopening of the police post there’. It is not difficult to hear stories of assaults in Estreito. In each corner there is always someone that has a relative, friend, or neighbour that has been assaulted. With the drug dependency associated with criminality, the feeling of insecurity is a principal problem of the area. The closing of the police post left the population feeling even more vulnerable, and people don’t understand why this measure was taken. The other ‘weak point’ is the health centre. The residents complain that it has insufficient capacity to deal with the number of users. I think Estreito de Câmara de Lobos must be the featured town of the week, but it doesn’t actually say so. Anyway, it should be a long and interesting story to tell after the relative calmness of all the other places visited in this weekly feature.

Ah, in fact there is a second story for Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, this one takes the biggest part of the front page with a picture of a couple of elderly ladies, though the significance of that is not clear. The headline reads : ‘Estreito Of Torment – The assaults and drug trafficking worry’. I ought to explain that an assault means a mugging, or robbery, or assault, or a burglary, but the Portuguese word doesn’t differentiate between those.

Well my secret is now out of the bag, with today’s main news headline : ‘More Supermarkets – The Dutch company SPAR is going to open shortly several units on Madeira’. The biggest food distribution network in the world bets for now on Santa Cruz, Porto Moniz, and Prazeres, but with more shops being planned. The shops are operated on a franchise basis, and so any interested party can open one, as long as they have on average €150,000 to invest. The spokesman for SPAR on Madeira explains that the brand has different characteristics, in that the service is very good, and that special focus is given to fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. Porto Moniz will not have a full fish and meat range because of it’s limited size, but the other two will have everything, including access to a range of 10,000 types of goods, including many ‘own brand’ products. The rest of the article is about the statistics and history of the group. I was told there would be a shop in Funchal as well, but no mention of that. Maybe I will now get that telephone call I have been expecting for the last 3 months, as I was offered a job in the Prazeres SPAR, but it says it won’t be opening for another month or more, so the big blogs continue for now. SPAR WEBSITE

(30th May). ’31 Years In Prison For Two Killers – Court orders payment of €80,000 in compensation  to the child of the victim’. The court of Santa Cruz on Friday sentenced two knife killers, who murdered a 28 year old man in Machico nearly a year ago, to serve sixteen and a half and fourteen and a half years in prison. They were charged with crimes of qualified homicide and possession of a prohibited weapon. The two men attacked the victim from behind in a bar at around 11pm, and according to one witness "killed him like he was an animal", stabbing him six times. The murder was planned at 5 hours before. The main judge had powers to impose a sentence of between 12 and 25 years imprisonment. The court was on high security alert during the trial.

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Eiryl … the surf at Porto Moniz

I was having a nice day yesterday, with a trip to the gym and a very nice free massage to follow. The masseur said to me at the end that she would give me 30% discount off the price list if came again, so there’s food for thought. Then I had the rather attractive prospect of a bit of a do in town, a ‘Super Bock’ promotion, later in the evening. But then I came home from the massage to find out that Uncle Bertie is being pressured to serve another 4 years as President of Madeira, until 2015. Perhaps I am going to have to build that darn grassy knoll myself.

I see Modelo started a 50% sale yesterday, for those who have the loyalty card at least, where the sale savings are accumulated. €3 a kilo for cheese can’t be bad, and €1.85 for a bottle of virgin olive oil also catches the eye. The leaflet through the letter box was half the usual size, so I reckon Modelo are cutting back on their price cut backs during this period of general cut backs.

Please don’t forget that news articles will now be posted at various times during the day – Check back regularly and keep yourself up to date.

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

(more…)

(30th May). ‘Decided To Quit in 2011′. Alberto João Jardim guaranteed yesterday that he was serving his last term as leader of the social democrats of Madeira (PSD-M). Reacting to a call for another term from the president of the assembly of Madeira (ALM), Jardim said that the decision was already made without any possibility of a U-turn. "I said I was going to quit, and I am going to quit. Full stop". That is of course just the leadership of his party, and not the presidency of Madeira. I may be wrong, but I think he has already backtracked on previous retirement decisions.

‘Jardim Will Inaugurate 14 new Works valued at €59.3 Million In June’. Some are public, some private, this is according to the website of the presidency, that gives full details. The first 3 on Monday, are new agricultural projects, and during the month of June he will be in Santa Cruz, Calheta, Funchal, Machico, Câmara de Lobos, Porto Santo island, and Ribeira Brava. The ‘works’ include new roads, 4 new ambulances, tourism and estate agency enterprises, a residential home, an activity centre for people with cerebral palsy, and a new loo-roll in a Funchal public toilet. You can see the full programme here :

JARDIMS JUNE JOLLIES

‘Funchal – The Capital Of Culture’. Jardim Fernandes, the socialist candidate of the PS-M to the European Parliament dedicated his Friday morning to culture, when he presented various proposals. The most significant is the attempt to make Funchal the European Capital of Culture in 2019, a joint initiative with other capital cities of the islands of Macronesia.

(29th May). Politicians and supporters of the Left Block party of Madeira (BE) have criticised the regional government for finding €38 million to give to local football, but having given nothing to combat poverty. The party are referring to the money given to Marítimo to rebuild their stadium.

Someone has gone to the trouble of translating one of Uncle Bertie’s inauguration speeches into English. It is not that well done (probably a software translation with corrections), but if you ever wondered what he says, here is your chance :

PRESIDENT JARDIM INAUGURATION SPEECH