Ruben Micael goes to Porto ; €2 billion more for the Azores ; Cabbage stumps Seixal feast
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Martin … A Bentley Derby 1923, that competed in the 2009 ‘Volta da Madeira’.
Well I certainly missed some notable news stories whilst ‘off line’, and the transfer of Câmara de Lobos hero Rúben Micael from Nacional to Porto must take the tastiest biscuit. Rúben Micael Freitas Ressureição player profile Anyone know how much Porto paid for the lad?
Another one of those travel / destination guides for Madeira … but I don’t mind the extra effort if it persuades a few more tourists to take a holiday here and spend their luverly dosh EVERY LITTLE HELPS
Becky wrote in about helping out with material for the blog : “Once you’ve had a chance to read all the various suggestions re. the blog and submissions, maybe you can let us know what you think is best – I’m happy to contribute the best I can but maybe need pointing in the right direction as to when and where and what”.
It seems that we may have some extra contributors after the blog ‘time out’, and many thanks for the offers and half-offers. We will never have enough helpers I guess, so please help us balance the workload and share information. If you are thinking of sending in a news story, I guess the only way to ensure there is no duplication is if you put something in the blog comments to say what you are going to work on so other helpers don’t do the same thing. Any other ideas on how to manage this gratefully received, but people should really do what they want to do, as it is not right for me to dictate.
What would be ideal of course would be to have a number of regular contributors with either particular areas (like Vanessa has) or days of ‘duty’, but we are probably far from that at the moment. If someone would like to ‘specialise’ please let me know, but it does mean a regular commitment.
Another thing someone could help me with is the ‘snippets’ or ‘titbits’ like those above. As there is no translation involved, then it might be quite easy for someone to do. I could arrange for the alerts to be sent once a day, not necessarily every day for just one person, and then someone could check them out and if they are worth a mention it’s just a question of formatting them to be ‘cut ‘n pasted’ ready to go into the next blog (that would be explained) and emailing me. That alone would save me up to an hour a day to do something else. Or perhaps someone would like to a be a YouTube monitor (or any similar website) and just check every few days to see if there is are any new interesting and relevant videos posted.
Many thanks to Elaine for this huge contribution.
Ribeira Brava Philharmonic Band travels to Venezuela. The Banda Municipal da Ribeira Brava will tour Venezuela this year to perform to the large immigrant community. It will probably be during the summer, including the Day of the Region. 30 to 40 band members will stay for a week. The Mayor of Ribeira Brava promised to support the trip although it is the result of an invitation by a group of Luso-Venezuelan emigrants. The council supports such projects because they promote culture, represent the country and allow closer ties with the immigrant community. It benefits the emigrants as they meet together at such functions and many migrated decades ago but they never forget their roots.
Communists suspect the CDS will no longer back the Regional Finance Law / PS maintain their position. The regional directorate of the PCP-Madeira suspect that the CDS-PP will approve the State Budget of the Socialist Government and not the Regional Finance Law, as wanted by the Prime Minister José Sócrates. The PCP leader Jorge Cordeiro said, “The signs are worrying for Madeira.” “Everything indicates that the Regional Finance Law and the interests of Madeira have been transformed into a bargaining chip, particularly by the CDS.” The communist leader said the vote on the law was postponed twice then the PS and CDS approved another postponement. If the law is not passed, it is likely that poverty and unemployment will increase in Madeira. The PS-M maintain the position on the Regional Finance Law that they held in the 2007 elections, when they only received 15% of the vote. They insist there is an error as the GDP is inflated by the effect of the Free Trade Zone which has resulted in a loss of transfer of 500 million Euros from community funds. PS leader, Jacinto Serrão, says the relationship between Lisbon and Funchal leads to insults and attacks on the Government of the Republic and asks the Minister of Finance, Teixeira dos Santos, not to be so stubborn so both parties can negotiate.
