Malaria on the archipelago ; Another weather warning ; Nacional lose in the League Cup
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (West) … A rainbow at Paul da Serra
"The fireworks was indeed the best I have ever seen. Most were launched from the waterfront, east from the harbour, but there was also a number of other sites (I counted to more than 10, but people say 40 sites). The rockets were synchronised, so the same type/colour came from many sites at the same time – amazing! 17 tons of fireworks are rumoured to have been used… Many boats went out to see it from the water, but that looked dangerous (dark, many boats, acohol, attention on fireworks, etc.), so I stayed in the harbour". PRIVATE BLOG WITH PHOTOS
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São Martinho Church – Funchal by Sonia von Walter.
"FUNCHAL – Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has bought his native island of Madeira and indicated that he plans to turn it into a theme park focusing on his career. Ronaldo, 24, already owns the world’s largest collection of mirrors". From the Los Angeles Times From Lisbon to L.A., some stories we’d like to read in 2010
"Three people from the Madeira archipelago have returned home for Christmas holiday after working in the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea are hospitalized due to infections of falciparum malaria. One of the workers is in intensive care while the other two are in the hospital but stabile. The Madeira archipelago is one of the autonomous regions of Portugal in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. It does have a sub tropical humid climate which is conducive to many emerging diseases found in the tropics. But according to experts, the weather in December is too cold for local transmission". MORE FROM THE NATIONAL EXAMINER
Nacional fought a brave fight away at Benfica in the Carlsberg Cup last night, losing only in the last few minutes by a single goal.
Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :
Bad weather returns and causes more damage. Madeira is on orange alert, the second highest on a scale of four. This is due to heavy rain and strong winds forecasted with gusts up to 110 km/hour in the mountains. Sea condition forecasts are for 4 metre waves and 55 km/hour winds. The conditions are expected to remain until tomorrow. The Porto Santo ferry managed the link yesterday but docking at Porto Santo was hampered by strong waves. The ferry also sailed today but there are uncertainties about tomorrow’s journey. A landslide in Ponta do Sol yesterday threw more than a ton of rocks and earth into the stream. It occurred near the Giga Park when people were about to attend the circus at 15.30, causing more alarm than damage. The leader of the PS in São Vicente is concerned that the stones carried down by rain to Ribeira Grande are being moved to land fill sites above Ginjas. Gouveia questions the safety of this operation in case they are washed down from this new site. He has already alerted São Vicente Council to the matter and will inform the Public Prosecutor. The PS Francisco Dias of Porto Moniz Council accuses the PSD of halting and preventing the local authority from planning a Risk Charter for the county (disapproved in the last Council meeting in December). This would mean a revision of the Municipal Plan and would help defend the coastline, streams, industrial parks, forests and population. This afternoon, a wall collapsed onto a section of the expressway in Madalena do Mar and the police closed the road as it is partly blocked and the remaining wall unstable. The damage will be assessed tomorrow morning.
Cantares de Reis in Ponta do Sol on January 5. The Grupo de Folclore da Ponta do Sol are marking the Dia de Reis with a show in the village centre (next to the auditorium of the Centro Cultural John dos Passos) from 21.30. This initiative started seven years ago due to the wealth and diversity of regional cantares de reis (songs of the kings). There are many different groups participating. This tradition is still alive in Ponta do Sol and throughout Madeira and in recent years, there have been more groups formed. They visit, from the 5 – 6 January, homes of friends, relatives and neighbours and travel to different sites. The festivities usually continue until Santo Amaro. Visitors are rewarded by the householders with food and drink typical of the festive season (liqueurs, homemade bread with meat in wine and garlic, various sweets, bolo de noiva, torresmos and sometimes soup).
Cantar os Reis in Funchal. In the auditorium of Funchal Municipal Garden on Tuesday 5 January at 21.30. The event is organized by the Cultural Association Encontros da Eira and is part of the tourist calendar for Christmas and New Year festivities. Various groups will be performing songs and plays with religious themes, reviving the traditions of cantares de reis from various parts of the region. Inherent to the show, there will be distribution of specialities of this season to the public and entertainment on the streets by the group Gaitulia. Local men bring regional instruments and women regional food. That afternoon the group Encontros da Eira will perform at the Congress Centre (Casino) in a show which is the responsibility of the orchestra (OCM).
