Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … "pride of Madeira"

Many thanks to Becky for these videos :

A little snippet of this year’s Funchal Carnaval, it’s marked "Parte 1", so I’m guessing more will follow on youtube.  No sign of Bertie, but some people on floats doing their best to wiggle in the rain.

And Ribeira Brava Carnaval… which one are you, Der? I wasn’t on camera Becky, but I must have been stood right next to the man who took this (and he is a man, agreed!) without noticing on Sunday afternoon. Der

Many thanks to Elaine once again some web snippets and yesterday’s top news stories :

Funchal City Guide. Latest news, weather, accommodation and tips. HERE

Madeira Camping. Details and online booking of the camp sites on Madeira and Porto Santo. GET YER TENT OUT

Radar station in Madeira threatens Zino’s Petrel.  After many years of uncertainty and inaction, the Portuguese Government has finally started building a military radar on top of Pico do Areeiro, one of Madeira’s most popular tourist destinations and the only home of Zino’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira, a rare endemic seabird …..  ….. "This is the only known breeding site in the world of Zino’s Petrel, [...] the rarest seabird in Europe and one of the rarest birds in the world" —Dr Ian Burfield, European Research and Database Manager at BirdLife International … HERE

Madeira Atlantic Festival Programme, 5th June – 26th June. The Madeira Atlantic Festival is held in June and it is becoming one of the most important events in Madeira Island. The programme includes a wide number of events, such as: fireworks and musical displays on Saturday nights in Funchal harbour, the Classic Car Rally, a special race where classic cars ride around the island; street entertainment with philharmonic bands and other performances; the traditional popular saints festivities like the “Festa de São João”; and the Madeira Festival Music, with several classical music and dance concerts in Funchal city. 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th June 2010 – Fireworks Contests. POSTER (Original link removed as incorrect – I can’t find the actual 2010 programme on line yet, so I don’t think it is available. Der).

DIÁRIO 16/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Government delays for 2 years paying 7 million Euros. Almost two years after the Regional Government made an agreement with the two banana growers cooperatives, to assume their liabilities through the formation of the management firm GESBA, the Government has not paid their creditors any money. The Government owes 7 million Euros to the former creditors of the cooperatives. Under the agreement, the transfer of this debt would only be made when the creditors were certified by the Monitoring Committee. The management of one of the cooperatives was considered illegal by the Tribunal and this has been used by the Government to refuse to pay creditors of either cooperatives. This newly formed Government management firm, GESBA, made 3.4 million Euros profit in 2009 but still the companies that previously provided services or goods to the cooperatives were not paid. The majority of all creditors to the Regional Government dare not complain for fear of reprisal and have to support more than 300,000 Euros a year in operational costs, a substantial part of their turnover. This amounts to the Regional Government owing them more than half a million Euros a year. 2008 was a good year for banana production. In 2008, GESBA had an operating profit of 606,000 Euros and had received a subsidy of 1.9 million Euros, but still owed over half a million Euros to customers and 1.1 million Euros to shareholders.

Fuel rationing in Porto Santo. A fuel shortage, irregular working hours and a lack of payment terminals requiring all transactions to be made in cash. Last weekend the main petrol station ran dry and the only other smaller one has a limited supply and is closed on Sundays. There are 4,000 vehicles on the island and an additional 200 at the weekend via the Lobo Marinho ferry link. The main petrol station running out has happened several times in recent months. It is due to a conflict between the petrol station owners and the supplier, Galp. Galp insists the firm owes money and will not provide any further supply until the debt is paid. The owners say they would be paying for fuel they might not sell, if they pay when they put in the order. The current contract ends in April and to renew it, the owners want new equipment installed so the supply of fuel can be better monitored as they say they have paid for petrol that has not been received. This investment is expensive for the size of the market.

MADEIRA

Weather radar needed in Madeira. The President of the National Institute of Meteorology said that the Institute will try to alert the Government of the Republic to the need for a meteorological radar to be constructed in Madeira. The design would be similar to those that exist in mainland Portugal and the Azores. Although the region is already well covered by meteorological stations, each covering about 50 square kilometres, when the ones on the continent are 60 square metres, radars address other needs in the region.

