Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo Thanks to Sue … "Just to think of sunny days … "

Some people publish their family holiday snapshots online, never expecting anyone to ever see them, so naked sunbathing photos are not recommended. I expect this lady will have a bit of a surprise when she sees her visitor stats tomorrow. TÂMARA’S MADEIRA HOLIDAY

"These two astronaut photographs illustrate the northern (top) and southern (bottom) Savage Islands. The two views were taken 13 seconds apart from the International Space Station; the geographic centre points of the images are separated by about 15 kilometres. Selvagem Grande, with an approximate area of 4 square kilometres, is the largest of the islands. The smaller and more irregularly-shaped Ilhéus do Norte, Ilhéu de Fora, and Selvagem Pequena are visible at the center of the lower image. Spain and Portugal both claim sovereignty over the Savage Islands". ILHAS SELVAGENS

"In an attempt to liven things up a bit, we started trying to determine which of the interesting looking fruits might be edible.  These rather attractively purple bananas (you will need to click on the link to see the photo) turned out to be not only ripe, but deliciously sweet, and rather oddly crunchy, with seeds the size of peppercorns. I SUSPECT THOSE ‘WILD’ BANANAS WERE FAR FROM RIPE OR WERE NOT BANANAS worth a read and some nice photos

British lawyer laundered bribes to Nigeria – "The entire Nigerian bribery scheme was organised through London, according to the US authorities, taking advantage of Britain’s weak laws against overseas corruption. Labour ministers waved through a British loan guarantee for part of the deal in 2003, describing it as an example of "sound financial judgment". Cash flowed down an elaborate route, involving a subsidiary registered in Madeira, a Tesler company registered in Gibraltar and bank accounts in the Netherlands". LINK I doubt if the Madeira free zone needs this type of publicity as it is under so much scrutiny at the moment with accusations that it is effectively an ‘offshore’, but as this article was published in the UK Guardian newspaper, I doubt that reproducing this here will cause any further damage.

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

Government outlines new goals for organic production. Bio Madeira Week. At the time when the region has 5% of agricultural land classified as organic, the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources yesterday set a challenge of increasing this area from 240 hectares to 500 over the next few years. In 2000, there were only 21 hectares devoted to organic farming. For these producers there are added incentives, e.g. payments higher than for traditional farmers – 30% more for organic grapes and bananas. The expansion of this type of agriculture is an opportunity and a factor of competitiveness. As Madeira is only a small island, farmers cannot compete on price so the produce must be of high quality and organic certification is a critical distinction.

Verandim yields and ‘betrays’ two elderly people. Two women, aged 69 and 79, were yesterday admitted to the Central Hospital of Funchal from injuries suffered in a fall from a balcony, about two feet up. They were leaning against a varandim (balcony) of iron when, for reasons not known, it gave way causing both to fall. They were assisted on site by the bombeiros and taken to the hospital. One had a cut on the scalp and both complained of back pain. The older woman was kept under observation in the Emergency Room and the younger one admitted to Orthopaedics. The accident occurred at a private house in Sao Roque.

Man denies domestic violence case. Following on from yesterday’s article about domestic violence in Porto da Cruz. "For 20 years I do not drink." The outburst from the man accused of scaring the daughter and ex-wife who live in a secluded area of Porto da Cruz. He denies the allegations that he appeared drunk on the doorstep and is sure that he has not seen his daughter since the divorce. Outraged and hurt about the complaints to the police and the Commission for the Protection of Children, he says he will proceed with a criminal complaint against his ex-wife and son. The marriage lasted for 25 years. In his version, the ex-wife will have given false information about the alleged appearances at the old family home. As for drink, every time he has been breathalysed in police stops over the past 20 years, the reading was zero. He has not seen his 11 year old daughter since the divorce at the beginning of this year, although access is guaranteed by the divorce ruling. It is the ex-wife who prevents him from seeing the daughter and he abides by her decision. He stills pays the maintenance every month. He insists he never injured the daughter and has only been to the house to collect his belongings.

Regional Development Forum. The current economic situation determines the theme of the World Forum of Regional Economic Development, which is taking place in Funchal until tomorrow. A key objective is to find concrete measures that are feasible and apply them to the various regions, whatever they are. About 70 people of various nationalities are participating in the Forum which began yesterday. They are from places as diverse as China, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, United States and Europe. Energy is expected to be a fundamental aspect of the future. Hence the presence of the Russians and Ukrainians in the meeting, " They open and close the tap." One aspect that is certainly discussed at the meeting is the importance of social aspects. Today the world and regions face a social crisis. "In some countries, more than half of young people are unable to find work."

PS does not celebrate November 25. As the Legislative Assembly of Madeira did not celebrate April 25 1974 by a special sitting, members of the PS (Socialists) will not participate in any ceremony dedicated to 25 November 1975. In the commemorative session they will recall the military action that led to the stabilization of democracy. On 25 November 1975, according to the PSD, a party which for years promoted the realization of this plenary, models of Communist rule were rejected. ALM celebrates this ‘consolidation’ of democracy but does not devote any space to the celebration of the Carnation Revolution that ended more than four decades of dictatorship in Portugal. The leader of the PS, João Carlos Gouveia, explained that it is a celebration by a right wing party that does not accept democracy, and is closer to the fascist regime that oppressed Portugal. A year ago, the session on November 25 did not have any members of the Socialists, Left Bloc or New Democracy Party.

Junta de Gaula against Jardim’s cuts. The JPP party (Together for the People) on Sunday in public denounced the cutting of public works by the Government and Council of Santa Cruz. The leader of the local Freguesia, also JPP, was also against the cuts. Élvio Sousa said it revealed a profound disregard for the interests of the Gaula population, a situation which needs to be explained by the mayor of Santa Cruz and the former executive responsible for the Freguesia of Gaula – that the analysis deceived the people of Gaula. He cannot understand how the work has been postponed when a framework contract has already been signed in March 2009. Élvio Sousa asks the following question: "To what extent are local councillors, who must defend the interests of the people of Gaula, ’slaves’ of the masters in Funchal?"

