Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Sue … New Allotments. "I took this from Dr. Manual Manual Pestana Junior, watched them being installed and in no time already showing plants". 

I´m back after a short break (not that it seemed anyone noticed). I am back and a little irked (I am glad that word got through my spellchecker OK, as I wasn’t sure if it was a real word). The debate about animal welfare irked me, but what also irked me was a posting seemingly directed at UK readers, but this is not a UK blog. It is a blog for and about Madeira. It is a blog for anybody who is an English speaker, and not specifically English people. BTW It is also read by Madeirans who speak English. Nobody can tell me if I have a right to an opinion or not, they can only speak for themselves. I have opinions, and I express them … only limited by law, the fear of retribution, and sometimes the limits of my bizarre imagination. If I and other people think that too many animals are treated cruelly, we are probably right. If someone else thinks that is not the case then they are also right, albeit in their own opinion, and you are welcome to express those thoughts here. Of course they are all opinions based on personal attitudes, personal experience and the information available. Commenting on this issue or anything else regarding Madeira, has absolutely nothing to do with where you were born. If anyone thinks I, or anyone else for that matter, doesn’t have the right to express their opinions because they weren’t born on Madeira, you are definitely reading the wrong blog. Perhaps the Brit newspaper would be more suitable.

And … regarding the issue in point, under the general heading of ‘Animal Welfare’, the Diário has been well filled with readers letters since the article about abandoned dogs was published a week ago. There was even one from that cute wet bichinho on the front page on the day in question. I think I have read them all, and they all conclude pretty much the same thing … that the situation is a disgrace and an embarrassment for Madeira. I agree! So any animal abusers and those who think it is acceptable, stick that in your pipe and smoke it! Anyway, on that very same subject, Doris kindly dropped me a line yesterday …

Abandoned dogs on Paúl da Serra  – on the way to a happy? ending
Members of the animal protection organisation PATA together with the help of Vetmedis, the Vets’ in Caniço, collected the abandoned dogs from Rabaçal and Choupana. One very shy one remains. Ever since the story broke, a German couple went up daily with food for them and helped catching them. They are still persevering with the very shy one. A couple of  German tourists also picked up a female from Paúl and last week took it with them to Germany to give it a home.

The Vets at Vetmedis noticed that 2 females were in milk and with the help of PATA members, the females were taken back up to the mountains and promptly led their rescuers to their families. Now there are also puppies looking for a good home. A reader’s letter from the dogs in yesterday’s Diário tells that they are at the moment at the new branch of Vetmedis, which is to open shortly in Câmara de Lobos. If anybody can help, contact  pata@pata.pt , NIB: 003802460556441877117  or Vetmedis-Sociedade Veterinária Lda., Tel: 291 744 552. Doris

Bless those fine people, but how can we stop more abandonments? … many thanks for the update Doris.

Billy Lansdowne, ex pro footballer, and now TV pundit, writes on his blog about a trip to Madeira for a golfing event "I thought Madeira was flat. I was wrong … the highest point is 1861 m above sea level (some things do register) and the Golf Course we are playing tomorrow is over half way up". BILLY’S BLOG

UEFA, you know the European football people, have announced the details for their jolly very important meeting in Funchal next month. No mention of why Madeira was chosen or what’s to be discussed, but if I was in the government I would be out showing them some of the excellent training facilities here, like the sports complex at Ribeira Brava. UEFA XMAS BOOZE-UP

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

Government increases current expenditure by 5.2%. The Government has made public the 2009 budget amendments introduced for the period covering the first nine months of the year. Current expenditure will rise by 5.2% or 55,2 million. The Government reduces by 7.6% or €31,4 million the amount needed for capital expenditure (investment). The Regional budget for 2009 will be the highest in recent years amounting to 1.528.790.366 Euros.

Environmental cleaning changes. The Department of the Environment of Funchal will create a separate section for cleaning urban streets and tunnels. They want to extend the hours and actions of  environmental teams to include nights and Sundays. The change is to stop rubbish bags being abandoned in public places, on land and in water courses. "There are fewer and fewer cases but it still happens, and in some places it is recurrent." The eight teams will work shifts so that one team is always active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They will open abandoned bags to try to identify the offenders for prosecution. Fines vary between 50 and 500 Euros. The change in cleaning will involve 40 more staff and 4 new machines. The total investment will be 670,000 Euros. Funchal Council also want to extend the collection of organic waste.

