This photo is from Tobi’s website HERE. Thank you.

From Paul :

Portuguese manager following in Mourinho’s footsteps? the BBC reports:

As Jose Mourinho looks to make history with Inter Milan in the Champions League, another Portuguese manager is bidding to follow his route to success.

Pedro Sousa is serving an apprenticeship as a coach at Beira-Mar, winners of the Portuguese Second Division.

image caption : Stadium of SC Beira-Mar at Aveiro

But this week the young Portuguese boss is in Scotland participating in the Uefa "A" License introductory course at Largs in Ayrshire.

Mourinho’s success has an effect on other people in Portugal not necessarily just in the football industry

Sousa insists Mourinho’s success has an effect on other people in Portugal not necessarily just in the football industry. "Mourinho does more than that," insists Sousa.

"He influences people to be better in their work. To be more successful, to win more and aim for higher goals rather than standard goals."     link to full article:

Portuguese football coach Jose Mourinho writes his name into the history books. the BBC reports: "Jose Mourinho writes his name into the history books as Diego Milito inspired Inter Milan to Champions League glory against Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu
Milito set Inter on their way against the run of play with a clipped finish.

And he wrapped up a win built on the foundations of a solid defence with a solo effort that saw Inter become the first Italian side to win the Treble.

image Caption : Diego Milito

It means Mourinho, who won the cup with Porto in 2004, becomes the third man in history to win it with two clubs.

He joins Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld in earning that remarkable accolade – at the age of only 47 – and, in doing so, ends a wait of more than 45 years for the Nerazzurri to regain Europe’s top prize.

That he did so by overcoming his mentor Louis van Gaal, with whom he worked at Barcelona in the 1990s, in the process only served to complete the ultimate season of personal vindication for the Portuguese.

image caption : José Mourinho, F.C. Internazionale Milano

Mourinho: Real Madrid coach?

If reports are to be believed, it is a triumph that will earn Mourinho the manager’s position at arguably the world’s biggest club, Real Madrid, this summer.

image caption : Composición de seis fotos de el estadio santiago bernabeu del real madrid, tomadas desde el vomitadero de la torre 3 entre el tercer y el cuarto anfiteatro. Me encanta el resultado

The BBC 606: DEBATE on Saturday night shortly after the final

"They never looked like losing. Controlled football"

According to some press articles this morning, JM has already accepted a position at Real Madrid HERE IS ONE

Samsung Inspire the Team (The Portuguese World Cup Team) – ‘Inspira a Seleccao’ Campaign Site with Videos and Photos submitted by the public at Shopping Centres:

‘Rock in Rio’ comes to Lisbon again

"…a series of rock festivals held in Brazil and later in Portugal and Spain. Future festivals are planned in Poznań (Poland)

Three incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991 and 2001, four in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and two in Madrid in 2008 and 2010. The shows were organized by entrepreneur Roberto Medina. In 2011, 2013, 2015 Rock in Rio may take place in Poznań on a reconstructed racing track.
Rock in Rio has been the largest rock festival in the world (1.5 million people in the first edition, 700 thousand in the second, about 1.2 million in the third, and about 350 thousand people in each of the 3 Lisbon editions." Source:

image caption : Shakira at Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro

Rock in Rio Lisbon 2010

According to Wikipedia the event continues on these dates with these artists performing:

May 27

• Muse
• Snow Patrol
• Xutos & Pontapés
• Sum 41

May 29

• Miley Cyrus
• McFly
• D’ZRT
• Amy Macdonald

May 30

• Rammstein
• Motorhead
• Megadeth
• Soulfly

"….’Rock in Rio’ is now a franchise, bought up by Lisbon’s municipality in 2004 and subsequently bought by Madrid a couple of years ago. The city gets the right to use the Rock in Rio brand and all the organisation and booking is done by the Brazilians who organised the Rock in Rio events.
A day ticket costs €57, and for that you get to see three biggish acts and one major name, making the event very poor value for money in comparison to British festivals. However, the acts do play full 90min to 2hr sets, rather than then truncated 40-50m sets you get at festivals. The bands/artists are paid an absolute fortune for playing and I think this is why a lot of the artists look out of shape and practice, because they’re not on tour but they can’t afford to turn it down." Source: ‘When Saturday Comes’ Message Board

Rock in Rio official site:

Many thanks to Paul for sending in the contributions for this football blog.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please only send in ‘exceptional’ or very topical photos by email attachment, as they take quite some time to process. Links to photos that are already online take much less time. Anything submitted for inclusion will be ‘cut and pasted’  to the blog very likely unchecked and unaltered, so please check anything through before sending it in, especially ‘automatic translations’, to avoid any ‘afterthoughts’. Blogs will be published when there is sufficient material to make one worthwhile. I can’t always respond to emails, so please accept my thanks in advance, and the attribution on the blog itself. Der.

