Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … Vintage hidden view point on St. Luiza street behind house # 152. No one knows about it I guess (the correct photo this time, but I bet no one noticed except Tom)

Many thanks to Becky for these two videos :

I’m sure you must have seen this footage of a base jumper hurling himself off Cabo Girão on a motorbike, as it’s from 2006, but I hadn’t seen it before and having recently stood at the viewing point of Cabo Girão, it has made me feel a little queasy …  just the thought of it  (and what a waste of a motorbike, too!)

Some great footage of someone’s day trip to Madeira (hang on, a day trip?!) in January 2010, with a Levada walk to Queimadas, Caldeirão Verde.

Thanks a lot to Paul for these three pieces :

Should we go to Madeira? The UK Daily Telegraph, 12 March 2010: Pat Dawson, from Bath, writes : "We have booked a week’s holiday in Funchal, Madeira, starting on March 23 but it’s difficult to discover what the situation is after the terrible floods. We are reluctant to cancel as we know how much the island depends on tourism, but if the centre of Funchal is cordoned off and most of the excursions aren’t running, is it worth going? We have booked independently so we can cancel our hotel up to seven days beforehand, but we would forfeit the flight".

Gill Charlton replies : In response to the many emails we have received from readers, Telegraph Travel sent Louise Roddon to Madeira this week to assess the damage. Link to Louise Roddon article. She discovered that the capital, Funchal, has recovered remarkably quickly, while areas in the interior, such as Ribeira Brava, have borne the brunt of the landslides. The island’s famous gardens and levada walks are almost all open, as the clean-up effort continues in earnest." The Telegraph, 12 March 2010

Support for Madeira from the American Senate, Washington. “Senator Kerry said the state of Massachusetts stands proud of its long-standing historical ties to the people of Madeira. "With their seafaring and cultural traditions, Portuguese-Americans have en-riched the Bay State beyond measure," he said. "I am fortunate to be married to a woman who takes great pride in her Portuguese heritage. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Madeira as they work to overcome this disaster and rebuild their island paradise."

Photo : Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts

Sen. Brown reminded how a tragedy like the one occurred in Madeira can reveal the strength of the bonds that exist within communities.

"In this case, the bonds are very strong as Massachusetts owes a good deal of its history to the contributions of Portuguese-Americans," he said. "We offer thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families, and our full support in their time of need."

Sen. Reed said U.S. officials continue to work to ensure the safety and well being of about 400 U.S. citizens on the island.” Link to full article

Archaeologists declare nail a ‘fantasy’ crucifixion-relic. "AN ARCHAEOLOGIST who identified a first-century Roman nail, which has been claimed as a possible holy relic kept by the Knights Templar in Madeira, said last week that it could not possibly have been used in a crucifixion."

Elaine found a couple of articles in The Portugal News Online:

Government measures welcomed. Prime Minister José Sócrates was this week the recipient of unprecedented praise as he unveiled a host of measures to quell fears Portugal could follow in Greece’s footsteps and further undermine confidence in the financial stability of the Euro Zone and its members. HERE

Guess what? It was a wet February, says Met Office. Data from the IM shows that large quantities of rain fell last month, particularly in Madeira, where average daily quotas of rain were between 144.3 millilitres (on February 20th) and 129 millilitres (February 2nd), in Funchal. HERE

Diário today repeated this article but added that Funchal had 3% more visits and 8% more passengers in transit (yearly total of 435,821). Portugal sets new record for number of cruise ship visitors. Last year cruise ships brought a record-breaking number of passengers to Portugal, setting a new high after more than 940,000 tourists disembarked from their liners at a Portuguese port. HERE 

