Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Becky … 2010 Funchal fireworks from Rua do Lazareto

No ‘bonus items’ for today, so no other websites to visit, videos to watch, just Becky’s photo above, so that’s allowed me a little time to have a ramble, and reflect on the weekend just passed.

Saturday morning started off with a trip to the local Modelo. There and back in less than an hour, so I was quite please with myself … for a while at least. A new sale 50% had started, although according to the flyer I received afterwards, it wasn’t actually supposed to start until Sunday, but nether-the-less there it was, so I managed to stock up on many things I didn’t really need with a 50% discount (on the Modelo loyalty card, as usual). Most of the ‘sale’ items’ were also unusually all located together, so that was really handy to stock up all from one aisle. 18 litres of milk were acquired, but it wasn’t until I returned home that I noticed that the b*****ds hadn’t discounted the 73c price by 50%, so I had paid an extra €4 and something. Most annoying! And then to make matters even worse, I opened a carton of Continente ‘tuna chunks’ on Sunday night, to find one chunk missing. What’s the matter with these people, can’t  they count. I don’t think I have ever been to Modelo without some mistake being made in 6 years, but I usually manage to sniff out more of the ones in my favour.

I didn’t really get time to browse the newspapers this weekend, but somebody did give me copy of MAIS, the weekend magazine that comes with the Diário newspaper. That put me off my beer when I saw a very unexpected mug peering out at me … enough said!

I mentioned on Sunday morning the appearance of a new sandy beach at Ribeira Brava, and forget to thank the people of Calheta for donating it. By Sunday afternoon it had gone again, so I figured that it is just a low tide beach for now, as it was back again on Sunday night. Yesterday morning the sand was even deeper. I had figured this would happen one day, but expected a gradual build up of sand, not for it all to happen overnight. Fishermen in hoards have taken over the beaches and the quay, mostly fishing in areas they shouldn’t be, but the council don’t care it seems. I said before that I thought that one of the giant nets at the offshore Campanário fish farm had broken in the stormy seas, and looking at the tiddlers these fisherman were catching, I think that must be the case. Some of them were bagging skinny little fish as small as 7 or 8 cm long, a mouthful at most, and I am guessing that they are Dourada, but am not certain. If they all held back on the catch for a few months these fish would have grown significantly and been worthwhile fishing for, but whether that’s a fisherman or human mentality or not, I don’t know.

The receipt of a ‘Golden Buda’ email (from two sources) one Sunday afternoon, told me that I was going to get some luck in the next few hours. I can’t get lucky stuck indoors I thought, so I ventured off into town at night Then Nacional lost to Benfica, so the luck obviously wasn’t coming from all angles … persistence was obviously needed. I went with a pal to a bar I hadn’t been in since 2008, and it is now under new management. I got the new customer treatment, which was nice, even though a medium beer was a pricey €1.20. I was given a free liquor, or something like that, but didn’t like it much. The Polvo (Octopus, or even squid perhaps) turned up in a small bowl. I knew I shouldn’t have indulged, but it did taste nice even though pretty tough as usual, and so I am still picking out chunks stuck in my teeth two days later. Then another beer later came along with a dish of piping hot spicy chips. That was a little bit of my promised luck I thought, but at €1.20 for a beer a free complete meal was what I  really deserved.

Then it was back to school yesterday … it’s beginning to seem that the start of a new term for us Portuguese students is doomed to fail, and yesterday was no exception. 20 minutes into the lesson, and still no teacher. A quick trip down to the office, and it materialized that the dozen of us who had turned up were on our way out again without so much as lifting a pen. Teacher was off on doctors orders, and no one had told us, and no substitute was arranged, and it seems we have two more weeks of the same. As a kid I would have whooped with joy, but at a slightly less tender age now, I just want to get on with it and see the course out.