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‘Jellyfish Oblige SANAS To Double Assistance – 60 bathers were stung in just one day in Calheta’. Jellyfish have proved this summer to be the main headache for the lifeguards of SANAS, and there has been no year like it for at least the last ten years, with so many cases. With this Summer still underway, already there are 2099 cases of assistance recorded, compared to 1003 for the same period in 2008, with jellyfish being a major contributor to the difference, instead of minor cuts and falls as normal. An analysis of the numbers show that women have been more vulnerable to jellyfish stings than men, and also younger people and children tended to be more likely victims. Funchal of course had the most call for the recorded lifeguard assistance (43%), followed by Calheta (11%), Reis Magos (7.4%) and Ribeira Brava (7%). Most of the assistance given was in the sea (57.1%), followed by in swimming pools (20.3%), and the rest were categorised as ‘other’ which includes problems encountered on the beach. Three cases involved resuscitation associated with drowning (all successfully executed), whilst drowning without loss of consciousness occurred 9 times. 23 rescues were undertaken for cases of exhaustion. A spokesman for SANAS said "We’re not on the beaches to take care of children", and urged parents and family not to delegate this responsibility to lifeguards, so they can be stretched out on their towels sunbathing.

‘Europe Gave 926 Thousand Euros For A Card That Doesn’t Exist – ACS received funds for the project that never got off the drawing board’. Lino Abreu presented (with pomp and circumstance), in December 2004, an innovative project of the Association of Trade and Services (ACS), called the ‘Cartão das Ilhas Atlânticas’, which was a customer loyalty card useable on the islands of Macaronesia. At a press conference in January 2005, Abreu announced that the new card would be distributed with 15 days, with a computer software programme accessible in the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, to manage the ‘loyalty awards’. However, the project that received €926,224 in European funds never moved of the paper it was written on because of technical difficulties attributed as "the fault of the Spanish", but the Chamber of Commerce and Services continued to receive payments from the EU. The project may still be implemented, although the Diário is of the opinion that the period permitted has now been exceeded.

‘Two More Cases Of Gripe A – Madeira has now had 35 confirmed cases’. That’s two new confirmed cases in the week until Sunday. Nearly all the cases so far are imported, mostly from the UK, Canary Islands, and Venezuela.

Today’s front page sports headlines : ‘Field Without Official Measurements Cost One Million – The synthetic pitch at Paul do Mar is 5 metres short’. The renovated football facility (it is certainly not a stadium), now has a synthetic pitch, and is due to be inaugurated on Sunday. However, one small problem, it is ‘prohibited’ from being able to host games under the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), despite the €1.1 million investment, because it is only 59 metres wide, 5 metres short of the minimum imposed by new rules, introduced by the FPF in June, for international games. All is not lost however, as the pitch may be suitable to host other games, and that possibility is being looked in to. Paul do Mar is not the only victim of the new FPF rule, as a pitch in Calheta is also affected, and after the end of this season will also fall foul of the rule. The Regional Secretary behind the project, justified the situation, claiming that "the (€1.1m) improvement was made in view of the room that was available, and it is sufficient for regional events, and that Calheta already has other facilities that could host international matches". The field size "corresponds to the regional regulatory requirements", he said.

Also : ‘Only A Victory Will Allow The Luso Dream’. Referring to tonight’s World Cup Football Qualifier of course, Hungary v Portugal. Live on TVI, channel 4, at 7.45 pm.

Also : ‘Unprecedented : Marítimo Plays Sunday Morning’. Keen not to lose SportTV coverage, (and presumably the money involved?), Marítimo and Sporting Braga have agreed to bring forward their game, originally scheduled for Monday night, to Sunday morning (11.15 am). The situation is due somewhat by a problem with the floodlights at the Barreiros ground in Funchal. We will all still be in church then, won’t we?

UPDATES :

‘Council Approves An Additional Storey On The Atelier Melim Building’. The project situated on the Estrada Monumental, in the heart of tourist Funchal, is next to the Hotel CS. I think that takes it from 6 to 7 levels, but I am not 100% sure of the exact format or structure. The building licence was issued in August 2008 for the construction of the commercial centre and tourism apartments.

‘Renewal Of Walks Of Pico Ready In Less Than A Year – The council estimate that €1 million will be needed for the redevelopment of the area surrounding the Fortaleza (fortress) of Pico’. The project will start in November to improve the zone, which has suffered as a result of a large increase in population and ‘urban interventions’. To regenerate the site, Funchal council have acquired the entire surrounding area, amounting to 6,700 square metres. The new look site will include an ‘urban park’, a children’s play ground, a ‘green’ space with leisure features, view points, and a rich botanic feel, serving the local population. Some building refurbishment is also included in the project, which is expected to take up to one year to complete.

