Blog takes ‘time out’
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Rita … Madalena do Mar on Boxing Day (26th December)
I won’t be around for a while, so in the absence of a volunteer to run the blog, there is not much I can do. Please don’t send any contributions in as I cannot post them, but please think about how you could contribute to make a better and much more of a community type blog. There are several people now who kindly send in their fair share, but Elaine and I still do 90%+ of the work between us, and that illustrates why we need more so much more assistance to keep the blog going and develop it into more of a community effort – at the moment readers outnumber contributors by around 200 to one on a daily basis – and this ratio is getting worse as the readership expands … Thanks in anticipation. Der
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Hi all, wot no blog…
mmm what can we do to help Der or make this more of a community, im suprised no comments today , where is everyone???
I have been cleaning up my PC inside and out , i was quite pleased to see that it wasnt that dusty inside as i have had it a year and half.
1Nice warm sunny day – breeze and white puffy clouds, very nice!
2Been cleaning up after builders — until tomorrow! AND we’ve got a really sweet little doggy for the night who is desperate for a home….any takers? She really is little, lovely and so friendly. Our good friends found her hiding underneath a car and oh so really nervous – they are not allowed to home her where they live and the plan is to give here into the care of SPAD tomorrow…..we (at the moment ?!?)cannot take any more animals permanently but are happy to “foster”…..can anybody help out? We’ve called her Sally…..and she loves retrieving the fluffy Father Christmas Toy…..
I would like to see the blog continue but feel inadequate as my computer skills or anything technological are really bad. Have not yet learnt how to download photos onto face book….sad…I know! Can just manage my dvd and satellite.. but I would like to contribute something.
I can paint…. er…possibly write the odd article but am pretty new here compared some of the veterans who contribute, so I’m sadly lacking in the info for Madeira department as well.
So any suggestions of what I could do to help…besides robbing a bank..not much chance of a good getaway on an island methinks! I would be interested to know.
I am a great fan of the blog and think Der does a great job also Elaine and her big contribution lately. So please lets keep it going!
3Just had my garage broken into and emptied here in suffolk.
4Not happy!
Oh my god Martin, you poor thing did the take much.
Angie if you want help with computer im only to willing to help, that goes to anyone who wants to learn more , especially using it as a phone and saving a fortune on phoning landlines round the world , amongst lots of other great ideas to make your computer fun.
5Tobi Many thanks I would really like some help with my computer I’m a bit tired of feeling like a dinosaur and behind the times.
It is a laptop so it’s easily transported also have skype set up on it but could do with learning just some basic things. My e-mail is WITHDRAWN if you want, we could arrange something.
6Hi all,
I’m afraid I’m a bit like Angie. My computer skills are average but I just can’t crack translating Portuguese into English. I even had trouble trying to work out the instructions for the time my husband had to go for hospital tests. I have tried various programmes but the end results never make sense. I think quite a few people would be happy to help with the blog but just don’t have the confidence to make sense of what they would be sending in. By the way, Angie, I am hopeless with the dvd and photographs so probably I am worse than you!!
To fill in the time I suppose we could always go back to my ‘septic tank’!!! Joking, joking……………..
Hope we can find a solution to this because I personally appreciate the work being done and find the blog really interesting and informative.
7If we could find seven volunteers to each write one day a week on the blog. Even if their time was limited to a couple of paragraphs it would keep things ticking over? Just a thought.
8Why does it say my “comment is awaiting moderation?” Is it due to putting in an e-maiil address?
9Good idea from Anonymous.
I find computers difficult.
Tried several time to get the computer to translate the Diaro and can’t.
Have been sent loads of photos of elderly relatives and can’t get them from email to canon picture browser either.
I have always found computers illogical and I dislike Mr Microsoft.
Garage emptied of low value items, police not interested now, their advice is–more elaborate security.
10Other half now very nervous.
Martin, sorry to hear about your robbery. It is the invasion of privacy that hurts the most and the lack of confidence that comes with it, as most physical items can be replaced unless they have sentimental values. Hope the year gets better as it has not started out too well for your and your wife.