The vaccination of under 18 year olds against Gripe A is underway – Maurício Melim admits limitations in the health centres. Starting yesterday the health centres of Madeira are vaccinating against H1N1 swine flu in the age group 6 months to 18 years, and also the parents of babies under 6 months old. The president of the Institute of Health Administration IASAÚDE predicts a natural increase in the influx to the health centres. The target priority group will be widened as more vaccine supplies arrive. It will probably be about 5 years before my turn then, what with being an ageing foreigner and all that. We will probably have moved onto Halibut flu (aka Gripe ZX2) by then, and just be entering the phase of Banana flu that is forecast worldwide. In the meantime, I will just have to continue to protect myself with © Toranja Poncha ©, so that’s a bit of a bind now as Toranjas are out of season. Pimpinela poncha for sure wont be very palatable to fill the gap, but the research will go on.

55 new cases of gripe A were diagnosed on Madeira last week.

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

Cancelled Porto Santo ferry. The Lobo Marinho ferry did not sail for Porto Santo this morning due to rough seas and strong winds forecasted. The Captain of the Port of Funchal has advised all vessels to stay in safe harbour today with improvements expected this afternoon and tomorrow. 100 reservations had been made. Yesterday, the ferry left Porto Santo at 16.00 instead of 19.00, warning all passengers in advance, due to strong winds forecasted which caused the captain to fear berthing at Funchal in a strong swell. Despite previous announcements to the contrary, the boat will not sail tomorrow as Tuesday is the usual day for maintenance. It’s nice to think that somewhat is enjoying the bad weather, namely the ships crew. Der

MSC Splendida visits Funchal for the first time. Photo of the ship this morning. This new cruise ship accompanied two others, bringing a total of around 7,000 tourists. The Splendida has 3,300 tourists on board but can accommodate up to 3,887 passengers. Arriving form Tenerife at 7 am, she sails for Malaga at 17.00. Traditional arrival ceremony hosted by the Ship Enthusiasts Club and the port authorities but she will not be seen here again until 21 January 2011.

TAP overbooked flight. Yesterday morning at Madeira Airport, nearly two dozen passengers were left behind due to a TAP flight to Porto being overbooked by the airline company. The flight TAP3574 should have left at 11.40 but finally took off at 12.26 due to the confusion. The passengers were left behind despite arriving early, having booked months in advance and some paying more than 300 Euros. Some are University of Porto students who have examinations soon and they thought they had been bypassed in the queue as they were single travellers. The majority were able to fly at midnight yesterday but one student contacted knew of a colleague who could not get a flight until 7am this morning. TAP will pay 250 Euros compensation.

Rampa de Carros de Pau in Água de Pena. (These are home-made wooden go-karts). 28 ‘cars’ and 40 participants in the fourth edition of the race which is organized by the Parish Council. There were more participants yesterday afternoon than previously. Some ‘cars’ are conspicuous in their originality, one decorated with the ‘colours of Ferrari’. The competition is open to all ages and there are prizes for all present, especially the winners of the two categories: individuals and pairs. As they went between the Caminho Florestal and the Queimada de Cima, there were a few minor scratches and bruises from falling off or to poor driving ability, especially around corners, but all the participants were satisfied and happy to complete the course. — I watched them on the news this morning and they were able to accurately steer when they had to weave in between tyres placed in the centre of the road, and quite reasonable speeds were achieved. Some were wearing the requisite helmets and elbow and knee pads but not all. I remember that the race had to be rescheduled to yesterday due to previous bad weather. Fathers and children had combined forces, really enjoying themselves and proud of their efforts – great to see.

JPP accuse PSD of voting against the interests of Gaula. PSD members of the Parish Council of Gaula voted against the 2010 Budget and Plan for the Council. Élvio Sousa (JPP) is the leader of the Parish Council and fails to understand how the PSD can vote against a budget that provides 7,500 Euros for the purchase of medicines and 3,500 Euros for the support of impoverished families. Despite this, the proposals were passed due to the support of the JPP councillors and will be put into practice, an announcement that was received with great enthusiasm from the local people who filled the auditorium of the Civic Centre. Élvio Sousa accused the PSD members of obeying the directives of their party in Funchal. "A true gaules would not vote against the interests of the People of Gaula." Regulations are now being drafted and will be sent for judicial review at the end of January. Élvio Sousa does not know what will be the main criteria for reimbursement of the cost of medicines. Humberto Bettencourt explained that the PSD had voted against the budget because it was a 26% increase relative to last year’s budget and this has not yet been voted for by the County Council. "We never questioned the social measures that the new president presented. We did not vote against it because of these measures."