11 people were caught walking on the via rápida last week (Ribeira Brava – Caniçal). They were removed, along with 6 animals, 27 largish objects. 10 car accidents and 68 breakdowns were also dealt with.

The Association of Portuguese Insurance Companies has said that it would be "highly irresponsible" to cover claims arising from Gripe A swine flu against health insurance policies, and that doing so could lead to bankruptcy for some insurers. According to the association, APS, no insurance company "can measure the risk of an epidemic or pandemic, nor as to its frequency, nor as to its extent, nor as to its cost", and hence such occurrences are excluded from policies. 

‘Ilha Pays Tribute To The Emigrant – Folklore, conviviality and animation lead hundreds to the village of Santana’. Tribute to the emigrants is the goal of the festival that happens every year in the Summer in the parish of Ilha. Organised by the Casa do Povo (House of the People) every year, they look to vary the programme every time. The event attracts hundreds of emigrants from all over Madeira and from Madeiran communities abroad, and includes traditional games. If they are emigrants from all over Madeira, in theory they wouldn’t be Madeiran?

‘Not Even With Pepper Gas Can The PSP Calm Nogueira – A family brawl spreads and not even police officers can control’. The neighbourhood is each time more out of control. Police officers are starting to fear going there. This time the trouble started when a man assaulted his ex-girlfriend. Not even the use of tear gas was sufficient to help police to make arrests during the family brawl in Nogueira. The police were threatened and insulted, and the ruffian managed to escape the three officers called in on Saturday afternoon. He is known to use knuckle-dusters in fights and is well known for his aggressive behaviour, and his frequent involvement in fights. The cops need to start waving their guns around a bit perhaps.

‘Two Boats Adrift Receive Tow’. In separate incidents at the weekend, two boats had to be rescued. The yacht had an engine failure off Ponta de São Lourenço, and the other boat ran out of fuel 7 miles south of Funchal. When rescuing the yacht the 8 occupants of the boat were found to be sick (sea sick I think), and hadn’t realised that their boat actually had a back up engine. Both boats were towed to dry land.

‘Accident In Calheta Injures Four’. Why this makes the front page I don’t know, but a car went off the via-expresso of Calheta between Prazeres and Maloeira early yesterday morning, and the 4 occupants were taken to Funchal hospital.

Yup, footie is back. With about half the front page taken up with the picture of Alonso of Marítimo running in to take a penalty. ‘Steady Marítimo Surprise Benfica In The Stadium of Light – Firstly there was the surprise of the blue and yellow (kit), then the steady performance. Overall the goalkeeper Peçanha was fundamental in the 1 – 1 draw achieved. The ex-Nacional player Alonso scored the goal of Marítimo, from a penalty, with plenty of class’. I missed the first half, but the second was one-way-traffic in my opinion and hardly steady, but a fine result nether-the-less. That result made 6 out of the first 7 initial games of the season drawn over the weekend, with the big three teams all blessed with late goals to avoid defeat.

‘Mother Of God Wants A Bus- The council agrees with the population and asks for more understanding from the bus company’. Nothing special about the story about the transport needs of the population of ‘Mãe de Deus’ in Caniço, I just liked the headline. Of course Caniço rather oddly has it’s very own bus company (EACL), and perhaps not many people know that?

‘Helena Rodrigues Makes History In Canada’. A 4 woman team took the bronze medal in the k4 200 metre canoeing event in the world championships in Canada. Maybe Helena is from Madeira, it doesn’t say.

‘São Martinho Homes A Quarter of Funchal – The parish has experienced a large increase in population’. When the trend is for the decline in population, the parish of São Martinho takes the opposite path, homing approximately a quarter of the population of Funchal. According to statistics from 2006, the population of Funchal was 99,759 inhabitants, while that of São Martinho amounted to 26,540, almost six thousand more than in 2001. The area of 8.06 square kilometres is about 30% of the total area of Funchal, and is now one of the most sought after for housing. Hmmm, I doubt if Nazaré or even Santo Amaro are included in that statement, but as the mass expansion of concrete in Ajuda is also within São Martinho, that probably accounts for quite a lot of the growth.

(16th August). From yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ’274 Burglaries In Homes In The First 6 Months Of 2009 – Last year the police registered 647 situations’. 274 burglaries in 6 months on Madeira say the Public Security Police, who take some credit through action that they themselves took to ensure the numbers stayed low. That includes ‘Operation Safe Summer’ that warned residents to be extra vigilant during the holiday period, and even allowed people going on holiday to let the police know that their house was empty and to keep a lookout, although only 93 people have used this so far (until the end of July). Though I doubt whether everything has been reported, it seem pretty good, and it seems that potentially this year will even be lower than last years total.

A lot of good initiatives and announcements coming through from our leaders at the moment: measures to tackle child poverty and behavioural issues, more facilities to feed the poor, new initiatives for drug problems, tourism showing an upturn. All great news. By the way, anyone heard when the elections are? 