Atlas of Birds. The project for the ‘First Atlas of Breeding Birds in the Archipelago of Madeira’ was started this year by the Natural Park of Madeira. The book will be presented at the Iberian Congress of Ornithology. The project is still ongoing and 60% of the territory of the region has been analyzed. All information collected is being made available in both Portuguese and English on the Internet  (atlas das aves). The database can be used for various activities from nature conservation to tourism in relation to nature. The Director of SPNM notes, "There is now a doctoral student at an English university who will use and interpret some information from ‘Atlas’ to prepare his thesis on the subject of the evolution of birds on islands and its relationship with the available habitat." On November 20th, a new book is out emphasising nature on Porto Santo, written in both Portuguese and English. ‘Looking at Porto Santo’ by Susana Fontinha and Jose Felisberto Almeida.

Free diabetes testing. There are more than 26,000 Madeirans with diabetes and estimates indicate that 56,840 others may also be pre-diabetic. Between 17 and 20 November, there will be free blood glucose testing as advertised on information posters around the island. World Diabetes Day on November 21st will be celebrated by a symbolic ring of people in the Largo de Municipio followed by  ‘Walking for Diabetes’ to Santa Catarina Park.

Cheque for 10,000 Euros went through contractor to Lobo. A cheque for 10,000 Euros issued by the Vale da Ribeira do Sol society, allegedly to repay the favour to approve a set of 29 apartments in Ribeira da Ponta do Sol as the Plano Director Municipal (PDM) was suspended, was passed to the contractor who did the work. The cheque was to finance the election campaign of the PSD but ended up in the personal account of ex-mayor António Lobo, who is being tried for serious fraud and bribery. A former secretary of the company Giestas said she filled in the cheque, which has the signature of the accused Emidio Correia (former member of the PSD and partner in Ribeira do Sol), and it was put into an envelope for delivery to the building contractor. This cheque for 10,000 Euros and two others for 5,000 Euros ended up in the personal account of António Lobo. It is thought partners of the Ribeira do Sol society were to receive apartments worth around 100,000 Euros as payment.

Marine Biology Station collects dozens of sharks. About a dozen Pata Roxa sharks, popularly known as ‘Canejas’, were yesterday collected from the ponds around the Vagras restaurant where they had been left by fishermen and the restaurant owner realized they would not survive in captivity. The fishermen do not like this type of fish and ether throw them back into the sea or into this area. Some will be taken to the Municipal Aquarium of Funchal, some to the Aquarium in Porto Moniz and others returned to the sea.

Merlin helicopter from Porto Santo participated in a rescue near the Azores. Search and rescue for two crew of a vessel that had issued a call for help off the Azores. The crew were eventually rescued by a Puma Helicopter of the Air Force stationed in the Azores. Also mobilized to the site were a scientific research vessel and another ship, which were both in the area, and an aircraft to co-ordinate the operation. The Co-ordinator of the Rescue Centre of Ponta Delgada said, "The initial problem was that the position of the distress call was out of the reach of the helicopter. The scientific research ship was already in place for some time but could not collect them because of weather and oceanographic conditions, which were very, very adverse."

Racism in sport discussed in parliament. The violence, racist and xenophobic attitudes and safety in sports grounds will be topics of discussion next week. A new law came into force in August for both amateur and professional sports. Placement of cheerleaders, segregation of fans, parking and video surveillance systems are some of the areas with rules that clubs and other sporting bodies are obliged to observe. Xenophobic and racist behaviours are severely penalized for both the perpetrators and the supporters clubs. Penalties for crimes of aggression, xenophobia, destruction of property and entering the area of the game range from 1 to 3 years imprisonment, and are worse when the victims are athletes, referees, coaches or members of the media. The penalties for clubs range from fines to bans on sporting venues.

Forum Madeira promotes collecting toys for disadvantaged children. More than a hundred children awaited the arrival of Santa Claus today. There is a ‘Brinquedao’ in Forum Madeira for the collection of used and new toys.