Right to a view in Avista Navios recognized by the courts. A widow in her 70s living in Caminho do Avista Navios in Nazaré, Funchal has had a long standing dispute with a neighbour over construction work which obstructed her view of the bay of Funchal. She owns a building of 762 square metres and a neighbour built a wall that caused the dispute. The neighbour bought the property in 2003 and in 2004 built a wall which was 2.35 metres high rather than the legal 1.5 metres, and a chimney for a barbecue which also obscured the view. The widow complained that her house has an aluminium and glass porch with a 80 cm high balcony, from which there had been a fantastic view over the city. She has had this right to a view for over 20 years and in addition, the building works caused water damage to her property. In 2005, the defendant was ordered to lower the wall to 1.80 metres and replace the adjacent roof and gutter that had been removed. The neighbour refused and in 2008, another court case ruled that the widow had a right to a view, the offending part of the wall would have to be demolished and compensation paid. The case then went to the Appeal Court in Lisbon and without any reasons given, the court ruled the first decision was correct. The neighbour, still not satisfied, went back to the Appeal Court and on the 10 December, the court again ruled the widow had a right to a view and part of the wall had to be demolished. The defendant has no right to further appeal and will have to comply with the court order.

Cultural events in various areas this month. Cantar dos Reis on Tuesday January 5 at Funchal, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol and other localities. Sunday 10 January, Romarias de Boaventura – São Vicente at the Casa do Povo da Boaventura at 15.00  At 16.00 on the 18 January, the third Canticos da Festa in the Parish Hall at Raposeira, Fajã da Ovelha – Christmas songs from the various parishes. 30 – 31 January at the Praça da Serra de Água, during the afternoon and evening there will be an Exhibition of Crafts and Local Traditions, including recipes for ponchas. On Saturday January 16, a walking tour of Paul da Mar integrated into the festa de Santo Amaro, patron saint of the parish. There are various organizations involved and it recalls the times when local people went down the vereda dos Zimbreiros to go to Paul da Mar. People are invited to take a bordão (walking stick), musical instrument and their friends and be very joyful and it starts at Sítio do Lombo, Ponta do Pargo at 14.00. Alternatively, you can travel by bus from Fajã da Ovelha to Paul and meet the group at Ribeira das Galinhas. Return bus to the Sítio do Lombo leaves at 19.00, run by the County Council. Water, cakes and fruit juices will be distributed during the tour.

Two hundred watched the Cantar os Reis. The rain did not stop attendance at this initiative yesterday afternoon, organized by the Casa do Povo da Camacha. It is the first time a tent has had to be used due to heavy rain, erected in the Largo da Achada by Santa Cruz Council. Folklore groups from Camacha and Santo da Serra took part. They will still keep the tradition of singing at people’s homes during the night of the 5 – 6 January.

And from the Jornal da Madeira – North of the island revives the tradition. Last Saturday night, the Youth Group of the Parish along with the Casa do Povo de São Roque do Faial maintained the tradition of "Cantar os Reis" (Singing of the Kings) at houses in the parish. This tradition has resumed after for almost a decade, it was in danger of being lost forever in that area and had practically not occurred in the northern parishes. Since then, several parishes have heard the sound of the "Cantar dos Reis". This initiative is nurtured by the people of the parish who welcome young people and offer sweet confectionery left over from Christmas, like bolo or broas de mel accompanied by local wine or liqueur, abundant during the holiday festivities. The visits began in the late afternoon. The group sang the Romagem de Natal and then went to the residence of Father João Mendonça, situated in the village of Porto da Cruz. The music and songs sung were retained in the parish collectively by the older people.