ALM budget approved in eight minutes. Less than 10 minutes were enough to discuss and approve the budget for the ALM. Only the PCP communists referred to the famous ‘jackpot’ for the parties and the questions raised by the Court of Auditors in relation to the use of funds transferred by the Assembly. In discussing the accounts of the ALM in 2008, Baltasar Aguiar of the PND New Democrats commented on the high cost of parking, paid by Parliament (165,000 Euros per year). He also asked Miguel Mendonca why a trip to America that was to last 3 days ended up lasting 11 days.

Christmas Outreach Project. The Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Transport put forward an action of solidarity, aimed at the young. There will be a large Santa Claus in the Avenida Arriaga where you can deposit toys which will be distributed to children in institutions in the region. The toys will be distributed at the show ‘Singing of the Kings’ at the Municipal Park on January 5, 2010 at 20.00.

There will be less money in 2010. Presenting the budget for next year, Ventura Garces announced several cuts. The budget has been reduced to €1,531 million, €50 million less than 2009. The region should experience an increase in net debt of around €178 million resulting in a loan of 230 million Euros (still lacks the authorization from the State) and €52 million is needed to repay the loan. Another loan worth 50 million Euros might be applied for from the European Investment Bank. Sport will receive 11% less and agriculture will receive 14% less. The opposite applies to business development that increases 111%, employment over 37%, and tourism 6% more than 2009.

Meeting of the Union of Embroiderers in Turkey. The Madeira Union of Bordados (traditional embroidery) at a meeting in Turkey, want the creation of an International Federation of Home Workers. They want an Internet site to unite home workers from every country, and a Federation to fight for their rights. The Union has delivered its proposal to IBTAM to double the payments made to embroiderers, as an incentive. There are fewer and fewer workers due to the low income.

Car caught fire on motorway. A car caught fire yesterday on the Funchal – Ribeira Brava motorway. The incident occurred around 15.30 and the front of the Peugeot 206 was completely destroyed. Manuel Rodrigues, the owner, said that while going from Funchal to São Vicente, at the exit from the tunnel after Quinta Grande the car started to emit smoke and then fire broke out. This continued until the exit to Campanário. He used a fire extinguisher but it was the bombeiros who eventually extinguished the fire. The car was purchased in London and was brought to the region yesterday via the Naviera Armas. The fire might have been caused by a short circuit.

Cruises yield €40 million per year. The Ports Authority want to increase the number of calls by cruise ships, which is close to 300 per year. The objective is outlined at a time when the administration is preparing to make a new study on the satisfaction of cruise tourists who visit the island. Cruise ships tourism generates revenues of €40 million per year, but APRAM want to end the seasonality when May to August are quiet months. One way is the association with Medicuise which should give access to new routes. The last survey was in 2005 and this one will occur in the first half of 2010. It aims to update the data on spending patterns of the passengers and crews while on the island. It is recalled that in 2005, the study concluded that each passenger spent around 70 Euros a day. An EU survey concluded that crew members spend an average of 25 Euros per day. The inauguration of the new Maritime Station has been scheduled for next year, but no date fixed. The building will be completed by the end of this year then in the first half of next year, the equipment to operate it put into place. The cost will not be passed onto cruise ship passengers. The Traditional Trade Association want an extension of Saturday and Sunday opening to catch the weekend trade of hundreds of tourists when cruise ships call. Only last weekend there were 6,300 tourists who found a city deserted and empty. The authorities should promote tours to the city center and the Farmers’ Market. Sights of interest should also open at the weekend.

Government will encourage ‘Park and Ride’. The Horários Bus company, the Council of Funchal and the Regional Secretariat of Tourism and Transport are studying this concept. This initiative is intended to relocate parking from the city center to the periphery and make public transport sufficiently attractive so that people do not want to drive into the centre. A previous attempt at Viveiros did not work due to low compliance. The idea is to have two parking areas, one at the Western side and one at the Eastern side.

Police detain nine suspected of stealing from several homes in Funchal. Nine men between the ages of 20 and 59 are suspected of burglary and are thought to belong to a gang "presumably involved in concerted behaviour." Several items were seized including several pieces of gold, worth more than 6,000 Euros. The suspects are residents of Funchal, Santa Cruz and Lisbon.

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

Top story today : Demolition of Savoy starts in January – The hotel comes down in a process without implosion that will take 10 months. The developer Horácio Roque says that he intends to spend the New Year eve 2012-13 in a new building, budgeted at €120 million. Perhaps Mr. Roque is thinking of staying in another new hotel then, or perhaps in a hotel outbuilding? If it needs 10 months to knock down the old one (using traditional methods) and clear the site, that leaves just over two years to build a new one. This is Madeira … I have seen houses that have taken longer than two years to build. The bets are on! The idea is demolition with as little disturbance as possible, but that is of course impossible to avoid. I have pity for people in that zone that will have to put up with all this for years to come, particularly as this project was never necessary, and better options were available to revitalise the fortunes of the Savoy hotel, and for the loyal staff that were all sacked.

Debate concludes that the crisis is going to endure – The ‘100 Biggest and Best’ (companies) united bosses of success in times of difficulties. I agree. An economy based so heavily on leisure will always be amongst the last out of recession, and I didn’t need to attend a conference of company bosses to work that one out.

In the Madeira budget for 2010, 29% of the revenue needed is not guaranteed. Someone else fancy a look at this one?

Health is in contention in the screening for Gripe A – Each exam costs more than 100 Euros and should be reduced. In January support for private analyses finishes. There seems to be two intertwined stories here, but the one in front of me says that tests and analyses samples taken by hospitals and health centres on Madeira, that went to private companies for processing, will no longer have the costs reimbursed from January. All such work will in future be undertaken by the Pathology Laboratory in Funchal Central Hospital. That’s old news, but maybe the effective date is new?

SATA wants to continue the operation Funchal – Porto Santo. President of the company showed himself to be interested in the contest anticipated for 2010. That can be no great surprise, as it has been well known for a long time that the Azores airline SATA brought two new (not brand new) planes to service the route. Quite why they will be flying from Funchal I am not sure, perhaps the usual airport at Santa Cruz is expected to fall into the sea next year. Cruise ships go to Funchal, not air traffic. You know what I have actually met people who think this island is called Funchal.

Madeira ground-breaker in the inventory of organs. Church organs that is. The inventory of church organs started on Madeira recently is the first of it’s kind in Portugal. It seems a book is to be published ‘Organs of the churches of Madeira’. It must be a job creation scheme? Surely no one is going to buy the book in sufficient numbers to make it a financially viable project.

