Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTOS : Thanks to Selina … "This is a view of the Sea front Marina, just after the rains had finished at 1.30 pm on Sunday afternoon (4th October). The sun had just come out and everything was drying up. The area was mostly deserted, the entrance by the tunnel was closed again due to a small rockfall. We walked along the marina to view the huge amount of water cascading down in the waterfall, behind the marina buildings. The car parking at the far side was under water, resembling a very large swimming pool".

Lord of The Rocks is continued with today’s instalment – "Flip Rocks".

Read on dear reader if you dare……

The Saturday sun rose orange above the green lands – Flip and Robin looked North to the bad lands and, saddened by the gathering orange dust cloud of Percy’s bad men gathering to fight them (a little bit) looked a right angle to the West – to Percy’s seat. It was huge and worth many swiggles and had many places to sit in the great palaces that Percy had had built – some for him, his family and some (empty) just to get the swiggles from the European Union….

"Flip" said Flip and Robin (hood) winked……"we can’t fight them this way, for they are too many, I have a cunning plan……."

And so it was that Flip and Robin spent all the day travelling up and down the secret steps deep into the ground where the FlipFloppers stone lay, buried and hidden from Percy. They carried away many many precious stones (and rather nice pieces of precious metals as well) from the stone but their task was huge…..they needed help. And so it was that Flip secretly summoned his "Just Poor People" friends and they also secretly began carrying away many many good bits of the stone, soon they had nearly all the people from the green lands helping and some also from the land of the Whales boyyo.

Flip and Robin handed out the good bits of stone (worth many swiggles) to all their peoples and by the rise of the not so orange sun on Sunday, everyone had a plenty and a promise of no longer being "Jolly Poor People" but "Justly Proud Participants" of the rule of their lands – they had more squiggles than even Percy!

And it came to pass that Percy did hear of this and he and his bad, greedy family and friends all rushed into their tunnel towards the stone to grab what they could……but so big was the hole left by Flip and Robin and the JPP that Percy and ALL fell headlong into and down the hole never ever to be seen ever again (promise)!

This of course left Flip and Robin to rule fairly over the Land of the (one less) Rock with a fair hand and heart and ALL the people of the lands lived happily ever after.

Ah, I think I am seeing a bit of a picture here, and it sounds like today is an important day!

"We are also thinking of stopping at Porto Santo, when we leave Funchal.  Porto Santo is the other inhabited island of the Arquipelago Madeira.  The Arquipelago is made up of five islands but only two Madeira and Porto Santo are inhabited.  Porto Santo is known for its long white sandy beach.  Not counting tours, there are less than 3,000 people on the island". If you have been following the voyage of the Resolution, this is the next short episode of the captains (b)log. What happened to the other 2,000 people on Porto Santo though? RESOLUTION

The gym at Ribeira Brava has introduced two new classes, and as a promotion they are free to attend during October.

1. Kickboxing – Mondays 7.30 pm

2. Indoor Cycle ? – Tuesdays & Fridays 8 pm

I am off to do my duty very soon. The PS gets my vote today, as they gave me the most goodies (baseball cap, pen, pencil and notepad), although I really did want the oven mitts, I have managed to forgive that oversight now. The BE left block came a close second choice, having the catchiest campaign song, but I think that would be an even more wasted vote anyway. DD (democracy day) has come at last, or will Unc. Bertie have his henchmen out with big sticks. I will let you know if I see any.

Porto Santo is all out of petrol. A breakdown in the main filling station has meant that excess demand had drained all the petrol elsewhere. The Portugal Airforce has already started an operation to provide petrol to the island. The petrol station with the breakdown cannot be fixed until Monday. I can think of more disastrous scenarios I must admit, after all, apart from emergency situations, it wouldn’t do anyone any harm to to a bit of walking on a Sunday.

I received an email from someone who lives on Madeira on last night asking me to send them money to help them out of a ‘desperate situation’. It looked like a hoax, and it turned out to be just that. Apparently many hotmail accounts have been hacked, allowing crooks to use the email accounts of innocent people to try and con the contacts in their address book.

UPDATES :

You can probably guess the big front page story today, especially if you followed the football yesterday. Cristiano Ronaldo promised a goal, and went off injured instead, but the team went on to win despite an inconsistent performance. Portugal 3 Hungary 0. They need to win against Malta on Wednesday to stay in 2nd place in the group and reach the play-off games for next years World Cup.

Also in football, Mitchell Van der Gaag has been confirmed as coach for Marítimo and his duties with Marítimo B have been given to Nélson Caldeira.

