Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Jon … an old hand coloured picture postcardLooks like there is a bit of a sea battle going on out there!

Sheila emailed me with this contribution yesterday :

"Like Tobi, I have often wondered why readers of the Blog have so much to say about entertaining, light-weight subjects but so little comment to make on serious matters. Now I think I know the reason. There is just so much deprivation and suffering here on this "Sunshine Island" that many of us simply despair of being able to make a difference. It is much too easy to bury our heads in the sand and hope that all the sad stuff goes away. Six years ago, when I first started to visit Madeira regularly, I was silly enough to think that, as a journalist, I could do something to improve animal welfare here. Then, I even had the crazy idea of opening a sanctuary for cats and dogs. Because I had no money, I was easily persuaded by the then Administrator of SPAD (the local society for the protection of  domestic animals), Suzette Stein, to help her organisation rather than try to establish a new centre for animals. For several years, while I wrote press releases for SPAD, I became aware of the enormous, overwhelming nature of the problem. It was comparatively boom time for Madeira as for all the world’s economies but even then, two-thirds of all the animals taken to SPAD had to be destroyed. Now, we are all financially bust, heaven knows how many more dogs and cats have joined the long list of those which cannot be saved. At present, all animal charities are more than ever inundated with unwanted animals needing new homes. As a result, all my English speaking contacts at SPAD have been assigned to additional or different duties and so my voluntary work for the Society has been suspended. Were my efforts ever of any use? I no longer know. All I do know is that I am out of my depth because of the overwhelming  nature of the animal welfare problem here. I feel powerless to help and may soon join the ranks of those blog contributors who have "no comment" to make on the seemingly insoluble difficulties facing Madeira".

In yesterday’s football : Marítimo 1 – 0 Porto, and Leixões 2 – 4 Nacional. One of those rare weekends when both teams win, and both were very difficult games. Our two teams now have 4th and 5th place in the super league.

Elderly man missing in Machico found dead. The 70 year old man was found yesterday morning in the vicinity of the airport, probably having fallen over a cliff. He was reported missing on Friday.

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

Fishermen prefer the Azores. 14 boats and 250 fishermen registered in the Azores and this number is expected to increase. There is an increasing number of Madeiran owners with boats registered in the Azores, especially fishermen with boats harboured in Caniçal. There, more than a dozen owners are dissatisfied with the lack of support of the Regional Government of Madeira and accuse it of trying to abandon fishing. These fishermen pay taxes and receive grants from the Azores. This is borne out by data showing that more European funds and the Regional budget are for the permanent cessation of activity than for the purchase or investment in the fishing fleet. There are also no new boats to purchase in Madeira. Unlike the Madeira Government, the Azores Government provides 75% of the investment for purchasing new boats (only 25% in Madeira), 50% for a used boat and repair, and help with diesel costs. European funds provide 1 million Euros and the Regional budget provides 500,000 Euros for investment during 2007 – 2013. 2 million Euros provided for termination of fishing activity (1.5 million from Europe and 500,000 Euros Regionally). Between 2000 and 2009, Madeira lost 41 boats. There were 67 new boats, of which only 11 owners received European or Regional grants. In the Azores, the auction price of fish fell leading to a 12.5% decrease in revenue this year.

UMa project distinguished by UNESCO. The University is in partnership with the Azores, Canary Islands and Almasud in a project about the pre-Hispanic language known as ‘Silbo Gomero’. The language originated on La Gomera (Canary Islands) and is a whistled language consisting of five vowels and four consonants which are combined using pauses, rhythm, frequency, intonation and duration of interruptions to form around 4,000 ‘words’. It has been studied since 2005 under the Macaronesian project ‘Digital Art’ and a group of Madeirans who know the language have been identified.

Fabio Machado has transcribed another piece for the bandolin. He is presently studying the bandolin in Italy. As previously reported, he has transcribed Grieg’s Holberg Suite and he has now arranged Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico for two bandolins and an orchestra. Both pieces are for sale on Amazon.com and have been well received especially by online ‘Mandolin Cafe’. He is promoted as one of the best future bandolin players and he started learning in the Bandolins da Madeira Orchestra. In Sao Roque they are teaching children over the age of nine to play in this orchestra.