It is recalled that each year there are more houses visited. The "Kings" are received with great joy and are always invited to visit the Lapinha and have a liqueur and sample the traditional broas and cakes of this season. This activity has always been held on the Saturday before the Epifania do Senhor (Epiphany of the Lord), (the day the Church celebrates the Dia de Reis, second Sunday after Christmas). The fact that this initiative falls on a Saturday makes it possible for young people, mostly students, to participate since the visits last into the night.

This year despite the weather, the group of players and singers took a tour of the parish covering homes from the lower part up to higher sites. "A curiosity of our region is that one of the ‘Kings can carry’ the Menino Jesus to people for kissing," said Heliodoro Dória from the local Casa do Povo, stating that "the visits ended only at two in the morning despite uncertain weather with some rain." After that hour the bells stopped ringing. Note that in addition to singing and music, the group was accompanied by bells in order to be heard in the distance so that people could prepare for the visit. For the president of the Casa do Povo, the main reason for this activity to continue is to "keep alive the traditions of this region and provide moments of conviviality and fellowship among the dozens of people involved." 

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

Tradition of ‘Cantar os Reis’ livens Madeira – In Curral das Freiras, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Funchal, and out there somewhere, the coming night is going to warm. I think we have probably covered these stories several times here, so no more from me to be said. But it does seem to me that what I understood was mainly a sort of house-to-house tradition is moving more outdoors into organised events more recently. Am I mistaken?

Today’s main news headline : Lisbon without any pressure delay the Regional Finance Law – The successive resort to technical advice about the various alterations to the LFRA is surely going to ‘red tape’ the conclusion of the process, and the release of funds for which the Regional Government has been campaigning. The PS Socialists say they are not dithering on purpose, but that also they do not exist to serve the requests of the PSD Social Democrats.

The main front page photo today shows a rural / agricultural scene littered with debris resulting from the recent bad weather : 200 farmers have already requested assistance – The Environment Agency has 16 technicians to inspect damage from the bad weather. Up until yesterday afternoon, around 200 farmers had already applied for financial support from the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources, from a resource set up to assist citizens with land damaged resulting from the bad weather suffered in the last two weeks of December. Regional Secretary, Manuel António Correia, says that inspections are already underway, so that the farms can be restored, and even improved, as soon as possible. The 16 technicians have not only to evaluate the damage claim, but also verify that it was caused during the most recent bad weather. The funding has been ring-fenced from both Regional and European sources, and can cover between 85 and 100% of eligible expenses.

Wind and waves continue to hinder navigation. The Lobo Marinho did not make the trip and the tanker ‘Madeiro’ unloads its fuel with an ‘eye dropper’.

150 thousand litres of water ‘bail out’ Ponta do Sol. Over 150,000 litres of drinking water have been distributed in just 4 days. The tankers used to provide the water will not result in any additional costs for Ponta do Sol council. Normality is returning to domestic users in Ponta do Sol, as drinking water now flows through household taps.  A week ago around 5,000 people in the district were still without drinking water, due to storm damage to the supply network in Rabaças on 22nd December. The council used it’s own tanker, and one from the fire brigade from Ribeira Brava, to meet demand for drinking water, but as it pays €100,000 a year to the ‘bombeiros’ in support, the service provided will not cost the taxpayers in Ponta do Sol anything extra.

Difficulties of companies in 2009 take a record 89 insolvency cases. The last three months of 2009 confirmed what was already a certainty, that in both the cases of individuals and collectives, all records for Madeira were demolished with 89 insolvency cases through the courts. The last three months were in fact quieter, with just 15 cases, but the year overall saw an increase of 150%.

In sport / football, after what seems a long absence, Marítimo are back on the front page : Marcinho prohibited of entering the club – The Brazilian player has already arrived, but not yet trained. It is claimed that Marcinho has had a virus and he wants to explain that to the president.

Rain and strong winds are remaining in the forecasts, from this afternoon. Tomorrow a slight drop in temperature may result in snow on the highest peaks.

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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