Xmas events ; Police operation in Funchal arrests 31 ; Mosquitoes blessed in cemeteries
How well do you know Madeira?
"Just to task Vela ….. Guess the location AND restaurant! We also make a rare public appearance in this photo…..along with Guests! Difficulty is 12 out of 10 – that should sort her!" Jon. 48 hours allowed, then the correct answer will be given (if necessary).
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Someone has published a list of Christmas events running through December. They probably came from the official tourism website, but who cares. XMAS CHEER
"Our guide was Rubina (Ruby), pronounced Hubina since the Portugese do not pronounce their R’s as “R” … One of the vegetables which was particularly tasty is called Pearclipper that grows on a vine … We boarded our tour bus for a short drive to the Cable Car Station and then took the cable car up to the top of the mountain … At the top of the mountain we climbed into basket tobagens which are made out of cooked brown Willow, taking 3 hours to cook the wood which is white in its natural state … Madiera is known for its linens and rabbits which can only be hunted on Saturdays and holidays with a 5 rabbit per day limit … vendors who primarily show embroidered linens but unfortunately for them and fortunately for me, they didn’t take credit cards and we didn’t have enough Euros on us to consummate a deal, so we said, “Abrogado". With spelling and facts like that, he must be from across the pond, but Antony was on the Transatlantic crossing, and writes an entertaining piece. PIMPINELAS OR PEARCLIPPERS? I think the guide must have been having a laugh, as the initial ‘R’ on any word is very strong and throaty.
In today’s headlines from the Diário :
The main headline today : 522 new cancer patients – The number of cancer patients is growing on Madeira, as certified by 58 cases per month, in just this year. Ana Azinhais shares her struggle for life and encourages those who suffer : a cure is possible. It’s just an interview with a lady with lung cancer, there is no other information in the article on cancer generally.
Police detain 31 individuals in the night – Regional Command undertook a special operation of crime prevention. The authorities checked over a thousand vehicles coming from the via rápida. The operation ran for 6 hours from late on Saturday night through to early Sunday morning in Quebradas in São Martinho, Funchal, checking every vehicle coming from the Câmara de Lobos direction, breathalysing drivers for intoxication, and searching vehicles for arms. The 31 arrests were mostly for excess alcohol and possession of drugs, but two extendable batons, three knives and three baseball bats were also seized. 1,140 vehicles including motorbikes were stopped and checked using a task force of 83 officers. I wonder why they choose to stop and search vehicles coming from Câmara de Lobos … what goes on there that I don’t know about? They should have done a search on vehicles entering that splendid location and maybe recovered a stash of booty or two on the return journeys from the surrounding locations. No good catching criminals before they have committed a crime methinks.
In the economy : Exports and purchases fall by over 8% – Indictors confirm the crisis. Imports fell by 9% in just 9 months, that represents 3,507 less shipping containers unloaded, or 83 less per week. They are the most obvious signs of crisis and the lack of money. All the frontier indicators for Madeira show that we are importing less goods, which means a clear slowdown in consumption and consequent reduction in the circulation of money. Exports also took a knock, down 8.2% by sea, or 703 less shipping containers in 9 months. You can imagine the impact on the shipping companies. Air freight is also falling, with 7.5% less over the period stated. No mention of the fact that Madeira has been pushing very hard for the population to buy local produce and products, so perhaps that has paid off. More consumption of local produce means less imports are needed, and less products are therefore available for export. So is it doom and gloom, or just the result of what was asked for?
In football : Nacional turn result and secure 5th place – Great goal of Manú worsens crisis in Alvalade. Splendid results for our two football teams yesterday, firstly here on Madeira where Nacional beat V. Setúbal 2 – 1, leaving them equal 4th in the league table. Marítimo managed a great away draw at Sporting 1 – 1, leaving them with 12 points in 8th place. A bit of trouble after the game, and gunshots were fired to disperse supporters.
Many thanks to Elaine for another fine news contribution from yesterdays newspapers :
Armas working illegally. Initially, the Port and Maritime Transport Institute (IPTM) said the ferry was working legally. The Commercial Shipowners Association and the Portuguese company Viera and Silveira made a formal complaint which opened the enquiry which concluded on 26 October that the ferry is not operating within the terms of its licence. The terms were that the cargo should be in lorries as the port of Funchal is not designed to handle cargo as it is a passenger terminal. Armas owners have ten days to comply with the ruling or else the licence might be suspended or revoked. In 2005, Armas owners were told they were banned from moving cargo in the port of Funchal. The cargo has been a quarter of their revenue, supporting another argument of unfair competition against the company.