Land discharged into the sea at Porto da Cruz. This is the second time a large amount of earth has been dumped into the sea in the region, authorized by the Council of  São Vicente. This debris is from the clearance of landslides and floods after the storm on February 2nd. Tens of tons of earth were bulldozed into the sea causing a large brown stain, putting the Government on a war footing with the environmentalists. The President of Porto da Cruz said it was better to dump into the sea rather than on the serras, where it might undermine property when it eventually washes down into the sea. It was necessary to clear the landslides as soon as possible as they have isolated populations. He does not see any problem with this action and the environmentalists do not say anything about the earth deposited by streams during storms. The Mayor of Machico, a former councillor for the environment, also says there is nothing wrong with dumping land into the sea, an opinion opposed by the present councillor for the environment. The environmental association Quercus says that this shows, along with other statements by the Government, that they are not sufficiently concerned about the environment or the population. The region has several sites where the land could be deposited but the authorities do what is easiest. The dumping into the sea yesterday causes problems with visual impact, destruction of the biodiversity of that area of the coast and destroys fish stocks.

Falling pine tree causes two injuries. Yesterday morning, a pine tree fell onto a car on the road between Adega and Boa Morte, in the parish of Campanário. The driver lost consciousness momentarily when the tree hit the car roof and the car crashed into a wall. When the Fire Brigade of Ribeira Brava arrived on the scene, the driver had regained consciousness and all three occupants had got out of the car. More stunned than injured, two of the victims were then transported to hospital and discharged in the afternoon.

ECONOMY

Government takes out a new bank loan for 30.8 million Euros. The Regional Government is to take out a new bank loan for 30.8 million Euros to pay existing debt, so the Regional debt will not change as this new loan must be paid back in 5 years time. At the end of 2008 there were six loans, three to be paid over 5, 10  and 15 years, totalling 554.2 million Euros and three over 10 and 25 years, totalling 180.6 million Euros. According to the 2010 Regional Budget, the Government is allowed to take out bank loans of 230 million Euros, while the Regional Finance Law allows it to increase the debt by 50 million Euros. The Region can take out new loans to pay existing debt but the debt must not exceed 864 million Euros at the end of the year. With Portugal allowing this additional 50 million Euros loan, the direct debt at the end of the year can now reach 914 million Euros.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

REGIONAL

Notaries complain. It has been five years since the Government of the Republic allowed the privatization of the service. The notaries say the State has made unfair competition and call for a change in legislation. The formation of ‘Casa Pronta’ (where legal transactions involved when buying real estate can be done in one place) means that the notaries cannot compete on price and they form unfair competition. The notaries also cannot compete on speed, efficiency and legal certainty. The notaries want new powers, for example presiding over wedding ceremonies, providing arbitration and mediation services and debt collection.

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

Armas passengers wither for 4 hours with the dock in view – The improvement in the weather allowed the entrance of the ferry ship without the delay anticipated. But the Port had another option.

Today’s main news headline : Madeira loses 117 thousand tourist in just one year – From 2008 to 2009 there were 693 thousand less ‘dormidas’ [one occupied night in a hotel room]. Amongst other negative indicators, the highlight is the reduction in income in the considerable value of 42 million Euros. Worrying numbers, but being a bit provocative, the ‘considerable value’ is actually €3 million less than the Madeira Government are happily spending on doing up Marítimo’s football stadium, that will host a total of around 50,000 spectators … FOR THE WHOLE SEASON!

On the RTP TV news this morning there was a report on another impact of the financial crisis in Funchal … over 400 shops and restaurants etc. closed in the last 18 months.

Crisis and bad weather cool-off the ‘Trapalhão’ [Free-for-all carnival parade]. The back-end of the carnival parades yesterday, that were open to all comers, were hit by the bad weather. But for those that did turn up, politics and ‘gay marriage’ were the dominant themes this year. "When [prime minister] Sócrates has no common sense, it is the Madeirans that pay" . One of many expressions exhibited during the ‘cortejo Trapalhão in Funchal yesterday. The organiser of the parade said that if the turn-out was affected by the rain, the difference was very small. The president of the Regional Government of Madeira, Alberto João Jardim, was nearby to see numerous other ‘Uncle Bertie’s’ filing by, but he says he is not bothered by the satire based on himself, and said that "the more Albertos Joões that exist, the better". Watching the coverage on TV this morning, I did see a poster referring to the great man as ‘Uncle Bertie’, in Portuguese of course, so it is true that this blog reaches places that other blogs cannot reach.

Tobacco Law produces its first court case – The Inspection [body] fined cafes and restaurants of the Centro ‘Europa’, for having customers smoking. But the penalty is contested on the argument that the terraces are an open space, so are outside of the legislation. The judge will decide.

