Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Elaine … Cristo Rei statue at Garajau. Anyone know how high this statue is? If someone can give me an answer, I will tell you why I am curious. Fair enough?

TAP, Portugal’s favourite airline are offering their customers with loyalty cards (air miles accounts) a special deal. ‘Air mile’ bookings can be made for half the normal exchange on a limited number of 300,000 seats, to all destinations (I think!). You can also send / receive ‘air miles’ through other loyalty card customers to make up a usable balance, without any charge.

Brazil – After 18 days, 20 hours and 16 minutes of singlehanded sailing from Funchal on his little 21 foot boat, Frenchman Thomas Ruyant crossed the finish line in Salvador de Bahia today to become winner of the Mini Transat race. Though he had a tear in his eye, Ruyant arrived at the Marina de Bahia with a huge smile on his face, saying: "It was a great feeling when I crossed the finish line. A great moment of happiness". SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME A BEER

Whilst I have no desire to increase the business of any specific hotels, a magazine called DESIGN SCENE has done a photo feature on The Vine in Funchal. Very impressive, if not a little strange. Looking at that first photo though, I think the cleaner needs a little bit of refresher training.

"Claes Feder, who has died in the Algarve at the age of 81, will be remembered for his love of classic ships, the excellence of his work as an architect and the warmth of his personality as a bon viveur. His lifelong association with Portugal and all things nautical began on the island of Madeira where he was born. His father was Danish, his mother Swedish. He was 17 before he first went to Scandinavia at the end of World War II". His claim to fame must be unique, but you don’t find out until the penultimate paragraph that he produced detailed plans for a five-star hotel and conference centre within a full-scale replica of the Titanic, but I have no idea whether it was built or not. RIP

Tobi, the blog cuisine expert, has revealed his cherished and secret chutney recipes, yielding to pressure from readers from readers who don’t like the prices and chutneys available here. Pear today, and Mango will follow tomorrow. Thanks Tobi!

PEAR CHUTNEY
225g shallots (I just used onions)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1kg pears (any kind but not too ripe) Cored, peeled, and roughly chopped
175g muscovado sugar
100g raisins
10 cloves
350ml red wine vinegar
jars for storing

Chop onions and heat olive oil in a pan, add onions and garlic and cook for 5 mins until soft, add the pears, sugar, raisins, vinegar and cloves, and bring to the boil, then let simmer rapidly for 30-40 mins, stirring from time to time, until pear is tender and liquid has evaporated. While doing this get your jars ready, I get mine hot in an oven for say 5 mins with the lids off but heat the lids as well, as this is just to kill germs, then place the HOT chutney in the jars and put the lids on, when they cool, the lid will pop down making it vacuum tight. Store in the cupboard for at least 2 weeks before eating, once opened it keeps in the fridge for 3 months.

I treated myself to a Jacuzzi yesterday, in a private facility in Ribeira Brava, where it is reserved for an hour. All very nice, and I came out well refreshed and massaged, and full of beans. It wasn’t until I was almost dressed that I noticed ‘Rules of the Jacuzzi’ on the changing room wall. 1. Users must bring a towel, wear flip-flops and bathing costume. 2. Users must shower before entering the Jacuzzi, and 3. Users must not urinate in the Jacuzzi. I hadn’t contemplated that last possibility in the least, and had I done so I don’t think I would have even entered the water. Is it really necessary to post such a rule on the wall, giving the impression that it was a possibility? Looking in the mirror this morning I seem to be a little jaundiced … probably my overactive imagination. 

This weekends football : Marítimo host Paços de Ferreira on Sunday at 4 pm (not on TV), whilst the big game, in my opinion, is on Monday at 8.15 pm, when Nacional visit Benfica. Nacional are likely favourites to get a big thrashing, as the hosts are knocking in more goals than Uncle Bertie was doing pre-election inaugurations. On SportTV1.

Have a great weekend! (and don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour tonight).

Low inflation is the biggest threat. Luis Campos e Cunha, a University Professor in Economics and former Finance Minister warns that Portugal has a lower inflation rate than the euro zone and if this trend continues, deflation might occur. This will cause increased labour costs, decreased competitiveness of certain firms and higher unemployment. In addition to the impact of the euro, this is because of poor fiscal policies and poor savings of the Portuguese which led to reduced production and marketing of tradable goods. The trade deficit has worsened in the last twelve years. A more restrained fiscal policy is needed as enough has not been saved, as in other countries. This means cancelling or postponing large public investments. Banks might experience bad loans, families will have less to spend and social problems will have to be solved in the short term. In contrast, the Chairman of the Order of Economists thinks that 2010 will be a transitional year as there are ‘unsafe signs of recovery’. He says state investments are necessary for economic recovery. The economic crisis is thought to be good for globalization and technological innovation. Jardim said that unemployment is the greatest challenge and should be the priority of governments, employers and workers, who need more commitment and productivity. He said that the money borrowed by Madeira for his expansionist policies has four conditions; to be used exclusively for investment, to control inflation, payment of salaries and expenditure on health and education and debt must remain at levels renegotiable.