Financial irregularities? Still arguments about creative accounting, which the Government still insists is legal, that was for a ‘loan’ in 2007 for 150 million Euros. Arguments about whether it is classified as a loan, and if so the level of debt would be more than permitted for the 2007 financial year. It was for health centres, schools, museums and others. In the next 30 years it will cost €450 million to pay it back with interest. The CDS-PP are asking for clarification of the details to be made to Parliament which should have been done two years ago. The other questionable contracts were in Santana where the previous mayor Carlos Pereira awarded contracts for €1.2 million from June to October. There were allegations of few contracts awarded for public works, then in less than four months there were 19 contracts worth 150,000 Euros signed.

Portugal is one of the ten recommended destinations. Recommended in the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010 guide. ‘A society of great traditions, religious festivals and driven by a wave of modernity that contaminates the cities, especially the historic centres’. Portugal is ‘committed to sustainable development at the forefront of innovation, by investing heavily in clean energy and participating in the production of non-polluting vehicles.’ In the last five years, there have emerged innovative restaurants which make the best fusion cuisine at an international level. The developments in wine production have led to international awards with vintages produced from native varieties of grapes. The guide recommends Port wines, touring the remote villages in the Peneda-Geres mountainous area, watching the sunset over the megalithic monuments in Evora, and sampling the essential pastel de Belem in Lisbon. Other countries recommended are El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Suriname and the USA.

Not so good news about Portugal is that it is the gateway for illegal drugs in Europe. The four main drugs smuggled are cannabis, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy/amphetamines. Heroin and ecstasy / amphetamines go across the land border from Spain and the Netherlands and are intended for the domestic market. An extremely high level of hashish (61 tonnes) was caught last year and was destined for Spain and the rest of Europe. Large quantities of cocaine are also smuggled across the long coastline, originally from Africa and Guinea-Bissau, for export to Spain, the Netherlands, and the UK in particular.

The Vine Hotel among the three best in the world. International Festival of Architecture awards in Barcelona. Awarded for interior design along with the Hotel Fasano in Uruguay and  Hotel Chrome in Calcutta. It is the third prize awarded to this hotel, along with a first prize in the European Property Awards and another prize in the European Hotel Design Awards. Shame no Joe-average will ever be able to afford to go there. Der

After construction delays, the Portuguese Pestana group is opening a hotel in London in March 2010. It is a four-star hotel called Pestana Chelsea Bridge and they want it to be a meeting point for the Portuguese community in London.

British community in RAM exceed 1,000. The British Ambassador to Portugal revealed yesterday that there are over 1,000 British residents in Madeira. Many had been on vacation before and finally decided to live here because the hospitality of the locals was "remarkable", in his opinion. He also praised the effort in terms of improving the infrastructure and tourism development, revealing that "the islanders are famous for being great workers, Madeira and beyond." I think a couple of years ago the number quoted was around 700 officially, but the true number, including those without residency permits was much much higher. Now a lot of ‘illegal’ British time-share workers have left, as it got just too tough to make a living. Lets hope the newcomers make some effort to integrate into society, and aren’t just here to create a ‘Costa da Madeira’ like they have in Spain (obviously not called Costa da Madeira, but you know what I mean). Der

Mercarte Madeira attracts many tourists. The traditional craft fair in the Largo do Restauração in Funchal yesterday was very successful. This monthly fair has been held for five years and often tourists try to ‘haggle’ and it is also popular with the locals.

In the Casa do Povo in Caniço, eight crafts people have an exhibition called ‘Christmas Crafts’ until the 29th November. They usually exhibit in the monthly ‘Made in Caniço’ market, held the second Saturday of each month in front of Caniço Church. Includes decorative towels, soaps, snowmen, bottles, cribs, candles, wood items, embroidery and Christmas arrangements.