Today’s sport headline, well two in one actually : Cristiano returns and Barcelona defeat Mourinho – The Madeiran is back tonight in the Champions league. Barcelona shone yesterday. Ronaldo is back for Real Madrid v FC Zurich after injury. Portuguese José Mourinho watched his team Inter Milan lose last night.

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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Tobi … The cruise ship AIDA Luna

Many thanks also to Tobi for this piece on the Ilhas Desertas : (Source : Essential Magazine).

One of the newest opportunities in nature tourism on Madeira is the chance to spend 1 or 2 nights on the Desertas Islands. The islands which dot the horizon from the south, south east of Madeira trigger much curiosity, and visiting the islands has been allowed for some time now, but staying over night has only just become possible. Madeira Natural Park, that manage the nature reserves on the islands, want to attract a growing number of people, but in controlled numbers to help promote the work they do, and raise awareness of good environmental habits.

Anyone can take advantage of this opportunity, all you have to do is ask the Madeira Natural Park for permission. From there you will need a tent or sleeping bag and anything else you may need to spend your time on land.

The islands are very popular for bird watchers and are a great place to see the  Monk Seals , and don’t forget the Desertas Wolf Spider. Photo : Wardens house on the Desertas

Madeira Natural Park can be contacted on 291 214 360, or diliamenezes.sra@gov-madeira.pt  or WEBSITE

I know we have a few Mandolin Orchestra fans amongst us, so this might be of interest. ‘Fabio Machado was born in Funchal, Portugal and started studying mandolin at the age of 9 years. He joined the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra (Recreio Musical União da Mocidade) and became its Concertmaster for several years, performing in several venues as a soloist’. NEW BOOK IN ENGLISH Anyone know what the differences are between a Bandolim a Ukulele and a Mandolin? I certainly don’t!

"Madeira is a tropical island. The Laurissílva Forest, in the Madeira Natural Park, is the largest evergreen forest in the world – a fact that has earned it classification as a world heritage site". I thought we were sub-tropical, but anyway I didn’t know about the "largest evergreen forest in the world" bit, but that’s what it says HERE. Is it true?

This is an article composed of an interview with a travel journalist, and although it does cover Madeira briefly, it might also be useful or of interest to anyone thinking of travelling to PORTUGAL

Some of today’s main news stories :

Public Libraries celebrate 30 years – Various activities will mark the occasion. An exhibition, a video of the history, a children’s guide and other projects will be announced today. Details on the LIBRARY WEBSITE 

17 thousand people living on benefits – The number of Madeirans who depend on social benefits to survive grows. It is the crisis intensifying the situation in the world of poverty and unemployment. Today’s main news headline. In September there were 8,685 on unemployment benefit, and 8,372 on social integration income (RSI). Over a year the people totally dependent on the state that receive theses two benefits has increased by 4,735. The picture, which is reflected nationally, shows no signs yet of improvement. Loads of unemployed over my way, as what little tourism there was plunged a long time ago, and other Summer seasonal work starts to decline. I think I know as many unemployed as employed people, but generally I don’t need to worry about them too much … all resourceful people, normally with a foot in both camps, if you know what I mean.

Firemen abandon Nogueira – Brutal aggression to a fireman leads to the closure of the fire station. The 43 year old fireman was violently assaulted on Saturday night, with a bottle, leaving him with serious injuries to his face and arm. He was released from hospital after treatment (stitches) early the following morning. Yesterday the fire station was empty, with no flags flying, leaving Camacha now to depend on Santa Cruz central fire station for service. Three men, an ambulance, and a light fire fighting vehicle have now been moved to Santa Cruz. A spokesman for the fire brigade said that "many situations in that location have already occurred, but never as serious as this". On this morning’s TV news it said that the fireman was breaking up a fight between two people outside the fire station when he was attacked.

Cultural centre in London in difficulties – The 27th birthday party just served to expose the financial problems. The president J.M. Sousa is going to put up a fight. 

Health professional may refuse the Gripe A vaccine – The Orders of Doctors and Nurses are recommending that the professionals accept the vaccine. The acceptance of the swine flu vaccine is not obligatory.

Ambulance company insufficient – 24 ambulances and 36 teams of ESB are not enough for nearly 500 transport requests per day. The patients complain of long waits. The company promises to boost resources. The Empresa de Serviço de Bombeiros is equipped to respond to 300 transport requests per day, but the reality is around 430 daily requests to take people to hospital. The current poor level of service is generating many complaints, as patients are left waiting at their front door, miss meals, and miss doctors appointments. Last month generated more complaints than ever before. ESB has bases in Funchal, Machico, Santana, São Vicente, Ribeira Brava and Porto Santo. With it’s 24 ambulances and 36 teams (2 in each), it provides free transport for the users of SESARAM.

Djalma pair in latest victory of Marítimo also gets a big chunk of today’s front page. Marítimo managed a fine 3 – 1 victory over Paços de Ferreira yesterday afternoon, that lifts them to 7th in the premier league. Nacional face Benfica away tonight. Watching the goals on this morning’s news, with three sides of the football pitch closed off due to the €45 million redevelopment project, one might have expected the remaining side to have been full of supporters, but it was far from that.

Yesterday’s top news stories courtesy of Elaine :

Domestic violence complaints continue to increase. Leave the region to escape the aggressor. More bad statistics. The number of complaints about domestic violence have risen, 702 by the end of August against 896 last year. Monthly average of 86 compared to 37 in 2006, 56 in 2007 and 75 last year. The Regional Plan Against Domestic Violence is being finalized, ready for public presentation on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. These figures are no worse than the rest of Europe. Madeira has three shelters for women where they can live for a period of months until they can be reintegrated back into society. Some get new homes and jobs, others return to the abuser. Some are forced to leave the region, often to shelters on the mainland. Women complain after around 35 attacks as they often stay with the abuser for years, and abuse can be learnt by children. Abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual, coercion or threat. There is also elderly abuse, often reported by aides to the home. To get help with abuse, a criminal complaint should be filed but there are also three other ways: a social emergency line (phone helpline by Social Services), private institutions, police have specially trained staff and the shelters providing 41 beds. A break-down of regional statistics since 2006. ——No analysis given, e.g. demographic changes

Alexandre Camacho wins the Faial Rally but bids farewell. Due to lack of sponsorship / money. He had an easier win than predicted due to early withdrawal of Miguel Nunes because of engine breakdown.