Airport access and exit roads will be closed / diverted whilst works are done to improve pavements(?). The dates given are 2 to 7th July for airport passengers, and 11th to 15th July for cargo / freight routes. I guess that means leave a bit earlier if you are planning to fly off somewhere.

Lucky university students that travel between Madeira, the Azores, and the continent during September will be allowed to carry an extra 10kg of luggage on TAP flights, free of charge.

I guess by now most people know that tonight is the final night of the Atlantic Festival fireworks competition. Macedo from Portugal provide the final display, accompanied by the Classical Orchestra of Madeira, in what is called ‘Concert of Stars’. That will see the last of €500,000 of public money literally go up in smoke.

‘Police Recover €45,000 from Robbery’. Thanks to a tip off, an investigation led to police recovering nearly all the money stolen from a residence in Câmara de Lobos. €50,000 was stolen. 2 arrests have been made. I am wondering, and perhaps the police are also wondering, why a resident in Câmara de Lobos had such a large amount of cash at home.

This was in the Welsh press today : Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers had agreed to compete in a tournament in Madeira along with Portuguese League teams Nacional and Marítimo. But organisers made a shock decision this week not to go ahead with the four-team event and the Cardiff manager is now hurriedly arranging a trip to Portugal, which will include two pre-season matches against Vitoria Setubal and one of Benfica or Belenenses. City officials had spent months arranging their trip to Madeira and a spokesman said: “The decision not to go ahead with the tournament was out of the blue for both Blackburn Rovers and ourselves. We have talked through a number of options and the decision is that the team will be going to Portugal.” Cardiff had in-depth talks with Blackburn Rovers about going ahead with the trip to Madeira anyway with the two clubs covering costs for the tournament. I haven’t seen this in the Madeira press yet, but I found confirmation elsewhere. On another website it mentions the blow for many fans of both clubs who have booked at high season prices to come to Madeira for the tournament.

(27th June). ‘Government Sets Local Elections For 11th October – The decision has already been given to the President of the Republic’. The date was that preferred by all the political parties, that according to law, were consulted on the preferred date. So what happened to the last preferred option reported a week or so ago, that they will probably be held on the same date as the national ones? That means we have to put up with all the political garbage for another two or three weeks!

The main picture today shows a farmer and young boy helping to shear a sheep in a rural location : ‘Dedication Supports Tradition Of The Shearers – The wool of a sheep is not worth more than €0.75 and really no longer has a market’. Young Diogo is 13, and wants to be a shepherd when he finishes school. School for him has not gone well, and he feels more at home with a pair of shearing scissors in hand. He doesn’t yet seem to understand what a dull life it is, with very little reward. The passion for the work is shared by the 80 members of the Association of Cattle Breeders of the Serra do Poiso, who together have around 800 animals to raise, and they do it through like and stubbornness. The wool itself sells for €0.50 per kilo, and a good sheep provides around a kilo and a half, so it is really not worth the effort financially. A lovely story about the lives of the shepherds, but it doesn’t really belong on the front page of a newspaper.

‘Another Disappointment Before The Holidays – Queiroz took the opportunity to try out players in Estonia but the performance (0-0) was again mediocre’. That pretty much sums up last night’s friendly football match as Portugal went  to Estonia.

It’s not in the newspaper yet, but the story has already broken on this blog that Manchester United have accepted an offer for around €90 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. If all terms are agreed, he will be a Real Madrid player by the end of this month.

(10th June). There was an article about more problems with the tendering process for the redevelopment of the Marítimo Stadium (Barreiros, Funchal), a project costing €46.9 million, funded by the Madeira government. A complicated piece, so I didn’t attempt to cover it, but I thought the photo might be of interest as to what the stadium will become, or so I presume.

‘Marítimo Player Accused Of Assaulting His Wife’. Fernando Silva is accused of an assault that happened on Sunday, but denies the charge of domestic violence, saying it was just an argument. His wife took the matter to the police after being taken to hospital by ambulance, with injuries to her face and a fractured leg. It’s quite a shocking story, depending on which side you hear, but the sister of the wife says the drunk footballer punched and kicked her sister, and then fled, returning later with more aggression. And it’s not the first time the wife has been to the police with such a complaint.

A new road inaugurated by President Jardim on Tuesday, has turned a ‘shortcut’ into a decent road, at the cost of €1 million, in Santo da Serra. The street named ‘Caminho Mary Jane Wilson’, is named in tribute to a former British Sister and founder of the Franciscan congregation of our Lady of the Victories. She was well recognized by her work, and through the creation of orphanages and schools. There is also a museum in Funchal (56 – 61 Rua do Carmo) dedicated to her.