Best wishes
11Mark, you are quite correct.
12Thank you for you kind words.
Sorry to hear about your burglary Martin.
13Like lots of others I would like to help but can’t speak Portuguese although I’d love to learn. I also find the translation programmes impossible. Does anyone know how long a ‘time out’ Der is taking?
One last thing. Does anyone know what the 4 cubicle type things outside The Beerhouse are?
Saw them on the webcam.
How do you get on skype, tried to register but was told not available in portugal
14How to:
1) open http://www.dnoticias.pt/Default.aspx?file_id=dn01010202140110&id_user=
2) Pick an article that piques your curiosity. Move your mouse to the title and click
3) Open http://translate.google.ca/translate_t# in a New Tab (open New Tab under your File choices before clicking on the google address)
4) Go back to the article and copy it ( Ctrl C and sweep the mouse over all of the article until it lights up in blue)
5) Go the to Google Translator that you opened and into the area where it says “Translate Text” copy the article by putting your mouse at the upper left hand corner and clicking Ctrl V
6) In the box Translate from: select Portuguese
7) in the box Translate to: select English
8)Click the Translate button
9) You will get something like the article below. Copy it into the Blog “Leave a Reply” section
10) Read it and rearrange the order of words where they don’t fit English useage.
11) look up any words that don’t make sense in your (on-line) dictionary and try to guess what is meant. In the article below there is only one phrase that needs that: “it will show two ads: one on stable ”
12) Click “Submit Comment” (This is only in Der’s absence. When he is able, there are better ways to submit articles)
12 Voila – excuse my French – you have contributed an article
National campaign promotes condom in relations between men
Coordinator admits that the initiative is delayed by 30 years
Date: 14/01/2010
The promotion of condom use in sex between men is the slogan for the new campaign of the National Coordination for HIV / AIDS, which begins Monday in various media such as television.
To promote the consistent use of condoms as “single barrier method to prevent infection.
This is the first time that a national campaign gives “special attention to the context of relations between men who have sex with men.”
“This population is particularly vulnerable to HIV / AIDS and, therefore, is one of the priorities of the National Coordination of action in the area of prevention,” it said.
Speaking to news agency Lusa, the national coordinator, Henrique Barros, also explained that the campaign shows that the country “is late 30 years.”
“For men who have sex with men are a reality and are a part of the population and have always broken the prevention messages,” he said.
He stressed that spent 30 years of the beginning of the epidemic to “finally talk of a reality,” noting that other countries have already been made campaigns that show men with men.
Asked about the possibility of campaigns targeted at women who have relationships with other women, he replied that “in terms of prevention of AIDS is especially important to a particular focus.”
However, although considered as “small risk”, Henrique Barros no longer refer to “a reality and must be well thought out and worked.”
“Everything that exists and everyone has to be called the message preventive one.”
The new campaign will also pass by the cinema, outdoor and mupis ATMs so there is an awareness of the risks in all sexual relations, regardless of sexual partners.
Alternately, it will show two ads: one on stable and another about the occasional, involving two men.
“Always be prevented” and “prevention is part of the routine” are the keywords of the campaign, which will last until February 14, Valentine’s Day.
15Hi Jenny,
We’re on Skype and also VOIP. My husband just went into Skype and downloaded the programme and then filled in the form. We use Skype for the webcam and VOIP for the telephone calls to the UK.
Hope you manage to get it working.
16Martin – sorry. B+S**rds….low life, not fair Sir. Hope classic cars not touched….they probadly wouldn’t understand such things…..hope other half O.K.
17Skype brilliant for us … if we can help …..
http://www.casaparsons.com
VOIP next, thanks Tobi.
We’ve also got Computer Dinosaur’s (rex) etc here also BUT ‘puter seems to work ….agan, if we can help, contact re above site (anti spam) = I hate tinned meat!
I think Der is gone for about a week.
18Betty, are you permanently in Madeira or are you using a UK address for your skype as when we tried to register here with a Portuguese address we were advised by skype that they don’t cover portugal yet.
19VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol of which Skype is one and there are others. You can use Skype for both messaging and phonecalls with or without using a webcam.