—–Thought you would enjoy the photo of the cat having a lucky escape.

Commemoration of 99 years of Marítimo. 600 supporters (including Jardim) at a dinner held in the well-decorated club pavilion. Included a large cake as ‘a birthday party without a cake is not a party’. Carlos Pereira, the President of Marítimo criticized the rival club (no mention of name) for using expensive flights when travelling abroad and the hostile media. He thanked Jardim for the construction of the future stadium and Government support. —– Cake for 600!

Region ‘rejects’ promotion in ‘El Corte Ingles’. Madeira under-represented at the fair in the commercial centre in Lisbon for local produce from Portuguese and Spanish islands. There is not enough space for Madeiran products, only showing bolo de mel, cane sugar, poncha and Madeira wine (not many varieties), products which are almost impossible to buy in Portugal.

Port has a ‘full-house’. Saturday had a full-house with four cruisers and three on Sunday. Saturday, the Arcadia arrived at 12.00 but could not berth until 18.00 when another ship left, and stayed overnight. The Diário highlighted that the local commercial areas remain closed on a Sunday and the daily information given on reception advises a visit to the farmer’s market, described in the brochures as ‘unique, beautiful and pleasant’.

Military ready for new security threats. Speech by the Commander of the Military Zone on Army Day on Saturday. The three branches of the armed forces, security forces and civil protection have undergone new training to protect against terrorism, transnational crime and accidents or natural disasters. The ceremonies were also to welcome back the soldiers who have spent a year in Kosovo. In the past 20 years, Portuguese soldiers have been in Africa, East Timor, Bosnia and Kosovo. —– No mention of Iraq or Afghanistan.

1420 staff at 284 polling stations for September 27 elections cost 108,000 Euros. Each person will receive 76.32 Euros but it will take four months to pay them all. Each station required five members – a president, vice-president, secretary and two tellers.

Food Bank Against Hunger in Madeira in 2010. Part of the European venture to avoid food wastage whilst others go hungry. In Portugal, including the Azores, the 17 units cater for 250,000 people. The charity volunteers in Madeira are already being trained. Food is donated from hotels, retailers, individuals, often from excess agricultural production, and supermarket collection campaigns.

17 years in prison for three drug traffickers. All from Câmara de Lobos, including the ‘drug baron’. Two brothers aged 22 and 36 received sentences of five and a half years, and the third of six years. They sold cocaine and heroin to users in their homes for  ‘lucrative’ incomes in 2008. Two denied the accusations and one refused to speak in court. The ‘drug baron’ had individual drug doses hidden inside ‘Kinder’ eggs and these were both in his home and buried in surrounding land belonging to other people, as well as plastic bags containing money. —– Kinder surprise! You know who to take on your next Easter egg hunt.

—– Article in the Daily Telegraph on the 4 June 2009 entitled ‘Postmistress foils Kinder egg cannabis delivery’. A village sub-postmistress in Cambridgeshire foiled a dealer’s attempts to mail drugs hidden in Kinder eggs after she detected suspicious smells from the parcels. He received a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to complete 220 hours of community work.

Portugal news.

First of 16 lynx arrives on Monday to prevent extinction of the species that only exists in the Iberian Peninsular. They do not know the  population numbers but that they are not stable and they have been threatened for several decades. The female lynx to arrive at the centre in Silves in the Algarve is called Azahar, the Arabic name for orange blossom.

The first luxury hotel to be built on the west coast of the Algarve has the natural park as a selling feature. Leacocks are to build a five-star hotel in Aljezur in part of the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina. Some hotel areas will be below ground so as not to interfere with the surrounding area.

Portuguese Phonographic Association President asks the new Minister of Culture to control "unruly access to music via the internet, which is killing the music industry". Recently in the British Daily Mail, a Columbian singer, Shakira, argued the opposite, supporting illegal downloading as "It is a way to democratize the music and the music is a gift."

In the inauguration of the sixth Portuguese government in 15 years, there was the usual repeated lists of promises and the difficulties facing the country. Antonio Guterres, 15 years ago, highlighted modernization of the economy and increased productivity needed. In that speech, the President, Cavaco Silva fainted and afterwards apologised for the disruption, caused by the death of his father. Then four years later, Guterres highlighted Social Security reform. Barroso in 2002 highlighted public accounts. When Barroso resigned to go to Brussels, Pedro Santana Lopes pledged to maintain strict financial discipline. He gave a confused speech by not sticking to the script. Eight months later, Sócrates said pharmacies would not be exclusively allowed to sell non-prescription drugs. On Wednesday, Sócrates started his second term, with a reduced majority, so might have to seek agreement with the opposition to get his policies passed. Has been talk of a coalition but ridiculed by Jardim, who still calls the Portuguese ‘masochists’ for re-electing socialist governments. Jardim Ramos of the Madeiran Government still hopes for good relationships with Lisbon, especially for funding for the new hospital as a community project.

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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. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos / videos, or if you can contribute regularly, I can give you a special account that allows you to create your own blog postings.
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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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(30th September). ‘President For Teachers Defends Against Insinuation – In The Jornal da Madeira, Jardim encouraged the president of SPM not to forget who helped in her election. Marília Azevedo reacts’. The president of the Teachers Union of Madeira (SPM) reacted with a certain irony to the suggestion of Alberto João Jardim, who expressed an opinion in an article published yesterday in the ‘JM’, which alludes to some help, not specified, that was supposed to have led Marília Azevedo to victory in the election for the presidency of the union. "Dr. Alberto João is a lawyer, so he did not vote for me for sure", she said, noting that only teachers in the union could vote in that election. Therefore, she says that she has no knowledge "to whom he is referring" in his article.  She added that his statement did not bother her and she will not waste "a lot of time thinking about it, because it is an opinion". Jardim made the insinuation after the union expressed concerns about the fact that teachers career progressions had been stalled since 2005.

