Madeira News Blog » funchal port

Oceans of Wine ; Water price rise in shortage ; Government protects holiday homes

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … One of the last remaining objects from the railway closed during the II WW, I believe 1941, the last and the only bridge of the train.

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for that cartoon, and this web snippet :

Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste by David Hancock. New Haven: Yale, 2009. This engaging and thoroughly researched (150 pages of endnotes) work delves into all aspects of Madeira from the growing of the grapes on the Portuguese island of Madeira to the merchants, shippers, and consumers. The often complex and changing transatlantic trade was not restricted to the British colonies, but among many nations. HERE

Becky kindly send in this link to a video of fantastic nature photography HERE

How our islands are made … Pete HERE Thank you both.

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

DIÁRIO 16/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Government builds walls on the beach. To protect illegal small villas that were originally ‘casas da lancha’, the Regional Government is building walls in the middle of the beach of Porto Santo. These buildings were for storing boats and have been transformed into holiday homes over the past 20 years. Porto Santo Council has made a complaint to the government. The target of the main complaint was the house belonging to Carlos Machado, the ‘Posto Avançado da Democracia’ (shown). Carlos Machado is associated with Alberto Jardim and the first wall built was to protect his holiday home. These artificial barriers impede the natural movement of the sand and sediments and will have a significant impact on the size of the beach. The Regional Government has also allowed the sand dunes to be destroyed by the replacement of wooden boat houses, with the installation of septic tanks that are emptied at night time onto the beach. The width of the beach is now less than 40 metres in areas and some areas are completely submerged at high tide. Over the last three decades, it has been estimated that 350,000 cubic metres of sand have disappeared, equivalent to 23,000 lorry loads. 13,000 cubic metres per year are lost. There are also less sediments transported to the beach by streams, the flow lessened by constructions designed to control storm water. The houses impede the circulation of sand from the north to the south. To remedy the problem, the Regional Government need to dredge the sea bed to replace the lost sand. These holiday homes are illegal yet other structures have been demolished, for example the Bar do Henrique because it was not a wooden construction. The Ports Administration has identified a number of houses in an attempt to prevent their proliferation. Santos Costa, the Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure has rejected replenishing the sand. He has also allowed the removal of large stones and pebbles that dissipate wave energy and prevent coastal erosion.

Santa Cruz terminate the contract of a firm dumping earth in the ribeira. An ironic situation arose. A construction firm in Santo da Serra was contracted by Santa Cruz Council to clean the estrada do Ribeiro Serrão (Camacha), that had become impassable after the storms on February 20th. The firm deposited the debris from the road into the Ribeiro Serrão, resulting in the council terminating their employment. The council already have a very rigid policy against individuals and companies that harm the county. The debris was being removed from the site of the Ponte de Pau and the action destroyed pipelines that carry drinking water to Camacha. This area had been without a drinking water supply for one week and the pipes had been repaired that very same day. The firm’s manager denied they had worked for the council but instead for ‘Estradas da Madeira’, and did not understand the accusation. The councillor backed his initial statement, adding that the firm dumped the earth into the stream to prevent having to transport it to temporary landfill sites.

MADEIRA

Expenses paid only when there is a conviction. Clarification of a previous report that the police have to pay for injuries sustained to the attacker, whilst defending themselves. Payments for medical treatment and social security contributions after aggressive incidents are paid by the perpetrators only if they are tried and convicted. The decision rests with the courts and not the health service. If the accused is innocent, the costs are paid by those who lose the court case. These procedures apply to both civilians and the police.

Social Security pays 15 million Euros to institutions. In 2009, the Centre for Social Security transferred 15 million Euros to Social Security institutions and other not-for-profit institutions. This is 25% higher than in 2008. The number of institutions has not increased and they are mainly for children and the elderly, the latter increasingly in need of support.

ECONOMY

Two more dredges and the Zenith in port today. Two regional dredges started to clear the Port of Funchal after the storm of February 20th. Two more from Lisbon and Setubal will help them. One dredger, the Varosa, arrived yesterday morning with the aid of the Comandante Águas tug. It is 55 metres long, 11 metres wide and can hold about 670 toneladas (tonnage/tonnes ?) of inerts. The second dredger, the Gruamar, is transported from Setubal by the tug Monfort and arrives today. This vessel has a length of 39.4 metres and a width of 11.5 metres. Today is the inaugural visit of the cruise ship called the Zenith. Coming from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands with 220 tourists on board then sailing on to Lisbon. The ship was built in 1992 in Germany and is 208 metres long, 29 metres wide and can receive 1,374 passengers served by a crew of 657 personnel.

Jorge Sá complains to the police about a dark campaign. A few days after the disaster of February 20th, an e-mail was circulated claiming that the Sá supermarket chain was taking advantage of the break in the drinking water network by raising the price of bottled water in some municipalities. Thousands of people in Madeira received this e-mail. The sender was identified as a former employee who is currently employed by a rival firm. A second e-mail was sent suggesting that people shopped at Pingo Doce supermarkets, mentioning that the owners of this chain were donating one million Euros to help the reconstruction effort, as opposed to the Sá Group not offering any financial help. The e-mail also alleged that Jorge Sá demanded that employees worked overtime without being paid to do so. Jorge Sá denies these accusations.

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

Today’s main news headline : Renovation of Serra de Água at the cost of privates [companies] – RTP Television and Sonae have clubbed together €1.5 million with the €1.2 million of Mota Engil, in order to guarantee the construction of 26 new houses.

The joint committee starts work tomorrow on the evaluation of Madeira [damage].

A mysterious ‘Crater’ disturbs Achadas da Cruz – The people are suspicious of something that the scientific community have promised to investigate. The hole that is causing restlessness in Achadas has a diameter of one metre and a depth of 1.8 centimetres [yes I have double checked], and locals believe that it was caused by a meteorite. The hole appeared at the beginning of the month, a few days after the extreme rainfall, but the locals don’t believe that the two matters are related. Maria Pestana, owner of the land which took the hit, says that she can now laugh at the situation. However, in the beginning she was not amused at all, and even prayed about the event. She swears that in 78 years of life that she has never seen anything like it, and refuses to cover it up or peek into the hole. "It’s the power of God," she says. As for a reasonable explanation for the event, she refers to the fall of a "lightning bolt", or at worst, for "something more sumen" striking. What is ‘sumen’, and how can someone peak into a hole that is 1.8 cm deep? Sr. Diário reporter, I think you need to go back an remeasure the depth of that hole.

Undercover officer compromises ‘Caso da Mala’ [The case of the case] – An operation of the PSP [Public Security Police] raises a request of invalidity in a case under judgement.

Madeira promoted in Porto and in Vigo – ‘Tourism’ develops a promotional action following the new route of Transavia. The new air link between Funchal and Porto, by the French ‘low cost’ airline, has prompted the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport to promote Madeira in those two cities. Workshops have been organised with tour operators and travel agents.

Carlos Costa sings in the School Sports festival – The Madeiran ‘pop idol’ participates in the opening session of the event, on the 27th April.

The main sports / football headline today : Councillor condemns "blackmail" of the clubs – Arlindo Gomes [council president] criticises the leaders of Câmara de Lobos and Estreito and warns that he will reduce the support for sport. "Nowhere is there any commitment to continuity of support and the council is going to decide what will be allocated and how much it will allocate, within its capabilities." This is the response of the president of Câmara de Lobos facing the criticism he has suffered, because it has not yet been decided what support to give to sport.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.

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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. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and other material.

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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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Please send any topical or Madeira related photos or videos to Der at blog@madeira4u.com to appear on this blog. Photos may take a while to appear, depending on the number waiting. Please don’t send copyrighted material.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Windsurfing feature ; NYT explains the Portugal economy ; Plane spotters paradise

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … that odd looking ship again leaving Funchal Port.

Many thanks to Becky again for finding a couple more ‘web snippets’ :

Interesting blog, part photo-journal around Madeira, part travel guide… by Tommy, who lives in London and "likes beautiful things". TOMMY BLOG

Blog (in English) by two Danish cyclists: "today we got up at around 9 and decided to take a short and easy bike ride of about 45 km with approx. 1500 vertical meters". Rather them than me! [Start at the end of the blog to read about their week in Madeira in chronological order.... ] BLOG

Tobi, who been laid up with back problems, has used his time to come up with a new website. Very eye-catching Tobi. Good luck with it. TOBI IN MADEIRA

Many thanks to Elaine (out East) for these web snippets :

Europe Watches as Portugal’s Economy Struggles. A good article in New York Times last Friday explaining Portugal’s economic difficulties and shows that the government’s in denial. NYT

Becky found a site on cruise ships that call at Madeira. Now plane spotters at the Airport of Madeira upload their photos. PLANES AND STUFF & MADEIRA SPOTTERS

Many thanks to Paul in Paul do Mar for this latest feature :

Windsurfing in Madeira: some serious (all-be-it mast breaking) wave potential!

Madeira is a world class surfing venue but would it work for a two week windsurfing trip? Olympic sailor, Hugh Sims Williams came out to Madeira to train on his RS:X but also sneaked in his wave board.

Why Madeira? Because in the peak summer season you will be the only one on the water! They only saw two other windsurfers in their two week stay in August. That would tell you that the island is not renowned for its windsurfing and the high cliffs of Madeira make a lot of beaches unsailable unless you’re on big kit and prepared to sail offshore. However, they did find some serious (all-be-it mast breaking) wave potential!

Madeira’s windsurfing world champion: João RODRIGUES. In 2008 at the RS:X European Championships João RODRIGUES stepped onto the top step of the podium at an Olympic windsurfing class European Championship. He did so in 1996 and 1997 following up his World Championship gold medal in Port Elizabeth in 1995.

Madeira windsurf spots : Besides the most well-known Caniço, Funchal, Achadas da Cruz try …

Paul do Mar: faces south-west, long pebble/stone beach, gets some of the biggest waves on the island. Good luck!

Caniçal: launch from the beach next to the harbour. Only suitable for Formula or big board sailing as offshore winds are standard during the summer trades. It is very windy here and provides good access to sail around to the north side of the island, where the swell is massive. This is where we launched to train on the Olympic RSX kit.

Cabo Girão: Vidar Jenson sailed here a few times when he visited the island in the spring of 2006. He’s quite good though!

Link to source boardseeker.com Blog site: Madeira Windsurfing with films

One of Madeira’s Windsurfing clubs: ‘Forca 5’

Pete says "thought you might like this as this ship did dock in Funchal …". CAMERA FOUND

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

DIÁRIO 11/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

132 cases of parental neglect. Every year the Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth handles hundreds of cases of parental neglect, many ending up in the Family and Juvenile Court. At present, there are 132 cases pending. Over 90% are cases of parental neglect and the services protect children who are in danger of being threatened or harmed. Some cases are very serious. The number of prosecutions increase each year and a significant number include children between the ages of 6 – 10 years. The danger can be to the child’s safety, health, moral training, education or development. The options are: child kept with the parents with appropriate support; live with another family member or trusted person; foster care; institutional care or adoption. The crime of abandonment can lead to a prison sentence of between 2 – 5 years, physical impairment from 2 – 8 years and in the case of death, 3 – 10 years.

MADEIRA

No one takes responsibility for the pond. Continuation of Tuesday’s story of the polluted state of the Lagoa do Lugar de Baixo. The SDPO rejects the blame for the state of conservation of the pond. They are responsible for the two buildings and recuperation of the coastal area to the east of the pond but the pond itself is in the public domain. The pond is under the public maritime domain but the Port of Funchal said the area is the responsibility of the Regional Government. The SRES of the Regional Government and the Mayor of Ponta do Sol refused to discuss the issue. The Regional Director of the Environment said there are no projects for conservation or maintenance of the space. It is not known if the Quercus report for the SDPO has been recognized.

Carnival increases in Câmara de Lobos. More than a thousand participants in this year’s Carnival Parade on Monday 15th at 21.30. At present, there are 1,200 people in 18 groups.Two popular dance troupes from the Madeira Carnival will perform: Geringonça and Malta do Furor, and the Carnival ends with Kontraband playing in the Municipal Market. On the previous day, Sunday, the Trapalhão Carnaval is at the Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. This parade is devoted to humour and social criticism, where anyone can take part for free.

Victims claim to have been persecuted. Two women living in Caminho Velho da Igreja in São Roque claim they have been assaulted in the street and on the bus. In the last seven months, they have reported five of the most serious cases to the police. The neighbouring couple who have been allegedly threatening and assaulting them, blame them for their son being taken into care by social workers. This was because of illegal drug taking and they say they will continue the harassment until the son is returned.

ECONOMY

Cruise ships call at Porto Santo next year. There have been no visits by cruise ships during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 but in 2011, three will call at Porto Santo. These have a capacity of 2,300 tourists and 1,000 crew members. The first ship calls on May 1 2011, the British Amadea, and it is the inaugural visit of this ship. On 26 July 26th, the Artanis calls and on August 10, the Amadea returns. The busiest year was 1999 when 10 cruise ships visited Porto Santo and there have been 42 mooring between 1999 – 2007.

CULTURE

Theme Park gives discounts in museums. The Madeira Theme Park in partnership with DRAC, allow holders of annual passes for the Theme Park to visit museums more frequently and cheaply. Discounts are for holders of the Normal Pass (costs 30 Euros) and Junior and Senior Passes (cost 24 Euros). Entry to selected museums will vary from free entry to a maximum cost of 2 Euros.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

CARNIVAL 2010

Fura Samba associates fado to samba. Fura Samba honours Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese poet) as this year celebrates his birth 120 years ago. Tributes also paid to the Portuguese Maritime Expansion and the fado singer Amalia Rodrigues. Their anthem links fado and samba, evoking the poetry of Fernando Pessoa. The project’s theme is "Samba-Enredo – Mar Português”. It describes a colourful world which goes from: the white foam of waves breaking on the beach and the wind in the sand …. Portugal where there was once a dream that we would be owners of the world ….. The dark blue of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the turquoise beaches of Brazil and the green waters of the seas surrounding India. Gold and silver colours represent gold and silver items, pearls and precious stones; wealth brought to Portuguese territory. In the two floats there will be orange tones of the sun setting over Cabo do Bojador and Cabo do Medo. Fura Samba utilize 5,000 ostrich feathers, 15,000 ‘rabos de galo’ (rooster tails) and 250 pheasant feathers. The ‘queen’ is a former Miss Madeira and Miss Tourism Portugal. Fura Samba will take part in the Porto Moniz Carnival on Sunday at 15.30.

João Egídio unveils “Os Encantos do Mar”. The theme this year is ‘The Charms of the Sea’. The float will carry five people; three in the front tractor and two in the trailer. They will be dressed as elements of the deep, such as mermaids, corals, reefs, anemones, plants and other underwater creatures. The dancers will be dressed as starfish and conch shells. João Egídio said, "The mysteries of our fantasy about the secrets of the sea, mean that humans throughout history imagine non-existent beings that become wonderful, splendid and colourful."

Many thanks to Vanessa Swesnik for this complete translation :

Quality and Food Safety : Seminar brought together close to 100 within the hotel sector.

Best practices in the hotel sector were the focus of a seminar organized by SGS Portugal (the auditing and certifying company) and the Commercial and Industrial Association of Funchal (Associação Comercial e Industrial do Funchal- ACIF) that took place in Funchal yesterday. The seminar, entitled “From Quality to Food Safety- a Responsible Destination”, had close to 100 participants from diverse regional hotel and restoration businesses.

Cristina Silva, coordinator from the SGS Portugal delegation, told the DIÁRIO that this initiative met the expectations of the organization insofar as it managed to get a group that is interested in and motivated by the issue of sustainability (which is more and more in demand for tourist destinations like Madeira) into the auditorium of the Regional Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais).

For Cristina Silva, a destination is only totally sustainable when it meets internationally recognized best practices, as the majority of tourists to the Autonomous Region are foreigners. However, she thinks Madeira has made important steps towards this aspiration which is now a requirement of tour operators, international organizations, and to become certified or have a good reputation as a tourist destination. The SGS delegate believes we are moving closer towards sustainability, but that it is necessary to meet and exceed the expectations of clients. “We have taken significant steps in Portugal and the Region, and we are not the exception,” she added.

Best practices were the focus of the seminar yesterday through the voices of diverse speakers covering everything from how to receive guests at hotels to food safety and control. Director of Quality and Food Safety of the Regional Government of Madeira, Celeste Bento, emphasized the regularity present with which standards are met in the Region- something that places regional restoration on a high level of quality. “Madeira is a responsible destination in terms of food safety; it’s well controlled and there is increasing sensitivity to the issue,” says Cristina Silva.