Angie, don’t put your email address onto a public website, you risk having it harvested for spam purposes.
20Hi all , i use skype in madeira no problems at all. But it is not my way of phone landlines as this can get quite expensive. I use voipstunt and i call landlines all round the world for free.
Computer help or lessons, if anyone needs help with their computer please let me know , if you have a laptop you can bring it to my home and i will show you anything you need and set anything up , whether it be how to email photos how to get photos on computer, how to use your computer for phoning friends just about anything all free of charge. Im in canico de Baixo.
Angie it says comment is awaiting moderation because you have included a web address or email address, so i guess the comment wont be displayed with Der away.
Back to Skype if this is what you want to use Jenny, try registering as if you are in the Uk, but if you plan to call landlines then i advise you to use voipstunt, skype to skype is free, ie if the person you are calling has skype on their computer then you can call each other for free.
21Angie if you are trying to contact someone on the blog then let us know here and we can see if we can get you in contact with them.
Anonymous dont know who you are???? but its a good idea to get 1 person a day doing the news, if people want to try but are not confident enough then im sure we can show you how to do it to get you started, and any news is better than no news.
It will be a shame to see this blog go and i guess this comment section will get quite long while Der is not here, so if anyone has news or stories of madeira why not place a comment, it will be great to see knew people chipping in and lets face it it only takes a few minutes.
22Help! I didn’t think about the spam stuff anyone know how I can remove my e-mail address from this page.
Tobi I put it there for you to contact me about computer teaching and downloading photos etc. So will it possible to arrange something?
Weather is looking good I’m off up the hills again, I think the nature is just fantastic here.
23Jon, can you please phone on this No. re Sally: 291 824 055
24Tobi please sign me up or computer lesson
25Doris, it was nice to talk to you……good luck with all the work you are doing re the animals. Sally is fine (thanks to Sheila and Derek) and Sophia (at SPAD) is giving her her personal attention – kindly funded by Sheila & Derek. If we can find her a loving home locally then we will……and we will help to advertise/liase with any of our future German guests who may wish to “escort” any other adoptees to Germany, thank you and very well done to everyone involved.
26hi can anyone help? i am looking for seeds from the island to grow here in the UK. I am partiuclarly after banana marcuja, pimpellnella (which i am sure i haven’t spelt correctly) and anona. i don’t want the fruit/veg just the seeds, but happy to pay for the fruit/veg and if you can wash seeds and send, otherwise they will go mouldy in transit. a friend was supposed to be bringing some other, but left them in the kitchen forget to pack them!!! i can pay via paypal or send euros cash.
————————————————————————
sorry to hear about the garage being broken into, its the violation that hits one the most i think, a few years back my garage was broken into and althogh nothing much was taken, its the fact that someone had been in there.
————————————————————————–
i do miss the island, but i do think their hospital standards need to be much improved!! I personally experienced the hospital at Monte in May….approximately 200 beds in seperate wards, but with just 3 toilets and 2 showers between that number of females, all of which were digusting. just hope no-one has to stay there. I ended up in hospital thre as i dont pneunomonia. the nursing care was though to a very high standard.
27easyjet announce via email a holiday planner via facebook.
just how that will aid visits to Madeira god knows.
A campaign for simple flyng has started with Cityjet flying out of City of London Docklands.
From £49 one way to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin and Paris Orly.
No online check in fees
no baggage check in fee
no seat selection fee
no credit card fee
no charge for drinks and snacks
NO hidden extras.
easyjet —please emulate.
28Fixed prices.
Angie if you need some help im onlt to willing to , i think you know sam , she will pass on my email address and phone number.
your email address will not show on the blog , where you write a comment if your email is shown that is ok , it will not be posted on blog.
29Hi Sarah
I have fruit seeds that I can send you. I have millions of Anona seeds as I have a tree full of them rotting away as no one wants them and I dont like them myself. Can also give you guava seeds and from next month a fruit seed from a tree that bears a fruit called Nespra.