Tess emailed with this, thanks : "A few days back you had a feature on the blog about UK company ‘Naturetrek’ promoting a whale-watching holiday to Madeira.  This was also featured in the Travel Section of last Saturday’s UK Guardian under recommended family activity breaks in Europe.  A 5-day holiday joining a team of marine biologists for daily whale & dolphin watching trips on a privately chartered vessel costing from £895 inclusive of flights, transfers, accommodation, most meals, boat trips & guiding.  Seems that the UK papers are doing their bit to get the tourists coming back.  Fantastic!" TESS’S BLOG

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

DIÁRIO 13/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Police officers have to pay hospital charges for treating offenders. Police officers are being notified by the Hospital of Funchal to pay the cost of medical care of individuals with whom they have engaged in physical confrontation while working for the police service. The president of their union said this is unique in the country and is "absurd and unacceptable". The bill for medical treatment is sent to those whom the victim perceives to be the perpetrator of the aggression. 98% of notifications are not paid and the health service resorts to litigation procedures. The police are taking their case to the national director of the police force.

MADEIRA

Santa Cruz seeks justice in resettlement. Delays in the relocation of 51 homeless families in Santa Cruz is intentional and designed to avoid situations of injustice among the population in need. This is the conclusion drawn from words spoken by the Deputy Mayor of Santa Cruz. "We could have already relocated all the families but they would be more satisfied if they were in other areas. We have talked to the homeless on the situation and they all prefer to be resettled in their parish of residence. We do not rehouse the families from Santo da Serra in Funchal." "The Council has made every effort so people can return to their homes, but this was only possible in cases that just required clearing the access or the threat of landslides." In total, 12 families have been resettled and the five who remain in shelters should be relocated next week. The number of homeless families in Santa Cruz decreased from 83 to 63 this past week. 12 of these are related to the housing recovery project, leaving a total of 51 requiring permanent accommodation.

Caracas reunion of 600 people for Madeira. More than 600 people attended the Thursday evening party of solidarity (vinhada) in Caracas for the victims of the storms in Madeira. The organizers are counting on the support of the Venezuelan authorities, taking into account the system of exchange controls in force in the country that prevent freely obtaining foreign currency. If the money is transferred at the official exchange rate, it will be worth three times as much (in Euros) than at the unofficial market rate. It helps that the Venezuelan Government understands the great need of Madeira at the moment. —Hugo Chavez offered help to the Regional Government but I never found out if they took up the offer, so I presume they did not.

AJAMPS gave a homeless baby a surprise. The Young Entrepreneurs of Madeira and Porto Santo (AJAMPS) surprised Letícia Oriana on her first birthday with birthday cakes and a performance by clowns. The family were made homeless after the storm of February 20th and are staying at a Youth Hostel. They lived with their grandmother near Trapice in Santo António, Funchal. The house accommodated six people and sustained considerable damage and the ceilings are at risk of falling down. The 57 displaced people staying in the hostel were invited to lunch and dinner paid for by AJAMPS. Contributions were from members, friends and businesses and the vice president said it was rewarding to see these people smile.

Penalties in civil service affect region. Government employees in Madeira did not join the nationwide strike on March 4th, due to the recent disaster that hit the region. The Stability and Growth Pact passed by the Portuguese Government applies to civil servants in Madeira. Measures introduced to decrease the budget deficit are: freezing of wages; increased taxes on income over 150,000 Euros; retirement age increased from 62.5 to 63 and to 65 in 2012/2013; for early retirement the penalty increases from 4.5% to 6% of pension for each year. The latter measure was envisaged for 2015 but has been brought forward to 2010. The autonomies have some power to mitigate some of the points in question but the regional governments have not expressed an intention to reverse these national rules.

Madeirans complain more. The Serviço de Defesa do Consumidor (SDC) has been in greater demand by local people. Last year they received 624 complaints, far more than the 467 in 2008. In 2009, SDC responded to 4,398 requests, of which 3,774 were for information. The remaining 624 cases were complaints that centred around: movable property (208), real estate (108), banks and finance companies (93), essential services (90), transport (47), tourism and leisure (22), distance selling (21) and insurance (16). More people (1,068) needed debt counselling and information before using credit. 104 cases involved arbitration. They can also resolve complaints from citizens of other European countries who purchase goods or services from entities located in the region.