The main sport / football headline today : The human side of Ronaldo in documentary – TeleMadrid broadcasts tonight a TV documentary about the little known facets of Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid was defeated in the first leg of the  ‘oitavos’ of the Champions League. They lost 1 – 0 to Lyon. In the Europa League, Sporting of Lisbon lost 2 –1 away at Everton last night.  If anyone is interested … the first leg of the Porto v Arsenal match in the same competition is on RTP tonight at 7.45 pm.

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. 

Something a bit different … any takers, please email me and I will pass on Nigel’s details :

Hi, Would you be able to print my details I am looking for a Madeira penfriend.

My name is Nigel XXXXXX I am 30 years old and I live on the North East coast of England . I am collecting postcards / covers from around the world with beautiful stamps on and as many as possible for a charity, Marie Curie Cancer Research, it is such a good charity as cancer affects everybody no matter what age, race, country, gender or religion, and would love one from your beautiful country. When I have collected a lot I will be auctioning them off for the charity. My address is SUPPLIED, in England. I would also like a penfriend and hope we can become good friends. I like sports football, surfing, walking, mountain biking and skiing, friendships, history, culture and travel and music and movies. I love writing. I am a lot of fun and single and am looking for penfriends worldwide. I hope you would like to write to me. Age and gender not important only true friendship. My email address is SUPPLIED

And finally from Tobi : "The rain didn’t hold off for the carnival in Caniço, but everyone seemed happy and I have a few photos HERE".

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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 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.

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Today’s Photo Thanks to  Eiryl … another photo of a lava cave in São Vicente

 

"Madeira: land of the zimmer frame. God’s waiting room, where pensioners sunbathe in their overcoats. Madeira, like the sticky bottle of wine named after it, sweet, old-fashioned, lingering in the back of the cupboard. Why would any youngish person want to spend their winter holiday in a place that shares its name with their granny’s favourite cake?" … "It’s reputation as a haven for the elderly is just not fair". SUNDAY TRIBUNE

"On a visit to that little fishing village [Câmara de Lobos], I stopped off at one of the fisherman’s bars on the right hand side of the bay. One old sea dog there emptied pint glass after pint glass while filling my head with fantastical stories about the island. According to him, there are very short, ancient-looking creatures living here that are not actually human. ODD BUT INTERESTING – THE PEQUENINOS

“Madeira is the seventh destination in the world, after the Douro Valley in Portugal, the City of Mexico and Riviera Maya in Mexico, the Principality of Andorra, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada, to recognize the value of a measurement system like the SMED and to sign a partnership agreement with the CED. As in these destinations, the Madeiran authorities will set up a working group whose objective will be to implement the recommendations made in the official SMED report” IT’S OFFICIAL … MADEIRA HAS BEEN SMED’ed

Thousands stranded abroad as Scots airline Flyglobespan goes into administration.  SCOTLAND’S biggest airline Flyglobespan collapsed tonight as a last-gasp multi-million pound rescue package failed – leaving hundreds of employees facing the axe and thousands of holidaymakers stranded abroad. Up to 1000 jobs could be lost and all of the company’s plans have been grounded, leaving as many as 10,000 tourists stranded overseas. More than 5000 more holidaymakers face losing Christmas and New Year holidays as a result of the firm going in to voluntary administration. Edinburgh-based Flyglobespan had been trying to secure a s10million cash injection to carry on operating. But talks finally broke down today after three months. Bill Munro of Barrhead Travel, Scotland’s biggest independent travel firm, said: "This is a grim day for the industry and we will do everything we can to help. MORE – DAILY RECORD This was announced last night, and as the airline flies from Edinburgh to Madeira on Mondays, it will be bad news for many.

Elaine (East) kindly sent in another article from the Jornal da Madeira in the Xmas Traditions series :

CHRISTMAS 2009 – Living Christmas with the joy of the presépios

Since the year 1223, when Sao Francisco decided to represent the time and occasion of the birth of Jesus, and celebrate Christmas Eve with his brothers and citizens of Assisi in the forest of Greccio, presepios have been the essence of Christmas throughout the world.

The word presépio means ‘a place where they collect livestock, corral, stable ‘. However, this is also the name given to the artistic representation of the birth of Jesus in a stable. In Madeira and Porto Santo, the presepios always mark the presence of the Christmas season. Made of various materials, they continue to be one of the attractions both in private dwellings, as in churches and more recently in public places. At the time when plastic was not yet part of the everyday life of the population, the presepios and Madeiran lapinhas were constructed from paper, painted with vioxene, the sheets stuck with gum arabic (glue), or maize or flour paste. In early December, the sellers or grocery stores had a large quantity of vioxene, powders of several bright colours and glue that would serve to make the lapinha. After acquiring these products, it was time to get down to work and join the family for the construction of the lapinha. Once the structure was made, which may be of wood, trunks or scallop cane, the paper was put on, painted and before it had time to dry, the powders of various colours were applied, with emphasis on gold and silver.