SESARAM and Social Security trying to contact families who leave elderly relatives in the Emergency Department. Last Wednesday, eight people were left there. The authorities are trying to contact families of 130 such patients who remain in hospitals in the region. These families often feel they cannot cope with the relatives, so the Social Services will try to find a solution as the relatives miss their homes and contact with their families.The problem will worsen when the influenza A epidemic reaches its peak and the relatives are at risk of catching the infection.

New fishing port at Câmara de Lobos. The work should start at Easter 2011 and all infrastructure relating to fisheries will be transferred there from Funchal.

Youth arrested with drugs in his shoes. The Customs Services of Madeira Airport picked up a 23 year old carrying drugs inside his shoes. He had 250 grams of cocaine, equivalent to 2,500 doses, which could yield an income of more than 50,000 Euros. The cocaine was in between the insole and base of the shoes. He had flown in from Lisbon and thought nobody would be there to order him to remove his shoes.

A quarter of the demand for homes is for rental. Between the months of August and September, a quarter of the residential demand was for rental homes. 63% of the property supply is apartments and 29% houses. 47% of enquiries were for apartments and 39% for houses. 61.6% of enquiries were for T2 and T3 properties. 50% of the enquiries were in the region of Funchal and 13% Santa Cruz. Ranges of purchase varied from 120,000 Euros for a T2 to 270,000 Euros for a T5.

300 art works from museums at an exhibition in Lisbon. From November 2009 to February 2010, the Painting Gallery of King Louis 1 in the National Palace of Ajuda in Lisbon will host an exhibition of art works from museums in Madeira. These reflect the main phases in history from the fifteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. The exhibition brings together  a set of symbolic parts of the collections of sculpture, painting, jewellery, furniture, ceramics and photography among others. The aim is to show the strategic importance of the archipelago in the context of expansion into Portugal and then Europe, in relation to the sugar, wine and tourist trades. The exhibition will promote the region as a cultural destination of great quality.

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It’s back to me now (Der), so the top story of today has to be the 1 – 0 victory of Portugal over Bosnia last night in the World Cup Play-off game, and I know that without even looking at the newspaper. It was a tough game for sure, those Bosnian players were so big compared to our lads. I was quite confident about a home victory yesterday, but after what I saw yesterday I am not at all confident for the away leg on Wednesday. So much at stake, and with Bosnia hitting the woodwork 3 times yesterday, they must have felt really unlucky. I tried to use the line ‘Portugal were saved by the madeira’ last night, but no one understood what I was on about. Perhaps goalposts here are made of plastic? More luck than judgement.  Was the headline. Portugal won 1 – 0 but Bosnia sent the ball to the post three times.

Today’s main news headline in the Diário : Authority builds 13 churches - The Government has invested millions of Euros in the construction of Catholic churches. The participation generates criticism.

Privates ‘help out’ CMF – Funchal council pockets 48% of the revenue from the parking meters of SEP. It is the local authority in Portugal that earns  the most with its franchise. The company that manages the parking meters of Funchal ensures that its master is well rewarded, according to research carried out by the Diário. In fact rewarded to the tune of €635,121 in 2008. On average each parking space generates around €965 of charges per annum. Funchal council not only benefits from it 48% slice of the cake, it also gains more because it charges car owners 60% more than the going rate.

Bad weather takes away €250 thousand – The ‘Independence of the Seas’, with four thousand tourists on board, cancelled its stop-off today in the port of Funchal.

‘Pit of Death’ in Ponta do Sol. The Christmas fun is back. This year the ‘Gigapark’ moves west. After previous Xmas visits to Água de Pena, Porto Novo, Cancela and Ribeira Brava, the ‘Gigapark’ Xmas fair is to ‘erect its tent’ in Ponta do Sol. Close to the main road, and with 3 thousand parking spaces, this years event is expected to be a real winner. It will be in place from the beginning of December, located in the development area of the town, and will stay there until the middle of January. One of the attractions will be a circus of sea animals, including sharks and penguins, that will perform for the public. Perhaps the new laws covering the use of animals in circuses didn’t extend to sea creatures then?