Panelo with lack of cabbage. Today, Chão da Ribeira in Seixal hosts a festa for the traditional free panelo. The problem this year for residents is to obtain enough cabbage or grelos (similar to spinach). The wild pombos (pigeons) have devastated the local crops. The panelo is usually cooked using cabbage and semilhas (Madeiran potatoes) grown in Seixal and salted pork from the tradition of ‘killing the pig’ in December. This traditional panelo started around forty years ago when families decided to gather on the last Sunday in January at the Chão da Ribeira to consume the remains from Christmas. Pork, chicken or beef are cooked in a Portuguese manner then served with wine from Seixal. Tradition dictates that the panelo is served on a tablecloth on the ground and the afternoon spent with family and friends.
Diocese collects 18,000 Euros for Haiti. The Diocese of Funchal has received 18,000 Euros in donations and the charity Caritas will forward it to Caritas in Portugal which in turn will deliver the money to Caritas in Haiti. Both the headquarters and warehouse in Port-aux-Prince are still standing. Caritas always helps areas where reconstruction and rehabilitation are needed, for example after the December 2004 tsunami and more recently, in Peru. One or two years after the money has been sent, a commission goes to the area to see how the funds have been used.
‘Park and Ride’ this year in Funchal. Funchal City Council want a single fare to cover using the car parks situated outside the city and transport into Funchal on buses run by Horários do Funchal. ‘Park and Ride’ has been attempted before but failed due to a lack of adherence. Car parks with spare capacity are located at Clube Naval and Rua Bela de São Tiago, near Largo da Força. The council are in talks with the companies managing the car parks as they want to make the price attractive to users so they gain financially. The service will benefit people who commute daily from Câmara de Lobos and Caniço. The council want to reduce the number of cars travelling into the city centre to reduce pollution and petrol consumption. Economists talk of an increase in the price of petrol in the near future. The cheapest monthly cost for a car park in Funchal is 90 Euros and the council want the new scheme to reduce this to 55 Euros.
Romeira closes municipal company. The Mayor of São Vicente, Jorge Romeira, will close a municipal company created four years ago by his predecessor Humberto Vasconcelos. The company Promovicente was created with the approval of the PSD councillors and the PS have always been against this decision. This company was created to promote the municipality and they were almost exclusively paid to promote cultural, social and sports activities. Jorge Romeira insists the activities of the company are only suspended. His motto is ‘clean’ and he has a tendency to cancel projects of his predecessor.
37 accidents in a month and a half at Porto Novo. The majority of accidents occurred on a 26.8 km stretch of the Via Rápida 1 in the direction Funchal/Santa Cruz, after the end of the bridge at Porto Novo. Some drivers blame the maintenance of the road by Vialitoral but the area has road signs that indicate danger in unfavourable weather conditions, as experienced between this period of 1/12/2009 and 17/01/2010. The firm’s statistics taken from speeds measured by 54 counters indicate that the majority of accidents were due to excessive speed.
Azores receive two billion Euros more than Madeira. Plenty of numbers in this article which are summarised in the diagrams shown. A study by the Regional Government condemns the State and Europe for guaranteeing in the past 12 years, 28% more for the Azores. The Regional Government is considering a full-scale campaign in national newspapers to publicise the amount the State has allocated to each region, especially the disparity between the Azores and Madeira. Declarations by the leader of the Azores have led to a break in the relationship with Alberto Jardim. Carlos César has said that the revision of the law would undermine the Azores. Under the present law, the Azores receive 60.5% of the money transferred from the State and Madeira receives 39.5%. With the revised law, the Azores would receive 52% and Madeira the other 48%. At present, the Azores receive 20% of the Cohesion Fund and Madeira receives 4%. The Regional Government say that the GDP (PIB) of Madeira is more than that generated by the Azores, due to high public investment and it should not be penalized for this. Since the 1998 Regional Finance Law, the GDP of Madeira grew 97% whereas that of the Azores grew 73%. Accused of spending, Jardim says that the Regional Government has spent 26.6% GDP whereas the Azores has spent 31% GDP. The State has spent 45.8% GDP which rose at the end of last year to 51.3% GDP.
Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :
Socialist Party of Madeira criticizes the “stubborn ones” affecting finances – The congress closes with some stick given to President Jardim and [Finance Minister] Teixeira dos Santos.