The threat of dengue fever is not enough to end the tradition of vases in cemeteries. The vases of stagnant water are a breeding place for the mosquito ‘Aedes aegypti’. The law was drawn up in 1969 allowing the beautification of graves, when dengue was a fever confined to tropical countries. The Health Authority would like the managers of the cemeteries to change the rules so that flower vases are not allowed but this would mean changing deep rooted lifestyles and behaviours and religious rituals and traditions. A better idea would be to use either sand or gravel to cover water in the vases.
‘Limpar Portugal’ has volunteers in Madeira to clear the forests of illegal dumps. The day of action to implement the initiative ‘Clean Portugal’ is March 20, 2010. The aim is to clear away illegal dumps in the forests and promote environmentally sustainable behaviours. On the mainland there is strong uptake of the project but it is lower in Madeira, 76 volunteers in total. 36 are in Funchal, the groups ‘MAD’, ‘Garajau’ (2), ‘MCH – Machico’ (3), ‘SCR – Santa Cruz’ (5) and ‘Madeira’ (17). This initiative started in Estonia in 2008 and it will be Portugal’s turn next year. The motto is ‘Let’s clean the Portuguese forest in one day’ and details are on the website www.limparportugal.org. Companies, institutions and public and private entities are supporting the initiative through exchange of human and/or material resources. A social network will manage the teams (http://limparportugal.ning.com) in which bodies can register and gain access to updated details. The movement has more than 6,000 volunteers across Portugal and numbers are expected to increase towards March 20th.
Number of people on disability benefits increased by 2.1% to 8,212. "This is ‘normal variation’ as the criteria of health boards are rigid, and therefore it is impossible to make fraudulent claims," according to the President of the Board of Social Security. Benefit can be awarded temporarily and reviewed after 12 months.
Three drug dealers in custody again. All three, aged between 25 and 30, have previous criminal records for drug trafficking and had been recently released from prison when re-arrested. They had 400 doses of heroin, worth 8,000 Euros and several hundreds of Euros in notes.
Two attempted robberies by a gang of 5 youths aged between 16 and 18 in Porto Santo. On one occasion, they approached a woman in the street and tried to steal her handbag but aborted the attempt when she screamed for help. It is unknown if all five suspects taken to court yesterday participated in this alleged crime. The police seized headgear, a mask, a wig and two imitation handguns.
Free Santa Maria trips. The ‘Santa Maria de Colombo’ owners are offering free trips to pupils, people from social security institutions, Casas do Povo and others. Like previous years, trips will be for one hour every Tuesday morning in November and from January to March. Last year, the offer was taken up by 1,260 students and 281 people from other institutions. Since 1999, when the initiative began, they have carried 26,000 people for free. —– Nice to have a ‘good news’ story. I don’t know why this initiative started.
Police arrested 31 people on Saturday night/Sunday morning under a Special Crime Prevention Operation. More than 1,000 vehicles monitored in Quebradas, São Martinho on the highway from Câmara de Lobos. The drivers were screened for alcohol and the cars searched for arms. 31 arrested for drug trafficking, driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of prohibited weapons, possession of drugs and lack of legal authorization to drive. Among the weapons seized were two extendible poles, three knives and three baseball bats. Five vehicles were seized. The operation lasted six hours with 83 police officers in attendance.
Curral das Freiras crowded as there is a call to invest in regional products. There was a promise by the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources to deliver 21 million Euros this year to 11,000 farms in Curral das Freiras. This was at the XXVI Chestnut Festival which was attended by thousands of people. There is 165 million Euros in the Regional Budget and the State needs to contribute €30 million for investment in agriculture and fisheries. Farmers’ incomes are increasing thanks to aid granted by the Regional Budget and the EU.
Tragic death of a Madeiran child in England after alleged negligence. A 5 year old died more than a year ago in England. There is an allegation of negligence, that he was treated with an ineffective antibiotic due to the treatment team not recognising the severity of the symptoms. The autopsy said the death was due to ‘natural causes’. The child was diagnosed with chickenpox and his father took him twice to a hospital in south London and the child was discharged home. The family have received compensation ‘to prevent a court case’ but want the case highlighted to prevent it happening in the future to other children.
Lack of evidence for alleged aggression against tourists in Funchal as shown in videos on YouTube. In 2007, a group calling themselves ‘Os faz merd’ (translates as ‘The Shits’) filmed themselves throwing tomato paste, cigarette butts and bleach at people and tourists in Santa Catarina Park. They then uploaded the videos on YouTube. Two were aged 14 and 15 and two over 16 (criminally responsible) but not identifiable. The Public Prosecutor of the Family Court has closed the case as the individuals were not identifiable and lack of evidence. There was only one complainant, a boy, whose mother is angry at the decision as she says the parents should be held responsible if the children are under the age of criminal responsibility.
What a strange island we live on! Over In Ribeira Brava the weather is fine, with blue sky and clouds, but over at the airport, on the busiest day of the week, there are delays and diversions to Porto Santo as conditions were not good enough to land a plane. Der
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.
