Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elize … Funchal, after the flood had gone. I have received loads of photos, many thanks.

Please bear in mind that I am on ‘catch up’ at the moment, 4 days behind, so if anything is posted that no longer seems so relevant, I probably didn’t know … I apologise.

Tess did a piece on her blog about Funchal – ‘An Island in Shock’. "I’m sure you’ll be inundated with pictures – but this is just a written piece". And another : ‘Indomitable spirit’

Paul asked me to post this :

MADEIRA DISASTER COLLECTION : Dioceses Cáritas of Funchal is collecting clothing and other goods to help those most affected by floods in Madeira. They will also inform the local population where the donations can be delivered. However, monetary donations can now be made.

Cáritas Funchal : Address: Calçada do Pico,59 9000-206 – Funchal
Phone:(+351) 291743331
Fax: (+351) 291745714 By sending a fax to this number a receipt will be sent out to you
E-mail: caritasfunchal@netmadeira.com WEBSITE

Needs: Clothes, Diapers and baby food needed, Appliances, School Material, Furniture

Donations: Financial Institution: Banif A/c no 1626371377 or NIB no. 003800011626371377113

This from Don re Madeira disaster donations : Attention here is some extra information that is important :
- (BANIF) IBAN PT 50003800011986711677151 and SWIFT CODE (BIC) BNLFPTPL
- If you use this BANIF bank account, then it gives tax benefits to taxpayers, in accordance with Articles 61 and 62 of the Statute of Tax Benefits.
- There are NO officials of the Regional Administration or City Council that are collecting funds for solidarity among the population. Official source SRTT. Thanks a lot Don

This contribution also from Paul :

VIVA MADEIRA! Coverage of Madeira’s unceasing clean-up

The clean-up operation is being documented & filmed by a BBC team led by the reporter Robert Hall on the BBC news website: HERE

Photos of key Funchal city streets that have already been cleaned in 72 hours! HERE

Videos of key Funchal city streets that have already been cleaned in 72 hours! HERE

Outside the famous ‘Apolo Restaurant’ 72 hours after the flooding: Source: FLICKR

As a benchmark for all visitor accommodation in Madeira: “the hotel industry of Madeira was not affected and maintains all operating conditions safely.”

Statement on the floods from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation: HERE

As for the tourism sector, according to the information provided by the regional government, the hotel industry of Madeira was not affected and maintains all operating conditions safely. Hotel establishments, in general, are operational and there were not reported any difficulties or problems. The Madeira International Airport is also operational. "I am confident that Madeira will continue to count on its solid tourism infrastructure and services, which have made it the destination of excellence it is today." Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization

Viva Madeira! (long live Madeira)

[Just to change the mood a little] Pete though these links might be of interest :
DINAS DESERTS AZORES FOOD "I have been there a few times. I think they make the best food I have come across, if I was a condemned man my final wish would be one last meal there then you can do what you like ha ha". Thanks Pete.

Tom emailed and said : "Today [last Friday], the brand new dealership of Toyota was officially open in Funchal. I’ve been there. So was Mr. President uncle Bertie. He is a very good talker. His Speech was good and lasted around 15 min. without any prompter or note. During Toyota President speech the lights went off. all was kaput and dark. Fuses could not keep so much power taken from the electrical system. There were two TV stations and maybe four Radios. After we have a very nice reception, including lots of booze and finger food. During radio interview the President was visibly upset about the lack of funds from Lisbon and City staying behind with payments to subcontractors".

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

Difficult situations in the high zones of Funchal. There are suspicions of people buried in the Luso-Brasileira, as a consequence of a movement of an illegal dump in Babosas.

In the road Travessa dos Poços (Monte) residents are evacuated. Many thanks to Ellen for this : Wall at risk of collapse forces evacuation at Monte – Residents of the Travessa dos Poços relocated to homes of relatives. About two dozen people had to leave their homes, on Wednesday,  in Travessa dos Poços, parish of Monte. Due to the forecast of rain and a wall at risk of collapse the area was evacuated and the residents relocated to homes of relatives. Speaking to TSF, Duarte Pereira, president of the Parish of Monte hopes that next week a study will be done on the support of the wall to allow the return of residents of Travessa dos Poços to their homes.

Forecasts now admit that the water discharge from Saturday  may pass to the side of Madeira.

‘Calamity’ would prevent construction in affected areas.

Today’s main news headline : Solidarity in force – The determination of the Madeirans in the recovery after the storm is having a notable benefit : in the solidarity [fund raising] accounts alone there are €2 million. But groups such as ‘Pingo Doce’ are making their own contributions. The Madeira Beer Company is also restocking outlets in the worst affected areas in Funchal and Ribeira Brava ‘on the house’.