POLITICS

Solidarity in London unites mayor and Albuquerque. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London and Miguel Albuquerque, the Mayor of Funchal are the leading players in a day of solidarity for Madeira, which takes place on Saturday March 27th in London. A fundraising dinner for 800 diners in Earls Court is the primary activity of a day that will also have other events with a single objective; raising money for authorities and institutions that are spearheading the reconstruction of affected areas and supporting people affected by the floods. The dinner is in the Ibis Hotel in Earls Court, one of the most prestigious in London. The Madeiran businessman José Silva has organized the events after being contacted by a group of friends in London. All the local Portuguese community organizations and the Ambassador and Consulate of Portugal in London have been directly involved. Other fundraising events are: raffles, auctions and other similar activities; contributions from individuals and large companies; contact with the media and exclusive interviews with Sky News and Sky Sports are being negotiated to highlight the cause. The President of CS Marítimo will be present, along with other sporting personalities who will be announced soon. Entertainment at the dinner event is provided by Maria Aurora from the program ‘Atlântida’ presented by RTP-Internacional, and possibly Madeira’s celebrity singer Vânia Fernandes will attend.

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

Users want Lido ready for Summer – Even without the swimming pool, the bathing complex is in the Summer projects. But Funchal Council does not guarantee reopening, even partial. Come rain or shine, Summer or Winter, the weekends are not the same without a trip to the Lido bathing complex. The destruction caused by the storm does not deter the regulars at the Lido complex, remaining faithful to the location, at least whilst the beach remains open. The restoration works needed will mean the closure of the complex, which is not going down well with some regulars, who want the sea access to remain open, and other spaces left open, with just the pool closed. I have to say that this ‘statement’ from the Diário took opinions from just a handful of people who frequent the facility at Lido, and is hardly representative of many thousands of people who at the moment have far more important and complex priorities.

Today’s main news headline : Stone of the storms causes row – Santa Costa ordered the taking of stones from the storm torrents to the marina at Lugar de Baixo. Then, he retreated, the president of Ribeira Brava appearing in the confusion. The question persists : the stone is being given or sold?

One doesn’t mess with nature – The alert comes from Segadães Tavares, an engineer that has received awards, by the way of the destruction of February, for example with the bridges. "That what is cheap ends up expensive", he reminds. Accompanied by a picture of the bridge over the Ribeira Brava, in the process of being pulled down after the February stone damage. It’s about time someone with credibility came along and said this. A few days after the storm that caused so much death and destruction, President Jardim was quoted in the media [I can't remember the exact words, but this is close enough] … "We have been hit by nature before, and come back to win, and we will do so again". What sort of message does that send to a population who look to Jardim for leadership, and even sensible advice? Everyone with their head screwed on knows that you don’t mess with nature, you work in harmony and within constraints … that is if you want to avoid problems in the future of course.

Beneficiaries of social integration growing – In just one year, the social security payments increased to take in another 1,277 claimants. Today the total is 8,122.  The beneficiaries of this social support received, on average, just €92.81 in January, a little below the national average. The growth in the claimants shown is from December 2008 to December 2009. The number of claimants has been growing since 2005, except for a slight exception in 2008. The true number of poor people who need this support is not discussed, as not everybody qualifies of course, but there are I know many many more worthy cases than stated in the headline figure from the Social Security report.

Storm confuses the strategy of [Jacinto] Serrão – Leader of the socialist party of Madeira believes that it is possible to beat Jardim.

Jardim considers that the extraordinary convention "is not going to get anywhere". In the week that precedes the direct [leadership] elections Jardim is going to get together with the PSD party activists in all the regions of Madeira.

The main sports / football headline today : Wave of red invades the Choupana [the stadium of Nacional] this afternoon – Nacional hosts the league leaders in a stadium where one foresees a clear majority of Benfica supporters. L.F. Vieira promises housing to some families made homeless by the bad weather.

