Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Eiryl … Water lily at the Palheiro Gardens

"Wedged in by mountains and the Atlantic, Madeira Airport requires a clockwise approach for which pilots are specially trained. Despite a unique elevated extension that was completed back in 2000 and now expands the runway length to what should be a comfortable 9,000 feet, the approach to Runway 05 remains a hair-raising affair that pilots absolutely dread. They must first point their aircraft at the mountains and, at the last minute, bank right to align with the fast-approaching runway". DIAMOND PILOTS

"On our quest to explore sunny islands in the Atlantic Silke and I have already visited Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Our latest exploratory trip took us to Funchal on the Portuguese island Madeira. We were welcomed by sunshine, blue skies and a gentle breeze which was a relief after the dreadful autumn weather in England". Nice photos. MATT & SILKES BLOG

Many thanks again to Elaine for yesterday’s news. Can anyone else PLEASE help out?

Island Escape cruises selling well. Thomson Cruises Island Escape will sail for seven night cruises, departing and returning to Funchal, from the 11 January to the 19 April. These will be weekly with stops on Monday in Funchal. Already 400 places have been sold, mainly through Abreu agency to Madeirans. The price is "very nice", according to the one of the directors, at 389 Euros plus 100 Euros in taxes. He highlights the value of the ship as there are free dining facilities. There is a buffet for breakfast and lunch and a restaurant for an informal dinner. There is a night buffet and another buffet open 24 hours a day. The ship has 746 cabins for 1,750 passengers and has 500 crew members. —- Dear Santa Claus …..

Mother complains of assault by supermarket security. A mother of a 15 year old made a complaint to the police, alleging there was an assault on her son when he was inside a large commercial area at Rua Dr. Brito Camara, in front of Edificio 2000. The boy was with friends inside a supermarket yesterday evening when "He was taken to a room by a security guard to see what was in the bag, and when he left shortly after he was bleeding from the nose and mouth." The mother took the boy to the Emergency Room for treatment. Regarding the alleged assault, the progenitor regrets what happened since, in his view, "Even if the group were causing fuss or noise in that commercial area, there would possibly be another way of dealing with the matter."

Educating for tourism. This initiative is to make students aware of the importance of tourism and provide an insight into the day of a tourist. Activities will simulate a ride in a tour coach with a translator guide, reserve air tickets and hotel rooms, check-in at the airport, check-in at a hotel and visit areas such as the dining room, hotel room and learn how to make a bed, bar and learn how to prepare a cocktail, kitchen, laundry, maintenance area and conference room. More than 2,000 students will participate and the investment of 16,000 Euros is spread between various travel agencies and the Directorate of Tourism. —– Learn how to make a bed and a cocktail. The things they teach in school today!

Bats misunderstood. There is a group of four Madeirans who have studied bats in the region since 2001. They have developed a project to determine the different species, estimate population sizes and identify and characterize habitats important to them, to ensure their survival. They are having to finance the project themselves after failed applications for both regional and national funding. This is despite published work by the researchers receiving international recognition. There are three known species of bats in the region and the Pipistrellus maderensis (Madeira bat) is one of the smallest in Europe. They feed on insects and therefore are central to the ecological balance of Laurissilva and agricultural areas. "Given that each bat eats around a thousand insects per night and if we have a population which is estimated at three thousand bats, this means that each day these mammals eliminate 3 to 4 million insects." The researchers fear that already there are less than the estimated three thousand bats in the region and the situation in Porto Santo is also worrying as it is estimated at less than 50 individuals. It is urgent to preserve and study the bats as contrary to their ‘bad image’, they aid in the conservation and ecological balance of Laurissilva, farms and forestry, which are in danger.