With Banana, I think you need the stalk and root of a baby to get one to grow as seeds are not very easy to cultivate. I have some of those also but dont think they would be allowed in the post or survive.
Pipinella plants are cultivated like a potatoe, you wait till a mature fruit starts to sprout from the top then you plant it. I have never seens seeds, although the fruit has one in the middle of it, which is very tasty!
30BTW
Forgot to mention……does anyone want any FREE avocados? I still have some left on my tree (another fruit I dislike) but a shame to waste them.
I live in Ponta do Sol if anyone would like to come over and pick them!
31Hi Sam
That would be great thanks (are you the same Sam that came to the apartment when I was selling off things, the one near the market with the large terrace? If so, I have just looked thru my yahoo contact list and your email add has been deleted. do you still have mine?
I would love any seeds that you can send (I successfully germinated some banana maracuja seeds from the actual fruits last year and they proved a great success here, that I managed to sell a couple of plants). do you have a paypal account or would you like me to send some Euros cash (either is fine with me).
when I was in hospital one of the patients there had some nespera fruits which she shared with me, they are quite an unusual taste but nice and would love the challenge of growing them.
Thanks again and best wishes
32Sarah
Sam
I have found an email address, madeira times, so will email you there.
thanks
33Sarah
Tobi – don’t know if you are still in the holiday lets business but someone on Trip Advisor is looking for an apartment in Caniço to sleep 6 – 8 people
34Hi Josie,
35Thanks for that i will have a look, but noting in the area to sleep that many.
Hi Folks,
With reference to Tobi’s comments on Skype – calls to land lines in the UK from
Madeira are only 1.7 centithingies per minute which I think is not too expensive.
For anyone who is not sure how to get translated versions of the news please try the following. In Google type in the web site for www dot netmadeira dot com (please interpret because Der’s software will reject the pukka web site address). When the search finds the web site, click on “Translate”. The translated version comes up and you can save it in Bookmarks. On the page if you click on “More News from WOOD” you will get all the main stories from all the papers. The translation quality varies according to each journalist and the simplicity(or not!) of their style of writing but at least you can get the main thrust of each article.
36Just looking on the Diario website, 3 men have been arrested for counterfeiting €50 notes, and last saturday in modelo in madeira shopping a €50 and €100 noted had been detected and is being investigated by the Judicial Police. So well worth checking your notes if your rich enough to have any….
37Hi Derek,
Yes skype is very cheap , but if you call landlines then 1.7 centythings soon adds up , where as voipstunt is exactly the same and you get free calls to landlines, i know quite a few people who have gone over to this , i have been using it for over 3 years now and i normally phone the uk everyday or otherday, and it has saved me a small fortune, and the sound quality is very good, but the better your mic and speakers the better the sound will be with any service.
38Hi Derek.
thanks for the tip on the news on the Net Madeira site, it actually makes it easier than the Diario website.
39Must be not seeing it for looking, but where is the “translate” button on the pukka website?
40BTW – what does “pukka” mean?
41Ellen Derek has put the words DOT instead of a . cause with Der away if you put a web address in your comment it will not show untill Der has accepted it.
The best way to get a translate button is to download the google tool bar or if you use Google chrome browser then you just add an extension. I guess you use Internet Explorer to look at webpages so just go to google and download the tool bar.
42Thanks Tobi, I’ll take a look at voipstunt.
43Tobi, I understand why Derek set it up that way. But what does “pukka” mean?
44Tobi, thanks for the info on Voipstunt have now registered with them.
45Ellen – “pukka” means genuine, the real McCoy.
46I thought it meant purse as in purse/pukka lips for a kiss!
47Here is the history of “pukka”, from “Merriam-Webster”
“Pukka” tends to evoke the height of 18th- and 19th-century British imperialism in India, and, indeed, it was first used in English at the 1775 trial of Maha Rajah Nundocomar, who was accused of forgery and tried by a British court in Bengal. The word is borrowed from Hindi and Urdu “pakkā,” which means “solid.” The English speakers who borrowed it applied the “sound and reliable” sense of “solid” and thus the word came to mean “genuine.” As the British Raj waned, “pukka” was occasionally appended to “sahib” (an Anglo-Indian word for a European of some social or official status). That expression is sometimes used as a compliment for an elegant and refined gentleman, but it can also imply that someone is overbearing and pretentious. These days, “pukka” is also used as a British slang word meaning “excellent” or “cool.”