Many thanks to Elaine (West) for this piece from today’s Jornal da Madeira:

“Help for Madeira” in Machico Forum. On Saturday, April 20 there will be a solidarity show entitled "Help Madeira” in Machico Forum. The event, organized by the Council of Machico, is aimed at raising revenue to help in the reconstruction of Madeira. Beginning at 20.30, the show will feature several figures and prominent guests in the field of regional music and, in particular, of the county.

The programme includes performances by Vânia Fernandes (closing the show), Pedro Garcia and Sara Cooper, former competitors from "A Song For You", the group Flores de Maio, Claudia Nobrega, São de Leste, the Grupo de Fados de Machico, the “tuna” of the Banda Municipal de Machico / Casa do Povo of Machico, Amigos da Música/De Passagem, Prestige Dance, Metamorfose, Nuno Nicolau, Folk Group of Machico, among others. The show is expected to last about three hours.Tickets are on sale from the Freguesia in Machico and at the Machico Forum priced ten Euros.

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. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a 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 other material.

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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 Thanks to Eiryl … Porto Santo ferry just docked in Funchal

Madeira … is a Wine with the name of an Island … an Island with the name of a Wine. IVBAM (The Wine, Embroidery and Handicraft Institute of Madeira) has created a 5 minute promotional and historic VIDEO about the Madeira Wine … famous fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands. (info pinched from DON’S BLOG … thanks Don!).

I haven’t come across an ‘audio blog’ before, but maybe someone might one to record something on this site and send me a link. AUDIO BLOG

"In the 1960s and 70s, the beautiful Jane Birkin became famous for carrying her basket around Paris. People would recognize her and Serge Gainsbourg from behind because of her basket". An admirer of Madeira’s wicker work wants to know where one can obtain an identical shopping basket without coming to Madeira. I am very jealous about the number of commenters on this very simple blog. I can’t compete with fashion I guess! A BASKET FROM MADEIRA

"I have sampled the Madeira (a secco), and found it very palatable. There are all sorts of oddities – teapots that don’t pour unless you lift the lid, for example – but then I don’t expect the Portuguese to know how to make tea (or ‘cha’) anyway – and they don’t. They don’t even know how to make a decent latte (in fact they don’t even know what a latte is!)". BLABER’S BLOG A typical t**t, who thinks that because the beverages aren’t to the liking of his typical palate, that the locals haven’t got a clue. I once made tea with UK teabags for around 8 locals, and they thought it was horrible and too strong, and didn’t drink it. The rest of the blog wasn’t really about Madeira, so I wouldn’t bother reading it.

CHRISTMAS 2009 – From the Jornal da Madeira, many thanks to Elaine

Natural pine trees for sale since yesterday in Funchal

There are ten sellers of natural pine trees that, since yesterday, are in front of the Electricity Company of Madeira, to sell Christmas trees and various natural products used to decorate the houses of Madeira. Mr. Diniz, after years of work in this area, is already "the grandfather of the selling of pine trees." He says that it is only women who come to choose, because, at home, "ruled by women."

Mr. Diniz is already the "grandfather" of the selling of natural pine trees in Funchal. Unsure of how many years he has taken advantage of the Christmas season for this business. Since yesterday and until Christmas Eve, the sellers, a total of ten who have licences from the Council, have "everything" that is natural for decorating the house, for sale in front of the Electricity Company of Madeira.

He says he is the grandfather of the area because he is the oldest seller of natural pine trees in Funchal. Despite the "fashion" of artificial pine trees, this seller says there are always those who are loyal to the traditions and, therefore, he remains in business. He does not have an estimate on how many he will sell, because he will cut the pine trees depending on demand. Yesterday, the first day of selling, and by 14.00 hours, he had not sold anything. "This first day has yet to pay for the coffee, " he jokes, confident that up to 24 December, there will be many customers going to that location to buy pine trees or other natural products. He says, normally, it is women who will buy the pine trees, this is not a family task. "Women rule at home!", he laughs.