The seminar was well attended and had presentations given by regional specialists from ACIF and the organizing company. Brit Adrian Evans spoke of the “Hygiene Monitored” mark, a seal from SGS Group which attests to the existence of food safety best practices in the establishments audited by the group. In Madeira, this seal is assigned by SGS in conjunction with the ACIF. SOURCE : Diário de Notícias

In her email to me, Vanessa, who has recently qualified in Portuguese, said "Aside from being helpful, translating for your blog has planted a travel bug in my heart to come see Madeira. I would really love to travel to the Laurissilva Forest!!". You must come Vanessa, you must come and see our wonderful island and meet our wonderful people.

Many thanks to Paul for these two important economy news links :

Portugal ‘will not’ quit the euro. Portugal will not leave the euro, Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos has told the BBC : MORE

Portuguese budget vote yesterday Thursday was a victory for Prime Minister Jose Socrates’ government, which has warned of serious political consequences if the budget is not passed.

-Budget bill passes first hurdle in parliament

-Opposition party PSD helps passage with abstention

-Socialists seek to cut 2010 deficit to 8.3 pct / GDP (Updates with more quotes, measures)

Source Reuters : MORE

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

Guide book for five nights of Carnival in the discos – Madeira and Porto Santo are going to samba [?] from today until Tuesday. See the suggestions p.37. Yes you can actually click that link, and it will take you to the list of dates and events, and that saves me a job.

Today’s main news headline : Court leaking – The storms flood achieves, Justice Police and stairways. Works are needed. The Palácio da Justiça in Funchal has sprung a leak(s), and in the latest downpours water found it’s way down the stairs. The water not only affected current files, but also affected the offices of the Justice Police who are located in the basement. It’s an old problem, in a prestigious building from the 1960′s, that has received the praise of many visiting dignitaries over the years, especially for the use of historic tiles. It is well known for becoming a ‘swimming’ pool in Winter, and an ‘oven’ in Summer. The roof leaks all over the show, the walls are sprouting mould, all in a flagship building that doesn’t even have a visitors bathroom.

‘Forestry’ de-authorized Câmara – The landfill site in Landeiros (Machico) has a municipal license. But the GR seized the truck. Also today’s main front page photo, showing a small plot of land, with a digger and a Scania truck, which may or may not be in the process of being seized … it’s hard to tell from a photo.

Celebrating the joining of the Europe Union ‘with Rome burning’ – In a time of crisis, Socialist Party Leader Serrão criticises commemorations of the 25th anniversary of Madeira in the EU. It’s like the story of Nero and the harp [wasn't it a fiddle?].

There is also another lead story about Miguel Alburquerque, President of Funchal Council (who makes Uncle Bertie seem like Cristiano Ronaldo). Câmara Municipal of Funchal takes action against the state – It relates to the delayed transfer of funds from the IRS. The action had been threatened, and now it has actually started, in the Court dealing with Financial and Administrative matters. The action against central government relates to a delay in the payment of tax funding valued at over €5 million, that had been claimed by the council in March 2009. Alburquerque says he will not give up on the funds … "Funchal Câmara can not be penalized by the failure of the Government of the Republic". I am going to regret that comment above I am sure, as Sr. Miguel is a red-hot favourite to succeed Uncle Bertie as president in 2011.

The main sport / football headline today : Promotion doesn’t excite in the Regional [league] of football. This is about the small league below the newly formed Série Madeira, and the fact that some of the teams are not so keen on the idea of going up to the next rung.

I really can’t find anything that interests me much in today’s news, so I am off early downtown on the off chance that the weather will improve and the children’s carnival will take place. Don’t forget to send me in some carnival photos this weekend please.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Pongy duck pond ; Unwanted loopaper costs us all €16 per year ; Duck pond a stinking

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … Ship in Funchal harbour Wednesday 3rd February

Thanks a lot for Becky for coming up with a few more web snippets for our enjoyment. These two are very nicely written, and well worth a visit :

“The natural beauty of the place really is staggering though unfortunately, many visitors don’t get to appreciate all that the island has to offer. Too many remain in the capital, Funchal, and delighted by its pretty cobbled streets, gorgeous gardens and stunning situation fail to venture into the rugged interior. Those who do will be rewarded by towering mountains, breathtaking views and a taste of rural life that has hardly changed over the past century. What a refreshing change from the usual hurly-burly of life in London!” ONE FOR THE GOURMETS

“The wheels were lowered. The plane was coming in to land. And yet, from the window, all we could see was a fast-approaching mass of blue. Unless an aircraft carrier made a last-ditch appearance on the scene we were all going to get very wet. I nervously made a mental note of the location of my lifejacket. The Portuguese girl in the seat next to me dug her Nancy Dell’Olio nails into my arm. Then miraculously, at the very last, Madeira sprang out beneath us. A tiny porcupine of an island, each of its rocky prongs holding a spectacular viewpoint on its tip. The plane of passengers burst into spontaneous applause.” THIS IS NOTTINGHAM

Many thanks to Elaine for this whopping contribution from yesterday’s news top stories :

DIÁRIO 09/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Pollution of the pond of Lugar de Baixo. This is "an untapped potential", according to the environmental agency Quercas. The Lagoa do Lugar de Baixo is a unique coastal habitat for migratory birds from the North Atlantic. Yet it is polluted with rubbish and has not been cleaned for five years. The proposed environmental education centre lacks facilities and is only half used. In 2005, a group of students from Ponta do Sol removed 19 bags of rubbish. A guide to the birds that visit the pond was published by the DRA but there has been little other work on this area of 3,500 square metres which is one of the main points for bird watching in the region. The Regional Director of the Environment explained that the protocol with the local offices of Tourism, Environment and the Society for the Development of the West Point (SPDO) was not realized. He said it is the latter who own the area and they must make the first move. The pond is polluted by both rubbish deposited by humans and rotting vegetation. The local council know about the degradation and the mayor said he had already contacted the DRA about a joint cleaning operation. The DRA recognize the importance of the area as a place of ecological sensitivity but deny responsibility for the management or cleaning of the area and state the responsibility belongs to the owners SPDO. Eight years ago, Quercus made a 46 page report on the environmental restoration of the area and proposed that a frequent analysis of the water quality was needed. Obviously, this has fallen on ‘deaf ears’.

Left Bloc takes the Jornal da Madeira to the Committee at São Bento. The extensive debate on the Portuguese media, specifically any pressure from the Government of the Republic and schemes to control the media, takes place shortly in the Assembly of the Republic and will include the ‘case’ of Madeira. All opposition parties require clarification by José Sócrates on issues related to some media, in particularly any attempt to purchase TVI by PT, the end of ‘Jornal de Sexta’ of Manuela Moura Guedes, the case of Público and recent controversy involving the journalist Mário Crespo.The Left Bloc has promised to forward a request for a parliamentary inquiry into the situation of the media in Madeira, in particular the Jornal da Madeira. The Left Bloc (BE) is limited at a regional level as it has only one deputy and cannot ask for a parliamentary inquiry. Pressure on journalists and media companies and the situation of Jornal da Madeira, owned wholly by the Regional Government, are some of the things that over the years, the opposition have denounced in Madeira. Recently, in the Assembly of the Republic, the CDS raised the issue of unfair competition caused by the Jornal da Madeira receiving several millions of Euros per year from the Regional Government.

MADEIRA

Carnival maintains 2009 funding but attracts fewer tourists. Current forecasts indicate 10% fewer tourists – 62% – than 2009 but the budget is still 350,312 Euros. The decrease is thought to be because the Carnival is early this year, whereas last year it was at the end of the month. A manager of the hotel sector, António Trindade, said that over the past three or four years, the hotels have been practically full. They must concentrate on the traditional British market in future years, as there are no new emerging markets. The Carnival events are being increased this year with a new Carnival attraction on Sunday. Friday is children’s day, 1,100 taking part in the ‘Carnaval das Crianças’ between 10.30 – 12.00 at the Placa Central da Avenida Arriaga . Between 15.00 – 17.30 along the Avenida Arriaga, ‘Carnaval Solidário’ has 200 participants, followed by a party in the Jardim Municipal, organized by the Association for Community Development. On Saturday evening, 1,095 take part in the main parade, ‘Cortejo Alegórico’, which starts at 21.00. There will be fireworks ten minutes beforehand at the Parque de Santa Catarina. The OCM plays at the Praça do Município from 22.00. A new parade on Sunday between 21.00 – 23.00, ‘Carnaval das Avenidas’ (Carnival of the Avenues), involves three of the groups that participate on Saturday: ‘ Fura Samba’, ‘Caneca Furada’ and ‘Os Cariocas’. There will be one group performing at each of the following locations: central area of Avenida Arriaga near the Sé, in front of the Regional Secretariat of Tourism and the Pier. This new idea is to act as a bridge between the main event and the following Tuesday’s ‘Cortejo Trapalhão’ which starts at 16.00. Program on the official Tourism site in five languages.

Carnival with varied agenda at various locations in the region. The Carnival parade in São Vicente takes place at 10.30 on Friday 12 February, taking the theme International Year of Biodiversity. Participating are all the local schools, social services institutions and day centres. After the procession, the council has prepared a variety show in the Municipal Gardens.

Vandalism and arson at Santo António. Early yesterday morning, vandalism and an alleged arson attack on two trucks caused more than 100,000 Euros of damage. The one that was vandalized had the windows broken and the interior ransacked and the other had the front tyres set alight. This is possibly linked to another suspected arson attack. A fire broke out at the Complexo Desportivo do Marítimo, an infrastructure to support the youth and veterans of the football club. Damage was not as bad as first expected; damaged electrical wiring, paintings, aluminium and glass.

LREC and Meteorology interested in partnership. The Regional Laboratory of Civil Engineering and the Institute of Meteorology of Madeira are interested in forming a partnership to study the climate and landscapes of the region.They would combine data from the weather stations and automatic monitoring stations of LREC to help prevent natural disasters.

POLITICS

Free JM costs each Madeiran 16 Euros. The media agency Lusa has calculated that every year, each person in Madeira ‘pays’ 16 Euros for the Jornal da Madeira. Lusa arrived at this conclusion by dividing the four million Euros that each year the Executive transfers to the Jornal da Madeira by the population size of 255,000. The newspaper also receives advertising revenue. It is distributed free to some outlets. The published opinions are all assigned to the PSD and the Government. These complaints have also gone to the Competition Authority and the EU. In comparison, every Portuguese resident subsidises the three state-run media channels: RTP, RDP and Lusa by less than 15 Euros each year. Most of the money transferred from the State Budget goes to RTP which has a number of public channels: RTP1, RTP2, Madeira, Azores, International, Africa and RTPN.

BE protest against millions to Barreiros. The Left Bloc has calculated that the 31 million Euros the Regional Government will spend on the remodelling of the Estádio dos Barreiros would create about 1,100 jobs in the region, a decrease of almost 8% in the number of unemployed. This justifies a protest vote in the Legislative Assembly against the "waste" in the construction of the stadium of Clube Sport Marítimo. This would be a significant number of jobs at a time when the region has more than 14,000 unemployed and companies are going through a serious crisis. For the BE deputy, the Government has shown "not to be socially and politically serious or responsible in defining their priority areas for action."

Coelho accuses the judges of being "subservient". José Manuel Coelho, (PND) compares the courts of the Region to the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil in the 1960s. He says the judges "persecute" the democrats. "The judges are not independent and are subservient to the jardinista regime." In the court case of the PND directors of the journal Garajau, Coelho accuses the Government of defamation. At issue are the texts in the journal that accuse the lawyer Cunha e Silva of being a legal advisor to the Port of Funchal and not declaring this income to the Constitutional Court. Coelho accuses the Government of abusing taxpayers’ money to pay the lawyer Garcia Pereira to defend Cunha e Silva when it is a case of "personal issues". Garcia Pereira is one of the most expensive lawyers in the country, receiving 5,000 Euros every time he comes to Madeira, at a time when there are plenty of unemployed local lawyers.

ECONOMY

Madeira guarantees the State more IVA than claimed. The Minister of Finances said that Madeirans pay less tax, IVA (VAT), than the rest of the Portuguese, used for political opportunism by Alberto Jardim. The rate of IVA is 30% less in Madeira and the Azores than the mainland, but Teixeira dos Santos left out the fact that this reduction only applies to consumers and not the companies that import goods and services that are consumed in the region. These reductions in the Azores and Madeira are allowed by the EEC and are designed to compensate for the higher transport costs of imports to autonomous regions. In his speech, Teixeira dos Santos hinted that Madeira is prejudicing the Portuguese taxpayer. Yet the State receives revenue from purchases that are bought in Portugal then imported to Madeira. The State also benefits from Portuguese telecommunication firms and banks based in the Free Zone. Madeirans generate more revenue; the income per capita (per person), without compensation from the State, is 33% higher than the Azores. The Azores benefit from a compensation of 471 Euros per capita whereas Madeira receives only 172 Euros, to compensate for IVA generated in the Region but not paid on the Continent. The income per capita is higher in Madeira than the Azores because of income generated by tourism and the higher cost of living. With a PIB (GDP) 45% higher than the Azores, the IVA revenue of Madeira is 35% higher than the Azores. — Usual spurious arguments as they are not comparing like-for-like: Continental Portugal, Azores and Madeira. No indications of the relative cost of living in all three areas.

UPDATE

Prime Minister denies giving directions to PT for the purchase of TV station. José Sócrates announced that PT had a "strategic intent" on buying TVI but this was totally beyond the control of the government. In Face Oculta, a case presently in the Portuguese courts, there is strong evidence that there was a plan involving the Prime Minister to control the TV station TVI. This case involves wiretapping to investigate allegations of corruption and economic crimes related to business enterprises of the State and private enterprises. There are 18 defendants.

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

Man dies two hours after release from hospital - A fall yesterday sent the sexagenarian to hospital. He was released yesterday, but he wanted to stay in as a hospital inpatient. But he returned to Campanário. A little later he died.

Controversy keeps 46 families without a home. Five years later, the Council of Santa Cruz and the Housing Institute discuss the Salão complex. And the works don’t go forward.

Intensive Care invade the AVC Unit. The hospital department that deals with stroke patients is taking in more inpatients from intensive care, than there are actual stroke inpatients. The Hospital of Dr. Nélio Mendonça, in Funchal, says "It’s a matter of priorities". The clinical director of the Health Service Region (SESARAM), Miguel Ferreira, explains that the situation is not new, but adds that it is a timing problem.

Today’s main news headline : UNESCO Ambassador evaluates the ‘Rabaçal Case’ – The disagreement over the cable car project in the mountains moves on to a new stage : discussion between the opposing parties in front of the international representative. The trip to Madeira was to be low-key, but the opinion of the UNESCO representative will be decisive regarding the building of a cable car in the Laurissilva forest. The ambassador and an inspector spent two days here trying to understand the scope and impact of the proposals, and why environmental groups were so against it and sent a petition with thousands of signatories. The visit was kept confidential, but it is known that on Monday the ambassador spent the day in the area of Rabaçal, along with officials representing the Natural Park, Forestry, and the Environment, as well as the company promoting the project. The beautiful landscape that would be affected by the project is the subject of the main photograph on today’s front page, and if the UNESCO representative took one look at that they would for sure be thinking no, no, no! I really really hope the plan is shelved, and if it is it would be doing debt-ridden Madeira a real favour. This project will cost a small fortune that will surely never be recovered through tourism revenues. In fact I reckon the plan can only really still be in existence through the sheer stubbornness of Uncle Bertie’s pals, as the economic case against the project must have overtaken the environmental case long ago.

The main sport / football headline today : Benfica ‘bury’ their rivals Sporting – Thrashed (4 – 1) by the reds in Alvalade [Sporting's stadium].

Winner of the Portugal Cup may not qualify for UEFA. Fifth place in the league will give access to Europe. If all goes to plan Porto will occupy the other place in the final against Benfica, but have to get past Académica first tonight (SIC 8.15 pm). As both the big teams will probably finish in the top five in the league, I doubt whether they will really care about this method of entry to the Europa League, but should Académica pull off a miracle tonight … well then that would be a different story.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Savoy coming down ; Nacional score 4 more ; Sea and air transport seriously disrupted

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Photo Thanks to Migratory Bird … The beginning of the end – the SAVOY hotel sign going down.

Eurozone confirms inflation return – Price rises in the eurozone confirm a recovering economy. November’s eurozone annual inflation figure was the first positive rate for seven months, figures have confirmed. The European Union’s Eurostat body said consumer prices in the eurozone in the year to November rose by 0.5%. The positive figure, which was slightly down on an initial estimate of 0.6%, was widely expected by economists. But the return to price rises – which is largely because of a rise in energy costs – is being seen as welcome news for the European Central Bank. It suggests the currency bloc may be able to avoid falling into deflation without employing yet more stimulus measures. BBC FULL ARTICLE

Portugal port’s image changed to attract younger fans – While a bottle of port may still be brought out at Christmas, the days of it being a regular tipple for most seem to be long gone. Humphrey Hawksley travelled to northern Portugal to see how an image overhaul is affecting the region’s historic port trade. Paul Symington walks through his hillside vineyard, at ease with the land. With his steps, confident on the damp, sloping ground, he cuts a figure not unlike a Roman centurion. The vineyards of northern Portugal have changed little since Roman times. He stops to talk to his men pruning the vines.