One further story from yesterday that I spotted, that rang alarm bells. Jardim cancels construction in Porto Moniz. The president of Madeira’s government cancelled the construction of a road between Porto Moniz and Fajã das Achadas da Cruz in the programme of the Madeira executive. He said it was too costly and wouldn’t benefit anyone. This is from the blog of 12th October, following the local elections : "Surprises In Juntas de Freguesia. The PSD had already said that their aim was to take all 54 of the the Juntas de Freguesia, or town / parish councils, and were already the holders of 52(?), but things didn’t quite go as planned, with just 49 remaining ‘orange’ at the end of the night. The PS socialists managed to retain Água de Pena and Achadas da Cruz, and gain Porto Moniz". Coincidence or punishment?

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You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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The old abandoned mansion overlooking Funchal harbour

Received by email : "Hello, I’m flying out to Funchal on November 18th for my 4th visit and can’t wait! I’m doing some self-catering this time and am looking forward to going down to the fish market and buying some lovely espada. Yum, got to be the best fish in the whole world, cooked properly "Madeiran style". I fell in love with this old mansion house – vertically up from the Lido near the old fortress (the lido being the outdoor Art Deco pool next to the Fortaleza de São Tiago, at the base of the cliff). I always thought if I won the lottery I’d refurbish it and restore it to its former splendour. But does anyone know the history of this place and why it was abandoned? There’s also a picture of it on Google earth. I’m attaching a photo (above) I took a little while ago. MORE PHOTOS & GOOGLE EARTH LOCATION Christopher

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Anyone looking to book holidays on Madeira next year might find this summary of events and dates useful. It is probably all on the official tourism website, but as it is all simple and well laid out here I thought it may be of interest. 2010 EVENTS & FESTAS

I must admit I was a little irritated by the attitude of the Machico traders over the issue of the Chinese megastore being opened there, as had it been a Madeiran shop selling Chinese goods, as many do in part, then I guess most traders would have scowled and got on with life. There was a special report on the case on RTP-M last week, after the 9 pm news, and one of the people featured was a local lady who had a Chinese shop in Funchal, and she wasn’t getting any hassle as far as I could see. So it seems to me the fuss is not about what is being sold, it is about who is selling it. RTP news at the time had also dug up a bit of old footage (from around 5 years ago) of president Jardim having a pop at Indian and Chinese traders for competing against Madeiran businesses, and saying that they weren’t welcome here, so perhaps the attitude of the Machico traders can be in part be blamed elsewhere.  A similar thing happened on Porto Santo earlier this year when local traders raised a petition, and the Chinese business ended up going out of business, maybe not directly as a result of the opposition, but not nice to see all the same.

Anyway, slightly intrigued by the situation, and not fully convinced that the Chinese shops were that much cheaper as to be a threat to Madeiran businesses, I decided to pay a visit to my local Chinese shop, quite a small operation, and compare some prices and choices with other local businesses.

I needed sunglasses and T-shirts, so I wandered around the local traders first, and the sunglasses on sale ranged from around €7 to €8, and all appeared to be from the same manufacturer. In the Chinese shop, in again what appeared to be the same range as the other shops, they were priced at €6.50. So a close 1 – 0 to the Chinese.

As for T-shirts, that was a different story altogether, with the lowest price I found in a local shop (and there are loads in Ribeira Brava) being €13.95, with others costing up to around €25 in some places. In the €13.95 shop I was asked why I wouldn’t buy the ones I was shown, and I said I was unemployed at the moment and it was more than I was able to pay. The shop owner threw her hands up in horror, and said to her colleague "these are cheap, don’t you think so?", and her colleague agreed, and they were in fact the cheapest I was able to find, but to me that is not cheap for a T-shirt.

So the next day I wandered back into the Chinese shop and had a look through their stock, and found quite a few decent brand name* ones in ‘robust size’ for €7.50 each. I brought 3 and even managed to negotiate a deal with the shop owner, although she looked like she had swallowed a nest of fire-ants when I asked for a discount. She reluctantly knocked €0.50 off the total! So a very comfortable 2 – 0 to the Chinese. And … for both T-shirts and sunglasses, the Chinese shop had by far the most to choose from. So Machico traders beware!