In his space of three metres, and like other vendors, he has for sale moss, goatlings, straw, logs, alegra-campos, cearinhas, and ears of wheat, for example. "People buy everything," he added, referring to the natural ornaments of the Christmas season. About the hours of selling to the public, Mr. Diniz playfully replies, "will be 48 to 48 hours until 24  December." That is, day and night, the seller will always have to replace the pine trees for sale. He says the price of Christmas trees varies, 20 euros for the cheapest. "The price depends on the size and quality of the pine tree," he added. About the space reserved for them by the Electricity Company of Madeira, Mr. Diniz says that the Council reserves three metres for each of the ten vendors. The licence prices are above 200 euros, of which 50 euros are returned. It is a measure considered ‘fair’ by this merchant. The Council returns that amount if the traders leave the site clean, after the sales period. "It is fair for them and for us," added the seller of pine trees.

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

Orange alert. Region is on orange alert ( 2 on a scale of 4) for bad weather – wind and rain, and unstable conditions forecasted until the 20 December. The Lobo Marinho is not making the usual sea connection to Porto Santo today due to 6 metres waves predicted. Some flights cancelled and an incoming London flight diverted to Porto Santo. An earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale occurred off the south coast of Portugal. It was felt in Portugal and 16 aftershocks recorded. The earthquake was the highest recorded since 1969. It occurred about 100 km off the south coast of Cabo do Sao Vicente in the Algarve. It was felt along the south coast and in Lisbon but no damage reported.

Madeira still holds the fireworks record. The region still holds the ‘Fireworks Display of the World’ record, achieved on 31 December 2006, with the ‘Dance of the Four Seasons’ by Macedo’s Fireworks. The Guinness World Records Institute in London has confirmed to Carlos Macedo that the record still belongs to Madeira, despite the latest attempt by the United Arab Emirates to take the title. They have had three attempts, the most recent on the 2 December 2009 in Abu Dhabi. Macedo’s Fireworks celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and this year’s performance will be viewed in Portugal, Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde, an expected 700,000 spectators. This is their ninth event since 2000.

‘Rampa das Searinhas’ in Ribeira Seca. In Ribeira Seca, one of the most charismatic parishes of Madeira, they have been sowing searinhas around the grounds of the churchyard and gardens of the local church, fulfilling a centuries-old tradition that the wheat must be sown on the first day of the Missas do Parto. The participants took a handful of searinhas soaked overnight and sang songs alluding to the act while sowing the seeds. They have also been constructing a ‘novenario on an open stage’ called A Song of Life, integrating the light in the lapinha at Bethlehem, people preserving the land and the current world summit addressing climate change. (According to Infopedia, a novenario is a religious book of novenas – prayers). In Machico, the parishioners will have traditional folklore musical entertainment before and after the Missas do Parto. Free soup or hot chocolate will be distributed at different sites corresponding to the prayers, and the Mayor of Machico invites, "If people want to collaborate, they may bring delicacies, cakes and liqueurs. I think it is a good reason for fellowship among all and to encourage the Christmas spirit."

Architects endure the crisis. No major orders in 2009, and 2010 expected to be worse. Remodelling of houses, rehabilitation of buildings and housing projects have been in short supply this year whereas in previous years (2003 – 2004), they had difficulties in meeting large orders from the Regional Government and real estate investors. These projects were often rushed and poorly designed. Present projects are often for the continent, especially as new public works and hotels are not being built in Madeira. The new environmental demands for ‘green’ buildings brings them some work and they hope to survive the downturn. Lawyers are also complaining that the economic crisis is causing them to take on more work in the small claims court, due to a dearth of more lucrative cases. Commercial lawyers are the hardest hit, especially with the reduction in off-shore companies, (tax advice).