‘Manor House Donated To The Region Falls Into Abandonment – The ‘Solar do Aposento’, in Ponta Delgada, is shown in the guide books, but the tourists knock on the door with their noses’. The north coast historic building was given to Madeira 6 years ago, that is also known as the Museum of D. Hilária Freitas, is part of Madeira’s heritage, but it is abandoned and the maintenance neglected, and outside the weeds are taking control. The building is also not secure with old doors and windows, and there are fears for the security of the contents. The Solar was bequeathed to Madeira by the owner, who died in 2003. It is a building of 18th century civil architecture, and contains works of arts, antique furniture, chandeliers, and religious artefacts. It was officially adopted as a "property of public interest and local value" by the government in 2002. Ponta Delgada council are talking about it’s use as an old peoples home, and this could happen by 2011. ‘Knock on the door with their noses’ .. what a wonderful expression. I must remember that one next time the postman says he called (leaving a card) but no one was home, when for sure I was.

In today’s football headline : ‘Marítimo Not Rushed For Manager – SAD maritimista presents €1.4 million of losses’. At the general assembly of the club, attended by 92% of its capital holders, Marítimo declared losses of €1.4 million for the last season. The temporary coach appointed this week for Marítimo’s first team is also staying in charge of the ‘B’ team, and will remain in charge until a new coach with a proven track record can be appointed. Just as well Marítimo didn’t have to pay for it’s stadium then, or the €45 million needed to revamp it, thanks to Madeira’s government and taxpayers, otherwise the end of season accounts would have looked much much different.

‘Culture is the new ‘trump card’ for the promotion of Madeira – Department of Tourism increases its investment in the domestic market. Exhibition, theatre [?] and a new mini-series of TVI were some of the initiatives of the campaign launched on Tuesday in Lisbon’. In order to raise the awareness of the richness and cultural vitality of Madeira, the secretary of tourism, in partnership with the Department of Education and Culture will promote an exhibition of pieces from various museums on Madeira, in the Ajuda Palace, in Lisbon. Madeira has also been confirmed as a venue for a new mini-series on TVI (channel 4). These initiatives are part of the package that the government is banking on to attract tourists from Portugal to our region. In the latter case, the belief that the national TV series made here, Flor do Mar, has already increased tourism and warrants further exploring. As well as a new advertising campaign presented in Lisbon yesterday, the half yearly tourism figures were presented, showing a 15% rise in tourists coming from Portugal, with over 30,000 more coming here. Over the last two years, around 220 to 230 thousand Portuguese have come each year, increasing Madeira’s share of the domestic market. Another article talks about the initiatives outlined costing €680,000.

The new mini-series set on Madeira will run when the existing soap ‘Flor do Mar’ has finished, and filming will start in November. The new series doesn’t yet have a name, but will be the project of TVI, as was Flor do Mar, that received some funding from the Madeira government.

"One Doesn’t Even Make A Cêntimo For A Coffee" – Taxi drivers of Porto Moniz pass through days without having a fare’. The Diário’s featured location this week, covers the taxi drivers plight, where they go days without a customer and have weeks where they earn little more than €5. The crisis has not helped. The two drivers interviewed say they are tired of spending the day sitting on the rank at the Praça do Lyra, and also complain about the transport service provided for the sick, saying that the ambulance charges twice the price per kilometre that they do. The traders of Praça do Lyra are also suffering, with one seller of regional handicrafts saying his sales have dropped by 25%. Limited car parking also affects business.

‘PSP seized 300 doses of cocaine and €1500 resulting from drug trafficking – Officers from the Funchal Police detained a foreign individual and identified two drug drug addicts. The alleged activity was operating in the area of Avenida Arriaga’. Police intercepted on Sunday morning a male of foreign nationality in possession of several packages of cocaine and €1,500 in cash, allegedly resulting from illegal activity. Police had spotted a number of individuals seemingly buying / selling drugs and moved in. Subsequently they identified a house used for transactions, and in the house was found a precision scale, a prohibited weapon, several mobile phones and money. The individual detained is now subject to weekly reporting at a police station until investigations are complete.

12 suspected Gripe A cases were tested on Madeira in the last week, but only one man of 46 years from Venezuela was found to test positive for swine flu. He was taken into intensive care, but his condition is stable. That takes the total from the beginning to just 40 confirmed cases, with just one case in two weeks. Early days I know, but isn’t it reassuring that we are in the lucky position of knowing the age, sex, and nationality of all our Gripe A victims, whilst other countries have lists amounting to hundreds or thousands on a weekly basis. Just doing my bit in case any potential ‘non infected’ tourists come across this posting and fancy paying us a visit.

‘Oral Health Month Also On Madeira – 17 dentists on Madeira and Porto Santo join the initiative running during October’. In order to prevent oral diseases and improve education for proper oral hygiene among the Portuguese population, Colgate and the Portuguese Society of Estomatologia?? and Dental Medicine (SPEMD) are carrying out in October the 10th edition of "Oral Health Month". 15 of the dentists are in Funchal. They will be available next month to do free dental check ups (without treatment or radiographic examination). The annual initiative has allowed so far 95,000 free check ups since it’s first year, and more dentists are joining up. The main conclusion from 2008 was that less than 1% of adults have completely healthy gums and teeth.

Next Tuesday the cruise ship ‘Black Prince’ arrives in Funchal on its 594th and final visit. The ship has been in service nearly 43 years. Several initiatives are being planned to mark the final visit, including a short lecture on the ‘Black Prince’, which will take place tomorrow, 1st October at 18:30 pm, in the auditorium of FNAC in Madeira Shopping. The ship has been sold to a Venezuelan company, and it expected to remain in tourism activities.

(22nd September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Region Refuses To Pay President ‘Do MAR’ – Óscar Gonçalves went yesterday to complain to the Madeira executive, and to the representative of the republic’. It’s a new battle between Madeira and Lisbon. This time due to the International Shipping Register of Madeira (MAR), and the choice of Oscar Gonçalves to chair the MAR Technical Commission. Normally it is the role of the Government of the Republic to nominate the president of the Technical Commission of MAR, but obtaining the agreement of the Madeira government as a matter of unwritten protocol. However, Óscar is little known in the world of shipping, but a well known collaborator of the socialist party PS-Madeira, and the government (PSD) here complained that it had not been consulted about his appointment in May, as had been customary in the past. As a result the government here have refused to pay his salary, as well as restricted his movements outside of Madeira. They argue that he is not qualified to carry out inspections and surveys for vessels registered with MAR, which they say is one of the legal requirements. The matter is now in the hands of the appropriate authorities in Lisbon. MAR has 157 commercial vessels registered, 14 of which are passenger ships.