"There is only one Madeira" The president of the Republic thought highly of the recovery effort in Funchal and visited problem areas such as Tabua. He needed to tread in the mud and wander around in the rain, but Cavaco Silva didn’t avoid the problems. "Shoes are plentiful, but there is only one Madeira" he declared. The main picture shows Cavaco in Ribeira Brava, inspecting the remains of the old bridge. The popular view is that the bridge was damaged, probably beyond repair, purely by the force of the water, but that isn’t the full story.  One of many stories yet to be told when the dust settles, unless someone can enlighten us beforehand?

500 vehicles damaged – The damage calculations in the ‘car park Madeira’ suggests as much as €7.5 million.

The main sport / football headline today : Solidarity [fund raising] match may be in Madrid – The Spanish football federation forgives the ‘highlighting’ of "Madeira" by CR9 [Cristiano Ronaldo]. Referring to the t-shirt incident of the Madeiran footballer during a Real Madrid match, as mentioned yesterday. It would be shame, but given the low level of support for football matches on Madeira, the potential for fund raising would probably be much greater in Spain, bizarre as it seems.  

Ellen has kindly covered some of these stories in the ‘blog comments’ … many thanks.

On the TV news (RTP) this morning, the cost of repairing the flood damage in Funchal has been estimated at €200 million. I guess that is just for public property, and the city businesses will have to claim through their insurance policies.

There has also been a warning on the radio about the quality of water, where supplies were affected by the floods. The advice is to boil water, or add bleach, depending what the water is to be used for.

Just announced at 12.20 pm today by the Regional Government the reinstatement, some with alterations, of many of the bus routes cancelled since Saturday. It was a lot of information, probably best obtained from the website(s) of Horários and Rodoeste.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

Many thanks to Paul for sending this in :

Friendship and support from Jersey – My homeland has launched an urgent appeal for the victims of the Madeiran floods. The overseas aid charity Jersey Side By Side is urging Islanders to co-ordinate any fundraising efforts into one larger appeal which Side By Side will run and endorse.

It is hoped that as much money as possible can be raised, but also that the appeal will act as a symbol of friendship and support to the Madeiran community both in Jersey and Madeira. Jersey Side By Side chairman Mike Wavell said that Jersey’s close relationship to Madeira meant it was important for Islanders to show their support.

A concert in aid of the appeal is already being organised by a group of young Jersey musicians currently in Madeira. It is hoped the event will take place on Saturday 6 March at St Thomas’ Church. LINK 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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 photo or video, 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 don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

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

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (West) … A rainbow at Paul da Serra

"The fireworks was indeed the  best I have ever seen. Most were launched from the waterfront, east from the harbour, but there was also a number of other sites (I counted to more than 10, but people say 40 sites). The rockets were synchronised, so the same type/colour came from many sites at the same time – amazing! 17 tons of fireworks are rumoured to have been used… Many boats went out to see it from the water, but that looked dangerous (dark, many boats, acohol, attention on fireworks, etc.), so I stayed in the harbour". PRIVATE BLOG WITH PHOTOS

São Martinho Church – Funchal by Sonia von Walter.

"FUNCHAL – Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has bought his native island of Madeira and indicated that he plans to turn it into a theme park focusing on his career. Ronaldo, 24, already owns the world’s largest collection of mirrors". From the Los Angeles Times From Lisbon to L.A., some stories we’d like to read in 2010

"Three people from the Madeira archipelago have returned home for Christmas holiday after working in the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea are hospitalized due to infections of falciparum malaria. One of the workers is in intensive care while the other two are in the hospital but stabile. The Madeira archipelago is one of the autonomous regions of Portugal in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. It does have a sub tropical humid climate which is conducive to many emerging diseases found in the tropics. But according to experts, the weather in December is too cold for local transmission". MORE FROM THE NATIONAL EXAMINER

Nacional fought a brave fight away at Benfica in the Carlsberg Cup last night, losing only in the last few minutes by a single goal.