48I must have been thinking of –pucker
49In a local cafe, for afternoon tea– one of the options is –
50a slice of seed cake and a glass of Madeira (Blandys).
Never had that offered before.
Preparing for another short trip to Madeira tomorrow… shame it’s only for a few days, but the weather looks better (fingers crossed!) and I’ll get to fill up on filete de espada.
Tobi, your photo of the Desertas islands on 20th Jan on your shuttercal is absolutely fantastic. I can’t comment there because I guess you have to be a member, but the colours and textures of the sea/sky are amazing.
Here’s an interesting blog from a cruise passenger… thechieftess DOT blogspot.com
Oh, and I hope we manage to come up with some way of helping Der out with the blog. I’m quite computer literate although my Portuguese leaves something to be desired… desculpe, mas I’ve only been learning for a few months! But I’m sure with the help of google translate then if days of the week or even sections each day were allocated, I’d give it a go. I’m not sure I could give the comprehensive service we’ve been used to, but something is better than nothing and it would be a shame to see this finish. Right, off to prepare for the usual scrum with easyjet…. TAP next time (much more civilised).
51Please let us know yor TAP experience against easyjet.
52It’s not the flying that does me in except the table resting on my tum but the queueing and the standing around and the up and down stairs at Gatwick/Stansted.
When you visit for a long time your locker baggage is very heavy.
I’d have a go on the blog as you said.
Good idea!
Hi Martin,
53I’ve flown a fair few times to Funchal with Tap and found the flights absolutely fine. They don’t fly from the outer piers at Gatwick so the flight shouldn’t involve stairs. When the gate goes onto the departure board we go to the daparture lounge and sit until it is our turn to board. when we flew with them last at Cristmas they didn,t serve the meal they previously had only a sandwich but heyit’s only just over 3 hours. The Gatwick flight departs at 1pm so no early start and your in Funchal in plenty of time for dinner. We fly down and transfer and I’ve never seen large queues at the Tap check-in but we may just have been lucky.
Hope Der is having a fine time on his yacht!
54Takes time to train a crew of that size!
Thanks Becky for the lovely comment, glad you keep an eye on my photos.
Bet your well happy with a bit of blandys in your local Martin… No Pastel de Nata though, id have to throw the seed cake to the birds…
looks like we are having a dry week for a change, but i may be speaking to soon , im sure you will all shout at me tomorrow.
55To echo Helens comments, we have had excellent flights with TAP and at Gatwick did not have to climb stairs or que in hallways unlike our Easyjet experience.
I’m not sure how the new security measures are going in the UK but the clip below might be entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfbTlYpKYo
56Like the film Wendy.
Last time we were queuing for easyjet at stansted somebody let off 2 stink bombs.
Great fun for the perpertrater who gave himself away by looking innocent.
Easy jet announce 5% off valentine flights to madeira out of stansted.
5% off what?
57Tobi I am now holding you officially responsible for the deluge of rain we have had over here today! Cheers Mate.
58The weather was fine when I landed, but started to rain as soon as I opened the balcony doors! Hopefully it’s not set in for the day. Martin, I’d much rather travel TAP than easyjet, and if you can book ahead then it’s cheap enough. I’ve always had good experiences with them so far. No unpleasant speedy boarding elbowing, food and drink served in the old-fashioned way (no money changes hands) and no scratchcards. Although having said that some lucky b*gger won £1000 on one today. The envy was only too obvious by the rather muted applause around the cabin.
TAP can sometimes surprise you with an upgrade to business class too, as I’ve found a couple of times on early a.m. flights to Lisbon. It’s quite something to be tucking into steak for breakfast at 7 a.m… not unpleasant, but not quite right. Anyway, this complimentary Blandy’s isn’t going to drink itself, is it? Boa tarde.