Valter will not give money to the Parish Councils. The ex-president of the Parish Council of Seixal, who is now the Mayor of the County Council of Porto Moniz, will not transfer any funds to the four Parish Councils; Seixal, Ribeira da Janela, Porto Moniz and Acadas da Cruz. This is the same situation as during the past eight years when the previous mayor was Gabriel de Farinha. Two Parish Councils are PSD controlled (Seixal and Ribeira da Janela) and the other two are Socialist. The two Socialist Parish Council presidents are more critical of the Mayor of Porto Moniz (PSD) than their counterparts in PSD run Councils. Valter Correia explains that he would like to transfer funds to the parishes but the budget is tight and instead, they will be given materialistic help. In São Vicente, the budget is also tight but Jorge Romeira (PSD) has a different attitude and gives 204,000 euros to the three Parish Councils. São Vicente and Ponta Delgada receive 65,000 euros and Boaventura over 74,000 euros. He said the Councils require the money for their valuable work for the residents, "Clearing footpaths and improvements cost money." In Calheta, the CDS Manuel Baeta wants to know why there are a million euros of the Council budget allocated for ‘Other’. He thinks this is not transparent and it is more than the total budget of the eight Parish Councils in Calheta.
Cavaco receives more criticism than praise. The New Year’s message from Cavaco Silva, the President of Portugal, did not please the majority of political parties in Madeira. The exception was the PP leader José Rodrigues. The PSD thought it was a message of a country without hope. Miguel de Sousa stated, "My generation has lived since 1974 hearing this speech that we must sacrifice, we need to unify, we need judgement. It is always repetitive." He said Portugal needs a new system as the current one is not working and that change is the responsibility of all: President, Prime Minister, members of the opposition parties and other political players. The PS agree that the country needs those who will propose a new system and the message shows conflict between the President and the Government. Rodrigues of the PP said that Cavaco supported the Government as he said in his speech that the PS and the Government have all the conditions to govern. Cavaco said in his speech that the country’s foreign debt and the imbalance of public accounts are enhancers of an ‘explosive’ situation in Portugal. He stated that the political parties must maintain political stability in the country.
Madeira Island Tourism increases its investment in a promotion on the Continent. In Lisbon, there will be an Industrial Fair from the 13 – 19 January. The regional authorities who are promoting tourism to Madeira will use the themes activities and sports to engage the interest of tourists from Portugal. In recent months, there has been a remarkable growth in the number of Portuguese staying at hotels on the island, partly due to the increase in availability of air transport and campaigns launched by the Regional Tourism department. They ran direct advertising campaigns through the Internet and indirectly through sponsorship of regional events and TV productions on national television. In the first 10 months of last year, the hotels recorded 809,165 overnight stays, which exceeded the total for 2008. The final total should be a record number for the Portuguese market in the last decade. There will be an area to promote Porto Santo and one for the Wine, Embroidery and Crafts Institute. During the days open only to professionals, Madeiran barmen will demonstrate the making of cocktails. The Regional Director of Tourism will be there on the first two days and at a dinner held in central Lisbon for those working for national airlines, tourist agents and tour operators.
Hundreds followed the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima to the Church of Carmo this afternoon. After a well attended Mass, the statue was taken from the College Church to the Church of Carmo in Funchal. There was also good attendance at the Peace March which started at this church and ended at the Se Cathedral at 18.30. The Pilgrim Statue remains at the Church of Carmo until next Sunday. The Bishop of Funchal would not comment on the controversial statements by the President for European Anti-Poverty about the transfer of Canon Manuel Martins to Machico Parish.
Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :
MP : Court of Santa Cruz is in chaos. This is an interview with the man whose job title translates roughly as something like ‘state prosecutor coordinator of the Public Prosecutor’s office (MP) on Madeira’. Just picking out a couple of points he made : "There is a big gap between what those elites in power think, and the feelings of the people". On Santa Cruz court : it is an example of how a court should not function, reaching an almost chaotic situation – with the delays of a accumulation of cases, and the inability to respond. The backlog will take years to clear.
Claim of Naviera Armas against the ports – The ferry operator respects the new unloading rules, but the action against APRAM [Port Authority] goes forward on the 18th.
Only 54 created their own employment. The restaurant trade was the favoured area for those who took the initiative, but all in all only 54 took advantage of support offered by the Regional Government, and it is clear that Madeira lacks more entrepreneurs. There are several ‘packages’ to encourage people into self-employment, but being your own boss it seems doesn’t appeal to many, and in particular the 13,500 unemployed. The 54 who have gone down that road have so far created just 66 jobs, with proposals for another 80.