Wet roads cause two vehicles to overturn. The wet roads caused by rain, and reckless driving (excess speed) were the source of at least two vehicles overturning that have resulted in material damage to the vehicles involved in accidents yesterday. The first one occurred at 12.30 on the Machico to Funchal motorway and a 34 year old man was slightly injured. He had to be taken to the hospital and was discharged mid-afternoon after minor surgery. Half an hour later, another accident in Ribeira Brava and despite various ‘flipovers’, the driver left unscathed. He was on the motorway towards Serra de Agua and crashed and overturned in the tunnel of Meia Legua, in the vicinity of the Sports Complex. After a curve, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed near the tunnel entrance, hitting the footpath on the opposite side and the vehicle ended up on its side. Two cars collided on Sunday night on the Machico to Funchal motorway in a spectacular crash and damaged the exterior rails and the inside central cement blocks of the road.

Loja Diogo’s celebrates 20 years. On Saturday 21 November, the wine shop celebrates its 20th anniversary with free wine tasting between 15.00 and 19.00 hours. Wines from 20 producers will be available at the Hotel Four Views Baia, followed by a dinner costing 25 Euros, subject to reservation.

Rui Moses closes council employees car park.  The new mayor of Santana first of all changed the locks on the Town Hall, now he has closed the small car park next to the building. This has been used for more than 20 years for people working at the Town Hall. He justifies the decision on behalf of tranquillity and comfort for visitors to Santana. It is to preserve the dignity of the building, which is considered a flagship infrastructure and referred to for this reason. "It must be appreciated in tranquillity as the traditional thatched houses of Santana are in the gardens."

Petition challenges afternoon classes in Tabua. Parents of children in the first year at the basic school in Tabua are dissatisfied with classes in the afternoon, leaving the morning for extra-curricular activities. More than 80% of the parents have signed a petition but it has not been accepted and the parents are unhappy with the reasons given. Usually, following a recommendation from its own Regional Board of Education, years 1 and 2 are taught in the morning while classes for years 3 and 4 are in the afternoon. However in this school year, years 1 and 4 times have been exchanged. Parents of year 1 children complain that because the children are playing in the mornings, they are too tired for afternoon lessons and this affects their academic performance, some even falling asleep in the lessons. The reason given for year 4 children being taught in the morning is that there is evidence that these students demonstrate hyperactivity and medical studies have shown that such children should be taught in the mornings, and also year 2 children have priority over year 1.

Brussels reduce the catch of bluefin tuna by 40%. In the Mediterranean, the bluefin tuna stock has been decreasing since 1957 and has fallen 60.9% in the last 10 years. On the west coast of the Atlantic, the number of tuna has fallen by 82.4% between 1970 and 2007. At an international meeting, agreement has been made to reduce the total allowable catch from 22,000 to 13,500 tons from next year. Fishing for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic will be restricted to the period 15 May to 15 June. Madeira will have an Oceans Institute by the end of the year to explore the exploitation of surrounding marine resources.

Jardim cuts three works in Santa Cruz. Two are in Gaula, a 4 million Euros road linking Fazenda – Largo de Cerca, works at the praia das Fontes in Porto Novo, and a road to Meia Serra. Since the inauguration of the new Santa Cruz Council, there have been 316 building permits filed (declared obsolete), 196 of such between 2 November and 13 November, as a "symbol of great activity in that area by the city council.". —– retribution by Jardim again? At the opening of the new church at Jardim de Serra, he insisted Socrates "is the problem" and he is tired of colonialism by Lisbon, as Madeira is self-sufficient in all areas apart from Social Security. He said the complaint by Edgar Silva in the Diário yesterday about the Government giving money to the Church was printed because it is a newspaper taken by the Communist Party.

Full-scale exercise at the airport on Wednesday morning. The scenario begins with a collision of a bus with the wing of an aircraft and a refuelling vehicle, leading to a fuel spillage and subsequent fire breakout. The exercise will start at 00.30 and last for 4 – 5 hours.

Portuguese smoke on average for 28 years. On average, Portuguese start smoking around 17 year old and stop at 40, and consume 18 cigarettes per day. A high percentage of smokers and former smokers older than 40 years have respiratory symptoms and changes in respiratory function. It is worrying that they start smoking early as at the age of 17, the lungs are still growing and have not reached full respiratory function. 10% of the Portuguese have COPD, half still continue smoking after diagnosis and it is the fourth leading cause of death in Europe.