The main political story is of course the elections today : Madeira Elects 772 Councillors – They are in play in the organs of local power regarding the 11 regions of Madeira and the 54 freguesias (parishes), the president of the republic appealed for the vote. Cavaco Silva made a national broadcast on TV yesterday evening to try and get people out to vote today.

And finally from me : News in Black and White. The Diário newspaper completes 133 years in service today, and the Sunday magazine with today’s printed edition travels back to look at the newspaper in 1876. These days we are accustomed to around 50 pages a day, filled with photographs and information graphics, signed texts, interviews, letters from readers, cases of the day, colourful advertising media and then of course there is the online edition. Back in the old days it was a huge buzz caused by four-page black and white offering with no pictures or authors, produced without much graphical care or  design rules. No pictures it says, but just browsing through the news stories from 133 years ago one caught my eye about a lady in Santa Luzia who had just given birth to a very very  noisy stroppy baby, who threw all his toys out of his wooden wheel-less pram at the slightest little thing, and could insult all and sundry within range within just a few hours of being born. It’s not easy to read such old text, but let me see … yes I think his name was Alberto João Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim. Anyone ever noticed that Santa is an anagram of another rather scary word?

Yesterday’s news stories, courtesy of Elaine in Garajau :

MADEIRA NOT READY TO HAVE A EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE. The Secretary of Education and Culture admits that Madeira is not yet ready to enter an application for the award.

DENUNCIATION OF CHEATING IN ALBUQUERQUE. The Communist candidate for Funchal stated that the council had announced eleven times the redevelopment of Pico dos Barcelos, and promised four green spaces/parks in Santo Antonio, but none created. "If Dr. Miguel Albuquerque participated in a film of Pinoccio, his nose would have grown so much that it would not fit on the screen."

‘FUGITIVO’ CASE WHICH ACCUSES 2 PSP OFFICERS OF ACCEPTING BRIBES POSTPONED UNTIL 9 DECEMBER. 12 defendants from a raid on a nightclub in 2006. Found ‘waitresses’ and ‘dancers’ appearing to be acting as prostitutes. The 2 PSP officers are accused of accepting VIP treatment at the nightclub for passing on information about raids. The 72 year old Brazilian ringleader, his 58 year old brother and other workers at the club are charged with various illegal activities including arranged marriages to Portuguese women. The women involved at the nightclub were Brazilian, some illegally immigrated.  

TWO ACCIDENTS YESTERDAY (FRIDAY) CAUSED LONG QUEUES ON HIGHWAY. Two accidents on the Santa Cruz/Funchal road. In the first one, a 33 year old woman had to be cut free from her Ford, which is to be scrapped, but she was released from hospital in the afternoon. She changed lanes without warning and a Ferrari driver from behind could not take avoiding action. His car will cost a few thousand to repair. –The commentators in the newspaper are not sympathetic to the Ferrari driver – excess speed? 

STUDENTS GIVEN TIPS FOR FLIGHTS PRICES. Students flying between Madeira and Lisbon can save money by booking in advance, booking directly via the websites of SATA, TAP and Easyjet rather than through travel agents, and a small change in date/time can make a difference. So instead of 400 Euros, the cheapest prices were for SATA 73 Euros, TAP 95 Euros and Easyjet 121 Euros, between 14-17 December and return 7-10 January.

PRAZERES GALLERY HAS FIRST ANNIVERSARY. The gallery in front of the Quinta Pedagogia has had 20,552 visitors to 11 exhibitions.

MSC ‘FANTASIA’ OFFERS CRUISES FROM FUNCHAL. November 23 and 4 December a 11 night cruise costs from 1380 Euros and a port fee of 130 Euros. A 6 day cruise on the 15 December costs from 878 Euros. An offer for an accompanying passenger.

MADEIRA TOURISM CHARM 170 FRENCH ON MONDAY. To coincide with the arrival of the low-cost carrier, the Tourism Office will host a two day tour of the island for French tour operators, tourism representatives, travel agents and media. They will have a welcome cocktail, dinner, trips to the Famers’ Market, wine lodges, Monte, walks, rides, jeep safaris and dolphin watching trips.

MILLENNIUM BCP WILL OPEN SATURDAYS. This bank will open on Saturdays from today. Anadia branch 9.30 to 13.30.