* The brand name is that world famous Chinese company ‘Wel Hong – the symbol of outstanding quality’. Well they do hang well I must admit, and as for any other interpretation, I plead the fifth amendment.

(Source : Tribal Football): Blackburn eyeing Nacional Madeira’s Micael - Blackburn Rovers, an English premier league football club are eyeing a move for Nacional Madeira midfielder Ruben Micael. Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is attempting to set up a cut-price £4 million deal for the 23-year old who was recently called up to the Portugal national team. Allardyce is keen to beat off competition from bigger clubs who are also believed to be interested in Micael, whose contract expires in 2011. Portuguese giants Benfica are said to be interested but Blackburn are trying to get in there first, either in January or next summer to lure him to Ewood Park. €4 million eh! He’s good for sure, but I didn’t expect talk of so much money.

News that Leonel de Freitas, director of RTP Madeira, has resigned may or may not be good news. Not that I have any problem with the content and format of our local TV station, it’s simply because I don’t have a clue what is on and when. RTP-M actually has quite a good mix of programmes, but my attempts to watch the 9 pm news are generally thwarted by schedule variations and changes, and generally I haven’t a clue what is on and when. The teletext schedules for RTP-M, on the main RTP channel, are nothing like the reality. The Zon internet TV guide doesn’t include RTP-M, and my monthly TV magazine, TeleCabo, has the programme schedules, but why they bother I don’t know. So my appeal to whoever takes over as director of RTP-M … PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT’S ON AND WHEN (and then try and stick to it).

A huge news contribution from yesterday from Elaine … many thanks :

Congestion caused by tourist coaches at Almirante Reis.  Another ‘full house’ at the port yesterday with three cruise ships berthed. The tourist buses stopping near the cable car entrance where the Avenida do Mar redevelopment is occurring, led to traffic congestion, confusion and protests from other drivers. The usual parking area is closed to tourist buses, interurban buses and Caniço buses, so they are having to use a normal traffic lane. This will intensify as November is a busy month for cruise ships and will continue until the works are finished.

Porto da Cruz Health Centre postponed. Construction of the Health Centre postponed until next year, so the old centre will still be used for longer than anticipated. The contract was signed before the last elections for a new Health Centre, Social Security Centre and an Elderly Residential Home. They will cost 4.7 million Euros, and an initial 118,000 Euros was allocated for 2009 and the rest payable in 2010 and 2011. But after the elections, the original money allocated for 2009 has been transferred to the 2010 budget.

Too many people want allotments. The CMF has suspended the application for urban allotments due to over-subscription. There are 350 on the waiting list so Funchal Council is trying to find more areas before they re-open the application process. They should be able to prepare 50 lots in the area adjacent to the new Avenida do Amparo for February next year, and an additional 15 lots in Santo Antonio for residents in Ribeira Grande. Since the project begun in 2005, there have been 159 lots.

Lorry driver killed. A 34 year old driver of a water tanker died from abdominal injuries sustained in an accident in Rosário, São Vicente. He was negotiating a curve, left the road and went down a 50 metre escarpment and hit a wall. Rescue services had difficulties working in the area and he was imprisoned in the cab with his abdomen, chest and legs compressed against the wheel. Despite advanced resuscitation efforts, he died at the scene. The cause of the accident is not yet known. It had been raining but the vehicle could have malfunctioned or there could have been a sudden health problem.

Manuel Saldanha expelled from PSP. This 41 year old Commissioner of the Regional Command of the PSP was one of the ‘strong men’ in the police force and had a promising career. He published a paper about the British police system called ‘Police in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. The trouble started in 2002 when there was a complaint in Porto Santo of him assaulting a man after an exchange of words in a bar/nightclub. An inspection in 2005/6 then found irregularities and delays in proceedings, and he was suspended for 169 days, and  a disciplinary penalty of compulsory transfer to Portugal, the first time this has happened. There he was convicted of drug trafficking and subsequently has been permanently dismissed.