‘Conscious adoption’. The association PATA calls for responsibility this Christmas. At Christmas, there is an increase in demand for animals for adoption but it is often not a happy ending. People often act on impulse or to please a child and then regret the decision. The animals are often abandoned when people realise they have a lack of space.

300 students in Operation Road Awareness. 300 school students are participating in this police-led initiative between the hours of 10 – 12 at the Avenida das Comunidades Madeirenses in Funchal. They will raise awareness among drivers that they need to comply with certain safety features, e.g., insurance, lights and tyres. They will hand out a Certificate of a Good Driver. This is part of the educational syllabus, on road safety.

Madeira was the fastest in terms of GDP. In 1995, Madeira had a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) 11% below the national average, in 2008 it was 28% higher than the national average. Madeira was the Portuguese region with the highest increase in GDP between 1995 and 2008. It is now the second richest region in Portugal, with a GDP per capita of 97%, if the EU average is taken as 100%. Lisbon has a GDP per capita of 105% and an income 38% above the national average. The Algarve occupies the third position in national rankings. The North region was the most impoverished area for the last 13 years, having the lowest income per capita.

Giants of Costa Crociere registered in MAR.  The International Shipping Register of Madeira had a historic day yesterday with the registration of three large cruise ships of Costa Crociere, the largest cruise company in Europe and a worldwide giant. Grand Holiday, Grand Voyager and Grand Mistral (photo) were registered here. The registration is important to Madeira, because as well as the 100,000 euros fees paid upon registration, the annual fee is 50,000 euros, and the transport capacity of millions of tourists generates millions of euros of revenue each year that benefit the region, with revenues from VAT on all activities related to the activity of shipping – accommodation and restaurants – and the profits will be subject to IRC (corporation tax).

Porto Moniz debt almost €10 million. Liability of the Municipality of Porto Moniz is around 8.8 million euros. With the 1.1 million the authority is likely to have to return to the Turismo de Portugal for the construction of the Aquarium, the default rises to astronomical numbers given the size of the county. Last year alone, the debt increased 84%. This is the debt left by the previous administration to the present council. The population at the last census was 2,927 (now likely to be smaller), giving a debt per person of 3,000 euros. The majority of revenue is from agriculture and construction. 2010 will be a year of ‘restraint’ with only small works carried out. Suppliers need to be paid and the municipality requires a bank loan to pay them.

Night Markets. São Vicente, Friday 18 December from 21.00. Câmara de Lobos, December 22 from 21.00 at the Mercado do Município de Câmara de Lobos. Theme will be Relive the Christmas Traditions, with musical entertainment and typical Christmas delicacies. The Night Market in Funchal on the 23 December will have 66 spaces reserved for street trading. From the 21 December until Christmas Eve, you can buy fruit and vegetables from the 37 traders in the streets of Boa Viagem and Latino Coelho. Given the increasing number of people at the Night Market, more streets will be closed off from 18.00. All stalls must be dismantled by 6 am on the 24 December. The British School has its carol service tomorrow on Friday 17 December at the Hotel Tivoli at 17.30. Songs will be in Portuguese, French and English. Funds will go towards the education of children in Angola and Mozambique, and the cancer fund in memory of the previous school Director who died of cancer last year.

Madeira can benefit from Faro. Ryanair yesterday announced the opening of 14 new routes from 2010 which will link European cities to Faro. Faro will be linked to Birmingham, Derry, Knock, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Italy. They may add links to Madeira. Announced 500 tickets at 5 euros each for journeys in January.

Solar panels in Caniçal. Machico Council will examine the planned construction of a facility with photovoltaic panels in Caniçal. The project is the responsibility of Nutroton Energy and the site will be in Feiteira. This company has a site in Porto Santo. Work should begin early next year with 27,000 panels installed.

Paul (Paul do Mar) sent this in … many thanks.