In Portugal, according to the increased number of calls to the telephone helpline, the crisis has increased suicidal ideas in the population outside the usual risk group of age 30-40 years. This is due to unemployment and they think it is only temporary. In Portugal, the elderly are more at risk, whereas in Madeira and the Azores, it is the opposite, young people commit suicide more. It is thought that the poverty rate in Portugal could be as high as 40%.

The Portuguese League Against Aids has reduced donations from companies due to the crisis and  received more requests for help. They celebrate 20 years in 2010 and plan campaigns to fight discrimination and for prevention in the elderly and women.

Casas do Povo desperate for €1.5 million. The Regional Government has been slow to sign protocols with the institutions and money for 2009 has not reached them. They are beginning to make preparations for Christmas and having difficulties paying suppliers, e.g. rent, phone bills and wages.

Government stops work authorized by Funchal Council. A private access was to be built covering over 20 metres of the Ribeiro da Nora. Concern is that the work will cause flooding in other areas. This ribeiro has a history of flooding houses in Rua de Santa Maria and there is increased risk due to decreased drainage in the area.

Company responsible for oil spill in Ribeiro das Freitas in Garajau identified. Due to an accidental rupture of a pipe. The company will pay for the ongoing clean up and the degree of negligence will be investigated for a fine. The slick was discovered on 7 October and has polluted a long stretch of the stream which takes storm water from Cancela Industrial Park and surrounding areas. The oil has entered the sea in the nature reserve by the beach at Garajau.

Simulated rescue exercise at the cable car. Combined firefighters from Funchal and Câmara de Lobos late yesterday afternoon simulated the rescue of passengers trapped inside the cabins of the cable car because of mechanical failure/cable damage. Mountain rescue teams had the job of trying to rescue a trapped couple between Tabaiba and Pena. They had to climb the towers and slide along the cables.

235 businesses sign a petition against Chinese megastores. ACIM, Association of Commerce and Industry of Machico, has sent a petition to the Regional Government and 11 other entities. 185 of the signatures are from ACIM members and the remaining 50 are owners of mini-markets, clothes shops, hardware stores and others in the city centre. Cafe and bar owners did not sign. The petition has gone to the Vice-president of the Regional Government, other government agencies and the Immigration Department. The petition has 11 points that specify a series of problems that will occur, ‘the Chinese stores have commercially, economically and socially a very negative impact on Machico, with consequences across the whole local society’. They are worried that there will be bankruptcies of small businesses, unemployment with resulting financial implications on banking, food, school fees and housing. ACIM want to know why such a large store is sanctioned in the city centre rather than away from it and why only after the local elections.

Statistics given: Machico has a population of 12,000. There are 100 small and medium  sized enterprises employing 250 workers. Recently, 3 restaurants, bank branches and accounting firms closed. Already 6 Chinese stores in Machico. With the new stores, they will cover 5,500 square metres in comparison to Maxmat (one of the largest stores) which covers 1,400 square metres.

The Dom Pedro hotel chain has just been licensed by Machico Municipality to build a new unit. They will either extend the present hotel or build holiday apartments. Hotel Dom Pedro Baia Club is a four-star hotel with 218 rooms. The other hotel in Madeira is Hotel Dom Pedro in Garajau, which is three-stars and has 282 rooms. Authorization has also been given by the council for tourist apartments in Água de Pena with a viewpoint overlooking Machico valley, which have also been allowed by the airport as the land is within its security zones.

