Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Becky … "Some beautiful shimmery sea taken from Cabo Girão at the beginning of January".

And also the last two web links that Becky sent me are below. Many thanks Becky, there has been some really interesting stuff.

Great collection of old photographs of Funchal

Travel journal of Kezia Payne DePelchin 1881-1882

A 2 and a half minute diving video filmed in Funchal :

I recall a short while ago we had a discussion about bandolins, ukuleles and such musical instruments, and I came across this article that mentions Madeira being responsible for the ukulele coming to Hawaii … "Coleman says the biggest surprise was the wealth of ukulele music created in Hawaii in the late 19th century. Many of the instrument’s signature tunes were written by members of the Hawaiian royal family, who embraced the uke after an earlier version of the instrument was introduced to the islands by Portuguese sailors from Madeira". FULL ARTICLE

Nacional took a bit of a home thrashing yesterday afternoon, losing 0 – 4 at home to FC Porto. Even worse than the 3 – 0 defeat they suffered in the Dragão earlier in the season. Despite being in a European position, our lads have the leakiest defence in the Liga Sagres, having conceded 33 goals in 17 matches.

Anyone else watch that Futsal (5-a-side court football) match on RTP last night. It was the final of the European Championship in Hungary. Spain had it all wrapped up with a 3 goal advantage with just a few minutes to go. Then Portugal scored twice, and missed another chance to tie the game. It finished 4 – 2. Shame about the result but a fantastic ending.

Vanessa Swesnik very kindly sent in this article (an exact translation of the original HERE for any Portuguese language students) :

Vila Porto Mare Distinguished among the Nation’s Resorts

Hotel complex received the highest certification of food security and management

The hotel complex, Vila Porto Mare, received the Foresee Gold Certificate of Excellent Food Hygiene Standards from LusoCristal Consulting, a prestigious international consulting firm, for its food security systems.

This is the first time a Portuguese resort has received the Gold Certificate which is rewarded to units that score above 80% in three consecutive surprise reviews to assess four key concepts of food hygiene and best practices: cross-contamination, preparation, storage, and proper cleaning.

The Vila Porto Mare, owned by Madeira’s Porto Bay Hotels and Resorts, consists of three hotels (The Eden Mar, The Porto Mare, and The Residence), four restaurants, five bars, various pools, sports fields, and a spa.

“This recognition reflects the excellent levels of food safety control, for both food and drink, in all of its restaurants, kitchens, and bars,” emphasizes a press release distributed yesterday by the hotel group.

Located in the Lido region, Vila Porto Mare houses a lush 13,400 square meter botanical garden with a collection of 43 palm species- a very significant diversity.

The parent company announced yesterday that, “Vila Porto Mare Resort has finished an initiative to identify and tag at least 365 unique species that reside in its gardens which places it among the Exceptional Class of the Floral Diversity Index.”

Sugarcane, grapevines, and banana trees, the three most important plants of the Madeira landscape, combine harmoniously with ornamentals to evoke the economic history of the Island.

To carry out the ecologically sustainable management style adopted, water is used from the Levada dos Piornais to drastically reduce consumption and equipment was installed to compost leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, and leftover produce to reduce the need for chemical fertilizer.

They recently added flower beds with vegetables, aromatic plants, and medicinal plants to provide guests with new smells and flavours. Endemic species were also added to the property’s vegetation.

Tours are given to explain this botanical abundance of Vila Porto Mare as part of the resort’s entertainment offerings.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 30/01/2010 – FRONT PAGE NEWS

Horários do Funchal is technically bankrupt.  At the end of 2008, the firm that runs the local buses in Funchal (yellow buses) had a negative equity of 1.6 million Euros and liabilities of 30.3 million Euros, 32.8% more than the previous year. This is despite 3.5 million Euros from the Regional Government. The company generated 24.5 million Euros in business but this did not cover the 28.1 million Euros operating costs, an operating loss 36% worse than the previous year. 21.6% of the expenses were for fuel and 41.1% for labour costs. The company has short, medium and long term debts to banks and debts to suppliers. During the year, an investment of 4.8 million Euros purchased 20 new buses.