Rui Moses changes the locks at Santana Council’s offices. After reports that people stay in the council offices, often late at night, in activities that are not work-related. He said that locks were changed because new people are now responsible for the management of the council facilities and not due to lack of confidence in employees. The opposition Socialist Party councillor Adelino Silvo was not convinced, saying that locks are usually changed due to a lack of trust and if there had been robberies, he expected details about such situations to be given.

Urgent debate on banana production. The PCP (Communist Party) want urgent talks with the Government about the nationalised company, GESBA, which is failing to collect the bananas and leading to producers having to bury them. The three problems are the company’s inability to collect all the production, failure to respond to market demand and failure in payments. This is deepening the economic and social situation in the region. GESBA and the The Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources deny there are these problems in collection and payment. They explain that winter production is lower and preference given to traders who buy in the summer. GESBA has already increased the price of bananas by 1 Euro in summer and 3 Euros in winter.

The Circus is returning to Machico this Christmas.  Same place as last year, at the football field in Machico. The first performance will be on December 11th. The main attraction will be an illusionist/magician named Harry Potter and a Luso-Spanish acrobat who is an expert ‘Olympic’ ring juggler. They already have some reservations for special performances for groups. Prices similar to last year.

Bartenders Association participate in Wine & Spirits Festival starting on Friday 6th November. Starts Friday 6th until Sunday 8th at the Congress Centre at the Pestana Casino Park Hotel, from 15.00 to 21.00 hours. To promote wines and help visitors appreciate and enjoy wine more. There will be about 50 producers and 300 wines, with workshops (17.00 to 19.00), cooking demonstrations by 14 chefs (16.00 to 21.00)  and a Wine Shop. On the last day, a cocktail competition will run from 15.00 to 19.00 for the Grand Marnier Trophy with about 30 barmen. Four winners will represent Madeira in the Algarve in December and the winner will represent Portugal at the World Cup next September in France. A gourmet dinner with  four participating chefs at the Hotel Four Views Baia on November 6th at 21.30, priced 30 Euros inclusive, bookable online. Website for the festival: www.sensusvini.com —- Anyone know about entrance fees?

British Ambassador visiting Madeira on the 6th to 8th November. Private family visit with some public engagements. Saturday 7th a Cocktail Party for the British community resident here at the English Church, and on Sunday, a Remembrance Day Service at 10.50 am.

Police catch two burglars in the act, and a ‘Good Samaritan’ has her handbag stolen . There have been a spate of robberies in Funchal. Acting on a complaint, the police on patrol in Rochinha caught two men when they were preparing to leave a house with 600 Euros of stolen goods. In Nazaré, an elderly woman tripped and fell and when a woman left a table she was sitting at to go to her aid, a 28 year old man stole the rescuer’s handbag. By the description of the thief, the local police quickly apprehended him and he confessed to the theft. He agreed to return the bag, documents and keys to the owner but 280 Euros in cash were missing.

Shock Store at Madeira Shopping – reduced fashion goods. Third time this event has been held. Started yesterday and until the 8th. November, from 12.00 to 22.00 hours. Discounts, some more than 50%, on big brands such as Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci, Rosa Cha, Armani and Miss Sixty. Some discounts in shops that participated in the Fashion Week, e.g.. Sun Planet, Bata, Quebramar and Springfield. Until the 18th, if you spend 20 Euros, you can enter a draw for 8 gift vouchers of 500 to 2,000 Euros. The Christmas decorations will be installed next week and Santa Claus will arrive at the end of the month.

Herdade dos Coelheiros wants to increase wine sales in Madeira. Two days ago, in the restaurant ‘Abrigo do Pastor’, the wines from the Herdade dos Coelheiros were offered to potential customers. The wine producers have changed their business strategy to work directly with regional distributors. The wine comes from the Alentejo region and they introduced the Chardonnay grape variety to the region. They try to produce a quality product rather than quantity, around 230,000 litres (200,000 bottles) of 8 different wines. The classic is ‘Tapada de Coelheiros’ white and red. Other notable ones are ‘Tapada de Coelheiros Garrafeira’. and ‘Tapada de Coelheiros Chardonnay’. They also produce a more rare and exclusive ‘Branca de Almeida – Tinto’. The more accessible wines are ‘Roda dos Coelhos’ and ‘Vinha da Tapada dos Coelheiros’. 60 – 70% of the sales are to the domestic market and Madeira accounts for about 5%, which they aim to increase to 10%. They are producing a new wine called ‘Ciranda’ white and red soon.