He confers with his cassero – or farm manager. He consults his young viticulturist about the quality of the soil. Then he casts his eyes over the estate, where mist obscures the view of the Douro River below. "The Romans dressed differently, of course. And you wouldn’t have driven there," he said. "But apart from that, what you see in these vineyards hasn’t changed since Roman times." MORE FROM BBC NEWS

Many thanks to Paul (Paul do Mar) for that article and link.

Once again, the weather seems to be the main focus of interest for readers. Don’t forget there is a weather forecast site on the link to the right, that someone told me was one of the best websites. A wet and windy week, on and off, and more to come, but at least in my town it has stayed warm. We lost a lot of our Xmas light decorations in town on Wednesday due to strong winds, but the council has now put some more up, so I suppose that’s a good sign. I feel sorry for local traders, who were looking forward to a bumper year end, and must be bitterly disappointed. Saturday night was a wash-out again, and town was just so quiet. If the financial squeeze hadn’t already killed of the trade for the bars and restaurants, then the bad weather must have made sure of the matter. For me there was another factor, a religious factor, namely the Missa do Parte, that is held at 6 am during 9 days leading up to Christmas. A few bangs at 5 am is a nuisance, but I think it was Friday there must have been more than 50 (mega-banger size), and as a result I have lost 3 or more hours sleep a night for several nights running. I am sure I can’t be the only one who is tired as a result, and my brain has been operating a half capacity as a result. Thankfully I don’t have to drive anywhere, as I wouldn’t be very confident and alert being so tired. That to me may be another factor affecting night trade in town … everyone is too knackered to go out! I seriously think there is a safety risk in depriving people of sleep over a sustained period. I have had a couple of drenchings too, not the end of the world, but it’s a hard job getting anything dried out afterwards. I do actually own an umbrella, but at night, after a beer or two, I am liable to forget it. Also I have had it 33 years, and it’s still in great condition, so I particularly keen to keep it that way as it was present. Anyone beat that? So I just take a chance, and as it’s too warm to wear a coat, I get drenched now and again. Must take the rough with the smooth. Going back to the traders in town, I had already mentioned that Wednesday gale force winds had caused some damage. On Friday, talking to one bar owner, he said that earlier in the day all his outside furniture had blown away and much of it was damaged. Now that well recognised promenade bar has new red chairs to add to the collection of orange table and chairs.

Presépios are top of the agenda at the moment. We have two very large ones in Ribeira Brava, the latest one taking up most of the space in the fruit market courtyard. I notice that once again they have included live hens in the display, cooped up in cages. Still at least they are dry and presumably well fed. Unlike the ducks on the river here, who for several days now have been living on tiny islands barely safe from a very wild current on a pretty swollen river. I have already emptied my freezer of bread, and most of it has floated off down the river, as I attempted to throw it onto these little high points in the river, each crammed full of ducks. Of course the river bed has now been cleaned out by the river flow, and there is no natural feed in the water, and probably won’t be for at least several weeks. If anyone has any leftovers or bread they can spare, please save it for the ducks here if you can. They also like dried sweet corn (92c for 2kg in the pets section in Hiper Sã). They are going to have a long tough Winter by the looks of things. Just going back to presépios, there was a feature on TVI news yesterday, with two featured. One was in the Azores in a location of what looked like hot springs, so it looked quite spectacular as the steam swirled around. Another, on the continent, was a ‘live nativity scene’, with real people in costumes doing real things. Unfortunately the most important character, the baby Jesus, was not represented, as apparently he has been hit by swine flu. Bonito all the same.

We had a free bandolim concert yesterday in the São Bento church, with a 15 piece orchestra, joined later on by another mixed orchestra. Not quite a full house, but pretty close for an excellent performance of Christmas carols and other music, none of which I recognised except for the ‘Cornetto’ song, sadly lacking a serenading gondolier.

The weekend’s football : Both of our teams played yesterday afternoon. Marítimo visited bottom-of-the-table Setúbal and lost 3 – 2, and Nacional hosted Académica winning 4 – 3, retaking 4th place in the league table.

Weather disruption : The Porto Santo Line cancelled yesterday’s ferry crossing again due to high winds and rough seas. The whole of this week is in doubt for the crossing on the Lobo Marinho for the same reason, although Christmas day may see improved conditions.

The Aida Luna cruise ship also tried to berth in Funchal, but failed and gave up. It will stay around Funchal, and travel on to La Palma tomorrow. According to one Diário reader it was only given the assistance of one tug boat, while HMS Gloucester was given two, and managed to dock.

6 flights were also cancelled, and there were a number of diversions to Lisbon and Porto Santo and general delays, and some flights turned back to their origin. Madeira airport returned to full operation at 3 pm yesterday afternoon.

The cause of the problems, the weather, saw Madeira placed on Orange Alert again, lasting through Sunday and Monday. With gusts of wind expected up to 120 km / hour, in high places. Warnings have again been issued about travelling on foot or by car in mountainous areas and exposed places.

I just remembered that today is the shortest day of the year. Nice to know that the lighter evenings are on their way back again, but it’s also the first day of Winter of course.

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

Funchal sees ships once again – Bad weather diverts 3 cruise ships and prevents another docking. 6,250 visiting tourists have been lost as a result of the bad weather. Yesterday saw 6+ metre waves in Funchal Port, making ship manoeuvres very difficult, not helped with 90+ km / hour wind gusts. The AIDAluna had a very sick passenger on board, and had to wait for over a hour for the tugboat to ‘run the cable’. But after 3 attempts to make the necessary manoeuvres the berthing effort was abandoned. The sick passenger will now have to disembark in the Canary Islands. Today the port will have just two visiting cruise ships, rather than the 4 scheduled. The losses in tourist revenue are estimated at €0.5 million.

Operator distances British tourists from Madeira. The collapse of the Scottish company Globespan, and it’s tour operator / airline Flyglobespan, has meant that there will be 300 less visitors here from Scotland over Christmas and New Year. 22 stranded customers are being flown back to Manchester UK today, from where they will have to find alternative transport to return to their homes in Scotland.

Rat control programme causes row between government and council – Directorate for Agriculture regrets the lack of care by local authorities. The President of Machico denies recklessness.

Today’s main news headline : Madeira imports 9 thousand cars per year – The "car park" increased 26% in just 3 years. There are actually 131 thousand vehicles in the region. There are 26% more vehicles on the island than there were 3 years ago, with 27,500 of all types being imported during that short term. The information is provided by the Institute of Insurance of Portugal, with a small margin of error because there are many vehicles here without insurance policies, either on the dealers stands or because the owner has defaulted. More detailed information on the types and spread of vehicles here CAR STATISTICS

90% of schools without security at the gate – The Secretary for Education guarantees that private security exists in sensitive schools. The Diário visited 12 1º cycle schools (children 6 to 10 years) and found some of them with the gates open and without security, whilst the children were in classes. Are they safe they asked? The answer was not that simple, with schools in ‘more complicated zones’, around 10% of the total, having private security at the gate. The regional secretary says there is no immediate danger, nor complaints from parents, in a statistical environment made up of 25 million entrances and exits every year. Some schools rather than have private security, prefer to lock the school building during lessons. That way anyone who needs access can enter the premises but needs to ring the doorbell to obtain attention.

The main sports / football story and front page photo today : The fog supported the rain of goals – Nacional wins game with five parts and closes the year in 4th place. A 4 – 3 win for our lads finishes the league fixtures for the year. The new year opens with a visit to Benfica. Yesterday’s game, high up in the Choupana, was interrupted 3 times with thick fog, but the fog seemed to favour Nacional and not their opponents. Amongst the 1,227 supporters were shivering bare-chested students, who saw the game start 26 minutes late, and stopped at 57, 78, and 79 minutes, in one of the longest games in football history. Man of the match was again local hero Rúben Micael, who is not expected back at the Choupana after the new year transfer window opens, and he said his goodbye’s to the crowd. "Another king who disappears amid the fog …" says the Diário. Sad that he will be going, and a big blow to the Nacional squad. Strange that for such a great local hero the Diário sports team still haven’t worked out how his name is spelt. Normally it varies between Ruben and Rúben, but today it is Reuben.

Marítimo slips up in Setúbal and falls to 9th place.

Benfica win the classic. In the most anticipated match of the season, the ‘classic’, finished Benfica 1 Porto 0, with lots of controversy on and off the pitch as usual.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link Thank you in anticipation.

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Orange weather alert ; Guinness fireworks record intact ; Pets for life … not just Christmas

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Photo Thanks to Eiryl … Porto Santo ferry just docked in Funchal

Madeira … is a Wine with the name of an Island … an Island with the name of a Wine. IVBAM (The Wine, Embroidery and Handicraft Institute of Madeira) has created a 5 minute promotional and historic VIDEO about the Madeira Wine … famous fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands. (info pinched from DON’S BLOG … thanks Don!).

I haven’t come across an ‘audio blog’ before, but maybe someone might one to record something on this site and send me a link. AUDIO BLOG

"In the 1960s and 70s, the beautiful Jane Birkin became famous for carrying her basket around Paris. People would recognize her and Serge Gainsbourg from behind because of her basket". An admirer of Madeira’s wicker work wants to know where one can obtain an identical shopping basket without coming to Madeira. I am very jealous about the number of commenters on this very simple blog. I can’t compete with fashion I guess! A BASKET FROM MADEIRA

"I have sampled the Madeira (a secco), and found it very palatable. There are all sorts of oddities – teapots that don’t pour unless you lift the lid, for example – but then I don’t expect the Portuguese to know how to make tea (or ‘cha’) anyway – and they don’t. They don’t even know how to make a decent latte (in fact they don’t even know what a latte is!)". BLABER’S BLOG A typical t**t, who thinks that because the beverages aren’t to the liking of his typical palate, that the locals haven’t got a clue. I once made tea with UK teabags for around 8 locals, and they thought it was horrible and too strong, and didn’t drink it. The rest of the blog wasn’t really about Madeira, so I wouldn’t bother reading it.

CHRISTMAS 2009 – From the Jornal da Madeira, many thanks to Elaine

Natural pine trees for sale since yesterday in Funchal

There are ten sellers of natural pine trees that, since yesterday, are in front of the Electricity Company of Madeira, to sell Christmas trees and various natural products used to decorate the houses of Madeira. Mr. Diniz, after years of work in this area, is already "the grandfather of the selling of pine trees." He says that it is only women who come to choose, because, at home, "ruled by women."

Mr. Diniz is already the "grandfather" of the selling of natural pine trees in Funchal. Unsure of how many years he has taken advantage of the Christmas season for this business. Since yesterday and until Christmas Eve, the sellers, a total of ten who have licences from the Council, have "everything" that is natural for decorating the house, for sale in front of the Electricity Company of Madeira.

He says he is the grandfather of the area because he is the oldest seller of natural pine trees in Funchal. Despite the "fashion" of artificial pine trees, this seller says there are always those who are loyal to the traditions and, therefore, he remains in business. He does not have an estimate on how many he will sell, because he will cut the pine trees depending on demand. Yesterday, the first day of selling, and by 14.00 hours, he had not sold anything. "This first day has yet to pay for the coffee, " he jokes, confident that up to 24 December, there will be many customers going to that location to buy pine trees or other natural products. He says, normally, it is women who will buy the pine trees, this is not a family task. "Women rule at home!", he laughs.

In his space of three metres, and like other vendors, he has for sale moss, goatlings, straw, logs, alegra-campos, cearinhas, and ears of wheat, for example. "People buy everything," he added, referring to the natural ornaments of the Christmas season. About the hours of selling to the public, Mr. Diniz playfully replies, "will be 48 to 48 hours until 24 December." That is, day and night, the seller will always have to replace the pine trees for sale. He says the price of Christmas trees varies, 20 euros for the cheapest. "The price depends on the size and quality of the pine tree," he added. About the space reserved for them by the Electricity Company of Madeira, Mr. Diniz says that the Council reserves three metres for each of the ten vendors. The licence prices are above 200 euros, of which 50 euros are returned. It is a measure considered ‘fair’ by this merchant. The Council returns that amount if the traders leave the site clean, after the sales period. "It is fair for them and for us," added the seller of pine trees.

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

Orange alert. Region is on orange alert ( 2 on a scale of 4) for bad weather – wind and rain, and unstable conditions forecasted until the 20 December. The Lobo Marinho is not making the usual sea connection to Porto Santo today due to 6 metres waves predicted. Some flights cancelled and an incoming London flight diverted to Porto Santo. An earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale occurred off the south coast of Portugal. It was felt in Portugal and 16 aftershocks recorded. The earthquake was the highest recorded since 1969. It occurred about 100 km off the south coast of Cabo do Sao Vicente in the Algarve. It was felt along the south coast and in Lisbon but no damage reported.

Madeira still holds the fireworks record. The region still holds the ‘Fireworks Display of the World’ record, achieved on 31 December 2006, with the ‘Dance of the Four Seasons’ by Macedo’s Fireworks. The Guinness World Records Institute in London has confirmed to Carlos Macedo that the record still belongs to Madeira, despite the latest attempt by the United Arab Emirates to take the title. They have had three attempts, the most recent on the 2 December 2009 in Abu Dhabi. Macedo’s Fireworks celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and this year’s performance will be viewed in Portugal, Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde, an expected 700,000 spectators. This is their ninth event since 2000.

‘Rampa das Searinhas’ in Ribeira Seca. In Ribeira Seca, one of the most charismatic parishes of Madeira, they have been sowing searinhas around the grounds of the churchyard and gardens of the local church, fulfilling a centuries-old tradition that the wheat must be sown on the first day of the Missas do Parto. The participants took a handful of searinhas soaked overnight and sang songs alluding to the act while sowing the seeds. They have also been constructing a ‘novenario on an open stage’ called A Song of Life, integrating the light in the lapinha at Bethlehem, people preserving the land and the current world summit addressing climate change. (According to Infopedia, a novenario is a religious book of novenas – prayers). In Machico, the parishioners will have traditional folklore musical entertainment before and after the Missas do Parto. Free soup or hot chocolate will be distributed at different sites corresponding to the prayers, and the Mayor of Machico invites, "If people want to collaborate, they may bring delicacies, cakes and liqueurs. I think it is a good reason for fellowship among all and to encourage the Christmas spirit."

Architects endure the crisis. No major orders in 2009, and 2010 expected to be worse. Remodelling of houses, rehabilitation of buildings and housing projects have been in short supply this year whereas in previous years (2003 – 2004), they had difficulties in meeting large orders from the Regional Government and real estate investors. These projects were often rushed and poorly designed. Present projects are often for the continent, especially as new public works and hotels are not being built in Madeira. The new environmental demands for ‘green’ buildings brings them some work and they hope to survive the downturn. Lawyers are also complaining that the economic crisis is causing them to take on more work in the small claims court, due to a dearth of more lucrative cases. Commercial lawyers are the hardest hit, especially with the reduction in off-shore companies, (tax advice).

‘Conscious adoption’. The association PATA calls for responsibility this Christmas. At Christmas, there is an increase in demand for animals for adoption but it is often not a happy ending. People often act on impulse or to please a child and then regret the decision. The animals are often abandoned when people realise they have a lack of space.

300 students in Operation Road Awareness. 300 school students are participating in this police-led initiative between the hours of 10 – 12 at the Avenida das Comunidades Madeirenses in Funchal. They will raise awareness among drivers that they need to comply with certain safety features, e.g., insurance, lights and tyres. They will hand out a Certificate of a Good Driver. This is part of the educational syllabus, on road safety.

Madeira was the fastest in terms of GDP. In 1995, Madeira had a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) 11% below the national average, in 2008 it was 28% higher than the national average. Madeira was the Portuguese region with the highest increase in GDP between 1995 and 2008. It is now the second richest region in Portugal, with a GDP per capita of 97%, if the EU average is taken as 100%. Lisbon has a GDP per capita of 105% and an income 38% above the national average. The Algarve occupies the third position in national rankings. The North region was the most impoverished area for the last 13 years, having the lowest income per capita.