‘Robberies In Garajau And On The Levada Dos Tornos – Youths steal the cash register and have the police waiting when they arrive home. Couple robbed at knifepoint in Camacha’. The first story is about a Café / Bar called ‘Brites’ in Garajau, that was robbed at around 4 am yesterday morning, when 2 young men smashed the shop front glass window, and took the cash register, containing just some change. The two robbers, who were regular customers in the bar, took the till to a car park to open it, where they were caught on video camera in the act, along with the registration plate of their car. Police were able to identify the owner of the car, the mother of one of the men, and when they arrived home the police were there waiting. They were taken back to the crime scene, where they apologised to the owner, returned the stolen money, and offered to pay for the damage caused, which included the €400 cash till, the broken window, an aquarium, and a fridge. It is possible that that the same two men had also tried to break into a bar in Cristo Rei, hurling a rock at the front window, which didn’t shatter as it was double glazed, but caused around €200 worth of damage all the same. The sophistication of the crimes and the intelligence of the criminals of Madeira never ceases to amaze me, and once again the police do a great job in cleaning up the mess. I have no idea whether the men involved here were charged, but often an apology to the owner and the payment of the losses and damages suffices, showing the forgiving and kind hearted nature of people here. Personally I would have wanted them strung up if they had done that to me, but there again there are men who have committed far greater crimes but still legally walk our streets. PS Dare not mention who for fear of reprisals.

The other story sounds much more serious, as two German tourists were robbed at knifepoint on the Levada dos Tornos, in the zone of Vale Paraíso, Camacha. He surprised the couple, and demanded the valuables that they were carrying. He stole the rucksack and about €100, but apart from being shocked, the couple were unharmed. The rucksack was later recovered by police, less the money. The police have a description of the suspect and are conducting investigations. I hate doing these stories more than anything, as levadas are supposed to be such safe and peaceful places … and of course still are. The police normally catch these thugs, but it’s best to be aware that there are occasionally problems in just one or two places. How people will obtain such information after next week I don’t know, but I hope they can ask at hotels or go on accompanied tours, or at least find out about any risky areas from somewhere.

‘36 From The Savoy Refute Dismissal – The case started yesterday in court’. The collective dismissal of staff from the now closed Savoy Hotel in Funchal is in court, with 36 workers challenging the SIET Savoy Group decision to dismiss them. Their aim is to reverse the decision, and guarantee themselves future employment. The trade union representing the workers said it was the only option open to them once negotiations with the employer had failed. Win and they have their jobs back, lose and they will be entitled to compensation based on length of service. Many of the 99 workers have already accepted the termination and compensation package offered, when the hotel closed to be demolished, to make way for a new Savoy Hotel.

After yesterday’s story about the school of in São Martinho (Funchal) that failed to be ready on time because of building problems, it seems that São Martinho kids are stricken with bad luck, or good luck depending on the point of view. ‘Lombada School in São Martinho Fails To Open At The Start Of The School Year – A lack of staff has left parents and students at the school gate’. They turned up, but that’s as far as they got, as the school remained closed when staff didn’t turn up. The situation caught some parents off guard, along with 250 kids, even though there had been some communications about potential problems. Teachers weren’t lacking, except for the maths teacher, but one cleaning lady was on holiday, one was transferred, and the other one remaining refused to work alone. The knock on from that is that the catering staff and auxiliaries didn’t then turn up for work for fear of being put on cleaning duties. According to the government Education Department the situation has been resolved and the school is now fully operational. It wouldn’t happen in the private sector for sure, and if I had been in charge I would have had those parents in scrubbing the floors and doing the cooking, and sent the non-teaching staff off to meet those ex-Savoy Hotel workers.

‘Erasmus’ Sent Away 117 Madeiran Students In 6 Years’. The programme, according to funding available, allows students at Madeira University to study abroad. The scheme is growing in popularity, but as there is no specific funding for the purpose, applications depend on the general funding of UMa being able to support the applications received. The programme has proved particularly popular for students in physical education and in languages, with the countries most selected being Slovenia (23), Spain (32) and the Czech Republic (32).

Bit of a school theme going today, so here’s another : ‘Gripe A : Teachers “are not a priority risk group”. Contingency plans against the H1N1 swine flu virus in schools caught the attention of the Teachers Union of Madeira, this week. Coordinator Marilia Azevedo regretted the fact that the infection prevention plans have been made only with students in mind. A spokesman for the matter (I have no idea where from), said that the health services and Regional Secretary for Education and Culture had been working together for some time, “[teachers] are not a priority risk group in particular, as the groups that are in contact with the sick are health professionals. I do not see that there needs to be a special scenario for teachers”. What gobsmacking incompetence, as infected teachers are as much of a problem as infected children to start with, but absent teachers cause a different problem altogether, and without them to control the children, the risk of cross infection is highly elevated. Just imagine if one infected teacher in the weekly staff meeting infects the whole teaching staff group … chaos!

‘224 Citizens Of Funchal Try Out The Services Of Horários do Funchal For Free – Bruno Pereira, vice-president of Funchal Council will be one of the participants’. The famous yellow bus company of Funchal wants to attract new customers to its regular services of public transport. With this objective in mind the company yesterday started the week with a promotional project ‘Ad personam’. Under the initiative, which is part of a wider European action called ‘Intelligent Energy of Europe’, over 224 people aged between 18 and 60 years can travel free for a week on the bus network of Horários. The lucky 224 were selected from 805 respondents to a survey undertaken in May, and addition to this weeks freebie, will be able to obtain discounted bus travel for the rest of the year through a monthly pass.

The headline I thought I would never see : ‘Marina At Lugar de Baixo Reopens – It will open, but not for boats to moor there’. No firm date has been set, but it is virtually certain that the marina infrastructure will reopen to the public sometime this year, with boats allowed back in shortly after the Winter. Clean up work is still ongoing, including partial clearing of a cliff face. The badly damaged car park has been demolished, and will not be rebuilt, but other parking is available. I can hardly wait for Uncle Bertie’s reinauguration (right!), and to go and enjoy the swimming pool and tennis court, or even just taking a coffee there. I have never tried hard-hat swimming before, but I presume I will need a strap-on-version, as well chastity-belt type swimming trunks. As for the coffee, will the café staff be trained to ask “will it be one lump or two?”