INDICATORS

The firm had 277 vehicles and 621 employees (375 drivers);
The average fleet age was 14.9 years;
The company had 1.3 drivers per vehicle;
This year the company transported 27 million passengers …
… in 66 routes in a network of 189 kilometres;
1,009,909 trips were carried out and covered 7.4 million kilometres;
The occupancy rate stood at 18% and the average capacity was 80 passengers;
The average speed was 18 kilometres per hour;
The cost per km was 3.81 and the gain only 3.33 Euros;
The buses consumed an average of 64.22 litres per 100 km
Each bus has consumed 26,550 Euros per year;
The company acquired 4.773 million litres of diesel
The cost per km with fuel was 0.63 and 0.17 per passenger
GVA per employee (19,327 Euros) in 2008 was 2.4% lower;
The personnel costs represent an annual cost of 18,518 Euros per employee.

Opposition parties want an investigation into the Regional debt. The parliamentary group of the PS (socialists) will be supported by the PCP (communists) and CDS-PP (Christian democrats) if they want an inquiry into the size of the Regional debt. This would be sufficient support required for an investigation; a minimum of ten signatures. A previous proposal was rejected by the PSD. The PCP want a clarification of the extent and consequences of the debt of the region, including both direct and indirect debt.  A bank study pointed to a debt of 4.6 billion Euros or 92% GDP. The socialists estimate the debt as 6 billion Euros. Interest charges and expenses on the debt are over 250 million Euros annually.

MADEIRA

20% suffer from anxiety disorders. Today is the final day of a two-day conference at Pestana Casino Park bringing together 800 mental health specialists, a meeting held every two years. Results from a survey of the prevalence of mental illness in the region will be published soon, indicating that 20% Madeirans suffer from anxiety disorders which can occur more frequently at times of crisis. Psychotic illnesses are less prevalent and 5% of regional mental illness result from the consumption of alcohol. A bipolar disorder specialist stated that recent surveys showed this disorder occurs in four times more patients than diagnosed if the usual criteria for the manic phase are used.

Association of Casas do Povo da Madeira without money leads to resignations. Five officials resigned last month because they have five months of salaries in arrears. The company ACAPORAMA has a liability of 265,000 Euros. The financial difficulties make the association ineligible for future Regional Government subsidies as they cannot fulfil the present contract. Last year, the subsidy was 57,000 Euros to cover the cost of different activities. 36 of the 40 Casas do Povo in the region are in this association.

Exotic species in the wild. Although Madeira is an island and there is close monitoring at the airport and animals for sale, it is difficult to prevent the illegal entry of exotic animals or plants into the region. The biggest problem is the maritime link, species entering from a yacht or a car travelling from Europe on the ferry. The import of exotic species has been regulated since 1999, especially for those endangering the ecosystem or dangerous to humans. The major threat is from species accidentally introduced through imported materials, like sand or wood. Such materials, for example the Moroccan sand for the beaches, is subject to a quarantine period. The photo shows a 2 metre long python found recently in the area of Pináculo in São Gonçalo. It was dead, presumably after a road accident, and was either abandoned in the region or had escaped from the owner.

Youth assaulted outside a bar.  A 20 year old went to a bar at 11 am on Sunday morning, in the area of Palheiro Ferreiro, to buy tobacco. The establishment was closed but seeing a light on and hearing voices inside, he knocked at the door. He was told the bar was closed but explained he just wanted to buy tobacco. Suddenly, the owner emerged and attacked the man, punching and kicking him, but he managed to escape to his house. His brother took him for medical attention and he has a broken arm, cuts and bruises. The police are investigating his allegations.

Bombeiros had to help two elderly tourists. On the levada do Curral dos Romeiros, two British tourists aged 79 and 87, had to be helped to the end of the levada. They had mobility difficulties associated with old age and were found by locals at 7 pm.

ECONOMY

An unusual ship. Next week, this unusual ship named the Monge, will visit the Port of Funchal to allow the crew a rest period. The A 601- Monge belongs to the French Navy and carries 232 crew members. The ship is the only one operating in Europe with the role of supporting combat missions involving missiles. There are two Super Hornet helicopters on deck. The ship arrives at 9 am on 3 February and departs at 9 am on 6 February.

Madeira self-sufficient in eggs. The Girão Group opened a new poultry centre yesterday, enabling Madeira to be self-sufficient in egg production for domestic and industrial use. The investment was one million Euros, 50% from institutional funds. This company accounts for 60% of the regional distribution and presently only imports 20% of its eggs. The new centre in Campanário in Ribeira Brava has a capacity of 90,000 birds. Each year, 25 million eggs are produced earning the firm 4 million Euros. The company started 35 years ago in Quinta Grande in Câmara de Lobos.