Giants of Costa Crociere registered in MAR. The International Shipping Register of Madeira had a historic day yesterday with the registration of three large cruise ships of Costa Crociere, the largest cruise company in Europe and a worldwide giant. Grand Holiday, Grand Voyager and Grand Mistral (photo) were registered here. The registration is important to Madeira, because as well as the 100,000 euros fees paid upon registration, the annual fee is 50,000 euros, and the transport capacity of millions of tourists generates millions of euros of revenue each year that benefit the region, with revenues from VAT on all activities related to the activity of shipping – accommodation and restaurants – and the profits will be subject to IRC (corporation tax).

Porto Moniz debt almost €10 million. Liability of the Municipality of Porto Moniz is around 8.8 million euros. With the 1.1 million the authority is likely to have to return to the Turismo de Portugal for the construction of the Aquarium, the default rises to astronomical numbers given the size of the county. Last year alone, the debt increased 84%. This is the debt left by the previous administration to the present council. The population at the last census was 2,927 (now likely to be smaller), giving a debt per person of 3,000 euros. The majority of revenue is from agriculture and construction. 2010 will be a year of ‘restraint’ with only small works carried out. Suppliers need to be paid and the municipality requires a bank loan to pay them.

Night Markets. São Vicente, Friday 18 December from 21.00. Câmara de Lobos, December 22 from 21.00 at the Mercado do Município de Câmara de Lobos. Theme will be Relive the Christmas Traditions, with musical entertainment and typical Christmas delicacies. The Night Market in Funchal on the 23 December will have 66 spaces reserved for street trading. From the 21 December until Christmas Eve, you can buy fruit and vegetables from the 37 traders in the streets of Boa Viagem and Latino Coelho. Given the increasing number of people at the Night Market, more streets will be closed off from 18.00. All stalls must be dismantled by 6 am on the 24 December. The British School has its carol service tomorrow on Friday 17 December at the Hotel Tivoli at 17.30. Songs will be in Portuguese, French and English. Funds will go towards the education of children in Angola and Mozambique, and the cancer fund in memory of the previous school Director who died of cancer last year.

Madeira can benefit from Faro. Ryanair yesterday announced the opening of 14 new routes from 2010 which will link European cities to Faro. Faro will be linked to Birmingham, Derry, Knock, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Italy. They may add links to Madeira. Announced 500 tickets at 5 euros each for journeys in January.

Solar panels in Caniçal. Machico Council will examine the planned construction of a facility with photovoltaic panels in Caniçal. The project is the responsibility of Nutroton Energy and the site will be in Feiteira. This company has a site in Porto Santo. Work should begin early next year with 27,000 panels installed.

Paul (Paul do Mar) sent this in … many thanks.

From a Ryanair press release: "6 based aircraft and 14 new routes (28 in total) being launched. Ryanair will create over 300 direct jobs and offer over 200 weekly flights to / from Faro in an investment of over $400 million in the airport. Ryanair’s new routes from Faro are to : Billund, Birmingham, Derry, Eindhoven, Kerry, Knock, Madrid, Marseille, Maastricht, Milan (Bergamo), Oslo (Rygge), Paris (Beauvais) and Stockholm (Skavsta). The additions will increase Ryanair’s traffic at Faro to 1.3million p.a. which will sustain 1,300 well paid local jobs in the region." LINK

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

Increases inevitable - The price of bread, milk, chicken and pork will rise in 2010. And there are other goods awaiting market developments.

The main front page picture shows some sort of dredging boat at work in Funchal Port : Cleaning the port costs €322 thousand – Dredging starts in January. It aims to increase operational capability and reduce mistakes, as one might anticipate for next Monday. The port authority APRAM has arranged for Funchal Port to be cleaned by dredging, with work starting on 4th January. APRAM monitors the depth of the water in the areas where ships berth, and have established that the time for a clean-up has arrived. The north terminal was done last year to allow for cruise ships to a depth of 7 metres. The south terminal has not been dredged since 2007, when it was in preparation for the year end cruise ship visits.

Today’s main news headline : Complaints every day – The Inspectorate of Economic Activities uncovers four irregularities daily in the food trade. ‘Operation Christmas’ has already caught refusals to exchange gifts. Some traders will only exchange gifts after Christmas period. They are obliged by law to do so at the time of the request as long as the request is made, as long as it is within the specified time and the customer has the receipt. Refunds are only mandatory where the goods are faulty and the retailer is unable to replace them with an equivalent or superior product. Food badly packaged, kept at an incorrect temperature, or even outside it’s expiry date are keeping the IAE team busy, with 3 to 4 infractions detected daily in the audit of stock management in the food trade. The Xmas operation is also looking at pricing, ensuring that the correct price is affixed to the products inspected, often finding that is not the reality.

Valter should keep calm – The former president of Porto Moniz advises the new counsellor not to panic when analysing the accounts of the past [regime?]. The story so far is covered above by Elaine, but now the former president of the câmara, Gabriel Farinha, is telling his successor Valter Correia not to get his knickers in a twist. The response comes after at a recent meeting it was said the administration of former president had been "disastrous". €10 million debt … pocket money for the fine PSD politicians (but only if they can get away with it).

Today’s sport / football headline : Rúben on high – The creative Madeiran is now coveted by Sporting and FC Porto. Rúben Micael of Nacional is on the shopping list of a number of top clubs. He turned in a fantastic performance on Wednesday night in the Europa League, and scored two goals and set up another, and although he is much sought after by clubs in Portugal, Spain, France, and England, any deal is still some way off.

Just coming through on the radio is the draw for the knock-out stage (last 16) of the Champions League. Porto will play Arsenal.

Madeira on Orange Alert – Rain, wind and rough seas put the region on warning. The weather is going to remain unstable until at least the 20th December. I just remembered that Elaine has already covered this above.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link Thank you in anticipation.

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Domestic violence up 24.6% ; Fighting corruption Solar panels heating up ; Nun’s Valley raided

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Photos Thanks to Martin L … Christmas lights in Ribeira Brava

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS FOR A FULL SIZE VIEW

"Hotels in the Portuguese town of Funchal on the Atlantic Island Madiera are also favoured by travellers; hotels in the port town have an average of 79.31 points and are fourth in the overall European Reputation …" TRAVEL NEWS GAZETTE

ALSO : Amusement park in Ponta do Sol – Giga Park A COUPLE OF PHOTOS

A short video here from the 4TH FUNCHAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

This from the RTP Azores website : The number of domestic violence complaints filed in the Azores amounts to 3.6% of the national total, but the region recorded a 3.9%decrease compared to the same time last year. According to data from a report issued by the General Direction of Internal Administration, the number of complaints filed to the PSP and GNR increased by 12% nationwide in the first half of 2009 compared with 2008. The document says that police forces received 14,600 complaints during the first six months of this year, i.e. 1,570 cases more than in the first half of 2008. The most complaints were filed in Madeira which recorded a 24.6% increase over last year while mainland Portugal saw the number of cases rise by 12.4%.

"DARTMOUTH — Joseph Sousa, age 83, of Dartmouth, MA passed on Friday, December 4, 2009 at Brandon Woods in Dartmouth … he was the driving force in creating the Museum of Madeiran Heritage and was tireless in his dedication and promotion of Madeiran culture and history. He received numerous honors for his many outstanding accomplishments". MORE

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

Bonus item : Caniço in 1933 (on the Casa do Povo site).

More than 150 cars sold. It is a ‘safe bet’ for the Group Camacho. Of the approximately 200 cars set out in the VI Used Car Show, more than 150 were sold. The show was between the 2 and 6 December and more than 600 euros was collected for the ‘Hat of Hope’ charity.

Fighting begins with the ordinary citizen. President of the Council for the Prevention of Corruption in Portugal states that the idea that ‘favours’ for benefits are ‘a normal thing’ must stop. He is also President of the Court of Auditors and pointed out that corruption is a phenomenon for us, not for others, and knocking at the door of every citizen. "Corruption starts as a small favour and may end up in a crime. The fight against corruption starts at the common citizen. "In public departments, citizens undoubtedly see they will be treated more quickly if they give something to state officials. This certainly has to end once and for all." He reinforced, "People may think they are attended to more quickly if they corrupt. This can even be seen as a normal thing, but it must cease." "If we reach positive objectives in the fight against corruption, we will obtain better results in public administration, and overall, the affirmation that the State is like a good person." That is, the better that corruption is tackled, the more effective will be the public administration machinery, and less justification for corruption. Laws can only be deterrents if they give rise to sanctions. The Council for the Prevention of Corruption has been active for a year and he is sympathetic to the fact that people are usually sceptical about new institutions.

Air quality is better. In Funchal, the average annual carbon monoxide content has decreased by about 25% since 2007. São João (Edificio 2000) monitoring station data analyzed. There might be two explanations; the decrease in car traffic in the city and/or improvements in vehicle carbon monoxide filtration equipment. The annual average CO content fell from 522 micrograms per cubic metre to 401 this year. The lowest monthly averages were also achieved during this year, a continuing trend downwards. Two years ago, the highest monthly concentration was in January at 700 micrograms and the highest this year was in March but even so, was less than 500 micrograms. There are lower levels during the warmer months coinciding with the holiday period when there is less car traffic. Similarly, the highest daily averages are falling, from 1,300 micrograms in April 2007 to less than 700 per day this year. The highest hourly concentrations of CO for the last three years reached almost 4,000 micrograms which are lower than the legal maximum of 10,000 micrograms of CO per cubic metre. The maximum this year has not exceeded 2,000 and they coincide with the peak traffic times at 08.00 and 18.00 hours.

Christmas competitions in Machico. Getting ready for Christmas in Machico. The local council has released details of the usual seasonal competitions. Until January 4, ‘Machico More Sweet’ to preserve and disseminate traditional Madeiran confectionery and liqueur recipes. Competition of Display Units for shops from 15 December to 12 January. Nativity Contest to revive the symbolism of the traditional Madeiran presépio for people both inside and outside their homes.

61 year old woman brutally attacked. Occurred on Saturday night in Funchal by her brother using a hoe handle, after a history of threats. She has a broken arm and hand, scars and wounds and has been advised bed rest for eight days. She will make a formal complaint to the police, from which he retired but is still covered by disciplinary regulations.

‘Função do porco’ tomorrow in Camacha. At the Casa do Povo, the Christmas festivity program has been released. The range of festivities and celebrations include performances by traditional groups and institutions of the ‘capital of the traditional Madeiran culture’. Tuesday December 8 at 15.00 is the traditional ‘função do porco’. Nuno Abreu, the President of the Casa do Povo explained, "The pig will come already dead for the procedures of cleaning and cutting." The various steps of the ‘função’ were then explained, which result in the prepared pig cut into five sections. —- I will leave out details in case there are any vegetarian readers.

Quartet in Port; port full with up to 7,400 tourists. Four cruise ships in port today has meant that the arrival of the ferry Volcan de Tijarafe from Portimão has had to be delayed until 18.00, because the normal mooring site will be occupied by the Balmoral. The ferry will leave for the Canary Islands two hours later, freeing the pier/ramp for the Lobo Marinho arrival at 20.15. The four cruise ships are the AIDAluna (2,250 tourists), MSC Orchestra (2,600), Balmoral (1,200) and the Island Escape (1,400).

‘Weekbreak’ includes the Pousadas de Portugal. The product ‘Weekbreak’ is the result of partnership between Travelport and ‘Life is Beautiful’. The stays at the Pousadas de Portugal, operated by the Pestana Group, have prices ranging from 79.90 to 119.90 euros, ensuring brand new and better experiences at Christmas. These are available through travel agents and promoted as unique Christmas presents for families and friends. The first proposal is an inspiring evening for two, with breakfast included, in one of the 20 Pousadas de Portugal. The second proposal is a pack of two night stays for two people in the 31 pousadas. Pousadas de Portugal are restored buildings of architectural heritage with high quality modern interior furnishings. Ancient palaces, monasteries, convents and fortresses have been restored. The Pousadas de Portugal package includes the North, Central, Alentejo, Algarve and the Azores. The other packages include; Country Escapes, Spa and Rituals, Charming Places, Hotel and Spa, Youth Hostels and Paradores of Spain. More information www.myweekbreak.com —- Photo is the Convento de Santa Clara in Vila do Conde, one of the proposals.

2,000 already have solar panels and other environmental news. By the end of November 2009, there were more than 2,000 Madeirans who have benefited from the ‘Medida Solar Termico 2009′ campaign, providing tax relief expiring at the end of this year. At the end of the year, individuals are eligible for a reduction of 50% of the purchase of solar heating panels from the beginning of the year until the end of the month. A family can save up to 70% of annual water heating costs, even on cloudy days up to 60% of need can be achieved. Already including Government support, the initial costs vary from 600 to more than 3,300 euros and the panels should last for up to 20 years. Details online www.paineissolares.gov.pt. For anyone interested in ‘clean energy’, another article states that 94% of wind farms in Portugal have been approved since 2005. There will be 76 in total (1,057 turbines), mainly located in mountainous areas of the Northern and Central Interior. SPEA criticize the lack of strategy in locating wind farms as they are sometimes installed in migration routes of birds. By 2010, the Portuguese Government predicts that about 45% of electricity will be generated from renewable sources. Quercus in Madeira have drawn a list of twelve tips that allow one to save the environment and lessen spending this season. Energy saving, recycling and using rechargeable batteries are some of the tips for a ‘greener’ Christmas. Saving on lighting, utilizing recycled wrapping paper, offering helpful gifts, taking advantage of the Christmas decorations provided by the Councils, for ‘sustainable consumption’. The Regional Director of the Environment at the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen and Quercus are concerned about water management as there are decreasing amounts of rainfall in Madeira. Madeirans have to rationalize water consumption, streams have to be maintained by cleaning and the Government has constructed reservoirs to secure water resources for agriculture.

"So who is the ass?" The CDS-PP in Câmara de Lobos Council still want the second access road to Nun’s Valley that was proposed in the last reunion of the Council. It is recalled that recently the President of the Government, Alberto João Jardim, described as "illiterate" all those who defend a second alternative road to the interior of Nun’s Valley. Roberto Rodrigues, author of the proposal submitted by the CDS-PP in that authority is convinced that these words of the President of the Regional Government will have negative effects on the next electoral results of the PSD. Rodrigues claims that he has no doubt that in the next election, the electorate will know the Curral gave proper response to the President. "I am convinced that in the next election, the vote of the people of Curral das Freiras will make people aware about who is after all the ass in this whole story."

Five arrested and 34 weapons seized in Nun’s Valley. Police operation lasting six hours on Saturday / Sunday, including house searches. Four people arrested for possession of prohibited arms and one for driving without a licence. The weapons seized included twelve firearms, two extendible batons, three replica firearms, five daggers, one sword, three machetes and a whip. In addition to weapons, 107 pyrotechnics were also seized and 24 large blue cans labelled as bleach but containing 600 litres of alcohol. The police also carried out roadside checks and monitored 88 vehicles. In a statement the police said that Nun’s Valley "reveals some disturbing deviant behaviour, particularly the high rate of domestic violence and alcohol consumption." These were the reasons for "adoption of a strategic intervention in order to prevent and tackle illegal activities."

Câmara de Lobos has 45 million euros budget. The Municipality of Câmara de Lobos is expected to have for the next financial year another Municipal Budget of the order of 45 million euros. Last year’s budget was 45.23 million, this years has declined by around 300,000 euros to 44.9 million. In order to prevent a debate on the Budget Plan 2010 at the next public meeting on December 18, and also because the Municipal Assembly meets a day before the last meeting of the town council, a special meeting has been scheduled for next Friday by the mayor to debate and vote on the Budget Plan. The approval should be easy as the PSD have absolute majority against the three opposition parties. The PS (Socialist Party) reject the Budget is lower due to the Local Finance Law but because the Regional Government has reduced transfers. The MPT (Earth Party) believe that special attention should be given to the quality of life and money not to be diverted for what can be classified as ‘megalomanias’. The CDS-PP stresses that the crisis also comes to the Council and it is also the fault of the Regional Government because it does not meet the contracts-program.

More than half a thousand requested retirement. This year, a total of 516 public employees have requested early retirement. It is a very high value, more than double than in some recent years and not the record only because last year’s accumulation represented two years (2007 and 2008), reaching a total of 625 retirements. Almost a third (139) were from the educational section, of which 74 were teachers, possibly reflecting the turmoil that resulted from the new arrangements for evaluation and career development. Another significant share of outflows were from the areas of social services and health, with 172 retirements, as follows: 139 from the Health Service, 33 from Social Security, 3 from Health and Social Services Administration. 17 doctors retired (including 14 Heads of Departments), more than in any previous year, a phenomenon that should not be alien to the restructuring of the Central Hospital of Funchal. Also 44 nurses left active service. High outputs in the Department of Natural Resources (43), the 11 local Councils (53, 26 in Funchal), ANAM (19), RAMEDM- Roads of Madeira (13) and Social Equipment (13). The sum of the pension these 516 retirees are entitled to reaches a total value of 581,000 euros, that is, an average monthly pension of 1,125 euros. This is slightly below last year’s value of 1,169 euros. Men on average earn 76 euros less pension than women but the ‘millionaire pensioners’ barely cover women, last year 8 out of the 10 highest pensions were awarded to men. In the last 10 years, 3,918 public sector pensioners have been created, an average of 391 per year. The highest pension among the 516 retirees this year was awarded to a notary who is entitled to receive 4,500 euros a month. It is about 20 times more than the five people who received the lowest pension of 227 euros per month. Among the other beneficiaries of the ten highest pensions, six were doctors, a nurse, a university professor and a deputy.