… and today’s too … thanks Elaine :

Quinta do Lorde resort promoted in England and France. 99 apartments and 23 single houses for sale. Already promoted in Madeira, promotion in England to begin in November through Savilles Estate Agency in London, then Glasgow in February and Manchester in September. They are betting on selling to the UK market as there is a strong English tourism base. They are using Savilles which have an exclusive clientele. Also promoted on the web sites of the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and Financial Times. It will then be promoted in December at the Cannes International Luxury Travel Market fair, which is only open to ‘VIP buyers’, who have to be able to prove that they have a certain income and lifestyle to visit it. Later promotions in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They still do not know when the resort will be finished and  realise that now is a difficult time to sell. —Another half-sold development?

Eco Line occupancy rate has tripled. To reduce mobility needs, traffic congestion and accidents in Funchal, energy consumption and pollution, the Eco Line buses have been made free since the 1 September and their usage has tripled. There already is one Green Line bus (no 1) running between Piornais and the city centre and the Funchal Bus Company is buying more buses (hybrid technology or electrical) to run one every seven minutes. This is part of the CIVITAS project, involving the council, Technology and Science Park and Energy and Environment Agency. They are still surveying the usage of  buses in order to plan a better service.

Fraudulent PSP e-mails. These e-mails, purporting to come from the police, are still being issued and the police are getting about 50 enquiries a week. These notify the recipient that they are required to attend a court hearing but the attached file contains a ‘phishing’ message.

Condominium Management Companies more competent. The Bureau of the ACIF Business Condo has eight members which represent 50 – 60% of the sector. There is a draft law to be debated, which has been designed over the last three years, to regulate the industry. The management firms often have problems with 20 – 30% of the owners and recovering debt by litigation is expensive and lengthy, so a last resort.

Young people want more time with parents. Lack of love, values and dialogue, summarises more than 3,500 people aged between 12 and 21, enrolled in the Youth Service at Bom Jesus Health Centre, Funchal. These are from dysfunctional families which now occur in all sectors of society. The parents do not have time for them, no family meals and no joint activities. This service is run by a 24-strong multidisciplinary team, including 4 doctors, 8 nurses, 3 psychologists and a nutritionist, who promote healthy lifestyle and less risky behaviour. Last year they started three new projects, for pregnant teenagers, eating disorders and sexually-transmitted diseases. They next want to be able to monitor health of pre-adolescent 10 to 13 year olds. —Unfortunately, sign of the times.

SPAD requests the inclusion of  animals in the declaration of IRS. At yesterday’s  Blessing of the Animals ceremony in Funchal Municipal Park, there was much barking, with a few dogs but no cats. The SPAD (equivalent of the PDSA) representative wants the cost of pets to be deductable in tax returns.

Best way to book travel? It has been thought that Travel Agents might disappear because of increased use of internet booking, but the cheapest deal might not always be the best, mainly due to the conditions and limitations of the cheaper tickets. Travel agents often have agreements with airlines so they can offer good rates not seen on websites, and the service charge pays for them and security as the agents do not receive commission. It is easier to book a holiday package through a travel agent, and they build up knowledge over time so can advise. WTTC-affiliated agents are more secure.

Voting complaints. In Sao Roque do Faial, a complaint about PS propaganda leaflets near the ballot box (illegal). Also several complaints about the politically-known arranging transport to polling stations (influence?).

—–I noted that last night at the Santana Theme Park OCM concert, they also erected screens for those wanting to watch the football match.

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(25th August). Today’s main news story : ‘Euro Support At Risk – Madeira is the second worst region in Portugal for the use of European funds. Below, only the Algarve’. The EU has allocated €21 billion for expenditure in Portugal, to spend in the period 2007 to 2013. Madeira has 398 approved applications from this funding worth €140 million, but only money from 20 of these. It’s just 2% of the available pot, with the north of Portugal bagging 41%, Alentejo 12%, and the Azores 5%. I am sure there must be a financial scandal against the government here somewhere, for the Diário to have made it the main headline. It’s one of those dreaded financial articles full of abbreviations and financial terms that nobody understands, so I will use my time more effectively elsewhere.