The shepherds and various images of regional motifs were placed with great care, between the scene of the killing of the pig and the Madeiran arraiais with the representation of the procession, and the philharmonic band in the bandstand. These objects had already been acquired in previous years, or were renewed with purchases from the speciality house in Funchal. To make the streams they used cotton, and the ponds with fish were placed on small mirrors which gave the aspect of bright water. The cardboard templates could also have been purchased ready-made from the sellers or other commercial establishments, or cut out, because they had cardboard sheets with drawings of houses, churches and castles that were used for this purpose. After skillful gluing at the edges, these produced beautiful buildings.

The image of Baby Jesus was placed in the cave, Mary and Joseph were in the centre of the lapinha and they always had the prominent place with the oil lamp that would illuminate the scene during the Christmas season. Vegetation like the typical ‘goatlings’ and moss gave colour to the presépio. Depending on the space in the houses, the presepios were of different sizes and were the cause of admiration by visitors in rooms adorned with cheerful themes, where visitors were offered a glass of liqueur, honey cake or broas. For those who had less space at home, the solution was the ‘rochinha’. With socas made of scallop cane artistically arranged in the form of a pyramid, at the base was left a space for the cave in which to put the images of the Birth of Jesus. The paper that could be extracted from bags of cement, and others, was also painted with vioxene which gave it a brownish tinge, and glued to the socas and then painted with brilliant powders.

At present there are still many people who are faithful to the tradition of the presépio of the ‘old style’, and in many locations competitions are organized for the presepios and lapinhas, showing a lot of creativity.

Many thanks Elaine … I remember translating a story last Christmas on the subject of presépios and lapinhas, which implied that the construction of these was often very much a matter of social status, with the wealthy deliberately spending more money to have bigger and grander exhibits than their less well off neighbours, who they would then invite around to show off their ‘wealth’. The poorer families would often use items of fruit to make their displays more attractive, as well as costing less of course, but would make a lot of effort all the same to ensure that they were not the laughing stock of their village. LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Madeira-web has been back to Câmara de Lobos for today’s photo.

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

Speed limit remains at 40 km. In 15 districts on the continent, Portugal has decided to limit the speed to 30 km per hour in some areas. The deputy mayor of Funchal, Bruno Pereira said there is no legal support to implement this change in Madeira. The areas in Funchal where accidents happen most are limited; Estrada Monumental, Camacho de Freitas and Rotunda D. Francisco Santana. Limiting the speed is not the answer, it would be better to utilize traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. "The reality of Funchal is different from a city like Lisbon since due to characteristics of the streets, even if the speed limit is 50 km/h, it is a value difficult to achieve." The Police Commissioner said, "The Region has done much in the area of road safety." Examples are pedestrianization of areas, and other ways to reduce accidents involve education, improvement of roads by lighting and road surfaces, police surveillance and radar monitoring.

Complaint against the BIR. (More details after Der’s headlines yesterday). The father of a 17 year old boy is accusing a member of the BIR (Rapid Intervention Brigade) of assaulting his son in the early hours of Sunday. The Public Ministry is investigation his complaint. "My son and two friends went out at night, as do the young, and were preparing to return home when they were approached by the BIR." He said the three were on the Caminho da Achada at five o’clock in the morning, near the house of one of them, and talking about the possibility of the alleged victim returning to his home by motorbike. "His friends were saying that he’d better take a taxi home because he had been drinking." The BIR arrived and wondered what they were doing there. They asked the boy if he had been drinking and he replied, "What matters if I drank or not?" A member of the BIR slapped him across the face and his friends were advised to run or they would also be hit. He took his son to a private clinic for treatment for a cut lip and marks to the eye and face. The police cannot comment at present while ascertaining the facts for any criminal charges.

Fall of nine metres leaves man seriously ill. A 40 year old man is seriously ill in hospital after an accident yesterday on the fly-over on the highway at São Martinho. The Opel driven by him  was negotiating a curve and went through the safety barriers, ended up falling about ten metres. It is not known what caused the accident but it was raining heavily at the time. In a separate accident, a 50 year old man died immediately after falling only a few metres down the stairs in his apartment block.