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

Bad weather returns and causes more damage. Madeira is on orange alert, the second highest on a scale of four. This is due to heavy rain and strong winds forecasted with gusts up to 110 km/hour in the mountains. Sea condition forecasts are for 4 metre waves and 55 km/hour winds. The conditions are expected to remain until tomorrow. The Porto Santo ferry managed the link yesterday but docking at Porto Santo was hampered by strong waves. The ferry also sailed today but there are uncertainties about tomorrow’s journey. A landslide in Ponta do Sol yesterday threw more than a ton of rocks and earth into the stream. It occurred near the Giga Park when people were about to attend the circus at 15.30, causing more alarm than damage. The leader of the PS in São Vicente is concerned that the stones carried down by rain to Ribeira Grande are being moved to land fill sites above Ginjas. Gouveia questions the safety of this operation in case they are washed down from this new site. He has already alerted São Vicente Council to the matter and will inform the Public Prosecutor. The PS Francisco Dias of Porto Moniz Council accuses the PSD of halting and preventing the local authority from planning a Risk Charter for the county (disapproved in the last Council meeting in December). This would mean a revision of the Municipal Plan and would help defend the coastline, streams, industrial parks, forests and population. This afternoon, a wall collapsed onto a section of the expressway in Madalena do Mar and the police closed the road as it is partly blocked and the remaining wall unstable. The damage will be assessed tomorrow morning.

Cantares de Reis in Ponta do Sol on January 5. The Grupo de Folclore da Ponta do Sol are marking the Dia de Reis with a show in the village centre (next to the auditorium of the Centro Cultural John dos Passos) from 21.30. This initiative started seven years ago due to the wealth and diversity of regional cantares de reis (songs of the kings). There are many different groups participating. This tradition is still alive in Ponta do Sol and throughout Madeira and in recent years, there have been more groups formed. They visit, from the 5 – 6 January, homes of friends, relatives and neighbours and travel to different sites. The festivities usually continue until Santo Amaro. Visitors are rewarded by the householders with food and drink typical of the festive season (liqueurs, homemade bread with meat in wine and garlic, various sweets, bolo de noiva, torresmos and sometimes soup).

Cantar os Reis in Funchal. In the auditorium of Funchal Municipal Garden on Tuesday 5 January at 21.30. The event is organized by the Cultural Association Encontros da Eira and is part of the tourist calendar for Christmas and New Year festivities. Various groups will be performing songs and plays with religious themes, reviving the traditions of cantares de reis from various parts of the region. Inherent to the show, there will be distribution of specialities of this season to the public and entertainment on the streets by the group Gaitulia. Local men bring regional instruments and women regional food. That afternoon the group Encontros da Eira will perform at the Congress Centre (Casino) in a show which is the responsibility of the orchestra (OCM).

Valter will not give money to the Parish Councils. The ex-president of the Parish Council of Seixal, who is now the Mayor of the County Council of Porto Moniz, will not transfer any funds to the four Parish Councils; Seixal, Ribeira da Janela, Porto Moniz and Acadas da Cruz. This is the same situation as during the past eight years when the previous mayor was Gabriel de Farinha. Two Parish Councils are PSD controlled (Seixal and Ribeira da Janela) and the other two are Socialist. The two Socialist Parish Council presidents are more critical of the Mayor of Porto Moniz (PSD) than their counterparts in PSD run Councils. Valter Correia explains that he would like to transfer funds to the parishes but the budget is tight and instead, they will be given materialistic help. In São Vicente, the budget is also tight but Jorge Romeira (PSD) has a different attitude and gives 204,000 euros to the three Parish Councils. São Vicente and Ponta Delgada receive 65,000 euros and Boaventura over 74,000 euros. He said the Councils require the money for their valuable work for the residents, "Clearing footpaths and improvements cost money." In Calheta, the CDS Manuel Baeta wants to know why there are a million euros of the Council budget allocated for ‘Other’. He thinks this is not transparent and it is more than the total budget of the eight Parish Councils in Calheta.

Cavaco receives more criticism than praise. The New Year’s message from Cavaco Silva, the President of Portugal, did not please the majority of political parties in Madeira. The exception was the PP leader José Rodrigues. The PSD thought it was a message of a country without hope. Miguel de Sousa stated, "My generation has lived since 1974 hearing this speech that we must sacrifice, we need to unify, we need judgement. It is always repetitive."  He said Portugal needs a new system as the current one is not working and that change is the responsibility of all: President, Prime Minister, members of the opposition parties and other political players. The PS agree that the country needs those who will propose a new system and the message shows conflict between the President and the Government. Rodrigues of the PP said that Cavaco supported the Government as he said in his speech that the PS and the Government have all the conditions to govern. Cavaco said in his speech that the country’s foreign debt and the imbalance of public accounts are enhancers of an ‘explosive’ situation in Portugal. He stated that the political parties must maintain political stability in the country.