Lights go on today in São Vicente. The illuminations start today at 21.00 in São Vicente, also in the centres of Ponta Delgada and Boaventura. There will be two presépios in São Vicente, one Madeiran in the lobby of the Municipal Building and a large one in the Municipal Garden. The illuminations will continue until January 22, day of the patron saint of the county, which is a municipal holiday. The Night Market is on December 18, with Christmas carols.

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

Plan for the mountain range include Rabaçal cable car – The popular action is in progress. The time has come to join the ‘class action’ against the cable car that is planned for construction in Rabaçal. The action was instigated in March by two environmental organisations, both with the intent of putting a stop to the project. ‘Quercus National Association for Nature Conservation’ and ‘The Friends of the Ecological Park’ asked the Administrative Court of Funchal (TAF) for a declaration of nullity or annulment of the decision of the Madeira Government, approving the planned construction in the laurissilva forest, an area classified as "biological reserve" by the Council of Europe, and as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO.

Funchal Council identifies trees of public interest.

Future of the land doesn’t get decided just in Copenhagen.

Today’s main news headline : Cheque mystery – Santana Council passed a cheque to its ex-president to the value of nearly €5,000, relating to entertaining expenses in the final three years of his political mandate. Carlos Pereira left it in a office in the câmara from where it would come to be removed on the day that the new executive took office. The cheque showed up weeks later, in a donation box in Sé. When Pereira returned to his office to ‘clear out his desk’ he was pretty upset to find his cheque had disappeared, but his happiness returned when a council employee told him that his cheque had turned up in the donation box in Sé Cathedral in Funchal. The story seems implausible even within a comedy, but Pereira confirms that the cheque was stolen by someone who had access to keys, narrowing it down to just a few people. He thinks it was a prank in bad taste, because no one else could have banked the cheque, or an act of ‘pure malice’, as he sought to play down the matter. The matter was resolved when a priest at the Cathedral had called the council very surprised to have found the cheque that had appeared, with the name of the ex-president (PSD). Very upsetting, I could hardly swallow my breakfast cereal reading this tale of woe. It just goes to show that the PSD unpleasantness extends within the party, and is not just reserved for outsiders. Is there no system to stop a stolen cheque here then, as issuing a new one surely wouldn’t have been an insurmountable problem?

Almost 100 went to the Gripe A Centre and to the confusion. The treatment centre at Santo António was very busy and the users were muddled. 82 concerned / sick people had turned up at the new swine flu treatment centre by 5 pm yesterday, on its first day of operation, some having firstly gone to the Emergencies at the hospital (obviously not blog readers then!), and others went to Santo António when they should have gone to their local health centre. One father of a sick boy, said he first of all rang the ‘Health Line’, where he was told to go to the hospital, only to find that he ‘was knocking on the wrong door’. He was then told to go to Santo António, and he did so, despite actually living in Garajau and covered by the health centre in Machico. But common sense prevailed and the sick boy was attended to at Santo António. Some patients had to wait in the reception as the waiting room and corridor was filled with adults and children wearing green surgical masks. Talk about the unpleasant things people have to do in life sometimes, as this must rank amongst one of them … being perfectly healthy yourself and having to take a kid (who may or may not have Gripe A) into a room of festering germs, all eager to jump down ones throat. Must be almost as bad as going out to lunch with Uncle Bertie … no I jest … bring on the swine flu!

The public revenue doesn’t depend on the authorisation of the State.

Nacional celebrate 99 years with two victories – The Alvinegros went to Leiria winning by 1 – 2 and keep fourth place in the premier league. The other victory came from hospital : Manager Manuel Machado is now conscious and out of danger.

That’s all I have time for. If anyone else can oblige with any of the ‘blank’ headlines, here is the link

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.

Please send any topical or Madeira related photos or videos to blog@madeira4u.com to appear on this blog. Photos may take a while to appear, depending on the number waiting. Please don’t send copyrighted material.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Xmas lunch sacrifice ; Hashish tops drug imports ; Tourist wears the same clothes for a month

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:02:00 +0000

Today’s Photo Thanks to Eiryl … Parakeets at the Bird Park near to the Botanical Gardens, don’t worry about the headless one as I am assured he is in good health.

Some fantastic cloud / mountain photos here : Madeira – Island above the clouds

A sneak preview of the first Christmas lights that were switched on Friday. I recommend you turn the sound off first …

Enjoy your public holiday today – A trip to Porto Moniz Aquarium sounds nice!

November was a good month for blog visitors, the best since the new format. Over 3,000 different visitors visited nearly 9,000 times. I hope our sponsor is pleased. Many thanks for those who have supported it during November, and whilst there are several people who deserve credit, Elaine stands out for providing another whole month of news stories without a day off. The following stories included :

Tradition of singing the Charamba dying. The cold was felt at the site of the mill Ti Jesuina situated at Estrada Camacha/Poiso but it did not cool the enthusiasm of the participants at the Fifth Meeting of Xarambistas. The event was scheduled for 15.00 but started at 16.00 The five participants ranged from the ages of 70 to 81 years old and were accompanied by a 49 year old playing the viola de arame. An enthusiast lamented: "The charamba is dying because children are not interested in this artistic expression that comes from our ancestors. And the people who sing, because of their age, also are disappearing."

Machico Council vote themselves out of a Christmas dinner. Saving internally so as not to compromise the street festival. The decision of the Municipality of Machico ‘debunks’ the traditional Christmas lunch for the officials and also the gifts for their children. The decision was well accepted by the 200 employees with 60 children affected. "Our priority is to keep the festivities in the county and people understand why because they also feel the crisis at home." The same number of light bulbs as last year will be used to economise. The festivities will begin on December 6 with an opening play entitled, ‘The True Spirit of Christmas’. Circus Brazil starts on December 11 underneath the airport runway. On December 20 there is a Gospel Christmas concert in Forum Machico. The live nativity scene from December 22 is in the cultural activities room in the Junta da Freguesia. The Christmas Program 2009 ends on January 10 with the Singing of the Kings in Santo da Serra from 15.00. —- A true Christmas spirited Council!

Edificio Santa Luzia wins award. This is one of the contemporary Portuguese buildings to receive the award IHRU 2009, to promote municipal and regional buildings. Designed for the Housing Investment of Madeira (IHM), the award is from the Institute for Housing and Urban Regeneration. This apartment block contains 10 apartments for people with reduced mobility and includes an elevator, garden and communal room. It is designed for single people or couples, especially the elderly.

‘Excellence’ lobbying against civil construction. The delegates of APAVT (congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel Agents and Tourism) praise the "intelligence and courage" of Conceição Estudante (Tourism Minister). This is due to the region having already taken a significant step in the direction of alerting politicians and those responsible for the tourism sector to environmental sustainability. This had led to the region being classified as a ‘Destination of Excellence’. The strategy pursued by her is thought to act as a very strong lobby against civil construction, the major cause of deterioration in the quality of our tourism product. The tourism product has been degraded by overbuilding, insensitive urban planning and not enough defence against building and cultural heritage. Poor management of the law of supply and demand is also a problem. The growth rate of supply has been much faster than demand and not adjusted accordingly. There should be no new licensing until the occupancy levels recover to above 65%. As far as Funchal is concerned she is a good few years too late. Uncle Bertie won’t be pleased that one of his cronies wants to cut back on concrete use, how will the shareholders survive? Der

Funchal represents 45% of energy certification. This figure shows that this is the most active area for the real estate market. These certificates for energy efficiency and air quality have been awarded since 2001, a total of 2,881. The most (46.4%) of those in Funchal have been awarded in São Martinho. These have been awarded for all new buildings, those rented and those sold. The second main area of activity is Santa Cruz where 60% have been awarded in the parish of Caniço. Other counties have relatively few certificates issued, either due to a stagnant property market or the councils not enforcing the law. In the case of residential buildings, these certificates are valid for 10 years. The responsibility is the seller or owner of the building and they should be checked by the legal bodies when contracts are concluded for sale and/or lease.

Rescue effort off the Desertas Islands. At 15.00 on Friday, the crew of a French vessel sent a warning message that the João Amndio fishing vessel was adrift with no crew activity on board, despite normally having a crew of 10 men. Fears deepened when the contacts of the Subcentro de Lisboa went unanswered. The Maritime Search and Rescue Centre in Funchal, Maritime Authorities and the navy launched a rescue effort. Two SANAS semi-rigid lifeboats were launched, one from Santa Cruz and the other from Funchal, and the naval patrol boat put on standby. The rescue effort proved unnecessary as the crew were all safe and were having a rest period with the person on watch away from the VHF equipment at the time, which is why he did not respond to the message.

Câmara de Lobos firemen discontent over non-payment of updated salary. They should have had their salary increased by 2.9% on January 1 2009 but have only received additional pay since September 2009. Some firemen also complain about inconsistencies. The president has appointed a relative into the corporation, who receives almost double than others in a similar position. They also complain about money spent on the 60th anniversary party and the Christmas party. The president, Rui Fernandes, is an ex-deputy of the PSD and also president of the Municipal Assembly of Câmara de Lobos. He argues that this criticism is just in bad faith as the anniversary party was also to award merit badges. He denies there is an unwillingness or refusal to meet with the union leaders as there is another meeting in January. Also, the firemen have no grounds for complaint as they have good working and employment conditions. Nepotism in the fire brigade, hard to believe I know, and I wonder who might set such a bad example? Der

Judicial Police seize more heroin and hashish in 2009. Quantities have already surpassed those in 2008. The amount of hashish has almost tripled and heroin increased from 57,469 to 73,800 doses. In contrast, cocaine has decreased remarkably from 632,395 to 21,400 doses. The major seizure last year of cocaine was of 57 kilogram or 570,000 doses at the airport in Operation Check Out, probably not all for the regional market. There were 78 people arrested this year for trafficking compared to 43 last year. Three firearms have been seized this year in relation to drug trafficking.

The port is too small for the number and size of cruise ships visiting. The photo taken yesterday illustrates the problem; when two large cruise ships berth at the South Terminal and another at the North Terminal, the port has exhausted 90% of its capacity. The increase in length and tonnage of cruise ships means that for 18% of days of this year, the port has exhausted its capacity. The large cruise ships circuit can include Southern Portugal, Madeira and the Canaries. A large ship can represent an income of 12 -18 thousand Euros for APRAM (Ports Authority) and another 150,000 Euros in revenue for companies that provide tourism services. On December 15, there will be four large cruise ships visiting meaning that the Oriana has to berth offshore. The passengers are mainly over 70 years old and many will be unable to use the ship’s tenders to visit the island. Eight cruise ships are already booked for the last night of the year. A ship unable to berth and having to stay offshore looses the Administration of Ports 40% of revenue and penalizes local businessmen, as only 30% of passengers come ashore. The present investment for development of the port is the most important decision taken for a long time due to the limited size and increasing size of ships visiting. This topic was continued in another article stating that next year, there will be 24 days when the Port of Funchal cannot receive any more ships. 20% of days there will be three ships and for four days there are four cruise ships booked, and for another three days, five booked simultaneously. March, April, November and December are the months when capacity is limited. In 2010, there will be newer and larger cruise liners visiting. The new Queen Elizabeth is due on 21 October 2010.

Five arrested for attacks on the police. Sporadic violence occurred in Funchal and Câmara de Lobos. The first incidence occurred on Friday in Funchal when three men were detained for violence against an officer. On Sunday in Câmara de Lobos, a man and a woman were eventually arrested after intervention by the police. In Machico, a man was arrested for possession of a bat and a knife.

Corpse of a tourist found at the bottom of a ravine. The body of a tourist who was missing since 19.00 last night has just been recovered this morning from a ravine of a depth of 80 metres. The 30 year old was separated from his parents in Levada da Lombada in Ponta do Sol. The mountain rescue team of the bombeiros recovered the body.

German camps in the Almirante Reis garden. A German citizen aged more than 60 years old has lived there for over a month in unsanitary conditions. He came to Madeira as the weather is favourable for his illness. He sleeps in a small tent pitched by the walls of the hotel and is well educated, walks with difficulty, wears the same clothes and has hygiene problems. The Town Hall was not aware of the situation but now alerted, say they will quickly resolve the situation in a humanely way and a person cannot be allowed to camp in a public area which is also a tourist attraction.

Then my contribution from today’s front page stories … Der

Today’s main Diário headline : ‘Order of Doctors’ doesn’t want doctors to give advice against the vaccine – The doctors that judge inopportune that people submit themselves to vaccination against Gripe A swine flu, should not ignore the instructions of the World Health Organisation and the Directorate General, that are advising the take up of this precaution. So says the Order. Some doctors apparently have been advising their patients against getting vaccinated against H1N1, but that has to stop. These patients are considered as ‘risk groups’ due to age, medical factors, or pregnancy, and the instruction is that the ‘opinions’ of medical staff are not to be offered. Some doctors have doubts about the product ‘Pandermix’ based on lack of tests and scientific studies about the efficiency of the vaccine. Some doctors are saying say it is better to strengthen the immune system with other methods, through rest, good nutrition and vitamin supplements. The president of the Order says that presently, there are pregnant women, parents of small children, and the chronically ill who do not know which is better: to take the vaccine or hope that the Gripe A flu does not infect them. There were 123 new cases of Gripe A confirmed by the Health Service last week. 57 are female, 66 male. There were 39 confirmed outbreaks of the virus in Madeira’s schools, a similar ratio to that happening throughout Portugal. I won’t be taking the vaccine under any circumstances, and have reinforced my supplies of © Toranja Poncha © over recent weeks as my means of prevention and cure, as well as it’s properties for aiding a good nights sleep during the early morning mega-bangers, due to start any day now. However as there are some who take things I say a little too seriously, I am not recommending this approach to others, who need to make their own decisions, and ‘the blog’ does not accept any responsibility for those who follow my chosen path. Besides that, the glut of cheap toranjas (grapefruit) that I have been enjoying for the last couple of a months seem to be coming to an end.

2009 is a black year in the economy of Porto Santo. Consumption plunged. Airport and port register sensitive losses of movement. We have been reading the stories for the last year or more, about reduced hotel occupation and travel, projects and developments stopping mid-term, or not even starting. The only recent positive highlight I remember was the opening of the new animal shelter, but I am not even sure now if that was just an election stunt and is still open. The golden island, two or more years ago, was the top of everyone’s agenda, including Cristiano Ronaldo, for a new hotel. The island was hosting direct charter flights from Italy and the UK, and there was so much employment (low pay admittedly) that recruitment was focused on immigrants. Speculators and others were buying property at inflated prices. The article gives some stats on what is mentioned above in terms of economic factors, but nothing we didn’t really know about before. It has to be said that Porto Santo is treated differently as a separate island, and clearly has differences, but in reality the other regions of Madeira, especially outside of Funchal, are suffering in equivalent and similar ways, but don’t get the same media attention. At least Porto Santo still has it’s own separate weather forecast, whereas the rest of us are usually lumped in with Funchal, regardless of climatic considerable differences.

Institute of Francês Marie Curie studies levadas. A French investigator, Jean-Luc Sabatier, has come to Madeira to study our network of levadas, and will stay here for two years to complete his work in the study titled ‘Irrigation and Society’. He will focus on the anthropological and sociological perspective of the famous mountain waterways, funded by a grant from the prestigious Institute Marie Curie. I just can’t go on with a straight face … it’s another ‘jolly in disguise’, despite lots of technical justifications in the article. How do people get these jobs, as I certainly don’t see them advertised in our newspapers? If I come up with a study, say the ‘Saltiness of the seas around Madeira’, or ‘Regional differences in the beers of Madeira’ will someone stump up the dough to pay for me to ‘research’ for two years … please email me if you can.

Haylofts and huts in Chão da Ribeira cause controversy. Reconstruction and widening of the structures result in a meeting between the council of Porto Moniz and the Natural Park. This story one I will leave for someone else to translate … thank you.

and finally, today’s football story : World Cup 2010 : "Portugal are going to feel at home". Eusébio is already in South Africa. He revealed his expectations to the Diário about the final stage of the Wold Cup. Portugal’s ex-most-famous-footballer is already in South Africa, sussing out the situation ready for 2010. It must only be in today’s printed edition of the Diário, as I can’t find it online. Dare I mention the ‘J’ word once again?