CSVP have a new board. The Sociedade de São Vicente de Paulo, the Vicentians. This society in Madeira is concerned about people living in poverty due to unemployment, debt, divorce, alcoholism, domestic violence and neglect of the elderly. It is a voluntary organisation and has a new board and chairman for the next three years, Diamantino Joel Correia dos Santos. It supports and visits more than 400 families and works in conjunction with the councils and Social Services. Some of the volunteers are professionals, e.g.. doctors and lawyers. It was started in 1859 in Portugal by two priests, and in Madeira in 1875.

70 year old missing man found dead after a cliff fall. The man from Machico was reported missing on Saturday and found dead on Sunday morning between the pier and the head of the airport.

The five workers who died in Andorra, when the tunnel under construction collapsed, have been confirmed as Portuguese.

Front page news from today’s Diário :

Court cases ‘yellow’ (age) in Santa Cruz – Two local ladies had accidents on the Vialitoral. One awaits sentence, the other judgement. Three years have gone by. All the courts are ‘backed up’ apparently, but Santa Cruz worse than others. The two cases mentioned were not related, but both happened in 2006 on the via rápida.

Street teams support youths – There are three groups working with children and youths : in Funchal, in Camacha, and in Câmara de Lobos. The support teams help the youngsters keep on the right track in life, and the support even extends to young adults. The oldest of the groups was formed in Câmara de Lobos in 2007, and has in it’s charge 35 youngsters all considered ‘at risk’. The group in Funchal operates in São Martinho (especially Nazaré), and the other in Camacha, and so are focused on three of the most problematic areas on Madeira. The article follows a typical day, with some interviews, but I have covered this several times before on the blog.

The main headline today : Support to immigrants passes to the locals – The foreign workers on Madeira dropped by half, but the Presbyterian Church has help for who needs : the Madeira unemployed to it are turning in increasing numbers. (Not 100% correct in translation, but correct in its message). "The worst of the crisis is still to come" says the Presbyterian priest, and the church has limited resources, with funds budgeted for social assistance. The worst part is you do not see a way out of the crisis, employment is increasingly scarce, he adds. The Presbyterian community itself – composed of about two hundred of the faithful – is also going through a bad time.

Football has the lions share of the space, which is no great surprise, given the rare ‘Madeira double’ yesterday. The Diário calls it a ‘Fat Sunday’.

The last headline is about the Diário pet project, the 100 biggest companies, which bores me senseless quite frankly, and I certainly don’t think I am alone in that view.

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(11th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Schools Unprepared – They lack products of hygiene for the prevention of Gripe A in the pre-school and 1st cycle. They will only be delivered in October, after the start of the school year, owing to a lack of stock’. Five thousand youngsters in Funchal will start school in the next few days without the protection planned against swine flu. Paper towels, disinfectants, and masks were ordered at a cost of €60,000, but the national supplier has a ‘rupture’ in stocks, and won’t be able to deliver until mid-October. Funchal council say they are not at fault, but the demand for such supplies has caused shortages with suppliers in Portugal and abroad. Parents are being asked to bring alcohol based disinfectants to their children’s schools as a contingency measure. Supplies of the required products are being ordered through the secretary for education for most schools, but it was left to local authorities to provide for pre-school and 1st cycle schools. Alcohol based disinfectants eh! … "here José, son, take this bottle of diluted alcohol to school for me will you" … "sure Dad". Might as well just give the kid a good dose of Poncha, renowned for flu prevention and cure, not that I condone underage drinking (doing my politically correct bit of course, before one of the snipers get to me).

The main sport headline, in football : ‘Hugo Almeida Warns Nacional : "We Are Strong" – The Portuguese International that plays for Werder Bremen praises the first opponent in the Europa League’. The player praises our local team, but has no doubts about Werder Bremen, saying "we are favourites".