TAP blames Easyjet for its reduction in Madeira – Lisbon flights. An average of 8% decrease in passenger numbers since January and 10% less in September. Its flights from Lisbon and Porto to Brazil are important as it is the largest carrier of passengers between European airports and Brazil. The market to Caracas has fallen and one of the six weekly flights might have to be cancelled. No surprise that Easyjet get the blame, for me at least. That was the whole idea of the government of Portugal in liberalisation of the airways, to stop the TAP monopoly, and the exploitation of passengers between Madeira and the mainland. Then along came SATA from the Azores, at last some competition we thought, but what did they do? They got straight into bed with TAP, sharing planes (code sharing) and merging the customer loyalty programmes. But our tourism people saw through the scam and the continuing high prices, and called in Easyjet, who have brought down the prices on the Lisbon – Madeira route considerably, though I think those losses are now being recouped from the other Easyjet Madeira routes. Bernardo Trindade was the man responsible for the changes in the airways, our own man from Madeira in the Assembly of the Republic, and also Secretary of State for Tourism in the last government term. Poor old Bernie hasn’t received his phone call yet, so we don’t know if he will continue in the new government or not. I certainly hope so, as I thought he did a really good job for Madeira … maybe just too good a job perhaps, if you know what I mean. Der

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Oh dear! Anyone who doesn’t like football isn’t going to enjoy today’s news blog much. It nearly all revolves around an interview with the president of Nacional, Rui Alves, and with about 70% of the Diário front page, I guess it has a high profile because of tomorrow’s huge game here with Werder Bremen in the Europa League.

(16th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Ambitious Nacional – The alvinegro sporting city will have a central photovoltaic system, road connection direct to the Caminho dos Pretos, a rugby pitch and athletics track’. Alvinegro is the club nickname for CD Nacional da Madeira. Alves says he is optimistic about tomorrows game. The club is approaching an average of 3 thousand supporters for its games, and has a growing membership list. The club is looking at some changes in the stadium complex, including solar power, access changes, and also acquiring nearby land to host an rugby pitch and athletics track.

That headline then has 3 more sub headlines:
- ‘In An Interview With The Diário, Rui Alves Believes That A Victory Over Werder Bremen Is Going To Confuse European Opponents’.
- ‘Race For The Presidency Of The League Of Clubs Continues In The Plans Of Rui Alves’.
- ‘Players Of Nacional Make The Set In The ‘Powerade’ Awards’. The players won plenty of awards for their achievements last season.
But as I suspect this is of little interest to most, I will move on.

‘Ronaldo, Happy For His Father, Sent Message And Scored Two Goals In Zurich’. His father was posthumously awarded for his contribution to sport, at the ‘Powerade’ Awards’ yesterday. CR737 then went on to score two of the five goals for his new team, Real Madrid, in the champions league victory last night.

‘Car Parks In The Centre ‘Summon’ Drivers – In the opinion of the environmental agency, Quercus, and drivers, the existence of accessible and diverse parking in Funchal feeds and fattens the traffic indulgence’. A vice president of Funchal Council says that they are developing a project, with the bus company Horários do Funchal, for a ‘park and ride’ scheme, where one drives to the outskirts of the city, parks ones car, and then catches a very frequent bus service from the car park to the city centre. The Funchal central traffic problem is getting steadily worse, just because parking facilities exist, and it also it still being possible to park without paying. "Paying to park is very cheap, and it shouldn’t be", says the president of the Madeira branch of Quercus. He believes that the comfort and speed of a car journey should be challenged by better public transport, and that there should be bus lanes on the main routes to improve public transport travel times. Around 47 thousand vehicles are believed to enter Funchal daily.

‘Armed Masked Robbers Raid Cash Desk’. They struck twice yesterday, firstly at the Hotel Funchal Design (Rua da Alegria), where they surprised the receptionist at 4.30 am. The two robbers had a knife, and forced the receptionist to hand over €57 from the cash till. Then sometime after 11 am, masked men appeared at Elos cash and carry in Viveiros, and forced checkout staff to hand over "a significant sum". They then fled on foot, chased by shop staff, but managed to lose their pursuers in the street labyrinths of Viveiros.

‘Elderly With Keys Around The neck – The robberies in the top of Ribeira Brava give rise to appeal : "The police must have compassion for the people". The call comes from ‘up top’, from the people in São João. "We asked the police to have compassion for the people". Celina Gonçalves, 75, lives alone in Lombo da Levada, and this Summer has been robbed three times. She is not the only one. The ‘nightmare’ started late in July when her house was freshly painted and wide open, and two individuals tried separately to steal the €400 she had set aside to pay the decorator, the second attempt was successful. She had been duped, so she she didn’t report the matter to the police or tell her family. Not long after, €300 she had set aside for another job that needed doing in her house, and after that another €200, were all stolen. She now has lock on every door, and wears the keys on a cord around her neck. Another story along the same lines follows, and the victim aged 67, reported to the Ribeira Brava police an attempt to rob her home, and was concerned that the response was not compassionate towards her. Even the church of São João has been a victim, with the donations from a mass and a box of candles stolen. They say "they only don’t take [steal] more because the people don’t have".