POLITICS

Madeira Wine interests South Korea. The Ambassador of South Korea, Kang Dae-Hyun, visited the region and was impressed by Madeira in general and in particular by Madeira Wine. He thought the 50 million South Koreans would also enjoy the wine. Promotion of the wine would have to be studied and the free trade agreement between the EU and South Korea, which comes into force this year, will make this traditional product a tax-free import.

PND accuse construction company. In Caniço, Edifício Assomada Park has various building flaws and failures. José Manuel Coelho blames the firm responsible for constructing the building, ‘Só Trabalho’. Faults listed were: leaking roof, poor quality painting, many cracks on the lower floor, and pumps for the sewerage tanks not functioning so the tanks are overflowing. The residents have complained to the company as the building is under guarantee but have had no reply. Coelho also criticized Santa Cruz Council and government departments.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

New cities continue as towns – The fever of changing to city status didn’t bring more people or business. Accompanied by a nice photo of the ‘A Frame’ houses in Santana, with a few tourists milling around. A phenomenon over the last few decades saw several towns (or even villages in my opinion!)  apply for and obtain city status, because they (the politicians) thought the grass would grow greener. Silly! Just because you have a shoe-shine booth and a fresh water drinking fountain doesn’t make you any better than anywhere else, and does not improve the quality of life or bring trade flooding in. Caniço, Machico and Santana are such examples of Madeira’s ‘cities’. Silly cities!

Today’s main news headline : Majority of the deputies [MPs] amass jobs – The case is blatant on the benches of the majority party : almost all of the 33 Social Democrat deputies in the Regional Assembly work on a part-time basis. On the side of the opposition, few have other such extra activities. The teachers dominate. So what. It’s not against the law, and all over the world politicians supplement their miserly political salaries, using their status to get top part-time jobs, and short change the voters who put their faith in them. Of course the ruling party politicians can attract the best paid jobs, as they are the ones with power and influence that their employers need, and not their powerless political opponents. To suggest that Madeira is any different to anywhere else is not the case, and Madeira’s PSD politicians deserve a pat on the back for being as morally corrupt as many other politicians  worldwide without being seen to break any laws or ethical obligations. Silly story!

Doctors slow the addiction of turning to plastic surgery – There are already two thousand surgical procedures of reconstruction and for cosmetic reasons per year. There are already cases of Madeirans addicted to plastic surgery. The situation is not very common, but the specialist in Cosmetic Surgery and Reconstruction, Manuel Figueiroa, admits that some people who fall into this group have passed through his office. He says that he has refused surgery several times because there was no necessity, a decision that doesn’t normally go down well with the patients, who often go elsewhere, sometimes abroad, to get what they want. Silly people!

Estêvão Neves studies a new investment in Brazil. I don’t really care what this bloke is doing in Brazil, but how dare he have two accents on his first name. I have only ever come across this before with the name Cristóvão, and vowed to never have nothing to do with any person with this name, nor the parents. If life isn’t tough enough already, putting stress on a word in two places needs a skill in linguistic gymnastics that I just don’t possess. Silly name!

Another main story, off the front page : Carlos César thinks they are "completely ridiculous" the justifications of Alberto João Jardim – The president of the Azores government advises Jardim to save on the current expenditure. Referring of course to the alterations to the Regional Finance Law proposed by President Jardim and his Social Democrat Party on Madeira, and the attempt to squeeze out more funding from the state budget. "I don’t want to offend AJJ, but some of the arguments are completely ridiculous" said César in comments to journalists in the Azores. Referring in particular to the justification that Madeira needs more money because of the geographical features of the archipelago, because Jardim has already bored through mountains and made tunnels all over the place. In the Azores, the problem is quite different with many ports and airports on the islands that cost a huge amount to maintain. "Also nothing is comparable between the current expenditure in Madeira and the Azores" he said. Quite right Sr. César, and why one archipelago has to use the other to justify its own financial needs is totally absurd, and any justifications should be made on the merits of the case in question. Silly Bertie!

The main sport / football headline today, as mentioned above, has the lions share of the limited space :  Referee ‘pushes’ FC Porto for the goal feast – The return of Rúben Micael to the Choupana was notable by the controversial refereeing of Carlos Xistra. [Nacional Coach] Machado didn’t hold back his refereeing criticisms. Jesualdo Ferreira [Porto Coach] praised the Madeiran reinforcement [Micael] : "He is a top notch player". Silly referee!

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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