From a Ryanair press release: "6 based aircraft and 14 new routes (28 in total) being launched. Ryanair will create over 300 direct jobs and offer over 200 weekly flights to / from Faro in an investment of over $400 million in the airport. Ryanair’s new routes from Faro are to : Billund, Birmingham, Derry, Eindhoven, Kerry, Knock, Madrid, Marseille, Maastricht, Milan (Bergamo), Oslo (Rygge), Paris (Beauvais) and Stockholm (Skavsta). The additions will increase Ryanair’s traffic at Faro to 1.3million p.a. which will sustain 1,300 well paid local jobs in the region." LINK 

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

Increases inevitable - The price of bread, milk, chicken and pork will rise in 2010. And there are other goods awaiting market developments.

The main front page picture shows some sort of dredging boat at work in Funchal Port : Cleaning the port costs €322 thousand – Dredging starts in January. It aims to increase operational capability  and reduce mistakes, as one might anticipate for next Monday. The port authority APRAM has arranged for Funchal Port to be cleaned by dredging, with work starting on 4th January. APRAM monitors the depth of the water in the areas where ships berth, and have established that the time for a clean-up has arrived. The north terminal was done last year to allow for cruise ships to a depth of 7 metres. The south terminal has not been dredged since 2007, when  it was in preparation for the year end cruise ship visits. 

Today’s main news headline : Complaints every day – The Inspectorate of Economic Activities uncovers four irregularities daily in the food trade. ‘Operation Christmas’ has already caught refusals to exchange gifts. Some traders will only exchange gifts after Christmas period. They are obliged by law to do so at the time of the request as long as the request is made, as long as it is within the specified time and the customer has the receipt. Refunds are only mandatory where the goods are faulty and the retailer is unable to replace them with an equivalent or superior product. Food badly packaged, kept at an incorrect temperature, or even outside it’s expiry date are keeping the IAE team busy, with 3 to 4 infractions detected daily in the audit of stock management in the food trade. The Xmas operation is also looking at pricing, ensuring that the correct price is affixed to the products inspected, often finding that is not the reality.

Valter should keep calm – The former president of Porto Moniz advises the new counsellor not to panic when analysing the accounts of the past [regime?]. The story so far is covered above by Elaine, but now the former president of the câmara, Gabriel Farinha, is telling his successor Valter Correia not to get his knickers in a twist. The response comes after at a recent meeting it was said the administration of former president had been "disastrous". €10 million debt … pocket money for the fine PSD politicians (but only if they can get away with it). 

Today’s sport / football headline : Rúben on high – The creative Madeiran is now coveted by Sporting and FC Porto. Rúben Micael of Nacional is on the shopping list of a number of top clubs. He turned in a fantastic performance on Wednesday night in the Europa League, and scored two goals and set up another, and although he is much sought after by clubs in Portugal, Spain, France, and England, any deal is still some way off.

Just coming through on the radio is the draw for the knock-out stage (last 16) of the Champions League. Porto will play Arsenal.

Madeira on Orange Alert – Rain, wind and rough seas put the region on warning. The weather is going to remain unstable until at least the 20th December. I just remembered that Elaine has already covered this above.

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 Thank you in anticipation.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a 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.

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

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(14th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Slowing Of The Crisis Surprises ACIF – The opinions were divided yesterday in the country on the meaning of the increase in PIB (GDP / Growth) of 0.3%. For the government, the economy came out of the ‘red’ and has arrived at the beginning of the end of the crisis. Economists advise prudency. For now, ACIF expect results from the improvement’. Despite the previous days expectation of a further negative showing for growth in the Portuguese economy (-0.6%), the actual result surprised everyone, with 0.3% growth, and matching the results also announced earlier for France and Germany. The President of the Commercial and Industrial Association of Funchal (ACIF) considers it a "good surprise" with the news announced yesterday, that the Portuguese economy is reviving, given the announcement of the increase of 0.3 percent in the Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter of this year. He says that the improvement will also be reflected on Madeira. Francisco Santos, also regional director of the Millennium / BCP bank, told the Diário that the positive figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), follow on from the announcements of economic recovery in some other countries of the Eurozone, especially Germany and France, whose statistics were also revealed this week.