Ribeira Brava residents want more roads. Another Jornal da Madeira post-election interview session with residents. They want the seafront enlarged by another 15 metres to form an area similar to the one before it was redeveloped as a square, so the tourist buses can stop there again. Central parking would also help the area. Complaints about robberies at São João especially as there are many single elderly living there. —– I think Der will agree with their ideas.

Overnight stays in September down 8.5%. Loss of 49,200 tourists compared to last year and the occupancy rate was an average 60%. A total of 528,200 nights in September 2009 and the visitors stayed 0.4 days longer than in 2008. The region was 2.5% above the national average which fell 6%.

This from today’s front page of the Diário newspaper :

The main news headline today : 2010 budget requires loan – Madeira desperately needs to increase its debt. The regional government is going to formally ask the state if it can go to the bank.

The Câmara of Funchal demands €5.5 million and prepares a legal action against the state. This relates to money that Funchal council says should have been transferred this year from central government, under the local finance law.

Romeira works in the chamber part time – The new president of São Vicente will be councillor in the morning, and doctor in the afternoon. Roberto Silva, leader of the Association of Municipalities, says that since 25th April [1974] he has never seen anything like it. That was back 35 years ago, when Portugal was the poorest country in Western Europe, and never had there been a part time president it seems. 35 years on, Portugal is still the poorest country in western Europe (depending where your boundaries are of course), and now has a part-timer. And I know the question in most people minds at this moment will be "but isn’t Uncle Bertie part time?", but he is not in fact. The fact that he doesn’t take his seat in either the regional or Portugal assemblies, is misleading. He is actually very busy doing inaugurations, in between his disappearing acts (when he leaves Madeira and nobody knows he has gone (or where)and when he will come back, but manages to run up expenses of hundreds of thousands of Euros a year). Romeira is a private consultant, and there is no known case in Portugal of a câmara president working like this, even though it is permitted in law. His council salary will be reduced accordingly. The PS opposition leader called it a "true political fraud", and he is right, as this intention was not declared before the voters made their choice last month, in a constituency where the PSD support is noticeably weaker.

High tension in the ‘war of Bosnia’ – Portugal received with insults and spitting. That’s not very nice. By 9.30 pm tomorrow night, if all doesn’t go to plan, there will be a big depression over Portugal and Madeira, and it won’t have anything to do with the weather. If all does go to plan, expect to see Thursday full of smiley faces and sunshine.

Festival of Digital Art brings names and tourism – The shows runs in December in the Centro das Arts, Calheta, with 100 Germans amongst the audience. It’s a festival of experimental digital music and digital video, to be held between 4th and 7th of December. Artists are coming from Germany, Sweden, Mexico, England, Austria and Ukraine.

Parishioner refuses to deliver the key to the parish priest – ‘Estelinha’ administers the Chapel of Bom Despacho, in Campanário, for over 40 years and, in the name of the people, she says that she is not going to give the key to the padre. The probable story of the day for me, with Estelinha pictured prowling in front of the locked chapel, with the key clenched in her left fist (the key is actually visible in the front page photo of the Diário). But why is she doing this you ask? Well I don’t know yet, as I am going to save it for a read tonight. Maybe Elaine will tell us tomorrow. Maybe someone else will make a supreme effort and delve into the story and share it with us all.  Who knows?

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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 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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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Vic … "This owl was under the airport but why in the middle of the afternoon who knows. You can see where it has last fed from the blood on its feathers".