That’s all from me news-wise for now, as the Diário advert for the car sale at the Technopolo has smothered the links into the pages and individual news stories, and it can’t be closed down to delve into the newspaper. I presume everyone is on holiday at the Diário, which is why the fault still hasn’t been corrected by 10.30 am. Elaine has found a way around the problem if you look in the comments. Thank Elaine.

I already mentioned that today is ‘Restoration of Independence’ day for Portugal and Madeira, and as such a public holiday … for some maybe. At 6.22 am I was awoken by a grand rumpus … the local band starting playing at that time of the morning … just one song … and then they stopped. Well, it was too late by then to return to deep slumber. Restoration of Independence indeed, how about restoration of my lost sleep! This is normally the sort of comment where a blog sniper pops up and says ‘why don’t you move away from Madeira if you don’t like it’?, so just to pre-empt such a stupid comment, the answer is I don’t want to. Why are the snipers out in force this last few days I wonder, maybe not much doing on the Madeira Island Bulletin Board (for a change!), where some snipers often lurk, or just pure Christmas humbugism … who knows what drives these people? Do they sit at home and watch TV programmes they don’t like, and then write in and complain?

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Doctor’s relocation incentive ; Registered ships bring € millions ; RAM most dangerous road

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Photo Thanks to me … I thought we might have had some presépio (nativity scene) photos in by now, but not much apart from one Tobi sent in a while back. This one is in Hiper Sã in Ribeira Brava.

There is even a second photo today, this one showing the famous Ribeira Brava super-duper coach, the one that cost the council a small fortune a year or so ago, all painted up in a super-duper custom designed livery, which again must have cost a small fortune. There is another just like it also, but smaller. They hardly get used, so there is a problem keeping them parked up for long periods of time, so the council solution is to park this big one here, on the area of hatched-lines, just a few metres from the police station. If anyone else did the same the police would be out with their ticket book and a hefty fine would be issued. The Diário newspaper does a daily photo, sent in by readers, called ‘Em Flagrant’, which pretty much means ‘caught red handed’, and normally it involves stupid drivers, or road signs or something along those lines, but they don’t appear on the Diário website. So I thought (after a suggestion from Sheila) I would start off something similar, as ‘How well do you know Madeira ?’ seems to have died a bit of a death. Any photos or stories please send them to the email address at the bottom of this page.

Some nice ‘city’ photos here, but ignore the first one : MADEIRA PHOTOS

Madeira based artist Sonia von Walter has finished a new painting LADY IN RED … (my description) I like the painting, but hate the song.

Don’t forget that tomorrow is a Portugal public holiday (Restoration of Independence).

The following snippet is from Elaine of the West, many thanks …

(relevant to those of us pontasssolenses and others who enjoy the fun of the fair!)

Giga Park opens soon. From next Thursday the Christmas Giga Park opens to the public in Ponta do Sol. The fair is being set up in the area of future expansion of the village. The 2009 version of Giga Park consists of 11 types of amusements geared towards the younger audience and eight for adults, plus some intended for the whole family. Among the vast array of fun, of note is the return of one of the ‘ex-libris "of the fairs of yesteryear, such as the Pit of Death. Despite being 80 years old, it is a real adventure, challenging the law of gravity on two wheels. The amount of equipment increases daily, but everything should be completed by mid-week. The official opening is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, 3 December. The amusement park will be in Ponta do Sol until 11 January. The enclosure also includes games, raffles, hardware, restaurant and bars, as well as sanitation facilities. The park has an estimated capacity of about three thousand vehicles, and parking is free. Work to level the ground and the erection of structures has been going on constantly for some time. Since the beginning of the month trailers have arrived by sea with material and the amusements, with the last due to arrive in Funchal tomorrow. By Thursday, everything should be ready to go.

Circus with sharks and seals from day 17. A circus environment is part of the range of entertainment of the Giga Park. This is scheduled to debut on the 17th, going on display to the public in the last three and a half weeks of the fair. The Jorge Cardinalli ‘Aqua Show’ includes Pacific Ocean sharks in a tank with 30 litres of water. There will also be Alaskan seals, a show that features clowns, acrobats, magic and, as the old slogan circus says, ‘much more’. From Tuesday to Friday ‘Aqua Show’ plans to present a daily show starting at 21:30. On Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and holidays there will be three sessions: 15.30, 17.30 and 21.30.

and of course from Elaine of the East, with thanks …

750 euro grants do not convince doctors. The Government of the Republic will pay 750 Euros per month grants to junior doctors to relocate to Madeira, the Azores, Alentejo and the Algarve. Some see them as an ‘added value’, others as a ‘prison’. They are a promotion for doctors who want to stay in the region after specialist training but are a risk for others as they need to find a vacancy. If they take posts in the region after training, they have to work here for a few years or pay back the training cost.

Unrepaired road complaints to the Municipality. Whenever it rains with some intensity, the road Caminho da Cova Grande in Amoreirinha, Canhas turns into a muddy swamp and dangerous for pedestrians and cars. Only jeeps and wellington boots can cope with the mud that collects on the flattest areas of the road beyond the initial cemented 100 metres. The water descends from the surrounding serra along with debris which enters homes, especially as there is no storm water drainage system installed in the road. Antonio Joaquim has a garage below the road level and that is the worst part of his house affected. He complained to the Council but still no change, whereas he recalls with nostalgia that in the times of the mayor Antonio Lobo, "Within 15 days, it was cemented." The mayor of Ponta do Sol said he knew of the problem and promised that soon there would be intervention by the Municipality in order to regularize the situation of the rainwater. He confirmed that during the election campaign, which also coincided with days of rain in late September, he passed the site in question and realized the accumulation of water which comes from the serra of Canas. The extension of the cemented path is not justified because it is already up a hill. He says, "Who has a house in the serra should be prepared to deal with these situations."

Chinese citizen goes back to court to ask not to be expelled. Xu Zhiqiang was born in China and in mid-2004 was arrested at the airport by the immigration officials for illegally entering Madeira. Upon orders of a judge, he was forbidden to leave the region and was subject to Terms of Identity and Residency and to periodically report to the Immigration Service (SEF). He was professionally employed in hotel and catering. On 22 October 2009, SEF ordered his expulsion from the country in the next 20 days, for having entered and remained unlawfully in Portugal. Xu Zhiqiang obtained a court injunction arguing the order of SEF has formal and material defects and presented five witnesses. In 2008 he was denied a residence permit on grounds of his illegal entry and he has no legal right to permanency. He said he stayed illegally but was subject to a court order. He said that when he entered into the European area in the year 2004, he had a valid passport and visa. He claims he has lost, among trips made to several EU countries including Spain and Portugal, the passport and relevant visa issued by the Portuguese Embassy in China. This was ignored by the Court of Santa Cruz hence he wants the original conviction reviewed. The whole family is here, socially integrated and he has worked for five years and paid Social Security contributions and IRS. He awaits a decision by the court.

Lights, music and nativity: it is almost Christmas in the municipalities. A round-up of Christmas events staged by the Councils. The tradition still remains for presepios and carols. In Santa Cruz there are initiatives for all tastes. The Council of José Alberto Goncalves promotes several dinners – on December 23 for the elderly and December 29 for University students. Festa in the streets of the county. Camacha monopolizes the festivities, where on the 8th is the opening of the doors of the ‘tenda’ in the parish with traditional musical entertainment until January 18, promoting folklore and regional music. A Market Night (no date yet) and photography competition and the usual municipal crib. In Machico, the municipal crib and lighting start on December 7. On the 20th at the Forum of Machico, there is a Christmas Concert and the next day is the turn of the municipal band and on January 6, Singing of the Kings. As well as the usual lighting and nativity scene, Câmara de Lobos is holding a Market Night at the Estreito de Câmara de Lobos. Sao Vicente’s Market Night is on December 18 and the casas do povo are organizing the municipal crib. On the 23rd at São Vicente, there is a lunch for officials and their children, at a very low entry price. Porto Santo has various initiatives and a dinner for University students. In Funchal, there are endless initiatives. A dinner for 300 employees and celebrations at all the institutions and the 14 community centres. The main attraction is the Market Night.

Forestry grant 16 licences for cutting 1,245 Christmas trees. The Regional Directorate of Forestry approved 16 applications for cutting trees for sale at Christmas. They are also thinning out trees in forest management for conservation purposes and giving them to public institutions. On November 21 they started monitoring the roads with barriers for illegal collection of material, especially in Ribeira das Cales and Paul da Serra. They also have mobile units to monitor illegal selling of flora and fauna. The problem is not as widespread as ten years ago due to educational programs. They give Christmas materials to charities and the Scouts to sell to raise funds.

Registration of ships guarantees millions in VAT. Twenty years after its creation, the International Shipping Register of Madeira (MAR) provides regional employment and generates IVA and IRC. A company based in the International Business Centre (IBC), which has six oil platforms registered in MAR, invoiced 1,300 million Euros with 291 million profit, as well as giving 60 people employment. With 153 registered ships and an additional 83 recreational boats, it is notable that the number of passenger ships has increased, with 12 cruise ships and 7 ferries. Two of these are large cruise ships and the business generated on board pays tax to Madeira. Large cruise ships carry up to 100,000 passengers and generate 6 million Euros profit per year. It is estimated that the ones registered in Madeira carry more than 200,000 passengers per year which represents daily expenditure on board of 43.7 million Euros. In the IBC there are also more than 30 licensed companies in the sector of maritime transport, which have in turn 50 ships registered in MAR and although they pay a reduced rate of IRC, they also generate revenue. More than 4,000 crew members, 10% Portuguese, work on ships registered in MAR. 80% of vessels registered in MAR have foreign owners. There should be more ships registered next year, not only related to tourism and with high tonnage. There is both a registration fee and maintenance fee, ranging from 1,600 to 37,000 Euros for registration and the highest maintenance paid is 35,000 Euros per year. A pleasure craft for sports pays 500 Euros for both registration and yearly maintenance fees. A commercial pleasure craft pays 1,250 Euros for registration. MAR appoints inspectors of registered vessels, at least 40 inspections per year costing at least 600 Euros per time. Also additional fees for certificates.

Estrada Monumental is the most dangerous road in Madeira. Since 2001, there have been 866 accidents recorded by the police. In the three sections; Ribeira Seco – Lido (282), Lido – Praia Formosa (460) and Praia Formosa – Socorridos (124). This is due to a lot of resident movement and up to 70 coaches per day. There are also trees at the sides of the roads, reducing visibility and many pedestrians in the area. The relief roads in the area should help reduce traffic and accidents. The roads are safer than in the past because of better signalling, lighting, surveillance and asphalt. Most accidents are caused by bad driving habits, 20 – 25% by excess speed and disregard of stopping distances, especially by people going to work. Roundabouts are also the cause of many accidents as people are not used to them and do not know the rules. Most accidents on the fast roads occur in the tunnels, due to bends and less visibility. The Police Commissioner advises people to leave home 15 minutes early to significantly reduce the number of accidents.

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

Funchal has too small a quay for so many cruise ships – Three cruise ships yesterday occupied all the available mooring space, and that is not unusual. But bigger ships coming more frequently are the future. A recycled story that now comes up every time Funchal port gets overloaded, with the point being correct, but up until now with no solution in sight. I will leave this one for someone else to translate, not wishing to hog all the top stories.

Farmers keen in the wait of award – 50 await answers in Santana for the ‘drag’ of 2 years. "Right now it is very difficult to be a farmer. You can not sell practically anything. Potato prices are a crying shame". This was just one of many pleas heard by the Diário in the wholesale market for fruit and vegetable in Santana, where an information meeting was held for 50 producers yesterday. The meeting was arranged by the Regional Director for Agriculture and Rural Development, and is making it’s way around Madeira. As well as the money due for two years from Lisbon, that has not arrived, the farmers complain about the increasing prices of pesticides and fertilisers, the increased costs of labour, and the plagues of rats and rabbits that ruin the crops. The meeting was called to try and persuade farmers to take out crop insurance, to protect against the risks (fire, lightning strike, and exceptional weather conditions), and that can also be extended to cover farm animals. It seems some farmers were convinced that insurance was a good way to go, with a simple example given of a 1,000 square metre vineyard costing €37.60 a year to insure.

Today’s top headline : Private firms ‘fine’ on the parking meters – The companies with the concessions dispense with the PSP police in order to save money and the parking tickets they leave on the windscreens. The existing system of the police controlling parking in allocated spaces will be taken on in January 2010 by the ‘franchise’ companies that manage the spaces, in order to save thousand of Euros, and motorists are warned to take extra care not to fall foul of the rules. In effect, the fines issued will become legally recoverable charges, and it seems technically possible that the driver could be hit twice. From what I can understand, the driver, when entering on to an allocated parking space, by that act enters into a legally binding contract with the company responsible for that space. If that driver fails to purchase the correct ticket for the stay, then he becomes liable to pay the daily rate, an amount that will accumulate in the database of the franchise company (referenced by the car registration), and if unsettled will go to legal recourse. The driver will be able to take the ticket to a multibanco (ATM) and make the required payment. I can see loopholes and problems written all over this, but it seems that the system is already well proven to work elsewhere, including in the Azores, where a driver was recently forced to pay nearly €2,000 plus his costs.

Increase in violence hits teachers – Thefts and aggression increased in the last academic year. And the threats to teaching staff become fashionable. The Education Directorate is concerned, but feels that there is too much through the TV and internet. Madeira is catching up with continental Portugal in terms of problems in schools. The PSP police operate a program called ‘Safe School’, and last year through that it has been established that the majority of crimes in schools are violence against the person, with 95 cases, followed by theft (57 cases), and threats and insults (49 cases), vandalism (40), and other crimes are also listed. The news is disappointing, as what was a growing problem saw a marked improvement in the 2007/2008, but has now returned to a growing trend. The Regional Director for Education says that the problem is worrying, but that the school environment in not any more of a problem than the social context outside the school gates. He says that the influences of families ‘that have seen better times’, and TV violence, and images and videos posted on the internet all play a part in the problems in the schools.

Marítimo reduced to ten draw in Restelo – The green-reds were losing 2 – 0. The Madeira team pulled back two goals away at Belenenses to come away with a point.

CR9 was in the chair in the defeat in Barcelona, on the day on which he was nominated for the ‘Golden Ball’. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team Real Madrid lost by one goal to to Barcelona in yesterday’s top game. But who cares about Spanish football?

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

2010 depends on bank loans ; 45% success for smokers therapy ; New fisheries policy needed

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Tobi … a visiting private yacht

"Funchal is the prime spot for overseas property buyers; the capital enjoys sunnier and drier weather than the rest of the island and has all the amenities expected in a cosmopolitan city plus the international airport close". The usual BS from a property company, and if you have up to €429k spare, by all means read it, but I wouldn’t bother. ‘Healthy’ tourists prefer holiday homes to hotels

"When the leste blows – the wind that comes from the Sahara – the thermometer may rise to about 33ºC. But that does not happen often and, on this little Portuguese island, situated far out in the wide Atlantic, you can assume the temperatures will rarely rise above a pleasantly warm 24°. You may prefer to sleep with a blanket, but you won’t roast in the mid-day sun". HELLO MAGAZINE ON QUINTAS

Carlos Carvalhal, the ex Marítimo manager, who was sacked a few weeks ago after a pretty poor start to the new football season, has been appointed as the new boss of one of the biggest Portuguese teams. Sporting gave him the job after Paulo Bento resigned last week. Just shows that poor performance doesn’t stop one going up in the world … the world of football that is.

Yesterday’s top news stories thanks to Elaine again :

More details about the emergency exercise at the airport on Wednesday. On Wednesday at 00.30 there will be a full-scale exercise to test the Emergency Plan. The scenario has been set for this year. A bus with 32 passengers for a flight to Lisbon looses control and will hit the right wing of an aircraft, while 52 passengers are disembarking by foot and another 91 remain in transit on the plane. In the mean time, 109 passengers are boarding. The flight originated in Lisbon and is going to Caracas. The bus also collides with a refuelling vehicle, causing a spill of about 3,000 litres of gasoline which catches fire. As a result of the accident, there are 328 casualties – 13 dead, 10 seriously injured priority I, 20 seriously injured priority II, 10 slightly injured and 178 uninjured. In addition, 6 passengers go missing because they panic and flee, and 80 passengers have to be evacuated from the airport. The scenario is chosen by the probability of occurrence and to test equipment which the emergency services might be unfamiliar with using, for example to deal with a fuel spillage into the sea. As such, the Administration of the Harbours and Control of the Maritime Area will be present. This operation involves dozens of regional entities and about 160 extras, in addition to observers and assessors, and will last four or five hours. I thought these emergency exercises were supposed to have an element of surprise, but it seems that if all this was published in the newspaper beforehand everyone involved can have everything planned and prepared to the last detail … I’ll be home for tea honey! Der

5 neonatal deaths in Madeira in 2008. This was one less than 2007. There are decreases in both neonatal and perinatal deaths in the region. Nationally the infant mortality rate decline to 3.3/1000 live births and the neonatal rate decline to 2.5/1000 live births.