The main photo today shows a taxi rank, with the first in the queue out of his cab and looking rather annoyed : ‘Free ‘Eco Line’ Infuriates Taxi Drivers – The taxi drivers on the rank are worried and indignant with Albuquerque and Conceição Estudante : the free transport in ecologically friendly buses threatens to explode the market’. Taxis in "slow death". "In reality, we don’t know what the future will hold for taxi drivers after 1st September". It is with concern that the president of the Taxi Association AITRAM, António Loreto, sees the future of these professionals after Funchal council and the regional secretary for tourism and transport revealed their intentions to make travel free on the ‘Eco Line’ buses. Alongside the illegal competition from some transport companies, Loreto says that this latest news is tormenting his members and "is going to damage yet more  the life of the taxi drivers". He believes that the Eco Line is a experimental initiative, with a duration of six months. "It seems that we just have to pay taxes, whilst others take our business" he adds, referring to the fact that it will be very difficult to attract tourists and residents when there is a free bus every 10 minutes connecting the main points of the city and hotels. There are 450 taxi drivers in Funchal, and over a thousand jobs overall, that depend on the trade. This week AITRAM will hold an emergency meeting with its members to analyse the problem. Not much sympathy from me when it comes to taxi drivers in Funchal, I guess the ones that are that way inclined will be ripping off a few more tourists to try to fill their pockets. Tough on the good ones though, doing my politically correct bit of course. What price a cleaner environment eh? I am hopping mad with jealousy because we (over my way) will continue to have the filthy old polluting buses of Rodoeste, and still have to pay for them. All the good stuff goes to Funchal as usual, sod the poor people out in the country.

‘Only Two Salvage / Rescue Stations Operational – The programme for 6 marine assistance centres is far from the end’. Network of stations in "dry dock". The six centres for costal rescue stations were promised in 2007, but progress is slow. In fact the only one in operation is in Funchal, although the one in Santa Cruz (which will act as the HQ) situated under the airport runway, is used in necessity, but has not yet been inaugurated. Porto Santo should be ready in 2010. With the other three, the situation is uncertain. In Porto Moniz, APRAM awaits authorisation from the civil protection authorities to start work in the port, and in Lugar de Baixo, well we all know the situation there. Porto da Cruz is in no better situation, depending on the decision of the government regarding the harbour location, with nothing expected to happen before 2011. Despite the uncertainties, SANAS went ahead and have already bought the six lifeguards rescue stations. These are now in ‘dry dock’ waiting to be used. There is a story and / or excuse for almost all the delays, and little concrete information on moving forward. The incident at São Vicente a few days ago when a fisherman was swept out to sea, proves the need for a ready nearby response, rather than waiting for aid to come from afar. When installed, each station will have a lifeboat in readiness to be launched when an alert is raised. We already have one tucked away here in Ribeira Brava, which I believe is operated by our firemen, so perhaps the Diário doesn’t have the full picture regarding sea rescue resources.

Yesterday’s search efforts pictured after a 73 / 75 / 76 year old man disappeared on Porto Santo on Sunday. He went out to do some fishing and didn’t return. ‘Missing Fisherman Of Porto Santo Was The Chauffeur Of The Murdered Businessman’. Despite the headline, nothing has been found to suggest that any third party was involved in the disappearance. Involved in the search are the navy patrol  boat ‘Cuanza’, two launches, a Merlin EH-101 helicopter, firemen and 4 forensic divers from Funchal. The search started yesterday continues today.

‘Seven Detained For Driving Under The Effect Of Alcohol – PSP dealt with 21 accidents at the weekend’. Three of the cases were in Ribeira Brava, the other 4 were spread around. One arrest was made for driving without a licence, and another for having a pop at a police officer. The 21 road accidents caused 5 injuries, one serious. Over the previous week on the via rápida hosted 63 broken down vehicles, as well as 8 vehicles stopped without apparent reason. 9 people were caught ‘on foot’, 8 animals rescued, and 35 objects of ‘risky dimensions’ were removed.

In football : "Terrible Atmosphere" Awaiting Nacional – Zenit player praises the promotion in Russia and makes himself available to collaborate in every way’. The Zenit player is Danny, not born here, but considered as a Madeiran. The stadium is likely to be full (21,000+) of baying Russians, giving Nacional a very ‘warm’ noisy welcome on Thursday. He applauds the decision to use the game to promote ‘destination Madeira’, and considers it a good investment of €10,000. He said he has already told footballing colleagues about Madeira, and some have visited, including the owner of his former club Dynamo Moscow.

‘Cavaco Silva vetoes new law on unions ‘de facto’ - The President of the Republic considers "inappropriate" making substantive changes at the end of term’. The President vetoed the new law on unmarried couples, considering it "inappropriate" at the end of a legislative term changing the current law, and pointing out the lack of a "in depth discussion" on the matter. "Without contesting the eventual need to make an improvement of the legal regime of ‘de facto’ unions … it is considered that at this juncture, this change is not only untimely, but it was not subject to discussion with the depth that the importance of this topic necessarily requires", reads a note posted on the website of the Presidency.