Madeira Island Tourism increases its investment in a promotion on the Continent. In Lisbon, there will be an Industrial Fair from the 13 – 19 January. The regional authorities who are promoting tourism to Madeira will use the themes activities and sports to engage the interest of tourists from Portugal. In recent months, there has been a remarkable growth in the number of Portuguese staying at hotels on the island, partly due to the increase in availability of air transport and campaigns launched by the Regional Tourism department. They ran direct advertising campaigns through the Internet and indirectly through sponsorship of regional events and TV productions on national television. In the first 10 months of last year, the hotels recorded 809,165 overnight stays, which exceeded the total for 2008.  The final total should be a record number for the Portuguese market in the last decade. There will be an area to promote Porto Santo and one for the Wine, Embroidery and Crafts Institute. During the days open only to professionals, Madeiran barmen will demonstrate the making of cocktails. The Regional Director of Tourism will be there on the first two days and at a dinner held in central Lisbon for those working for national airlines, tourist agents and tour operators.

Hundreds followed the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima to the Church of Carmo this afternoon. After a well attended Mass, the statue was taken from the College Church to the Church of Carmo in Funchal. There was also good attendance at the Peace March which started at this church and ended at the Se Cathedral at 18.30. The Pilgrim Statue remains at the Church of Carmo until next Sunday. The Bishop of Funchal would not comment on the controversial statements by the President for European Anti-Poverty about the transfer of Canon Manuel Martins to Machico Parish.

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

MP : Court of Santa Cruz is in chaos. This is an interview with the man whose job title translates roughly as something like ‘state prosecutor coordinator of the Public Prosecutor’s office (MP) on Madeira’. Just picking out a couple of points he made : "There is a big gap between what those elites in power think, and the feelings of the people". On Santa Cruz court : it is an example of how a court should not function, reaching an almost chaotic situation – with the delays of a accumulation of cases, and the inability to respond. The backlog will take years to clear.

Claim of Naviera Armas against the ports – The ferry operator respects the new unloading rules, but the action against APRAM [Port Authority] goes forward on the 18th.

Only 54 created their own employment. The restaurant trade was the favoured area for those who took the initiative, but all in all only 54 took advantage of support offered by the Regional Government, and it is clear that Madeira lacks more entrepreneurs. There are several ‘packages’ to encourage people into self-employment, but being your own boss it seems doesn’t appeal to many, and in particular the 13,500 unemployed. The 54 who have gone down that road have so far created just 66 jobs, with proposals for another 80.

Today’s main news headline : PSD Social Democrats clear out committees where it lost in the elections – The ‘orange’ political committees of São Jorge, Gaula, Achada da Cruz,  Água da Pena, and Porto Moniz, where the defeats occurred in the local elections last October, are on the way out. Soon there will be elections. And the reshaping will not end there. Party elections will be held to appoint new political committees in these 5 non-PSD parishes, but the clear-out might well be extended to other councils. The new elections will see new names, but existing names will be able to stand again [yeah right!]. Drastic, but not a great surprise. Of course it is already well known that president Jardim is punishing those parish councils where the voters didn’t elect his Social Democrats, by pulling out projects. Great tactics from our leader, as by pulling the key projects and strangling the finances, those voters who strayed from the ‘Uncle Bertie way’, will feel let down and disappointed by their current non-PSD parish council, so what will they do next time … return to the Bertie fold [maybe?]. Maybe it’s time for a new year revolution resolution.

Hundreds follow the pilgrim image to the church of Carmo – The Bishop of Funchal asked the youngsters to guide themselves by the principles of peace.  Yesterday afternoon the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima was moved from the Igreja do Colégio to the Igreja do Carmo, where it will stay until Sunday, accompanied by hundreds of faithful followers. A peace march also took place with dozens of youngsters walking the streets of downtown Funchal, that finished at Sé Cathedral in Funchal.

Today’s sport / football headlines : Treacherous defeat in the Estádio da Luz [Stadium of Light, Benfica's ground] – National lost the first group game of the League Cup, but can complain about the refereeing (Rodrigo goal wrongly ruled out) and about themselves also. Benfica 1 Nacional 0.

In Division II, União widen the leadership. União 1 Amadora 0, in the second division south league.

Ribeira Brava lead Série Madeira [Madeira football league]. Ribeira Brava actually scored two goals in the 0 – 2 away win at Canicense, and that’s a rarity.

Sue very kindly provided these stories … many thanks.

Parish of Mount Carmo – Bishop says "a profound cultural renewal" is needed.

Not the same numbers that gathered in the square of the College on the day the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima came to Madeira, thousands of people attended did yesterday’s mass in the Church College and followed the procession to the parish of Mount Carmo. The bishop of the Diocese of Funchal addressed a few words to the young people at the church who followed later in March for Peace through Rua Fernão de Ornelas, heading for the Sé.