300 people on the waiting list for smoking cessation therapy. 45% of the 900 people attending for anti-smoking therapy at the Bom Jesus Health Centre since February 2005 stopped smoking. This is above the 20% national rate and 35% international rate due to more intensive therapy but there is a waiting list of 300 people and the treatment is not subsidized by the state. There are priority cases, for example people with lung problems, heart diseases and relatives of people who have quit smoking. There is a multidisciplinary team consisting of a doctor, nurse, psychologist and nutritionist. It is more successful as there are more consultations, between 16 and 18, and a person calls the user every day to try to motivate them. The main reason for failure is the cost of the medications which are not subsidized and range from 70 to 100 Euros. It would be cheaper to subsidize them than the health service treating resulting diseases, usually occurring 28 years after starting smoking. Since the tobacco advertising law was enforced in 2008, there has been a 5% decrease in tobacco sales and a decrease in the number of men smoking but an increase in female smokers.

CMF wants to encourage renovation of buildings. Funchal Council want to revise the municipal tax again in another initiative to encourage private investment in the renovation of houses. There is already a 50% reduction for residential use and exemption if the use will be for tourism. The mayor Miguel Albuquerque said that in recent years there had been a housing boom in the city centre. Therefore the council must make an effort to ensure affordable social housing in these areas such as in Cruzes and Alegria, and not introduce discrimination in terms of residents in the historic centre. He was speaking at the inauguration of a restored building in the Rua do Bispo, which includes six apartments, seven offices and three commercial spaces, and cost 1 million Euros to renovate, keeping the original facades and main features. (Shown in photo)

64 year old man arrested for sexual abuse against a child. Arrested on Friday for an alleged sexual abuse of a female child, up to the age of 13 years but no age specified. The offence occurred in Funchal and there is no family relationship between the man and the child. The man is prohibited from approaching children and could face up to eight years in prison. In March, a 17 year old was arrested on suspicion of rape of a 50 year old man and is in custody in prison.

An accident victim is seeking witnesses. The woman has fractures to both feet and one knee after a head-on collision last Friday in the Meia Legua tunnel in Ribeira Brava. A blue Fiat Panda was reversing inside the tunnel and she had to swerve to avoid it and collided with a van travelling in the opposite direction. There are several witnesses but no known registration number of the Fiat which left the scene, so any information should be passed on to the police.

Fine issued by GNR taken to the European Court. An emigrant from Madeira living in Luxembourg has refused to pay a 175 Euros fine issued by the GNR in Ponta do Sol in October and says he will take the case to Brussels. He was penalized for driving a car registered abroad that had exceeded the time limit of 183 days of exemption from taxation. He said he did not violate the law as the car had been in the region that same year but with another owner. "The car was mine but I sold it to my mother and thus the period of 183 returns to zero." The GNR said they might interpret the law in one way, and the Customs differently.

Airport receives 200 pieces from the private collection of Joao Carlos Abreu. The collection of ‘Angels and Boys Choir’ will be on display at the Arrivals Area from 20 December and throughout the Christmas period. These figurines are made of clay, ceramic, cardboard and metal and many were collected in Portugal and Italy as well as other countries.

President of the RTP in lightning discreet visit. The President of the Radio and Television of Portugal, Guilherme Costa, had a lightning visit to Funchal yesterday, previously unannounced and was not available to speak to journalists. The leaders of RTP-M also declined to comment. The workers of RTP-M were stunned as they had expected a formal meeting on Thursday to discuss the replacement for the retiring director and the future plan for equipping the regional centre. It is only known that the president talked at length with the retiring director, Leonel Freitas.

The 2010 budget depends on bank loans. The Regional Government will formally ask the State to amend the debt limit so it can go to the banks for loans to finance the Regional public investment. This revenue is needed to avoid an increase in unemployment and keep the economy going through wages and spending. It is difficult to cut current expenditure without affecting the quality of life of the population, for example health and education account for 75%. The current expenditure will be maintained by tax revenues and transfers from the State. Some investment finance should be available from the EU but the regional component has to be funded and Madeira has no money for this. Without bank loans the situation will be dire, the Regional Government cannot invest, major corporations will collapse and unemployment will soar. The Regional Government will have to depend on support at Lisbon of the PSD and CDS. The review of the Regional Finance Law introduces a new concept of the debt limit and possibly allows the State to endorse loans. The Regional debt to suppliers could surpass 150 million Euros by the end of this year and the Regional Government needs a new way of settling such debts as from June next year, the EU requires Member States to pay suppliers within 30 days. The PCP have delivered a package of 39 measures to cut ‘megalomaniac projects’ to the Regional Secretary of Planning and Finance. These are in economic and social areas to be included in the Budget next year. Jardim has already put the brakes on promises the Government made in some municipalities but some projects cannot be postponed, for example the new hospital in Madeira and a new small hospital in Porto Santo.

‘Estelinha’ and the conflict over the chapel. ‘Estelinha’ – popular name for Estela Pereira Ferreira – a 73 year old resident of Campanário who holds the keys to and receives the money from the promises for the Capela de Nossa Senhora do Bom Despacho (Chapel of Our Lady of Good Order). She has done so for more than 40 years on behalf of the local population. Several parish priests have been in the region but none have been able to clarify the ‘jurisdiction’ over the private chapel which belonged to Conde Canavial. There have been bitter exchanges and suspicions between ‘Estelinha’ and some priests, disagreements over public/pulpit money. In 2004, the priest and the diocese refused a baptism in the chapel, other times there have been weddings, Masses and christenings. Now the Mass is limited to festive seasons and the priest has to ask ‘Estelinha’ to open the door. ‘Estelinha’ says she has the permission of the owner to manage the chapel and has a ‘commission’ to pay for the upkeep made from received money and the ‘gold’ of Our Lady given by Conde Canavial. With conflict over the ownership of this property over the past 15 years, this ‘commission’ is not enough for the people to legally claim ownership of the chapel. Also conflicts over payment for repair work and the door and the roof were restored with the ‘commission’, not by the parish. The chapel is in a magnificent setting with a beautiful view and it is worth tourists asking to see inside. It was founded in 1672 and restored in 1762. In 2007, the Regional Government classified it as a monument of public interest and with this classification, it is in an area for special protection.

Unemployment decreases in the third quarter. Unemployment fell 0.2% over the second quarter of 2009. It stood at 7.9% in the third quarter of 2009. The national unemployment rate grew 0.7% to 9.8%.

Christmas shopping hours proposal. The union SITAM handed a proposal to the CMF that commercial areas close on Sundays and public holidays and at 20.00 in the week before Christmas. This is defended by a lack of consumers.

Consultations in the hospital increased 5.9% in the first halves of the years 2008 and 2009. Consultations at Health Centres also increased by 8.4%. Almada Cardosa of SESARAM stresses that the increased efficiency proves that the staff are not dissatisfied with the new management. "There is a great motivation and increased production with the same conditions." —- No strikes then?

PSD support new fisheries policy. The PSD Parliamentary Group wants Madeira, as an outermost region, to be treated differently by the European Parliament and they need a new fisheries policy for Madeira. The fishing vessels need upgrading to compete with the major industrialized countries and the large industrial vessels. They need to discuss with the MEP their concerns about levels of stocks of many species, not just the black scabbard fish. Also need to be able to manage stocks when there are future imbalances. The new fishing port at Câmara de Lobos will become a reality in 2011. It will be the largest fishing port in the region and the infrastructure will include the Regional Directorate of Fisheries, the auction and all the infrastructure related to the port.

Link to Canhas will be realized, Calheta Health Centre earlier. The link to Canhas in Ponta do Sol will be completed but the forecast is not until 2012. Jardim said that as the work is so complex and deadlines changed, he might not be able to inaugurate it. The Centre for Health and Social Security at Calheta will be completed earlier than expected as the project will begin immediately and not in 2010.

Headlines from the front page of today’s newspaper … feel free to add more ‘meat’ to the stories :

Offences of Jardim reduce PSP Madeira – Political accusations and mainland issued during the [election] campaign result in ‘lows’. The repercussions of President Jardim’s behaviour and accusations of a police force controlled from Lisbon. Some officers have requested transfers, cheesed off with Jardim’s behaviour and attitude toward the police.

Today’s top news headline : Expenditure in the port divides opinions – The project is to provide facilities to embark and disembark in the comfort of covered passageways. But the investment of €3 million is not peaceful between the shipping agents, because the equipment will not be 100% functional. This is about the installation of walkway equipment that will be used to embark and disembark some passengers arriving by ship (ferry or cruise), similar to the facilities used for planes, where a moveable corridor is moved into place to allow passengers to enter or leave the ship through a moveable corridor mechanism, as shown.

European Popular Party [PPE] brings 500 to Madeira – The assistant secretary general of the PPE is in the region preparing a meeting for October 2010. The PPE is the major ‘family’ of Euro MPs in the European Parliament, with nearly 300 inside the group. The event, scheduled for 13th – 15th of October 2010 will see a congress held here under the theme of ‘study days’. The event is likely to be one of the major events of the year, with around 500 people expected to attend, representing the 27 member states of Europe.

Festival of ‘Tunas’ livens up Funchal in December. With no specifics about this as I haven’t read the article yet, if you get the chance you should get along to witness this, as it is worthwhile. The ‘Tunas’ are bands from the universities of Madeira and Portugal, and the ones I have seen have always been all girls or all boys, normally up to around 20 in a group, but regardless have been really entertaining. Whilst other students may spend their spare time ‘down the pub’, these students put their effort into music and entertainment. What is different is the ‘extra’ entertainment they provide, often quite challenging and athletic, and I would imagine also very tiring.

War today on the road to South Africa – The atmosphere in Bosnia continues to be hostile to Portugal on the decisive day for entry to the World Cup. In South Africa, where Ronaldo already shines, the Portuguese community sees it’s pride in check. The second leg of the playoff between Bosnia and Portugal is tonight, on TVI (channel 4) at 7.45 pm. It’s do or die time, and the 1 – 0 home game lead has to be protected, or it’s no visit to South Africa for the World Cup Finals next year, and a big disappointment for the three Madeiran players likely to be in the squad.

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Chinese threat to Machico trade ; Consumer complaints increase ; Cheaper Poncha ?

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

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.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Chit-Chat & Today’s Photo … Transat In Funchal

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:00:00 +0000

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Tobi … Funchal port with some of the Transat 6,50 boats

Don’t forget that news / articles will be posted at various times during the day – Check back regularly and keep yourself up to date.

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Monte Train & Green Line Get Green Light ; Docking Problems ; TAP Strike Disruptions

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:03:16 +0000

(23rd September). ‘Green Line Inaugurated – Two buses operate the route between the Electricity Museum and Piornais’. In the first phase of the new ‘Linha Verde’ in Funchal, the buses will run every half hour until the end of October. In November eight more eco-friendly vehicles will join the team, and the service will then run every 7 minutes. The buses comply with European rules and it is possible to reduce pollution by 80%. I thought the new buses might be different in appearance, or in colour at least, but the feature on last nights TV news showed what looked like the usual yellow buses with a green window sticker. Great initiative though.

‘Port Doesn’t Have Conditions To Welcome Mega Yachts’. A mega yacht, ‘One More Toy’, coming from Gibraltar on Monday was forced to drop anchor in Funchal bay, after an attempt to moor in the port failed, even though the harbour area itself was almost empty. The attempt to moor was "completely frustrated by a lack of technical conditions", as it is necessary to remove fenders placed in the area, which will damage the hulls of mega yachts. Access to the pier for the crew is also complicated, because much depends on the height of the tide, which can make crew departure / access dangerous. The inadequate effort made for a port of this kind does "absolutely nothing for the image of the region", and many of the skippers choose not to return to Funchal, going to other ports of the Azores or Canary Islands instead. ‘One More Toy’ was eventually able to dock properly yesterday morning. It only stopped here just for refuelling en route to the Caribbean.

‘ACIF Presents SOLGEST’. The chamber of commerce of Funchal presents tomorrow at 9.30 am, in the Electricity Museum, a programme of optimisation of energy consumption for the hotel industry of Madeira. The initiative is co-sponsored by the European Economic Area through the EEA Grants Fund, and is open to all our hotel owners. The central objective is to implement a concept of continuous local monitoring, with centralised analysis of the data, ultimately identifying areas for intervention and savings opportunities leading to reductions in costs and energy consumption. The initiative involves a team of expert consultants in technology intervention.

(22nd September). ‘Saga Holidays Distinguishes Monte Mar – The Hotel of Ponta Delgada continues in the ‘top ten’ of the units of European brochures’. The Monte Mar Palace, in Ponta Delgada on the north coast, returned this year amongst the ten most desirable hotels by the customers of UK tour operator Saga Holidays, in its brochure for Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a fact that since almost the day of the opening of the hotel in 2003, it has received the best reviews from the British operators, who awarded it its first distinction of ‘Top Stay ‘in 2004, after just a year of operation. Some brits like it so much, they spend 3 months alternating between there and elsewhere. Saga holidays are only available to those aged 50 and over.

‘Funchal Port Is Number 28 In Europe’. In terms of the number of passenger movements, Funchal is the 28th busiest in Europe, but last year dropped 3 places in the world(?) rankings. In what is termed the ‘Iberic’ ports Funchal occupies 6th place. Lisbon, which last year robbed Funchal of first place in national ports, is now 60th in the world ranking, and 27th in Europe. The busiest cruise port in the world is Miami, with 4.13 million passengers. Barcelona is the biggest cruise destination in Europe with 2.06 million passengers.

‘TAP Secures Half Of The Flights To Madeira On The Days Of The Strike – Pilots of the flagship airline company on strike Thursday and Friday’. The administration of Portugal’s favourite airline have guaranteed that at least four of the eight flights on each of the two days of the strike will take place. A spokesman for TAP advises that any passengers due to fly on those two days check the situation before travelling to the airport. The pilots are striking over a pay demand.

(21st September). ‘Monte Train Returns – The project has a budget of €6.5 million’. The works haven’t started yet, but the Monte train project is a certainty. Once the land is obtained (by expropriation / compulsory purchase) and the works that will take 18 months to complete, it should be open in less than two years time. A spokesman for the various stakeholders said it is a good initiative uniting public and private input that will benefit Madeira. The train will run the same course of the original route, but only between stations at Largo da Fonte in Monte and Terreiro da Luta. The old train will be will be replaced by a modern funicular, similar in appearance, with room for 60 passengers. The expropriation process has already started.

How well do you know Madeira?

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:24:00 +0000

A bonus challenge this week : “Where was this taken from” Sue & Jacques

I have no idea of the answer, they wouldn’t tell me, could be a bar, a viewpoint, I have no idea. I just hope Sue will be around to deal with any answers and queries. I can already hear those maps being unfolded, and the clunking of those plastic things we had in school for measuring angles.

Answers on Thursday if necessary (I hope, as long as Sue is around).

Tax By Email ; Funchal Port Passenger Terminal In Promotion But At Risk Of Delay

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:07:48 +0000

(11th September). The last of today’s headlines : ‘Fisco Recovers €12.2 Million In 7 Months – The Madeirans flee less from their financial obligations but the coerced revenue increases’. The treasury is benefiting from citizens feeling more inclined to pay their taxes, despite financial difficulties in families and businesses. More effective collection and checking from the Regional Directorate of Fiscal Affairs means that taxpayers are becoming more compliant. Some fines for late or non-payment have also decreased, and the number of court actions are lower comparatively than in mainland Portugal.

(10th September). ‘Finanças To Replace Letters With Emails – Electronic communications with the taxpayer starting in earnest this month’. The Directorate General for Taxation (DGCI) wants to finish with the paperwork and reduce costs. The action will need a progressive implementation, starting next Tuesday, because "we need to change the attitudes and habits", says a spokesman.

In the same article, the DGCI says it has 75,000 cars it needs to sell, that were seized for non payment of taxes. It aims to sell all of these by the end of this year. A spokesman says that cars are the most ‘seized’ item, followed by household goods and ‘bank accounts’, for non payment of taxes.