Another wine topic, the producer and exporter of Madeira Wine, ‘Justino’s Madeira Wine’ has a new logo. They are rebranding to try to strengthen their national and international market. The new image will be shown for the first time at the Wine & Spirits Festival on the 6 November.

Five-star hotel room prices fallen 25.20%. In Portugal, hotel revenue has fallen an average 15 and 20% and in some cases, as much as 40% and next year’s outlook is poor. Room prices have fallen to an average 52.9 Euros for five-star hotels and 30.14 Euros for a three-star hotel room. The largest fall in room rates was Lisbon to an average of 46.64 Euros. Five-star hotel room rates in Lisbon fell most (27.28%) and Madeiran hotels had the second largest decrease in rates (25.2%).

Government facilitates access to business support. It will be easier to apply for business incentive programs. Financial aid now available for projects that maintain jobs as well as those that create jobs. For small enterprises and individual entrepreneurs who are having difficulty accessing credit. Between 2007 and 2009, the Government granted 103 million Euros in aid.

In addition, the European Regional Development Fund can now be used by countries like Portugal to support housing in disadvantaged areas. Countries joining the EU before 2004 have previously been excluded.

But that "program" !…. Long rant by Jardim in his newspaper against the Portuguese Socialist Government program and its provocative financial revenge against the people of Madeira.  It threatens to intervene in matters which come under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. —— Constitutional arguments are brewing. I do not think life is going to get easier between Jardim and Sócrates.

The Court of Auditors concluded that the contract of purchase and sale of future credit for the amount of 150 million Euros by the Government in 2007 led to an increase in debt in the region, resulting in an increase of approximately €64 million. This was a complex transaction by the Government to try to hide it from the debt allowed for that year. In the future, they must  submit annual cost projections to the Court and ensure the transactions have the consent of parliament.

Training sailing ship in Porto Santo and the Swedish students visit the UMa. The STS Alva is a training ship and harboured at Porto Santo due to Funchal port being full yesterday. The crew are 40 Swedish students, and they visited the University of Madeira on an exchange visit. It sails on Saturday for Tenerife.

From the front page of today’s Diário de Notícias :

Antibiotic Spending Excessive. Madeirans take too many antibiotics. Only between January and September this year nearly €2 million was spent on Madeira, to buy over 200,000 packages of antibiotics.

Crisis takes Madeirans out of the dentist’s chair – Since January, the consultations visibly diminish. Increases … only the cancellations. Of course, with the cost of dentistry here, and being outside of the health service, it’s probably one of the most unpopular items of expenditure on the island. You only have to look around to see the impacts of dental costs with so many gappy smiles. I have only been to the dentist here once in 6 years, and that was in an emergency, but since discovering © Toranja Poncha © I have never had to go since.

End in sight for the series ‘Flor do Mar’. Verified information is not available, but the ex-popular TVI series (or soap), filmed on Madeira, may finish up this weekend, and the channel TVI refuses to confirm or deny. The series has run the equivalent of 280 episodes, nearly every night since last November, and for a long time led the national viewing ratings … that was until TVI changed the starting time. It was partly funded through a grant of €500,000 from the Madeira government. In my opinion money well spent for improving domestic tourism. It was becoming more and more obvious that the series was coming to an end, as more and more of the Flor do Mar characters started roles in other dramas and soaps on TVI. Morangos Com Açúcar alone has 4 that I have spotted so far.

The main headline today : Government debt catches Via Litoral – ‘Insolvent’ Treasury tied-up €58 million, leaving the concessionary company to fail on its commitments to the bank. The Madeira government blames the situation, which affects many companies that have contracts with or provide services to Madeira, on the failure of central government to transfer money. A debate that has been going on far a long time. The contract mentioned is for our roads, but we could see the impacts of this arising in other sectors soon too.