Minister ‘buries’ the Finance Law. Finance Minister Teixeira dos Santos is sticking to his guns with a ‘no’ to the Regional Finance law amendments, put together and submitted by President Alberto João Jardim of Madeira. “Why is it that one would give several tens of millions more Euros to Madeira in this conjuncture?” he asks. He says that both the Assembly of the Republic, and his own Socialist Party, are not available to do the revision requested, and that no one would understand why a government would approve the amendments of the Social Democrats of Madeira at a time when the county needed to keep a tight reign on public expenditure. It looks like Uncle Bertie will have a tough end to his dictatorship long period of rule then, with some tough choices ahead. What will he do … stop lining politicians pockets … cancel the €45 m redevelopment of the Marítimo stadium … flog off a few more publically owned assets. No I don’t think so, they would be easy solutions. Look out for cut-backs in job-rich community projects I reckon, especially in those areas where the PSD-M didn’t fare so well in the recent elections.
Today’s main news headline : GARBAGE CONSUMES 31.5% OF BUSINESS SUPPORT – The Regional Government has committed almost a third of the support destined for extra help given to company operations. And it did it to the benefit of the public body that manages the waste, the ‘Valor Ambiente’ [Environmental Value].
Scrap collections reduce to a half. Less scrap metal in the streets, with just 8 abandoned cars towed away per month during the last year. The considerable reduction comes after concerted efforts by local councils and police to do something to stop the problem. Making people aware of the importance of protecting the environment and the image of this tourist destination has been a key facet of the actions taken. Abandoned vehicles have been a problem for a long time, especially in areas distanced from population centres and main roads, and that problem still remains. Anyway, the figures in 2006 were 20 a month, and that last year was down to 8 a month. Owners traced as having abandoned cars face a fine of between €250 and €750, with the upper limit rising to €2,500 if the car is in a state of scrap. I don’t suppose it could be anything to do with the fact that people don’t have the money to replace their cars these days? The Diário mentions several such zones, popular for car-dumpers, but fails to mention Boa Morte [Good Death] which last time I went through was littered with decaying vehicles, but nether-the-less I was tickled that the place was perhaps named as such as it was the final resting place for old cars.
Crisis obliges working in unfamiliar areas – Not even the marketplace for work can offer opportunities that match university qualifications. Find out about some examples.
The main sport / football headline today, and also the main picture : Rúben makes an almost perfect debut – The Madeiran debuted for FC Porto in the League Cup and deserved praise. Saturday he plays in the Choupana [Nacional, Madeira ... the club he has just left].
Victory of Nacional was insufficient. Nacional beat Guimarães 1 – 0 yesterday in the league cup, but it wasn’t enough to move from the group to the next stage of the competition.
Manuel Machado retakes his place tomorrow. The manager of Nacional, who was critically ill in hospital with a post-operation infection before Xmas, is back at work tomorrow, some months sooner than originally expected.
There are still 3 more sports headlines to go, but that’s enough for me, save to say that my lads of Ribeira Brava beat Porto Moniz 2 – 0 yesterday, leaving them clear at the top of the Madeira Series league table.
Many thanks to Elaine out West for this from the Jornal da Madeira :
New link to Madeira. In early summer the Azorean airline SATA will start a new route between Ponta Delgada, Funchal and Faro, using the new Bombardier Q400 Dash, the first of which will be delivered today in Toronto. “This new service, which will be held twice a week, will depart from and arrive the same day in Ponta Delgada, allowing the connection between the Azores, Madeira and the Algarve,” said one SATA source, speaking to journalists in the Canadian city. In a ceremony at the Bombardier plant in Toronto on Monday SATA received the first of four Q400 NextGen Dash, acquired by an investment of 74 million Euros. The aircraft will arrive at Ponta Delgada at the end of the month, allowing SATA to begin the certification process to enable them to start operations in late February. The four planes purchased by SATA should all be flying by the end of the first half of this year, replacing the existing ATP aircraft. The new Dash Q400 NextGen will operate routes between the islands of the archipelago on routes between the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands and the link between the two islands and the Algarve which starts operating at the beginning of Summer. Fleet renewal SATA Air Azores began last year with the arrival of two Bombardier Q200, which replaced the Dornier that the company used for links to the smaller islands. The two Q200 will ensure links between Funchal and Porto Santo and the routes to the islands with lower demand in the Azores archipelago, in particular Corvo, the smallest island of the Azores.