‘Rockfall In Albufeira – Prosecutors opened criminal investigation’. The public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the collapse of a cliff on the beach Maria Luísa in Albufeira on Friday, that killed five people and injured several more. The inquiry will be conducted in Portimão and the report referred to the court in Albufeira. The inquiry will "investigate any responsibility for what happened".

UPDATE : 

‘Police Action Results In Complaints – PSP says it was acting in a situation of public disorder in Camacha’. Three men claim to have been the victims of aggression in the area Nogueira, from the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) of the Public Security Police. The situation is worsening the already complicated relationship between the police and residents of the zone. The three young men aged 20, 26 and 27 claim they were the target of a revenge attack, because of personal issues that they had had with an officer of BIR. A police spokesman said the BIR was called in to deal with a situation of public disorder. It all happened at the Festa de São Lourenço at around 12.30 am, and witnesses said that the three men were eating espetada without bothering anyone and doing nothing to annoy the police officers, but when the three moved away to go to the toilet they were followed by the BIR team (made up of 9 officers). The toilet entrance was blocked to stop anyone else entering and the three were given a "drubbing that almost killed us", according to one of the three men, as well as being threatened with death. The police used guns, batons, and pepper spray in the attack he said, and he ended up pretending to pass-out to stop the assault. The police version says the men were found in the public toilet when responding to a call about drunkenness and drugs, and they resisted arrest, but were handcuffed and taken to the police station and later released. The case is now with the public prosecutor in Santa Cruz.

‘Police Charge Bar on Porto Santo For Unlicensed Security’. The popular bar in the docks area was caught using two bouncers, when not licensed to do so. The fine for the offence ranges from €10,000 to €100,000. That should put an end to that bar then!

‘Hotels Are Prepared – Hoteliers commend the meeting to clarify matters about Gripe A’. The hotels are already preparing themselves for a possible outbreak of swine flu cases, with the arrival of cooler September temperatures. They have the materials and disinfectants needed, and also a contingency plan. The Diário contacted the main hotel groups of Pestana, Porto Bay, Savoy and Dorisol, and all assured that they were ready for the expected pandemic, with workers instructed and provided with ‘protective kits’, that include long-sleeved uniforms, ‘duck billed’ protective masks, and gels and disinfectants for cleaning telephones, doorknobs, printers, sanitary facilities etc. They are also trained in being diplomatic as to not upset customers. Can’t deny that being an interesting prospect, some one dressed on like a duck billed Darth Vader approaching a sneezing guest and hosing him down with disinfectant and yet maintaining hotel type diplomacy. I can’t deny being a little intrigued by the ‘kits’ containing materials for cleaning ‘printers’, although everything else makes sense. What make printers a special case I wonder? It’s a while since I went to a hotel I must admit, but in this day and age do they now put printers on dinner tables, or do people sleep with them. What about the computers they are connected to, are they somehow immune to Gripe A, and an even worse risk I would guess is the computer keyboard, as that’s where people have their hands after the previous gripe victim has coughed and sneezed all over it. I would have thought that lift buttons, and indeed coins and notes, would present a higher risk and have a higher priority than printers. I am busy saving up my small change, so when the pandemic hits Rib. Bra. I can always pay for things with the exact money … no risk then with infected change. What worries me is the kissey kissey thing and shaking hands with so many people, as I don’t want to offend anyone by refusal. Perhaps I will paint my face with pink spots, then people will avoid me instead.

Only around 20 articles in today’s Diário news sections (excluding sport and events), so that’s it from there today, but might I drift over to the dark side later to see what’s in the Jornal da Madeira, but no promises.

Just this one : "Mistérios das Ilhas" In The Bookshops Of Madeira’. ”Mysteries of the Islands’, controversies and secrets from the history of Madeira, by the author journalist José Luís Cabrita, is already on sale in all good bookshops. It has a preface by a man called Alberto João Jardim, who also happens be the president of Madeira (and presumably that also means that he is protected from any personal embarrassment). The book questions the discovery of Madeira, and looks at the ‘captains’ of the island, it’s settlement, and its inhabitants. It presents little known information about Madeira, some of it controversial. In the preface, Alberto João Jardim believes that "Mysteries of the Islands" is "a new and different image that brings the history of Madeira to political debate". I want to read it, but at €20 a copy, it might have to wait until Xmas.