‘Eleven In The Final Of ‘Funchal A Cantar – Vânia Fernandes will be the patron on Saturday in the final, that will include fireworks’. The final of the singing competition will be held in the Praça do Município (town hall square) at 8 pm, and promises to be an unforgettable event, with a total of 65 artists involved. The 11 individual finalists were whittled down from the 30 in the preliminary round, held on Monday night.

‘Four New Cases Of H1N1 On Madeira – 21 suspected cases were investigated by the laboratory in the last week’. The Institute for Health Administration IASAÚDE confirmed 4 new case of Gripe A swine flu, taking the total to 39 since 12th July. One case came from Canada, the other three were secondary infections. On a related theme, vaccines for seasonal flu were starting to be delivered to pharmacies yesterday afternoon. Medical prescriptions for these vaccines are valid until 31st December.

‘Man Aged 29 Caught Selling Drugs In Night Spot (club or bar?) – 120 doses of cocaine and 600 Euros seized’. He was caught in the act by police with the drugs, and money presumed to be the takings from the drugs sold. In Funchal a police operation resulted in the seizure of hashish sufficient for 2,400 fixes.

‘Linha Saúde 24 Strengthened – 400 nurses with the capacity to answer 15 thousand calls a day’. Currently the health service hotline is taking 4,500 calls a day, 1,000 of those being specific to Gripe A concerns, but if necessary can deal with up to 15,000 enquiries daily. The centre is run by a private company, and should they fail to deal with 15% or more of the enquiries, they will be penalised, as they have already been 3 times for failing to meet half-yearly performance targets, since it was set up in 2007. The short term objective is to recruit 200 more nurses, to raise the call answering capacity to 20,000 per day, and then longer term, to cope with new cases of Gripe A swine flu, 800 to 900 nurses will be required.

(31st July). ‘Millions Given To The Jornal da Madeira Could Be Returned – The competition authority yesterday alerted about the illegal support of the Madeira government to the JM. And it says that Europe could demand the return of €23.4 million. Meanwhile the Diário sacked 13 professionals’. You saw this on yesterdays blog before the Diário published it in printed form, so it’s old news now, although I didn’t realise that the Diário had to sack 13 staff … no wonder it seems to be getting thinner.

The regional secretary of Human Resources, Brazão de Castro, said yesterday that the Government here has "serious doubts" and "disagreements" on some of the points raised by the recommendation of the Competition Authority (AdC) on the financial aid provided by the regional government to the newspaper ‘Jornal da Madeira’, and the consequent distortions in competition in the media of Madeira.  "As a partner of the Madeira Autonomous Region there have been made financial transfers to the Journal of Madeira, with the objective of promoting press freedom, pluralism and diversity of the media" he said, adding that if the government strives to meet the recommendation of the AdC "it would need a reasonable time so as to ensure that the company and the jobs it provides are not put at risk". The Executive Director of EDN, the owners of the Diário, stressed that the current situation could have been avoided, and was not a matter of satisfaction for the company. It’s a no win situation in my opinion, with the only possible solution being to take the Journal into private ownership to ensure Madeira keeps two newspapers and healthy balanced reporting. But what sane investor would take on the Journal now, with such a bad and biased reputation, technically bankrupt, and with a cover price (which in reality is zero) that could probably never be reversed?

A Vice President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira and a leading candidate to succeed Alberto João Jardim, Miguel de Sousa, yesterday made an appeal to the President of Portugal, taking advantage of his visit to Madeira. The appeal is for the state to pay for the extension works at Madeira Airport, which cost €200 million several years ago. The operating company ANAM has to repay the loan and the interest, and it is that overhead that is keeping Madeira’s airport charges very high and very uncompetitive, and without doubt deterring other airlines and travel companies. De Sousa argues that the state pays for motorways in Portugal, and in Madeira "the airport is our motorway". I don’t often agree with PSD politicians, but I think that is a very fair point.

‘Banks Increase Profits by 17% – The four largest private banks in Portugal profited by €760.7 million in the first 6 months’. BES, BCP, BPI, and Santander Totta together managed to make a profit 17.4% up on the same period last year. Santander did the best with €278 million, followed by BES with net profits of €246 million. BPI made the smallest profit of €89 million, but even that was ten times as much as the same period in 2008. Cost containing measures were the main contributor to the improved results.

A bonus today … Tobi’s video taken yesterday at the Madeira Wine Rally in Funchal