If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.
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Madeira Wine embarks on a journey of circumnavigation on board the ‘Sagres’. 55 litre pipa will recreate the epic ‘Vinho da Roda’. Date: 22/01/2010. A pipa (traditional Portuguese barrel / cask with tapering ends used to transport / age wine) with 55 litres of Madeira Wine was taken on board the Portuguese training ship, the ‘Sagres’, this Friday to make a third circumnavigation trip and recreate the epic wine named the ‘Vinho da Roda’. The ‘Sagres’ anchored this morning off the bay of Funchal, a brief stop in the first leg of the journey that will last 11 months, to receive the pipa which was carried in a traditional Madeiran rowing boat. The ship’s captain, Proença Mendes said, "The Navy provided the ship for a mission to represent the State (Portugal) at several stops," planned for its presence in the Sails Regatta of South America, commemorating 200 years of independence of Argentina and Chile, the Shanghai Expo 2010, the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce between Portugal and Japan and the celebrations of 500 years of Portuguese expansion in the Far East." According to the official, the ‘Sagres’ usually receives an average of 15 thousand visitors per day in each port, and at Funchal where it frequently attends. The training ship is "also the country’s cultural diplomacy" and receptions on board will disclose its genuine Portuguese products, so taken on this trip are "good Portuguese bacalhau (about 2,200 kilos dried cod), Madeira Wine and several table wines that will be served to make an even better representation of the country."
Jornal da Madeira addition (23/01/2010). Wine returns to Madeira in December 2010. The pipa contains Malvasia 2000 and will be tied to one of the masts. The journey from Lisbon to Salvador da Bahia in Brazil would not normally include a stop at Funchal but this was solely to include the shipment of wine. It will take 23 days to reach the South American continent. It was in the eighteenth century when the ships went to India and back, when it was realised that the passage through the tropics prematurely aged the wine. This was called East India Madeira Wine. Infante (Prince) Dom Henrique introduced the Malvasia caste of grape to Madeira from Crete. 
Cultural Events : Festa do Compadres in Santana, 6-7 February. Cortejo folião on Saturday 6th at 17.00 and main procession on Sunday 7th at 16.00. (Photo from last year’s procession). Circus Dallas until 31 January. The circus has already been seen by 20,000 spectators this Christmas season. At Madeira Technopolo, Thursday to Sunday performances at 13.00, 18.00 and 21.00 hours. Second charter flight to Barcelona this summer. Costas Galicia will fly between July and October. Levada Nova (Fanal – Curral Falso) reopened and a new path from Paul de Serra to Ribeira da Janela. Funchal buses route changes. Routes changed for Horários do Funchal buses 2, 3, 4, 6 and 43 to west Funchal, to reduce city pollution / congestion along Avenida do Mar and Estrada Monumental and create new direct links.
Max Römer Exhibition. Mouraria Art Gallery, Rua da Mouraria No 38, Funchal, Tuesday 26 January until 20 February. Exhibition of copies of 30 Max Römer’s postcards and paintings from private collections. This German artist resided in the region for 38 years and painted landscapes and the daily life of Madeirans. He was born in Hamburg in 1878 and died there at the age of 81. Last year, as part of the 500 Years of Funchal celebrations, a book about his work was released, edited by Rui Camacho, ‘O Funchal na Obra de Max Römer’. 
New tourist attraction. Since Friday, Funchal has a new tourist attraction : a traditional Madeiran method of transport for short journeys through the Avenida do Mar and Avenida Arriaga. This method of transport is still used in Curral das Freiras for people who are ill. The ‘rede’ was made by a craftsman in Santana, is as authentic as possible and is carried by two men, one in front and one behind. They hope to arouse the curiosity of tourists, especially from the cruise ships. The initial circuits will be made between the Marina do Funchal and the Teleférico da Madeira (cable car) and between Sé (Cathedral area) and the Jardim Municipal. Promoted on the streets and through the Lokoloko website.