The sport / football headline : ‘Cup Takes Marítimo To The Azores’. Our team travels to Santa Clara to play on the 18th October, in the 3rd round of the Portugal Cup. Nacional will go to the north of Portugal to take on Varzim. Both opponents play in the Liga Honra (the 2nd highest level), and so should not in theory present too much of a challenge. There are still other teams from Madeira left in the cup, but as there are no big name opponents involved, I will leave it there.

Work on the new cemetery in Caniçal has been halted for three weeks. A digger started work, but after a couple of days was taken away. The main problem is with expropriations, or compulsory land purchases. The €1m project wasn’t in the council work programme for the current mandate, but the decision was made to proceed urgently because the existing cemetery is absolutely full. Aside from the purchase of land, how can a cemetery cost anything like €1 million to build? Aside from some ground levelling and boundary walls, what else is there. Will it be fully equipped with ready-to-wear tombs and blank gravestones, or am I just out of touch with today’s cemetery construction prices?

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.

(12th September). Today’s main news headline, and also the main photo (unusually striking for the Diário, but not the one shown here) is of a very high support pillar for a new road bridge : ‘Expropriations Catch Bispo – The works of the Cota 500 take away land and generate anxiety. D. Teodoro is one of the compulsory purchase targets, and has already received €13,000 for a plot of 135 square meters’. He is also selling 3 more plots of 31, 591, and 308 m2, in one of the largest public investment projects to date focused on the people of the high zones of Funchal. Crossing the parishes of Santo António and São Roque, the ‘Cota 500′ involves seven tunnels and 9 bridges. Phase one, already underway goes between Vasco Gil and Ribeira Grande, is costing €40 million. Phase two, a total of 4,200 metres, takes the road to Fundoa, and will cost around €60 million, and is in the government work programme that finishes in 2011. The compulsory purchase of land alone will cost €4 million, with 125 plots needed for the complete route. Phase two of the project is causing more concern, because it is not physically on the ground, and the road layout is causing some confusion for landowners because of their plot boundaries. Other people will be affected in different ways, some even uprooted as their properties are demolished. The process of expropriation is not always peaceful. Nothing will ever be like it used to be. The authorities say the project was put to public consultation and officially approved, without any complaints, observations, suggestions, or requests for clarification from the public. Nobody bothers to challenge these projects, because history shows that power is everything and that public interest always takes second place. Problems and complaints from residents are coming now though, mainly about the lack of information, and the use of explosives for the tunnel construction.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about a big party organised by a famous international magazine called ‘Faces’, that is due to take place next weekend, with lots of celebrities expected to come to Madeira. ‘More Beauties – Liliana Campos Is Another Of The Famous That Comes To The ‘Faces’ Party’. All in all around 50 VIP passes are being issued to national celebrities for the event, where the main focus is a party in The Vine Hotel. As usual, I have no idea who she is, as my celebrity knowledge is very thin on the ground in these modern times.

Today’s sport headline : ‘Unprecedented Feat – The tennis player Martim Trueva, still a junior, conquered the national championship completely in the pairs’. He could go still further today in the singles. he is the first Madeiran ever to win an absolute(?) victory in a national championship. I would like to offer my congratulations to Martim, not for the comparatively mundane achievement of winning a national doubles title, but for the much harder achievement of keeping football off the front page of the Diário on a Saturday during the football season. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an editorial oversight.

‘SATA Plane Departs For Porto Santo Four Hours Late – One of the crew was showing Gripe A swine flu symptoms and had to be substituted’. The 8 am SATA ATP flight from Madeira to Porto Santo didn’t leave until midday. Four hours to find a crew member (or three hours according to another article) … I doubt if the delayed passengers would have found that very acceptable for an airline with a base on Madeira, and it wasn’t even the pilot with the with symptoms.

The crowds gathered in Machico yesterday in sítio do Paraíso, where president Jardim inaugurated a new road, which leads to the mouth of the tunnel that goes to Caniçal. The new road is 1,300 metres long, and cost €1.85 million to build. I am not sure whether these inauguration articles belong in the political section, or in Madeira news, these days. I think it all depends on whether Uncle Bertie is wearing his PSD lapel badge.

‘Minor assaults elderly man to steal €10 – After the theft, the thief assaulted the victim, hitting him with a shoe on his head’. The 15 year old minor was identified by police after assaulting a 63 year old man in Nazaré, in Funchal. After knocking the man to the ground, the thief took the money from the man’s pocket, and then took his victims shoe so he could whack him around the head before fleeing the scene. It all took place in front of witnesses. The police managed to identify the boy, and quickly arrested him, only to find that he had already spent the €10, and so they took him back to his grandmothers house. The matter will be reported to the Court for families and minors. It all sounds a little surreal, and with crime this sophisticated, I think the police have little problem in catching the criminals. No doubt granny will give him a good spanking, send him to bed without any supper, and withhold his pocket money to repay the €10. 

‘Colombo Disembarks On Porto Santo’. As is traditional in the Colombo festival, Christopher Columbus sails to shore along with Mrs. Columbus (or soon to be) to recreate the arrival and passing of our famous hero (which hopefully is not a tale as fictional or improvable as the claim that Columbus is Portuguese). The event finishes today. In a later article, the secretary for tourism for Madeira said that the 10th festival had been such a success that she wants to promote it nationally and in Spain next year. "It caused a true filling of the streets of Vila Baleira" she said. €108,000 was the cost of the event, and a 53% hotel occupancy rate was achieved.

‘Two Suspects Detained For Drug Trafficking – 2,100 doses of cannabis seized’. Funchal police arrested a man and woman with the drugs, destined to be sold on the streets of Madeira. In another article, police from Câmara de Lobos seized 590 doses of heroin and arrested two individuals on Thursday.

The hit and run driver who seriously injured a man in Lugar de Baixo, before fleeing the scene in a silver grey VW last Sunday, has now been identified. The driver committed the crime of "Omissão de auxílio" (Failure to help), as set out in article 200 of the Penal Code, and now faces up to 2 years in prison, or a hefty fine and / or loss of his driving licence. The victim is still in hospital awaiting surgery. 

Petrol and diesel prices drop another cêntimo on Monday.