Madeira lost tourists and Euros. More about the Oriana being unable to stay yesterday. The port was full with the MSC Fantasia and the Costa Marina, so there was no room for the Oriana to moor. The schedule depends on the order of arrival of the ships, and the owners, P & O, decided that the Oriana would still visit and rely on the lifeboats to ferry passengers to the shore. The ship stayed for a little over an hour for replacement of crew members but then left for Southampton, due to the bad weather. APRAM lost 10,000 Euros in port fees and other services. 22 buses had been hired, 10 as shuttle buses to the city centre and 12 to take 600 tourists to visit various attractions around the island. The failing to land 1,700 tourists had an impact on; Monte, where the ‘carrinhos de cesto’ men were waiting – expecting more than 200 tourists, the cable car, Botanical Gardens, Madeira Wine Cellars, 14 tourists had booked on the whale watching catamaran, others had booked jeep safari trips, and also the shops and cafes. An estimated loss of 30,000 Euros in revenue.

—- Sad photo of Oriana returning to the UK without staying. Yesterday, the complaints highlighted that it was a loss of older UK tourists. They need to find a solution as cruise ships are getting larger and becoming more popular. The port is increasing passenger numbers whereas today there is yet another article about a fall in hotel revenue. Average October room rates were 29.1 Euros, a fall from 35.1 Euros last year, a fall of 15.4% in room revenue and the total income of the hotel industry fell by 13.1%. Occupancy rate in October was 51.4% (57.7% last year) and so far this year, an overall fall of 11% from last year.

Debt varies with the pleasure of the political colour. Government and opposition have very different calculations with regard to the debt of the region.  According to the Socialists and Christian Democrats, the debt by mid – 2010 could reach more than six billion Euros. Whereas Ventura Garces, the Secretary of Planning and Finance and Filipe Ramos, the PSD spokesman, say the debt is less than a third of that value. The Secretary offered to "Teach the opposition to count." Ventura Garcia noted that the direct debt is only 18% GDP and according to Filipe Ramos, the current expenditure has been reduced by 5.2%. The debt will grow by more than 180 million Euros in 2010 to ensure the use of all funds. Garces acknowledged that the unemployment level is presently 13,000  and he will support some companies that will create jobs. Garces said that the State in the last legislature, cut off all possibilities for the Region to borrow. The opposition read the numbers differently. The PS accuse the Government of disguising the total disarray of public accounts. The PS spokesman listed, in a long speech, the various portions of the debt, which already exceeds the value of the regional GDP. "We walked into the abyss which leads to the governance of the PSD." The PCP said that already the Government cannot hide the scale of the financial disaster and that, "The reality shows that Madeira has reached the point of collapse." A BE member alerted the possibility of a new jump in debt because "Madeira would have to invent 500 million," to meet all commitments. The PS reckon the debt is worth 5 billion; direct and indirect debt, debt of public sector business, securitization of credits, operations of PATRIRAM (Ownership and Management of Public Assets), the unpaid burden and operations of Via Litoral and Via Expresso. The reduction of debt authorization from 129 million to 79 million is why, according to Ventura Garces, debt to suppliers remains above 85 million Euros, which will increase in 2010.

Electricity tariff increases by 2.5% in 2010. Around one euro on the average monthly bill of 40 Euros.

Saturday is Market Night in Santa Cruz. Saturday December 19 from 22.00 hours. Fair of Traditional Sweets and Liqueurs produced by the Casas do Povo, between 13 and 20 December from 18.00 to 22.00 in the Praça do Municipio, where the presépio is being constructed. Evening entertainment form 20.00 on the stage erected in the Praça do Municipio. Friday, the entertainment will be traditional Christmas carols. Saturday, dancing to Latin sounds and karaoke. Sunday, the groups from the Casa do Povo de Santa Cruz.

Conventual sweets sold in Rua da Carreira until January 6. ‘Smells and flavours of Christmas to the Kings’ theme. Promoted by Funchal Council, and the Association of Gastronomic Memories. The kiosks selling the conventual sweets close between 19.00 – 20.00 hours. Selling, torroes de Santa Clara, papas-de-anjo, barrigas de freira, sericaias and encharacadas. The Association sells two types of bolo-de-mel (Madeiran honey cake), according to a recipe from the XV – XIX century and one from the XIX – XX century. They differ due to the use of soda. They are also relaunching a sweet called ‘negritos’.