‘Tenant Protests Against Eviction Order And Destroys Building’. The tenant, in protest about an eviction order from the courts, decided to vandalise his former residence before returning it to the owner. When the solicitor for enforcement went to the building in Funchal to follow the court order, he was met with a space "transformed into a real dump". Nothing escaped the wrath of the person who destroyed everything he could including structural parts of the property, and the handrail of the stairs, and electricity wiring. It is likely that the owner of the property will prosecute. Watch out if you have a property to rent, as there will be somebody rather undesirable looking for a new home.

Tobi dropped me a line about an invasion of jelly fish. There is nothing yet in the newspaper about it, but they do usually come very year, normally earlier if I recall, and then just disappear again in a few days. Tobi says there are loads at Garajau and also at Lido.

‘Barardo Remembers That He Invested Here Instead Of Favouring Brazil – The businessman is irritated with the delay of the Câmara that holds up the demolition of the Savoy. Among many messages, he says that "talk doesn’t create jobs" ‘. Joe Barardo, the administrator of the group responsible for the Savoy’s plans, believes the plans submitted for demolition are complete, and that Funchal council (CMF) has no real grounds for delaying the matter. In the plans the destruction of the two hotels by implosion is preferred as being quicker and cheaper, but CMF are looking into dismantling as a safer option. Referring to Sunday’s election results, Berardo is "concerned with the dissatisfaction of the Portuguese people" with the political situation, enough to "spread fear also in the business world", and he shows growing concern for the growing support for the Left Block and Communist Parties, and fears for nationalisation. Joe Berardo again emphasized that "investors can not wait that long for the administrative decisions of licensing authorities, because the market position is very complicated". He also refers to the plans to 10 years ago to demolish the site for the Royal Savoy, and said there were no reservations or objections then. I think I must have woken up on a different planet this morning … communism, nationalisation, implosions in busy tourist zones … what has this guy been smoking!

‘Fishing Boat Was In Danger At Open Sea Near São Vicente – 5 crew members were rescued by another boat in the area’. The ‘Encumeada’ was spotted adrift early this morning, with the alarm raised at 5am. The authorities mustered all the resources they could from civil protection and the fire brigade, to rescue the crew members from the boat that was taking on water 3 miles offshore, and even the Merlin helicopter was summoned. But a nearby boat, the ‘Felicidade Rocha’ actually beat them to it and made the rescue, and was in the process of towing the vessel in distress towards Porto Moniz.

‘The Cherry Festival In Jardim da Serra next Sunday’. The regional secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Manuel António Correia, will be present next Sunday in the festive ceremonies of another year of the ‘Festa da Cereja’ in Jardim da Serra. The celebrations start on Saturday, at 2pm, with great entertainment, followed on Sunday by a number of initiatives, which include several musical performances, sporting tests, allegorical parade, and a cooking demonstration, among others. The event is organized by the Casa do Povo (House of the People).

An employee of Funchal Council (CMF) was convicted yesterday of ‘diverting’ €46,000, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, suspended for the same period. The case dates back to 3rd July, 2007 when the Funchal Police announced that it had arrested an employee of a council, on suspicion of the crimes of embezzlement and falsifying of documents. The 47 year old woman admitted the charges, apologised, and acknowledged the need to repay the money.

Porto Moniz hoisted its ‘blue flag’ for beach quality this morning.

The residents of different parts of Caniço are dissatisfied with the current postal service, that is being undertaken by a company subcontracted by CTT (Post Office / Mail). The problem is not only in Caniço, but also in other areas of Madeira complaints are being made. Important correspondence such as bank letters, and water, electricity and telephone bills disappear without trace. Even if the victims go to the post office (Correios) to complain of the disappearance of letters, they are poorly served and end up without an answer. If the ‘CTT’ does not solve the problem, and refuses to reveal what it intends to do, the people of Caniçal are considering taking the case to another extreme. Join the club, my postal services went downhill two years ago. I am still waiting for my June TV magazine, which was sent from Portugal two weeks ago.

This from the UK Daily Telegraph today : Cristiano Ronaldo could miss Manchester United’s pre-season training next month, after withdrawing from Portugal’s squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Estonia with a suspected hernia injury. Ronaldo, 24, has returned to his home island of Madeira after complaining of pain in the lower abdomen prior to, and after, Saturday’s World Cup qualifying victory over Albania in Tirana.

‘Nenê Is No Longer Going To Dubai – Nacional and Al Nasr don’t reach agreement on the payment terms. Germany could be the destination for the goal wizard’. Following on from the news yesterday about the €5 million offer from Al Nasr.

(8th June). ‘Giant Fig Fed Five People – It was the result of a graft, and grew to 300 grams’. Found in Caniço, the fruit "seems to have been blessed with divine generosity". This fruit was protected from blackbirds until it split naturally, and then went to provide pudding for a family of five.  Not my area of expertise, but it doesn’t look that miraculous to me. I know a lot of readers here like to discuss fruit, so that’s why I included the story.