Today’s main news headline : PSD Social Democrats clear out committees where it lost in the elections – The ‘orange’ political committees of São Jorge, Gaula, Achada da Cruz, Água da Pena, and Porto Moniz, where the defeats occurred in the local elections last October, are on the way out. Soon there will be elections. And the reshaping will not end there. Party elections will be held to appoint new political committees in these 5 non-PSD parishes, but the clear-out might well be extended to other councils. The new elections will see new names, but existing names will be able to stand again [yeah right!]. Drastic, but not a great surprise. Of course it is already well known that president Jardim is punishing those parish councils where the voters didn’t elect his Social Democrats, by pulling out projects. Great tactics from our leader, as by pulling the key projects and strangling the finances, those voters who strayed from the ‘Uncle Bertie way’, will feel let down and disappointed by their current non-PSD parish council, so what will they do next time … return to the Bertie fold [maybe?]. Maybe it’s time for a new year revolution resolution.
Hundreds follow the pilgrim image to the church of Carmo – The Bishop of Funchal asked the youngsters to guide themselves by the principles of peace. Yesterday afternoon the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima was moved from the Igreja do Colégio to the Igreja do Carmo, where it will stay until Sunday, accompanied by hundreds of faithful followers. A peace march also took place with dozens of youngsters walking the streets of downtown Funchal, that finished at Sé Cathedral in Funchal.
Today’s sport / football headlines : Treacherous defeat in the Estádio da Luz [Stadium of Light, Benfica's ground] – National lost the first group game of the League Cup, but can complain about the refereeing (Rodrigo goal wrongly ruled out) and about themselves also. Benfica 1 Nacional 0.
In Division II, União widen the leadership. União 1 Amadora 0, in the second division south league.
Ribeira Brava lead Série Madeira [Madeira football league]. Ribeira Brava actually scored two goals in the 0 – 2 away win at Canicense, and that’s a rarity.
Sue very kindly provided these stories … many thanks.
Parish of Mount Carmo – Bishop says "a profound cultural renewal" is needed.
Not the same numbers that gathered in the square of the College on the day the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima came to Madeira, thousands of people attended did yesterday’s mass in the Church College and followed the procession to the parish of Mount Carmo. The bishop of the Diocese of Funchal addressed a few words to the young people at the church who followed later in March for Peace through Rua Fernão de Ornelas, heading for the Sé.
D. António Carrilho recalled the Pope’s message for this year, stressing that "we are called to pray for peace" and "be builders of peace" as "to build peace is to say yes and say no." It’s "say no to selfishness, lying, hatred, revenge, war and all forms of violence, injustice, envy, jealousy, lack of respect for life and the rights of others and disregard of nature "and" say yes to truth and justice, liberty, responsibility, respect for the rights of the individual and respect for and protection of creation, the whole universe and our mother earth, our common home of all humanity".
The image of Our Lady of Fatima, who has been on a pilgrimage in Madeira since October 13, remains in the parish of Mount Carmo until the end of the week. She then goes to the Belfry, where she began her visit to Câmara de Lobos.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Wallet lost at Avenue Sea. A wallet with documents was lost yesterday afternoon on Avenue of the Sé, next to the restaurant ‘McDonald’s’. The owner is a mainland tourist who asks those who find the object to contact the PSP or contact the owner on phone 962 337 080. The lady promises to reward for the retrieval the wallet and documents.
Falling trees in the Nun’s Valley. Bad weather on Saturday afternoon caused the fall of several trees on the road to the Nun’s Valley. With the use of technical assistance from a landscaping company that use a chain saw to cut two pine trees involved was completed before the arrival of the Fire Volunteers Câmara de Lobos.
Madeira remains on alert ‘Orange’. Despite the improvements that were last recorded, the Institute of Meteorology continues to put Madeira on ‘Orange’ alert, but this time mainly due to the condition of the sea. Wave levels of five and six meters together with the wind are expected also in mountain areas where they can reach speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, are the situations to be taken into account.
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New hospital is urgent. Reduced waiting lists for consultations and surgery is one of the challenges for 2010. The Health Service (SESARAM) management has been frequently criticized this year but the doctors and nurses unanimously agree that the proposed new hospital in Funchal is urgently required. Both the Order of Nurses and Order of Physicians state the construction of the hospital cannot be delayed any longer and must be made a priority this year. However the Clinical Director, Miguel Ferreira, said the hospital is only a medium term plan and the two major challenges are improvements in the existing structures and a better, more effective and quicker response leading to a reduction in the waiting lists. There needs to be more investment in training with more than 70 new junior doctors employed but recruitment difficulties occur in some specialities. The President of the Order of Nurses said the two challenges were the reorganization of primary care and care of the elderly. Community support for people with mental health difficulties and a continuing care network should not be forgotten. The accessibility to health care should be increased with a more decentralized service which requires the cutting of red tape. Community care is safer, quicker, of better quality and preferred by users. What is particularly needed is for professionals to visit the elderly, the dependant, people with chronic illnesses and those at home after a stay in hospital.