"In a few minutes we will leave our berth in the marina, when we have filled our diesel tanks we are off to Ilhas Selvagens, about 160 nm south. The wind is very weak, therefore it will probably take about two days to get there. Then we are staying at the islands for 48 hours, that’s as long as our permit is valid. The islands are a nature reserve and bird sanctuary that’s way you have to obtain a permit here in Funchal". CAPTAIN CANTARE B LOG

"Madeira is all about water. The heights are usually clothed in clouds, so that even if it doesn’t rain there is plenty of moisture to feed the streams and rivers that have carved out the deep gorges and valleys. This moist climate contributes to making it a Botanists dream …". Quite a good read from a visitor here. MADEIRA HIKER 

Many thanks to Elaine in Garajau for yesterday’s news translations :

Retailers threaten Chinese trade in Machico. More detail about this story. The retailers are concerned and in consternation about two large Chinese bazaars opening at the end of November. They will sell almost everything (clothing, school supplies, hardware, computer equipment etc.). The smaller store of about 500 square metres will be in the Edificio da Torre, where Maxmat is. The megastore of 3000 square metres will cover the entire first floor of ‘Machim Centrum’ in the centre of the city.  The latter building was designed as a shopping centre of excellence. Manuel Severino, a hardware shopkeeper said that he is not against the shop itself, just its size. "It will  be a stagnation of trade because the Chinese stores have prices much more competitive than ours. People know that it is best to buy the traditional products, but the decline of purchasing power makes them go to Chinese stores because it’s cheaper." The economy in Machico is already fragile and the traders want just traditional trade in the heart of the city. They think at least a dozen shops will be at risk and that the Chinese shops do not come to invest, just to make a profit. The President of ACIM said, "It will certainly be a funeral and a disaster for the city’s business, which consists mostly of small and medium enterprises, all of a  traditional nature." He does not believe these stores will be granted a licence and if so, they will proceed with an injunction. The mayor says he is sympathetic but if everything is legal, they cannot refuse a licence just because the store is Chinese. Licensing is the responsibility of the Regional Department of Commerce, Industry and Energy (DRCIE) but they state they have not received an application for either of the stores. The caption to the photo states that work to adapt the centre has already begun.

Poverty in the street. The shopkeepers in Rua do Carmo are upset about the homeless eating their dinners by their shop fronts and leaving food scraps and bottles. As today is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Social Security are are about to launch the Regional Plan for the Homeless 2009 – 2011 to bring together all the institutions to help the homeless. The volunteers presently distribute food in the Largo de Phelps but they want the homeless to be directed to the Association for the Protection of the Poor night shelter, and canteen in the Rua do Frigorifico. In 2007, the survey showed 80 homeless men with either alcohol or mental health problems. At present, the shelter has only 15 beds and there will be a new night shelter next year to double the number of beds.

Neighbours of Santagro can’t breathe. "If it wasn’t for the smell, this would be paradise," says Fátima Baptista, who lives near the tourist complex Inatel in Santo de Serra. She came for holidays to Madeira twice a year and has now emigrated from England to here. The smell is from a pig farm and is worsening, especially during the summer. The Inatel hotel also complains, saying they have lost hundreds of customers. There have been complaints sent to the City of Santa Cruz, the County Medical Officer and to the Regional Directorate of the Environment. The manager of Santagro says that Inatel knew of their existence before they built the complex. To modernize, in an attempt to reduce 95% of the smell, they have applied for EU funding. The complaints have been passed from department to department and the present law does not take odours into account. The Directorate of the Environment said that the company will have to adapt and they will ensure this happens.

Regional drinks at reduced rate. The European Parliament is expected to approve on Tuesday, the continued  application of a reduced rate of excise duty on rum, liqueurs and other spirits of Madeira and the Azores. This should be until the end of 2013 and is considered necessary for the survival of the local industry. There are eight producers of rum/liqueurs on Madeira. In the Azores, nine companies produce liqueurs and thirty-eight produce brandy. Virtually all products are sold regionally. There are 130 associated employees in Madeira and 90 in the Azores. In Madeira, cane sugar cultivation and processing and fruit farming provides employment for about 1000 family-run agricultural businesses.

Madeira in the scene in Lisbon. A newly-launched show, ‘Grab what is honest’ in Lisbon ends with an invitation to the audience to visit Madeira during the Flower Festival. This social and political satire ends with dancers in a colourful display of Madeiran flowers and the traditional instruments like the brinquinho. It was an idea of the producer after seeing tourist pictures of Madeira and is supported by Madeira Islands Tourism. It will run for six months.