D. António Carrilho recalled the Pope’s message for this year, stressing that "we are called to pray for peace" and "be builders of peace" as "to build peace is to say yes and say no." It’s "say no to selfishness, lying, hatred, revenge, war and all forms of violence, injustice, envy, jealousy, lack of respect for life and the rights of others and disregard of nature "and" say yes to truth and justice, liberty, responsibility, respect for the rights of the individual and respect for and protection of creation, the whole universe and our mother earth, our common home of all humanity".

The image of Our Lady of Fatima, who has been on a pilgrimage in Madeira since October 13, remains in the parish of Mount Carmo until the end of the week. She then goes to the Belfry, where she began her visit to Câmara de Lobos.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Wallet lost at Avenue Sea. A wallet with documents was lost yesterday afternoon on Avenue of the Sé, next to the restaurant ‘McDonald’s’. The owner is a mainland tourist who asks those who find the object to contact the PSP or contact the owner on phone 962 337 080. The lady promises to reward for the retrieval the wallet and documents.

Falling trees in the Nun’s Valley. Bad weather on Saturday afternoon caused the fall of several trees on the road to the Nun’s Valley. With the use of technical assistance from a landscaping company that use a chain saw to cut two pine trees involved was completed before the arrival of the Fire Volunteers Câmara de Lobos.

Madeira remains on alert ‘Orange’. Despite the improvements that were last recorded, the Institute of Meteorology continues to put Madeira on ‘Orange’ alert, but this time mainly due to the condition of the sea. Wave levels of five and six meters together with the wind are expected also in mountain areas where they can reach speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, are the situations to be taken into account.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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 photo or video, 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 don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

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

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

(30th September). Today’s main news headline, pictured with a ‘landscape’ swamped with political posters : ‘Complaints And Threats In The Start Of The Campaign – The election campaign for the local elections started yesterday, marked by incidents from the national elections. The region of São Vicente has already made complaints to the police, about vandalising of posters, and offences by text message’. Election posters belonging to the PS-M socialists were vandalised in the parish of Boaventura, the location where the candidate lives. In addition anonymous SMS text messages have been sent by mobile phone, of an unpleasant nature, being slanderous and blackmailing, to party member(s). "This is a clear act of [bad]intention and with that of course one can not remain indifferent. When it is a moustache, some drawings, these are cases that are not serious. But this is completely different. The entire structure of the sign was destroyed", said the president of PS-M. Asked who might be behind these vindictive actions, the PS top-of-the-list to the local authority in São Vicente says it is "in the eyes of those who want to see. But I’d rather not comment further on this matter. I will let the police investigate". In the 2005 elections similar things happened to property relating to candidates, and the car of the president of PS-M was set alight.

‘Cavaco Silva Adds More Fuel To The Fire’. ‘President of the Republic Accuses Prominent Socialist Leaders Of Manipulation – Cavaco Silva believes that they tried to stick it on the PSD’. Silva made a 10 minute broadcast to the nation last night over the shocking affair of his office being ‘bugged’. He accused "prominent personalities of the party in government" of manipulation, and trying to stick it [the blame] on the national president of the PSD, in order to divert attention during the elections. 

‘ERC Accuses Lack Of Balanced Reporting’. The Regulatory Authority for Social Communication (ERC) issued yesterday a statement outlining the main points of a decision on a complaint made by the PS-M socialists against the newspaper Jornal da Madeira. At issue was the supplement ‘autárquicas2009′ and the fact that in publishing this material, it just referred to the position of the PSD social democrat câmaras, omitting the views of opposition parties. The ERC decided that there was, in that supplement of  J da M, "a blatant violation of the duties of pluralism". The complaint of PS-M alerted to the fact that during the pre-campaign for the elections, the behaviour of the newspaper was detrimental to candidates of the opposition parties. The ERC concluded that "the lack of pluralism in the information provided leads to a serious breach of the principle of equality and impartiality, contributing for the benefit of certain political forces over others". The recommendation of the ERC, which summarizes the deliberations, should be published by the J da M. This ERC sounds like a toothless watchdog to me, if there is no further action taken other the publication of it’s findings. Still, on the positive side, had it given the Jornal a massive fine, who would end up paying it … us taxpayers of course.

‘Câmara ‘obliges’ some to give up school by not paying for student transport – In Câmara de Lobos parents have to pay between 15 and 90 Euros for each child to study’. It is an accusation from the CDU communist party that parents are having to take their children out of school because they don’t have the money to pay for school transport. A CDU spokesman says that the council is one that has "turned its back on education, on the crisis, and on parents that have children studying".