‘Bandolins Seek Big Venues – The orchestra wants to perform in the Centro Cultural de Belém and in the Casa da Música (Porto)’. The new season 2009 – 2010, that starts today, brings new ambitions including the conquest of new audiences, and the chance to play in renowned venues in Portugal and abroad. The first concert is tonight at 9 pm in the English Church in Rua do Quebra Costas, in Funchal, which I believe will be a regular event on Friday’s. Another tour is planned in the UK next year, and the artistic director of the orchestra says that they must focus their work on venues abroad to promote Madeira and win new audiences. Special performances are also scheduled at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias. I didn’t know that mandolins or music have seasons, but anyway, this is one of the few sources of local entertainment that anyone who reads this blog has ever shown any enthusiasm for*. Not had the privilege of seeing a performance myself yet, but maybe a trip out to Ribeira Brava is a bit beneath them now they are established internationally. (*aside from me and Vânia of course, who happened to be performing in Gaula this weekend).

Another 61 allotment plots for vegetable gardens will be provided in Bairro de João Gomes by the river. The plots which will be ready in November will take the total for Funchal to 170.

‘CMF Gives 3 Months To Update Meter Records’. Funchal council is owed €320,000 in unpaid water bills. They estimate that 11 thousand out of 50 thousand water meters are not registered to the correct user. During the period, water users can update their water meter details free, apart from a small stamp duty charge. If the deadline is missed, there will be a charge of €14.60 to change the details, and the council will move to collect outstanding water charges, regardless of the name on the account.

‘Madeira Government To Reinforce Cliff Face In Calheta Village – The work continues on what was already completed in 2003, and will cost around €7 million’. The plan is now to reinforce the complete escarpment, around 370 meters long, to prevent falling rocks and debris. Up until now just the central part has been dealt with, using barriers and wire mesh. The project, which is in the programme of works for 2007 – 2011, was agreed by the Governing Council yesterday and will now go out to tender. A spokesman for the government said that the "natural evolution" and "erosion" of the escarpment overlooking the sea front of Calheta, has over the years, resulted in "several detachments of blocks and fragments of rock and earth".  

At the same meeting yesterday, amongst a number of projects and grants approved, €700,000 was allocated for the construction of a central (town) square in Caniçal, and €3 million for a new connecting street for Sta. Quitéria-Três Paus and Viana, in Funchal.

‘Conceição Estudante Criticises The Secretary of State for Tourism For "lack of ethics and opportunism" – Madeira’s Tourism Secretary accuses Bernardo Trindade of "assuming leadership" in announcing a new air route to Madeira’. She is upset because he  anticipated the announcement of a new air route for this region, and took the credit. "I dislike having to make this comment at a time when the Secretary of State, Bernardo Trindade, is campaigning (head-of-list for the PS-M to the Assembly of the Republic), but the Secretary of State is taking a leadership role that he doesn’t have in this case", she said. She was speaking about the new route of the British company Jet2, that will carry passengers between Manchester and Madeira, from February(?) 2010, which was announced Wednesday by the Secretary of State for Tourism. She says he was not ‘in the chair’ during the negotiations, and that Trindade’s announcement "was an unpleasant exploitation, opportunism, and it was not ethical by the secretary of state to pre-empt the announcement". She then got a little more upbeat by saying "But what’s really important is that Madeira will have one more link in a market that is very important to this region, the United Kingdom".

Today’s main photo shows a picture of the president of Funchal Council in a bookshop : ‘Court Fines CMF For Bad Faith And President’s Threat – The "shocking" illegalities in the ‘VIP residences’ and the disrespect for judicial decisions lead to criticism from TACF. Miguel Albuquerque incurs a ‘crime of disobedience’ if he doesn’t repeal the licence and cut off the water’. The Administrative Court of the Circle of Funchal (TACF) fined the council and an ‘advisor’ €2,500, in connection with the VIP residences ‘Villas Jardins D’Água’. The judge ruled on 25th August that there was bad-faith from the council and developer of the properties, disrespecting judicial decisions, as if they had not been declared illegal. Work continued illegally after the judicial decision was ignored, and then the council illegally issued the authorisations for habitation, and now the properties are illegally occupied, said the judge, "It’s truly shocking in a state of European Union law". The council also has to take remedial measure in respect of the properties, including cutting-off the illegal water supplies. Councils and developers defying court judgements, what could have been the motivation? Must nip out later, as I am almost out of brown envelopes and other essential stationary items.