Palmeiras, Roca Mar, Galo Mar, and Garajau are the four beaches of Santa Cruz that have now hoisted their ‘blue flags’ for high standards. Garajau and Palmeiras also receive the award of ‘Accessible Beach’, signifying they are equipped for people with limited mobility. I just looked out this morning to see we now have our ‘blue flag’ flying in Ribeira Brava. The water looks so much blue and clearer now, funny that!

‘Misunderstanding – The process for the concession of the dockyard at Água de Pena is close to going to court’. The start date for the new boat repair yard underneath Madeira Airport is not yet known, but the tender process to select the site operator is running into problems, and regardless of who gets the contract, the unsuccessful tenderers are likely to take the matter to the courts … because the operating terms are ‘surreal’. The main issue seems to be about the rights and responsibilities for the boat lifting equipment, and the payments for using the boatyard by those based there, and those just using it when needed.

‘Worrying – The young people of Porto Santo try to keep their hopes alive, but the poverty, the health, and the work are chapters of risk’. This is the featured location in the Diário this week, selecting a complete island rather than the usual town, village, or parish. The older generation consider that in days gone by living conditions were worse, "everything is made if people want to buy something. In our time we had to work hard to have some of the goods that today people easily buy in supermarkets", says one older resident. But the more serious problems are new and hidden, with a lack of work being one problem. "Put simply, work is increasingly scarce and I do not see how small companies on the island will survive", said the owner of a construction company. The island has become increasing dependent on the hotel industry for work, but some of these are now closing for Winter. The president of the parish council says that whole families increasingly live in a climate of poverty, that is not extreme, but is likely to endanger the normal growth and development of some children and young people.

This article gives a report (in English) from the European Cup 10,000 metres events held in Ribeira Brava on Saturday. The Portuguese had a good day in both male and female events IAAF … Thanks to Paul for the link.

‘Five Million For Nenê – Nacional and Al Nasr in agreement. It just lacks the player to say yes’. Somehow I doubt that Nenê wants to go and play in Dubai, unless he wants to hide away a very promising future. Still that seems to have set the price tag. There is a German club expressing interest also.

(7th June). The next presidency of the EU (Sweden) will seriously consider banning beer advertising throughout Europe. The industry in Portugal employs 3,500 people directly, and 100,000 indirectly, and the barley crops have more acreage than the vineyards on the mainland. There are of course concerns for Portuguese brewers on such a tough measure. Does that mean they would have to get rid of all the Coral tables and chairs, sun umbrellas, pub signs and everything else which seems to carry the Coral brand? How will we know where to go to buy a beer … worrying thoughts indeed!

(2nd June). Fulham are set to beat Portsmouth to the £3million signing of Brazilian defender Felipe Lopes. Both English Premier League clubs have been tracking the left-back, who plays for Portuguese side Nacional, but Fulham are reportedly the first to make a bid. The former Anderlecht defender impressed during Nacional’s impressive fourth-place finish in the Portuguese League, which secured a place in the next EUFA Cup. The 21-year-old has two more years on his current deal but the Madeira club are open to doing a deal.

(30th May). ‘Maicon Really Leaves Nacional – Nacional and Cruzeiro agree. Madeirans give up the defender, leaving him free to go to Porto’. 

‘High Expectations For The Festival Of Sé – Traders expect to do good business in the festival which runs until 6th June’. The festa in the cathedral area of Funchal started today, with a new bar ‘Buxiga Tasca’ opening, deliberately timed for the event. “I hope the celebrations are very good for business, with much joy, much support, and no fights” says one trader. 

Saturday June 6th brings a real treat for athletics fans, with the European Cup 10,000 Metres being run at the Madeira Sports Stadium, Ribeira Brava. According to the list of participating countries, there should be around 28 nationalities represented, in both men’s and women’s events. The event even has it’s own English website – take a look – especially at the rather odd looking timetable :
10000M EURO CUP
RELATED ARTICLE FROM THE BRITISH PRESS

The last football event of the season is on TVI at 5pm tomorrow, when Porto take on Paços de Ferreira in the Portugal Cup.

Late news flash : Anyone in Funchal tonight might like to know that José Cid (above) is playing live tonight in the Largo do Colégio (the square where the council office is) at 10pm I believe. The concert is paid for by the council as part of the Book Fair festivities, and José Cid is one of the top Portuguese names in music. I heard a bit of his music earlier, and he sounds pretty good, and it’s not fado. Not bad for a freebie anyway!

(29th May). ‘Musica EB Livens 3 Thousand Students In June’. MusicaEB is in it’s 27th edition, where students from all over Madeira are united on stage in song, music, dance and theatre. The soundtrack is already being recorded. The event will take place in the Centro de Congressos on 17th, 18th and 19th June, with three thousand students involved. Even the design and construction of the stage and props is left to the ingenuity and expression of the participants, and much of what one will see involves recycled items. Tickets for the event, which has been running since 1982, are €2.50 for adults and €1.50 for children.