Alvinegro dream stays at half way – The fatality repeated itself and the draw against Athletico Bilbao has brought Nacional again almost to the end. Now it just remains to challenge in the two games left to honour the shirt and try and bank some Euros. Qualification now is almost impossible. Nacional 1 – Bilbao 1 in the Liga Europa. They came close to winning, but let in an equalising goal towards the end of the game

I had better call it a day there, as with over 3,600 words, this is probably the longest blog ever.

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(4th August). The main front page photo today shows a packed group of emergency workers : ‘Accident In Oeiras Kills Three Youths Of Portuguese Descent’. The children of emigrants from Ribeira Brava, aged 19, 15, and 13, died early yesterday morning in a car accident’. The two younger children, living in Venezuela with their family, were in Portugal on holiday when the head-on collision happened. The older teenager lived in Ribeira Brava and had gone to the continent to join the family holiday.

‘Câmara Delivers 64 More Allotments – The new plots are in São Martinho and in Ilhéus (Funchal). The fashion is catching on and there are still 140 signed up on the waiting list’. In the latter location, the council has had the land since the 1970′s, but never used it. Conversion is work still underway at both sites. The plots are given out by the council free of charge for agricultural use, and come complete with water access / irrigation, a fence, and a garden shed. All the tenant has to do is sign a contract of responsibility. Funchal council is keen on its policy to provide allotments, as it not only increases green zones in the city, but also provides work and therapy for people, as well as feeding their families.

And just when I thought the somewhat more serious fires in Santa Cruz were already forgotten … ‘Santa Cruz Council and Madeira government are to give assistance to families affected by the fire in Santa Cruz – The objective is to restore the houses and substitute damaged equipment’. The Junta de Freguesia of Caniço (town council) is also there to offer support. In a communication, the council headlined "the enormous effort" made by the fire brigade to protect homes, with the goal almost achieved, with just one house losing a door and windows. The message also notes the support given to the firemen in tackling the flames, with the supply of water and milk(?). The release also calls for the land to be cleaned up, particularly near to homes. Perhaps the firemen used the water on the fires and drank the milk, but more likely that’s a colloquialism that hasn’t yet arrived to my eager brain. Anyway, nice job all round! As for the ‘offer’, with just one house damaged, it’s not going to be a very costly offer of aid me thinks.

Today’s top football story : ‘Pepe Yields Another €900,000 To Marítimo – At a crucial time Marítimo sees its finances boosted with another €900k. It is the transfer of Pepe still making money’. The player left Marítimo some seasons ago, but his subsequent transfer from FC Porto to Real Madrid brings in further revenue due to future transfer contract terms.

‘Airport Accident Has Preliminary Report – The investigation has the objective of helping to avoid further accidents’. The Office of Prevention and Investigation of Accidents with Aircraft, an agency of the Ministry of Public Works for Transport and Communications, has made public a report of the investigation into the crash that occurred at Madeira International Airport on 24th of May. The aircraft involved was used for aerobatics, and crashed on landing bursting into flames. One of the two occupants died afterwards in hospital.

A 46 year old man was found dead in a river in sítio da Alegria, São Roque. He is believed to have fallen 25 metres, and was reported missing on Sunday.

‘Street Teams In Nogueira’. The well known social problems in the neighbourhood of Camacha are now being monitored by two teams of ‘technicians’ from social security (services?), who have been working the streets for the last few weeks, with the aim of diverting young people from unacceptable behaviour. The work is done at night as much as during the day.

An assessment of the situation of the smoking laws introduced over 18 months ago is that people accepted them and obeyed very well, and there are very few problems with smoking in public or prohibited places.

‘Chapel Of São Cristóvão Was Vandalised Again In Another Assault’. The chapel in Jardim da Serra  was damaged during the break in, and the donation box was robbed, the fourth time this year. Not much was stolen as the collection box is emptied daily. Just a thought, but perhaps a note on the front door of the chapel ‘The Collection Box Is Emptied Daily’, might be helpful.

As previously covered, the collection of separated organic waste starts today in a trial in Funchal. The residents in Imaculado Coração de Maria had to buy their own brown recycling bins to participate in the project.

The president of the organising commission for the Rali Vinho Madeira guaranteed yesterday that the rally here will continue to be part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), for three more years.