59Thanks Elaine i knew i had spoke to soon, i promise sun for the next few days …
Front page of the Diario todays shows the fruit market, and the Price inspectors have been there, as we all know this is one of Madeiras biggest rip off points, and they are highlighting the problem of 2 prices one for locals and one for tourists. Its good to see the inspectors are there but its not going to solve the problem of over pricing, what they have seen is fruit or veg with no price tags , this is where the sellers are choosing what prices to charge with the tourists getting ripped off , but where fruit is priced, like Passion fruit and other exotic fruits at highly inflated prices (mainly upstairs) nothing can be done about this as they are not actually breaking the law as they have the price on show.
60So as we have said many times before on here be very careful when buying fruit in the market of funchal
The diario front page today has finally picked up on the scam in funchal farmers market, citing one case of a tourist couple who paid €4.20 for two oranges and a banana. The front page says that although it is not general, there is a two tier price system for locals and tourists. Not quite true of course, as what it really means is Madeirans and foreigners, and the range of prices applied more liberally to those who look the most stupid.
Does anyone really believe it has never been noticed before? It’s plastered all over the internet the stories from the market victims, and is it just restricted to the farmers market ………….. I think not!!!!!
It is a crime punishable by imprisonment it seems, but those caught just normally get fines.
You would have though that the robbing marketeer would have at least rounded the fruity rip-off down to a neat €4.
I hope Der is back soon as I miss that glowing bloggy smile!
61Yes, come back Der all is forgiven
62Reading the Diaro I see that a 55 litre pipe of “Vihno Roda” is being sent on a circumnavigation on the 4 mast sailing ship “Sagres”.
63I read it is to recreate something but my portuguese let me down.
I still can’t get the bloody machine to translate.
Perhaps a clever soul will get tog rips with the story and translate.
Regarding the market rip-off, do you know if it also extends to the cost of flowers? I usually buy one bunch for the apartment when we are in Madeira but the charges seem to be exorbitant. The anthuriums are charged per stem and are in fact now much cheaper in UK so i don’t buy them any more and I have a thriving anthurium plant on the balcony. Cheapest seem to be the white arum type lilies when in season and they are always cheaper at the flower stall near to the cathedral. I have stopped bringing any back to UK because of the cost, their lifespan and the fact that we usually fly Easyjet and I think they charge extra for taking boxes on the flight. We buy our fruit at the small stalls and in the supermarket and one of our neighbours often has a glut of passionfruits or custard apples – delicious!
64Martin, not a precise translation and somewhat brief:
The “educational” Sailing ship Sagres (say that after a few glasses of Madeira finest…) set sail today for Brazil, on it’s first (?) leg of a voyage to Japan. It was bestowed with a fresh cask of Madeira wine, delivered onboard by rowing boat in Funchal harbour. The “plan” is to replicate the original “heating” process of the wine that occured some 500 years ago, after abortive sailings to the “Brazils” etc … and to mark the long standing Portuguese and Madeiran association with same. Also the final leg of the journey to Japan, is to mark the 200 year (similar Portuguese) associations in the Far East and to sample the (hopefully) much improved wine later…wether en route or back here in Madeira I am not sure!
Ah, time for a glass then…….
65The idea that a longish sea voyage improves spirits and fortified wines is an old and well established one – various good stories (all different) circulate about how this was discovered. Any actual effect is probably due mostly to the gentle, continuous stirring caused by the movement of the ship.
66The school ship Sagres is on a trip around the world (its third), not “just” one to Japan. The reason claimed for putting a pipe of Madeira wine aboard (Malmsey, to be precise) is to put the traditional idea to a scientific (or maybe just pseudo-scientific …) test. At least, some sort of analysis will be performed on what will (I believe) only at the end of the trip have become a “vinho de roda” (“round trip wine”?), comparing it with wine that did not travel, to see (hopefully) what has changed.
The wine will not be sold – what remains after the investigation (would love to work in that lab … ) will be served on ceremonial occasions.
Thanks chaps!
67I believe another use for Malmsey was for pickling Admiral Nelson for his return to England.
Wonder if that wine was served during ceremonial occasions?