It would normally go under ‘politics’ of course, but as it is another headline that directly relates to the headline above : "0.3% Is Zero Growth" – Jardim considers that the increase in PIB / GDP signifies nothing and is a "big fat economic failure". Unlike many reviews and opinions, Alberto João Jardim considers that the growth in the economy of 0.3% means nothing. Prime Minister José Sócrates guarantees that the figures show that Portugal is coming out of recession in a turn in the country’s economy. The president of the Madeira government has a different opinion : "0.3% is zero growth and is therefore a big fat economic failure" that doesn’t even pass for a "fantasy for cheap electioneering". Funny that Uncle Bertie mentions the subject of elections, as that means that for the forthcoming national elections the voters may well be cheered by the news, and decide to stay with a socialist government.

‘Unemployment Worsens In The Second Quarter Of 2009 – Rate hits 9.1%’. That’s up from 8.9% in the first quarter of 2009. The figures from the National Institute for Statistics released today show that unemployment in Portugal has risen by 1.8% in the space of a year. The bad news was above the governments prediction of 8.8%, and the average prediction of analysts contacted by the Diário. We just need to wait now for Uncle Bertie’s mob to provide the figures for Madeira, but we can already predict the reaction to the normally vastly understated figures, probably something like "?.?% is zero growth" from the man himself.

‘Help For The Rent – The number of interested parties in the support of IHM for the unemployed, without money to pay for housing, is growing’. 320 families are already interested in receiving assistance with their rent since the new scheme was introduced in April. The scheme, which helps those who find themselves unemployed and without sufficient money to pay their rent, has already attracted many contacts and applications through ‘Housing Investment in Madeira’ (IHM). Nearly all of the tenants in question are still receiving unemployment benefit, but when that runs out, and there is still no work, then the new scheme kicks in. Just three families so far have reached that stage. The maximum assistance per person is €175 a month, but if a couple of tenants living together both lose their work, this assistance can be doubled. It is paid for 12 months,  but can be renewed at the end of that period if necessary.

In Transport & Tourism : 

According to the TV news this morning, TAP, Portugal’s favourite airline, is really going through tough times at the moment as people cut back on travel and the competition begins to bite. It has announced fairly severe cutbacks, the more significant being a 10% cut back in flights next month. The president of TAP is said to be feeling the pressure in managing the company "due to the policy of trade unions in a year of elections". He made a statement to the media in reaction to the announcement of 4 days of strike action, by employees represented by 5 different trade unions, over the lack of a pay increase since last year. Madeira is one its most popular and well occupied routes, so maybe we will get off lightly in the cut backs. On the other hand it is now one of the stiffest routes for competition, so perhaps not.

‘DECO Accuses Easyjet Of Rejecting Complaints – The airline company that does connections to Madeira doesn’t accept complaints in Portuguese’. The consumer defence organisation DECO has accused Easyjet of breaking the law, because it is refusing to deal with complaints written in Portuguese. DECO has had several complaints from flyers, in connection with delays and baggage issues, where the complainant has been told they must complain in English, Spanish, German, French or Italian. Likewise, anyone ringing the company office in Luton, England, will be turned away as there are no Portuguese speakers. I guess DECO will get nowhere with this one, unless of course they write their own complaint in one of Easyjet’s acceptable languages.

‘Disney Cruise Line Promotes Madeira – The company website of Disney promotes the destination’. The cruise ship ‘Disney Magic’ is to visit us twice in 2010, with 2,400 tourists. The first time will be in the height of the flower festival (18th April), and then again in September. The Diário says that the Disney website is one of the most popular in the world, and the write up for Madeira could also also promote tourism here through means other than the Disney cruise ship.