(28th May). ‘CD Recovers The Voice Of The Madeiran Tenor – Lomelino Silva (above) was the ‘Portuguese Caruso’ during the 1920′s’. A new CD, due to be ‘revealed’ tomorrow at the Book Fair in Funchal, recovers the lost works of the famous Madeiran tenor, who lived between 1892 and 1967. The project started in 2002, when another younger Madeiran, who was studying in the United States, found references to the singer in old newspapers about performances there. He then decided to search for recordings, which led to the discovery of three old 78 LPs from around 80 years ago. To cut a very long story short … a new CD was produced from the old material discovered. 

Nenê, the striker for Nacional, and the highest scorer in the Portuguese premier league during the football season just finished, received his prize for the achievement in Funchal yesterday. After being awarded the ‘silver ball’, he said it was the greatest / proudest  moment / achievement of his career so far. Truth is I saw it on TV yesterday, and now I can’t remember his exact words.

(24th May). Nacional played away at Sporting in Lisbon and lost 3 – 1. They stay and finish in the very respectable fourth position, with a place in the EUFA Cup later in the year. 

Nenê of Nacional (above) ended up as top scorer in the Portugal premier league winning the ‘Silver Ball’. He scored in the game, bringing his total for the season to 20. It’s pretty certain he won’t be on Madeira for the start of the next football season.

(24th May). Cristiano Ronaldo of Madeira, having won yet another league winners medal for this season with Manchester United, just missed out as the English Premier League’s highest goal scorer with 18 goals, after some bloke at Chelsea managed a goal in yesterday’s final game. 

  This is Cristiano in his famous funky chicken pose.

(23rd May). ‘Madeira League With Predefined Support’. We are still awaiting the confirmation of the creation of the football league ‘Série Madeira’ for 2009 / 2010, but the monetary assistance to be given to all the clubs involved has been announced. Those who play in the current Madeira league will get €25,000 each from the regional government. Those teams who will drop out of the national leagues to join the 7 regional teams will receive much higher amounts (cushion payments). Porto Santo (Portosantense) will receive €280,000, Ribeira Brava €200,000, Machico €197,000, Caniçal €166,000, and Câmara de Lobos €90,000. The support is largely based on €750 to organise each match, but the Porto Santo team gets more because of it’s inflated travel expenses. NEWS UPDATE SUNDAY 24th May – The new ‘Série Madeira’ has now been approved to run for a minimum of two years.

(22nd May). ‘Injury Slows The Departure For Chelsea – Danny is on Madeira preparing himself for an operation to his knee. It delays his dream transfer’. Injury ended his season and postponed his opportunity to go to England. He claims to have had a call from Chelsea to go and join them, but meanwhile the rumours are stronger that José Mourinho wants him at Inter Milan. Danny used to live up near me, and although he was not born on Madeira, in footballing terms he is currently Madeira’s second son.

Boa Vista got relegated again yesterday, this time through a poor season on the pitch, and although that has nothing to do with Madeira, it’s a right tale of woe. Accused of attempted match fixing, with a story like that of Porto, they were demoted after an enquiry, unlike Porto who got away with a fine. It just goes to show that the rich and powerful in football get away with murder, whilst the little fish get fried and eaten.

That’s the football league season over then … have a nice Summer!

(21st May). ‘Jardim Presides Over The Commission Of Honour Of The Of The Centenary of Nacional – The chief of the regional government repeated that there are reasons not to support the building of a pavilion, nor for a prize for UEFA’. President Jardim has accepted the offer from Nacional football club to preside over the centenary celebrations. The president of the football club considered his first invitation to meet with Jardim at his official residence an honour, and a significant moment for the club, and no doubt endeared himself to his host when he said "We are in fact, the leading institution of sport on Madeira", referring to the clubs achievements in Europe, and with a fourth place finish this season almost assured. On the matter of support for a new sporting pavilion for Nacional, that decision will be postponed until the next government, which in Portuguese has a very short word ‘NÃO’!

Blimey Uncle Bertie, that must have hurt somewhat to accept the invitation for the Nacional centenary celebrity, I wonder if you had your fingers crossed in your pocket when you muttered those magic words ‘I do’. But you balanced it out nicely with the refusal of help for a new pavilion. That day will cost you a few votes from the ardent Marítimo fans for sure. No doubt Uncle Bertie had to pay the cleaners overtime to give his residence a good scrubbing afterwards.