In this weekends football, Nacional travel to play Rio Ave, currently 5th in the league. The match is at 6 pm, but is not televised. Marítimo play at home against top of the table Sporting Braga on Sunday morning, on SportTV 1 at 11.15 am.

From yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ‘Digital Terrestrial Television now covers  65% of the Autonomous Region – Funchal, Porto Santo and the areas west and east already have the signal’. Free DTT, the technology that allows one to receive television of better image and sound quality, is now available to 65 percent of the population of Madeira, according to a government spokesman. DTT will replace the current analogue terrestrial broadcasting, which provides the four general national channels (RTP, RTP 2, SIC and TVI), and also RTP-Açores and RTP-Madeira. Anyone delved into this yet? I am thinking of packing in with Zon, so I am interested to know if anyone has the ‘free’ option and what they think of it.

(1st September). Today’s main news headline  : ‘Espada Runs Short – Fall of 28% in the catch of the sword-fish (Black Scabbard) in the first 6 months of this year affects earnings and threatens the typical dish of Madeiran gastronomy’. The lack of catch of espada is leaving hotels and restaurants feeling difficulties in serving one of the most typical meals of Madeira, and fishermen have lost a million Euros in six months. The year will not be easy for some Madeiran fishermen, with such a fall in revenue compared to 2008, amounting to a 10.9% reduction in the sales in fish markets. However, the amount of catch by weight has dropped just 1.3% (that is for all types of fish). It seems that there are fishermen who fish just for espada fish, and their revenue losses were €896,000 in six months, the only group of fishermen who saw a decline in revenue. The price of espada, at the fish markets, has risen from €2.30 per kilo to €2.50 a kilo over the period in comparison. An increase of 8%. The revenue earned by fishermen in 2008 amounted to €16.3 million. There is a chart HERE that summarises the catch for the different types of fish for the first six months of 2009. Tuna fish and mackerel are up, but everything else is down. I recall (I think) a couple of years ago that the EU wanted to impose fishing quotas on the espada catch, but was persuaded not to. Maybe over-fishing is the cause, who knows?

‘More Expensive Justice Concerns Judges – The judicial year reopens today. Beyond the crisis, the increase in insolvencies and bad debt cases will leave a mark’. The Summer recess is over, and the return to work will be dominated by warrants of execution and unpaid loans. This year so far has already seen more cases than in the whole of 2008, and there is some doubt whether there are sufficient legal resources to deal with the workload, and there is particular concern in the case of insolvencies, that need to be processed quickly. Legal charges, which were increased in April, have caused a reduction in the number of cases dealing with unpaid loans since then. Highlights of the new legal session should see the trials of the ‘Fugitive’, the second trial of the former President of Ponta do Sol, the trial of the former vice president of Funchal Rui Marote, the massive seizure of cocaine (55 kilos) at Madeira Airport, and the seizure of ecstasy tablets (17,000) in São Vicente.

‘Madeirans Provide Music To The Italians – An exchange project of students of the Conservatório’. The 5 students from the Professional School of Arts of Madeira will be off to Italy to perform between 3rd and 10th September.

The main front page photo today shows a footballer on the ground at the Choupana pitch : ‘Breathless Nacional Allow Draw (1 – 1) – The Alvinegros blame tiredness from their trip to Russia, made worse with a lack of options in the squad’. Meanwhile last night, Benfica thrashed Vitória de Setúbal 8 – 1.

‘The Canoeists Of ‘Around Madeira’ Break Bathing Rules’. During the final day of the competition for canoeists, competitors illegally entered a zone reserved for swimmers in Ribeira Brava. Maritime authorities were involved, but played down the incident.

‘River Cleaning Goes Forward This Month – Firemen, the army, Funchal council, and neighbourhoods join forces in the clean up’. In readiness for potential Winter problems, the weekend of 18-19th September has been scheduled for the cleaning work, in and around Funchal. Even scouts will be involved in the the work that will involve more than 100 people. A prime objective is to prevent flooding and mudslides during heavy Winter rainfall, but a more general clean up in some neighbourhoods will also be done.

‘Three Theft Suspects Detained In Funchal – The young men are suspected of robberies in establishments in Porto da Cruz, and the theft of vehicles’. The three men aged between 24 and 31 have been detained as suspects for crimes against property and vehicle theft. Police say a vehicle stolen in Machico was intercepted in São Martinho (Funchal), with the 24 year old man driving, without having a driving license, and the two accomplices as passengers. On searching the car the police found indications that led to the suspicions of crimes committed in Porto da Cruz, and also drugs purchased with the crime proceeds. The 24 year old man was also caught driving a stolen car on Saturday night, and had only just been released after that.

The sale of conventional light bulbs is affected by new EU rules from today. They are to be phased out in favour of eco-bulbs (low consumption – long life), and existing stocks of some conventional types will be run down from today.

UPDATES :

(J da M) The new fire station in Calheta should be ready for use in January or February 2010, said the regional secretary responsible for the project, during a visit to the site yesterday. The project in sítio de São João, Lombo do Doutor, is costing nearly €3 million and is the last of the new fire stations to be built on Madeira, with one more then to be built on Porto Santo.

‘The Programme Was Exceptional’. From today’s Jornal da Madeira, the account of the live TV shown on SIC (channel 6) yesterday from Funchal docks, was that it was an excellent event. I just mentioned it because I liked the photo with the article.

‘Teachers Dominate Lists – Almost half of the Madeiran candidates for the national elections are civil servants’. Of the 7 parties represented in the race for the Assembly of the Republic, there are 42 candidates standing from Madeira, of which 19 are government employees, 10 being from teaching. Another 6 are lawyers / solicitors, and 3 have medical backgrounds. The average age is 43, and 60% of the candidates are male. Alberto João Jardim, head of the list for PSD-M, is the second oldest on the list at 66. The youngest candidate is a lady aged just 21, but as 3rd on the list of the New Democracy Party she won’t be leaving Madeira for São Bento, and that’s a certainty.

‘Jardim Will Inaugurate €125 Million Worth Of Works Up Until 9th October – In the next 40 days the president of the government will move throughout the archipelago doing sometimes more than one inauguration per day’. In total there are 65 new investments. Most the works are public, with just 6 in the private sector, and include new roads, schools, and sports facilities. The first today is a new 1,300 metre agricultural road in Fajã, costing €2.1 million, replacing a narrow path that until now had served the population.