Madeira maintains the lead in national tourism. In national tourism, Madeira had the highest average nights stay in August, although it dropped from 5.7 nights last year to 5.5 nights this year. The national average was 3.2 nights. In all regions, apart from Alentejo, which has a short average night stay (mainly weekends), all areas have decreased. Madeira’s occupancy fell from 77.3% last year to 68.4%. Average was 62.6%. The drop in overnight stays in Madeira means that the increase in the domestic market has not made up for the decrease in English and German tourists.

Funchal is the top cruise port in the nation. 211,143 passengers in the first seven months of this year. Lisbon is the second port with 194,634 passengers. In Portugal, the number increased by 5.4% over last year. The cruise industry handles 10 million Americans and 5 million Europeans. In 2020, the estimate is that there will be 10 million European passengers. Presently, 3% of Americans and 1.3 – 1.5% of  Europeans go on a cruise. Estimated that by the end of this year, 49% more Portuguese will go on a cruise than last year.

Centre for Arbitration in Consumer Complaints have intervened in more cases this year. The highest number of complaints have been about properties, followed by cars, appliances, laundries, clothing and footwear, then Timesharing. This organization was set up by the Madeiran Government and can only handle complaints related to purchases in the region and if the value does not exceed 30,000 Euros. It is voluntary arbitration between the customer and the business, in an attempt to prevent a court case.

22 farmers from Normandy visit the Centre for Sheep Farming. Farmers with sheep, cattle, wine and agriculture in Normandy, France, are interested in practices used here including the utilization of by-products of the agro-industry to feed sheep and the use of cane sugar by-products for bedding. They were surprised by the lack of brucellosis. The Centre (COM)  in the Santana municipality has a breeding herd of about 180 sheep of the breed Bergshaf. ——-Translation toolbar mis-translation ‘Centre visited by 22 sheep’.

Forum Madeira has 10 bicycles for clients. If you have purchased more than 10 Euros from Forum Madeira, you can apply at the Information Desk (Floor 0) to hire a  bike to cycle along the Estrada Monumental between the Forum and the roundabout ASSICOM Piornais. From 16 October.

Crewman of the National Geographic Explorer had to go to HCF. The ship had set sail for the Desertas yesterday when a 44 year old crewman had heart problems, and the ship had to return to Funchal, so he could attend the hospital. The ship has now gone to the Canaries. ——It does not say if they still had their 1 hour stay at the bay of the nature reserve.

Electricity will increase by 2.8% next January. It will increase 2.9% on the Continent and 2.7% in the Azores. For the average 40 euro monthly bill, this will increase by just over 1 Euro.

A quick peek at today’s headlines :

Nacional suffer but continue in the cup – The Madeirans were losing 1 – 0 but they made a comeback in the second half. That could have been embarrassing, and even worse if Varzim had scored their first half penalty. There are a couple of videos from the game on footytube.

Marítimo play their home cup fixture today at 4 pm against Santa Clara.

The main headline today in the Diário : Illegal immigration has accomplices in the region : There is assistance for the contracting of illegal foreign labour, people that place staff in restaurants and women in prostitution. Yesterday two women citizens from Latin America were detained, caught ‘red handed’. This year already 21 legal actions have already been opened. The regional director for border controls says the situation here is not as rife as in other parts of Portugal, but nether-the-less there are 10 cases here under investigation. The contacts and the contracts are initiated by restaurant owners and ‘pimps’ on Madeira. The majority of the cases relate to restaurant staff, with Brazilians coming and staying here illegally, on the back of an agreement between the two countries that allows entrance to Madeira for a period of three months without authorisation documents. Those responsible risk fines of between €2,000 and €15,000, but are not deterred. The Diário does make the point that none of the cases known about involve anyone been taken (kidnapped) or working against their will. Hard to believe that there is profit for anyone to be made in employing or supplying illegal immigrant labour, with such high unemployment here and our low wages. With the reluctance of local businesses to take on foreign labour as well, I can only imagine that the restaurants involved are not normally those serving traditional Madeiran cuisine.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or 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.

(more…)

(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.