Thirteen new cruise ships. This year, there will be a record of 13 inaugural calls by cruise ships. There will also be five ships coming under new names. The first inaugural call is on Monday with the arrival of the MSC Splendida (photo), the most recent addition to the MSC Cruises company. It is the twin of MSC Fantasia and can accommodate 3,887 passengers and 1,325 crew members. Coming from Tenerife, this cruise ship docks at 8 am and leaves at 17.00 for Malaga. On January 5th, the luxurious Silver Spirit is here for the first time. It is a smaller ship with a capacity for 564 tourists. On March 16th, the Zenith arrives, an older ship built in 1992 and is the twin of the Pacific Dream. April has the most inaugural visits: Disney Cruises come for the first time with the Disney Magic on the 18th; the Tui Aqua on the 5th; the Prince Albert on the 22nd and the Empress on the 25th. May 2nd, the Azura and May 24th, the Celebrity Eclipse call. On September 9th, the AIDAblu replaces the weekly AIDAluna for the winter season. On 21st October the new Cunard liner, the Queen Elizabeth is eagerly awaited. The luxurious SeabournSojourn docks on November 5th and finally, the Adventure of the Seas calls for the first time on the following day.
Government puts former nursery up for sale. The property is the first one the Regional Government sells due to the economic crisis. The Regional Government, through PATRIA (the company that manages the Regional Government assets) is to auction the property in Machico. It is fracção J-R/C in the building Edificio da Paz in Rua do Ribeirinho, which is the same building where the PSD in Machico have their office. The auction price is 236,000 euros. The buyer will be responsible for paying all the taxes involved in buying; stamp duty, IMT, notary and registration fees. PATRIA are selling the property as it is no longer used by public services because the area is too small. 
Member of the clock back in the Assembly. Jose Manuel Coelho is back this month and promises new exhibits. He replaces the PND member Baltasar Aguiar. Coelho has been absent since December 2008 and is unsure of how long he will return for, but he states it does not matter as the mission is to serve democracy and freedoms and he will do his best. Protagonist to several political events in the Legislative Assembly, in particularly when he sported a large kitchen clock around his neck in protest against the rules that reduced the speeches of the opposition members to intolerable time minimums. He unfurled a flag with a swastika, the symbol of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler, to criticise the system established for 33 years in Madeira. He admits his events are not politically correct but are necessary and appropriate to enliven the conscience. He is assumed to be a communist but he is distant from the PCP in Madeira due to dissensions with some of the leaders. He is proud that he used to sell Pravda after April 25th and as one of their largest sellers, was awarded with a trip to the communist homeland. He now fights against the autocracy and oligarchy established for more than 30 years of tyranny and despotism by Alberto João Jardim. He is for democracy and against the abuses and arrogance of the jardinista regime, which controls the Tribunals and Public Ministry. During the last election, he was running for Câmara de Lobos and mustered 930 votes, which he considers good for some one not from the locality and contributed to the election of a member to the Municipal Assembly and to Câmara de Lobos Parish Council.
… and from yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : Tourists marvel at the fireworks. New Year’s Eve in Funchal returned once again to conquer the many thousands of tourists who chose Madeira to commemorate the arrival of the New Year. The international fame that the fireworks display has been able to achieve, brought again to Madeira thousands of tourists of various nationalities who were "delighted" with the fireworks display. We were in contact with several tourists who at the end of yesterday morning could not resist the invitation by the sun’s rays on the first day of 2010, and took the opportunity to stroll around lower Funchal, especially the central area of Avenida Arriaga to see the Christmas decorations and entertainment. At that hour, in addition to background music and stalls selling food and drink with traditional specialities, the performance of a folklore group gained the attention of many who circulated around with cameras and video cameras in hand. To our news team, tourists from England, Germany and Continental Portugal gave their testimony, revealing themselves delighted with the reveillon celebrations. 
Funchal welcomed thousands in the farewell to 2009. Thousands and thousands of people descended into Funchal. With the help of good weather, the capital of Madeira "was alert" already with some movement, and the tourists were the largest "slice" of those who thronged the streets of Funchal. Our news team made a circuit of the city and found that, indeed, the "smell" of the new year was already in the air. We started by going to the Mercado dos Lavradores where flowers, typical or not of Madeira, were the most photographed and acquired. The flashes did not stop going off. 