(19^th May). The day’s main headline : ‘Business Leaders Demand Respect From Jardim – Referring to those that allowed themselves to be swayed by Prime Minister Sócrates, businessmen that lunched with Sócrates insist on the importance of the occasion and demand “tact” from the president of Madeira. The PS (socialists) in Lisbon say that the matter is local politics’. The warning comes from a hotel sector businessman, António Trinidade, who said “It is very important that the President of the Government start thinking seriously about having a bit of respect for the entrepreneurial class of Madeira”. He added “the majority found the lunch very interesting”. His comments come after Jardim made derogatory comments about those who had lunch with Sócrates on Friday. Trinidade said “I think the President of the Government must begin to use a little more tact in making statements, especially because it does not necessarily affect regional politics, but affects an entrepreneurial class that is essential for the development of Madeira”. May god protect you Sr. Trinidade. Uncle Bertie is a powerful man and will be having anyone like you who steps out of line for lunch.

In another article, and following the announcement that the prime minister might return, PSD-M (ruling social democrats) have actually called on Sócrates to return, so he can explain himself in front of a debate in Madeira’s legislative assembly, regarding changes to the finance act affecting the autonomous regions of Portugal.

One can’t help noticing that the latest round of posters has gone up for Madeira’s biggest political rally at Chão da Lagoa, for the annual bash of the militants of the PSD-M. The article in today’s newspaper on the subject mentions the matter, and the fact that our president is doing the rounds on the island, in preparation for this and the European elections. I didn’t notice exactly when it happened, but I would like to thank the social democrats for actually taking down last year’s posters, which made a nice change. Normally they stay in place until the following year, when they are replaced. Now that’s what I call real political progress!

Marítimo lost 1 – 2 to Sporting of Lisbon on Saturday night, Nacional beat Paços de Ferreira 1 – 0 last night. That doesn’t change anything for either team, but should confirm Nacional in 4^th place after the final game next week.  With just one match left this season now, and no world cup or Euro, what will I do for the Summer?

In Wednesday night’s derby football match between Nacional and Marítimo, the away team won 0 – 2. Marítimo will now go on to play Caniçal in the final of the Taça da Madeira (Madeira Cup), which I think is next Tuesday. That will have Uncle Bertie drooling then, but sorry to spoil it, ‘cos the competition is pants. I even reckon Nacional missed their penalty on purpose. Qualification for Europe is something special, whereas winning the Madeira Cup is pretty much a 50/50 chance between two teams.

Cristiano Ronaldo can start reorganising his trophy cabinet to make way for the English premiership title award. Manchester United need just one more point to be sure, with two matches remaining. However, wonder boy was overlooked this year for the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year Award, as it went to some other bloke in a red shirt.

This weekend’s football highlight is the visit of second place Sporting Lisbon to Madeira, to play Marítimo. Sporting have nothing to play for except pride, so maybe a shock result is on the cards. That’s on Saturday at 7.45pm (SportTV2). Nacional receive Paços de Ferreira on Sunday, and still have a faint glimmer of hope for a champions league play-off place, although that is in the hands of others. That is also on TV at 7pm (SportTV1).

In football, Marítimo lost away to Paços de Ferreira, 2 – 1. Porto 1 -0 Nacional, in the other game. Our lads played really well, and deserved to come away with something from Porto, but Porto won their 4th consecutive championship as a result, so no complaints there.

Cristiano Ronaldo notched up yet another goal for Manchester United. He is now top scorer in the English Premiership, after a slow start to the season.

MONDAY NEWS

The big picture and most of the front page is given over to celebrating Porto players – ‘FC Porto Fourth Consecutive Year As Champions Of Portugal – A convincing and individual performance of Nacional wasn’t sufficient to stop the Porto lads celebrating another title, with two games left to play’. Thousands of Portistas took to the streets to celebrate the 24th league title, including along the Avenida do Mar in Funchal, where police had to attend to control the traffic movements as well as some over excited fans.

A bit closer to home for me, Ribeira Brava football club, despite a 2 – 0 win over Caniçal on Sunday, were relegated down to division three.

Following the inauguration speech for the new sports stadium in Câmara de Lobos, President Jardim said that he wants 20 Cristiano Ronaldo’s. Good lord, I really hope that wish doesn’t come true. As much as I admire his football, just imagine the impact that would have on Funchal. Not only would we have the CR7 sports shop in Funchal, we would also have CR8, CR9, CR10 etc. through to CR27, and there wouldn’t be any room left for hotels and other shops. Imagine the confusion on the sports pages of the Diário, with 21 players, all with the same name, all in the headlines on a daily basis! Imagine the England football team, terrified by just one CR, let alone a team full.

With just 3 games to go until the end of the football season, the European and relegation issues are far from decided. Marítimo go to Paços de Ferreira on Sunday at 4pm, whilst Nacional have the rather tough task of an away trip to league leaders Porto, also on Sunday (8.15pm on SportTV1). Nacional won in Porto last season, and I think are the only team do have done so, so anything is possible.