(11th September). ‘Ports Promote Terminal – Partnership with the Canaries is better value for the Port of Funchal’. The port of Funchal will be present in the trade fair ‘Seatrade Europe’, which this year will take place in the city of Hamburg from the 15th to 17th of this month. This year the representation is in partnership with the Canary islands, through (the theme) ‘Cruises in the Atlantic Islands’, which has a 48 square metre stand. Asked about the importance of this event for the region, particularly with regard to the port area, Bruno Freitas of the port authority APRAM acknowledged that "the representation of APRAM at this show serves as an effective promotion of Madeira Islands, and the Port of Funchal as one of the more competitive cruise ports in this area of the Atlantic, but also in the continuity of work on publicity and projection that have been held regarding the new Maritime Passenger Terminal". He reminded that work has already been done in this respect in Lisbon in January, as well as in Miami, the largest fair in the market, that took place in March this year. "APRAM is promoting, along with national ports, the creation of new partnerships to explore new routes with the aim of attracting more cruise ships to the Port of Funchal, highlighting in this way its seasonality", he said. November this year will be the busiest and important month with 54 cruise ships visiting, some on repositioning journeys for a new cruise season, and able to see the construction of this new facility.

In a related article . ‘Project Alterations Could Delay Completion Of The Terminal’. The port authority APRAM guarantees that alterations being made to the new terminal, so that it can accommodate it’s own services, will not delay the inauguration. But the truth is that that opinion is certainly not shared by those who are on the site, having been obliged to take down structures (walls) to ensure the right configuration. The president of APRAM said "the changes in the project are designed to ensure the maximum functionality and comfort of passengers boarding and disembarking, as well as improved conditions for passengers in transit". "These changes at no time have caused any inconvenience or delay in carrying out the work, which, incidentally, continues on schedule", he added. The Diário believes that completion by the deadline of December 2010 is in jeopardy. APRAM has until December 2010 to complete the work without penalty to the €7 million granted by the Cohesion Fund.

95% Of Fruit & Veg Imported ; Gripe A Victim Refused Flight ; Funchal Port Needs Expansion

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:20:25 +0000

(31st August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Regional Produce Hardly Used In The Hotels – The appeals for the preference of fruit and vegetables from Madeira only amounts to 5% of the consumption of tourists’. ‘Qualifrutas, which supplies the hotels and restaurants, calls for greater use of regional production’. Hard to believe I know, but 95% of what a tourist gets fed in terms of fruit and vegetables is imported, that’s in the hotels, with the restaurants equally guilty. That of course applies to Madeirans eating out as well. Qualifrutas is one of the leading suppliers to the trade on Madeira, and it says it has good suppliers here, and only resorts to importing when there is insufficient product locally, a particular problem with fruit, although ‘greens’ are 30 to 40% sourced on Madeira. Lettuce and tomatoes are mainly sourced and supplied here, with little need to import, unlike green beans, cauliflower or broccoli, which require "importation in large quantities", says the company. Even the banana is imported, and the spokesman says it is just necessary to look in the supermarkets to see how little representation there is from Madeira in the greengrocery ranges.

‘Passenger With Gripe A Prevented From Boarding – The tourist was already in the airport when he received internment orders from Marmeleiros Hospital’. The tourist spent the night in hospital. Confirmation that the person had swine flu resulted in him being prevented from travelling to Lisbon and infecting other passengers on the flight. His three travelling companions also spent the night in the hospital to be screened, but at the time showed no symptoms. The tourist was on the list of suspected cases, having had symptoms, and attended Funchal Central Hospital for checks. Whilst the analysis was being done he took the medications, but his condition developed rapidly as he prepared to return home, and the confirmation of Gripe A changed his plans. The firemen of Santa Cruz were sent to the airport to pick up the group in a vehicle equipped for such cases. One of the sick patients already in hospital with pneumonia (and gripe A) has improved in health and is no longer connected to the ventilator. That patient, probably the most serious case so far, from Câmara de Lobos, no longer needs breathing assistance. They should put warnings signs up in the airports and on check-in desks to tell people that if they know they have Gripe A, and continue to fly, they could go to prison for knowingly infecting others on board – 5 years inside if I recall correctly.

‘Port Without Space Is Losing Cruise Ship Visits – A shipping agency alerts to the need to increase the posts for mooring’. This is an article in the series ‘The top 100 Companies’. This one is called Agência Ferraz, specialising in the ‘shipping’ sector, and founded 80 years ago. It deals with some of the big players in the international market, and includes tourism. Carlos Santos of the company believes that Funchal Port needs upgrading works, and although the new port building is very welcome, the real need is to increase the number of berths, particularly as ships are now getting larger. He said that the port has already lost business for not responding to the call for more capacity, and this will continue to happen. "We can not think that docking a liner in Funchal is the same as in the Mediterranean, in Greece or the Caribbean. We can not allow ourselves the luxury of refusing scales or influencing the choices of companies" he said.

‘He Lived The High Life And Left Debts Of €20,000′. A 27 year old man is under investigation by police after a series of frauds. The man from Castelo Branco in Portugal used scams to live the life of a lord on Madeira, leaving debts in hotels, shops, and restaurants in Funchal and surrounding areas. For almost a year he used stolen cheques and faked bank transfers to ‘live the life’. In one Funchal jewellery shop he brought gold worth €1,500, paying with a stolen cheque. New complaints are coming to light, and the extent of the fraud is mounting up, and the Diário has totted up more than €20,000 so far. The case goes back to December last year, when the young man, with a criminal record as a con man in Portugal, stayed at a hotel for a few days in Funchal, leaving behind a debt of €1,200. Several other hotels also fell victim, including the Carlton Hotel, again for €1,200. The con man is no longer on Madeira, and his whereabouts at present is unknown.

Today’s main photo and sports story : ‘Marítimo Uninspired In Leiria – Goalless draw justified in weak offensive performance of the ‘Verde-Rubros’. Nacional play this evening.

That’s everything from the front page today. Normally there are at least 7 headlines, sometimes as many as 9, but today just 5.

UPDATES :

‘Lugar de Baixo Undergoes More Works’. The controversial marina at Lugar de Baixo is again the subject of repairs. This time the work addresses the damage caused as a result of securing the overlooking cliff face, as well as some damage, caused by the strength of the waves, to the wall of the jetty that protects the marina. Also the construction that houses the car park, that was also badly damaged by rock falls, is being completely demolished, as that is was deemed to be the cheaper and most appropriate option. A new parking facility will not be built for now. "At this stage there is no justification, because we have enough parking in the area for the immediate needs", said a spokesman, adding that even if there was a need, it is intended in the future to consider other enterprises planned inside the marina complex.

‘Festival of Curral Finishes With Drunks and Brawls’. A young man was left unconscious after an assault in a bar, and several men were suffering with severe alcohol intoxication, during Saturday night in the festa in Curral das Freiras (Valley of the Nuns). Ambulance services were called on six times between midnight on Saturday and 8 am Sunday morning. Also during the weekend festival in São Vicente the fire department was called upon to rescue several people worse the wear from excess drinking. "But this, as they say, is normal when there are festivals in the parish". It might be normal, but it’s certainly not acceptable!

‘Searches are continuing along the coast’. Despite having been officially suspended for four days, the search operations for the 78 year old fisherman who may have fallen in the sea in the area of Lakota, Porto Santo, have continued with searches along the coast of the island. "Once or twice a day, we carry out searches along the coast", said the commander of the Maritime Zone of Madeira, adding that after so much time having passed since the disappearance, there is little chance of the body appearing along the coast.

‘Cimber Sterling Connects Madeira And Copenhagen’. The Denmark based airline flies today to Madeira’. The first of the weekly flights was due to land at Madeira Airport at 12.50 pm, returning to Denmark one hour later. The journey each way is around 5 hours.

‘CEB should maintain interest rates’. The Central European Bank should maintain its interest rates on Thursday, waiting to see if the signs of recovery in the euro zone will extend further. The main rate by the CEB should continue at its lowest historical level of one percent, where it has been since May, according to financial analysts.

FINALLY A FEW POLITICAL BITS & PIECES :

‘Jardim Responds To César – The number of islands is not an argument for positive discrimination’. "On this, one doesn’t count the number of islands, one counts the population, and Madeira has a higher population than the Azores" he said. He was responding to the president of the Azores, who said that the autonomous regions of Portugal should not be treated equally in terms of state financing, and that the Azores should have more than Madeira because it has more islands (9). "The density of population of the Azores is 110 people per square kilometre, and on Madeira it is 330", said Jardim, who also argued that Madeira has to import from abroad more than 80 percent of what it consumes, while the Azores have "a primary sector of agriculture, fisheries and livestock" with which they have little need to import. "If he is to play with the arguments, then, I also demand a positive discrimination in relation to the Azores", he said.

The best news today is that president Jardim returns to work after 20 days of holidays on Porto Santo. Over the last few weeks his day started with a game of tennis, then its was off for a stroll with his buddies along the golden beach as far as the famous ‘Bar do Henrique’. He also took some work with him to keep busy, as well as having some official duties arranged to coincide with his stay on Porto Santo, including inaugurations. He also read a book whilst there, the latest offering by Fernando Dacosta, and returned to Funchal for the 501 year celebrations. He also had other books with him, including one I mentioned the other day ‘The Mysteries of the Islands’, which he highly recommends we should all read. That summary of Uncle Bertie’s holiday, which cost him just €200 in accommodation charges, was from the Jornal da Madeira today, just in case anyone thought I was writing my own ‘soft’ account of our presidents exploits, which included insulting half the political forces and personalities of Portugal. Is there such a thing as ‘holiday rage’, ‘cos I think he caught a dose. I for one am pleased to have you back Bertie, as it will get Porto Santo out of the newspapers, having had more coverage than Funchal over the last 3 weeks.

From the Jornal da Madeira yesterday : ‘Ferreira Leite On Madeira On 8th September – A day for contact with candidates and the population of Madeira’. The PSD party leader, president Jardim’s boss in political terms, will visit some streets in Funchal to talk to people.

She’s the one on the left. I have no idea who the other bloke is.

"Thank & Repay" Jardim ; Lugar de Baixo … The Fairytale ; Port Taxes May Increase ; Norwich

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:31:36 +0000

(5th August). ‘PSD Delivers Lists For The Câmaras Of São Vicente And Porto Moniz – Jorge Romeira selects social matters and quality of life as his priorities’. The social democrats of Madeira yesterday gave in their candidates lists for the two regions, with Jorge Romeira for São Vicente and Valter Correia in Porto Moniz at the top to be presidents.

‘PSD-M Asks 54 to Zero To Thank Jardim – "Thank and repay" all that Jardim did for Madeira with absolute victory’. The achievement of one more historic result would make a great parting gift for Alberto João Jardim, by winning in all of Madeira’s 54 Freguesias (parishes), according to Rui Coelho of the social democrats. The party wants to achieve the result with humility and not send Madeira into euphoria. In the previous local elections the PSD-M won 50 of the 54 majorities, with just Gaula, Água de Pena, Achadas da Cruz and Prazeres bucking the trend.

In anticipation of the visit of president Jardim to the expansion zone in Ponta do Sol town, the PS-M socialist party had a large sarcastic poster made and displayed, that one couldn’t fail to see. It headlined "€42.5 million thrown overboard – what happened to the 80 jobs promised", with other highlights of the government flagship disaster project … Lugar de Baixo marina. That was in the Diário.

The ‘response’ was in the Jornal da Madeira : "The People Know What They Have To Do" – The president of Madeira referred to the embargos placed on works’. President Jardim yesterday pointed the finger at those who suspend works, accusing them of preventing development and the creation of jobs. At the inauguration of the road in Ponta do Sol and other new infrastructures, Alberto João Jardim mentioned the project in the area of Lugar de Baixo. "As you know, there is a great work that someone has stopped because of an embargo", continuing "the people know who embargoed that work", and "who caused that years ago … not creating the jobs that should have been created, and the lack of economic activity that should already exist. "The people know who did it, and therefore, the people also know what they have to do" said the president. By this time I was feeling a little unwell, so I set the Jornal on fire and threw it off the balcony (metaphorically speaking of course). Uncle Bertie passing the buck is of course not a novel phenomenon for most of us, but in this case his arrogance is breathcurdling. Rumour has it that it was him who commanded the building of marina in the somewhat rougher seas of Lugar de Baixo, when it was all set to safely go in the more sheltered waters of Ribeira Brava. On another subject, where is António Lobo, the ex-president of Ponta do Sol these days?

Enough of politics …

‘Port Taxes Could Rise After Completion Of The New ‘Port Structures’ – Conceição Estudante believes that services and costs should be covered’. The Government may consider an increase in port fees charged in the port of Funchal after the completion of the works. The issue was raised by the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport yesterday morning during a visit to the works in the port of Funchal. She said that the prices update will reflect economic developments, in order not to jeopardize the level of use by making the port too expensive. She added that the current rates in the port of Funchal are among the lowest on the Atlantic circuit. The new infrastructure is costing €12.8 million, and should be completed in December.

’8 Visits In August – Pacific Dream, Aurora, Costa Europa And Black Prince Are Expected’. Eight cruise ship visits are expected this month, in line with previous years, but 4 of those are from ‘Pacific Dream’.

(4th August). This is another one from the dark side : ‘More Hotels Are Likely To Close During The Winter – A meeting to be held between hotels this week could be conclusive’. With the Summer peak still flowing, some hotels on Porto Santo are already thinking ahead to the coming Winter. The strategy adopted last year is certain to last, with hotels that include the Praia Dourada and Pestana Dunas, again closing for 4 months to cope with the high running costs and strong seasonality of tourism. Rumours are that in addition the Hotel Vila Baleira and Torre Praia are considering the same solution. This would be a great challenge for a great marketing mind, to overcome the stupid notion that Winter is not beach time, when you have a beautiful island, a 9km golden beach, cheap top hotels, and great weather nearly all year around. Porto Santo is a ready made success story, that continues to fail, probably because it is just too small to survive alone and too under sourced to market itself. I stayed there at the beginning of February a couple of years ago, and the beach and sea were great, and it was plenty warm enough when the sun was out … but when it is not, there is little to do for the average holiday maker, so you do need to have plan for that eventuality.

(3rd August). This from the Norwich Evening News (UK) : ‘New Destination For Norwich Airport Passengers’. Holidaymakers can now enjoy the destination of Madeira from Norwich airport on two special dates next year. The flights will depart on Wednesday, April 14 2010 and April 21, 2010, courtesy of Newmarket Holidays, with following departures likely to be announced at a later date. Elliott Summers, managing director of Norwich Airport said: “Newmarket Holidays has long been offering our passengers a selection of destinations to the local population and we are very pleased they have picked up on the local demand for Madeira”.

TAP Flight Attacked By Birds ; Armas Cargo Suspended ; Funchal Port Shows Growth

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:51:46 +0000

(12th July). ‘Bird Attack Forces TAP Plane To Return To Porto – Two hundred passengers await the result of a technical inspection’. A flight on Portugal’s favourite airline from Porto to Caracas (Venezuela) was forced to return to Porto and spend the night in a hotel, as the pilot was concerned for safety reasons after a bird attack. Can birds keep up with planes then, or is this an over-dramatization of a plane flying into a flock of birds?

‘Court Orders The Suspension Of Loading And Unloading Of The Armas’. The court in Lisbon, on hearing the complaints of competitors of the Naviera Armas ferry, has ordered that the ferry that travels between Madeira and Portugal, ceases to load and unload trailers. The injunction will not apply to freight vehicles, just to freight containers and trailers without the means of self propulsion*. The problem arose some time ago, when other shipping companies were prevented from using Funchal port as a freight port, on the grounds that the prime use is as a cruise ship and passenger port. The ban will continue until the courts have made a permanent ruling on the matter. * At one point the article does say that the order prohibits all carriage of freight, so it was a bit confusing for me.

Easyjet inaugurated a new flight on Saturday between Porto and Paris. The company is now the second biggest operator in Portugal in terms of passenger numbers.

‘Madeira Airport Is The Second Best In Portugal – The study looked at comfort levels, check in queues, security control, and other factors’. The study considered that Porto Airport (Sá Carneiro) was the best, but Madeira was second in terms of comfort, security and queuing, and also in terms of the quality – price relationship of the services available, and for cleanliness and ambience.

(11th July). ‘Passenger Movements In The Port Of Funchal Rose By 4% – Cruise ships, boardings and disembarkings registered a slight increase in the first 6 months of 2009′. In the same period in 2008 there were 196,357 passenger movements, rising to 204,105 this year until the end of June, according to an announcement by the Administration of The Ports of Madeira. The number of dockings (and I think this is just cruise ships, but it sounds a bit low) also rose to 129, two more than in 2008. Sounds encouraging, but does that imply that the type of people who can afford cruise holidays are less affected by the economic conditions than the average José Publico?

Bit of a thin newspaper, so that’s it for today.