From Martin L & Paul (Paul do Mar), some more news on the Flyglobespan situation :

Airline Takes a Dive – Some news from Scotland that has a Madeiran slant to it and could be worth a space on the blog.

Flyglobespan the Scottish travel agent and airline went into receivership yesterday with all flights being cancelled immediately. They flew to Madeira every Monday direct from Edinburgh and the Madeiran flights were usually fully booked, although in the past few months there were flights with several unsold seats. They have been in operation since 2002 and flew to several destinations in Europe, Canada, Florida, and Egypt. The airline had experienced cash flow problems and was trying to re-negotiate its finances but the deal did not proceed and they were unable to continue in business. It seems a few thousand passengers are stranded at various destinations, and although some them will be covered through the travel agency insurance arrangements, many will be unprotected as they booked the flights direct. Madeira is totally dependent on air traffic for its tourism and this demonstrates the precarious nature of the airline business and although Flyglobespan’s input to Madeiran tourism was probably minimal, it is nevertheless a loss of revenue to the island. Another event that could affect tourism income over Christmas is a threatened strike by British Airways staff across the entire Christmas holiday of 11 days.

You can get more details on the BBC news website. (in the Scottish section for Flyglobespan if you need clarification). BBC LINK

Article title: Flyglobespan, Scotland’s biggest airline has collapsed (Source: BBC News) :

“An operation is under way to fly back to the UK thousands of people left stranded after Flyglobespan, Scotland’s biggest airline, collapsed. Its parent company, Globespan, entered administration on Wednesday, with all flights cancelled and 800 jobs going. About 4,500 passengers are stranded – mostly in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Egypt. The Civil Aviation Authority will be repatriating about 1,100.” LINK 

The Labour MP for Edinburgh North Leith Mark Lazarowicz said: “It will potentially be a massive problem to those who have booked their Christmas holidays with the airline, or who are overseas now.” Source including film: STV SCOTLAND

Helpline: Flyglobespan passengers are advised to call a helpline from 10 am on Thursday and visit the website for further information in the meantime (see the link below). The call centre number is 0871 271 9000 for UK calls and +44 141 332 3233 for people calling from Europe.

‘Information for Customers’: official notice on the appointment of joint administrators to the Scottish travel firm, The Globespan Group plc and Alba Ground Handling Ltd including ‘Information for Customers’ FLYGLOBESPAN

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

Debt of €10 million surprises Porto Moniz – The debt increased 84% in 2008.

ANAM in technical insolvency. I have been through the newspaper and can’t find this article, so maybe it is just in the printed edition of the Diário? I will have a look tonight. But ANAM, who operate the airports of Madeira and Porto Santo, have been in a ‘technical insolvency situation’ for eternity, because of the huge debts they have to service through the last airport expansion.

It is Madeira that has more growth in the PIB (GDP). In 1995 Madeira had GDP / PIB growth 11% lower than the national average. In 2008 it was 28% higher.

Charge interest on delayed payments is the answer – Companies fed-up with a government that doesn’t pay on time. Companies that do work for the Madeira government that have not been paid are looking for both settlement, and interest on the outstanding debt relative to the delay in settlement. Madeira, over the last 12 years, has already paid €103 million in interest charges on delayed payments, and that excludes banks and credit institutions. Many of these companies are in financial difficulties, and news of authorisation for the Regional Government to borrow €79 million to pay suppliers (even though a much larger sum was requested and rejected) has left some anxiety in the air, as no one knows who will be at the front of the queue for the €79 m payouts. The ’shareout’ will save some businesses, but with the total supplier debt standing at around €200 million, others will be left out in the cold. This does not include those on ‘payment arrangements’ (contractual arrangements to spread costs), who don’t know whether the next instalments will be paid or not. The legal recourse to recover such debts are not often used by companies for government debt, as there may be repercussions of course. One person interviewed, from the Association of Commerce and Services, believes that the €79 million will be used exclusively to pay the hundreds of small and medium sized companies.

Today’s main news headline : Justice Police catch Madeiran paedophiles - Suspects were made defendants after a sequence of home searches made on Tuesday throughout Portugal. "Second life" also happens on Madeira. The JP police took part in a national operation on Tuesday to combat paedophilia on the internet. At least two locations in Funchal were searched, but there could have been more. The national operation named ‘Second life’ resulted in the identification of 13 suspects, some of them Madeiran, who have been caught with computers and equipments used to store pornographic material involving children and hence committing criminal acts.

‘Crociere’ already has five ships registered in the ‘Mar’ – The biggest European cruise company opts for Registro Internacional of Madeira.

‘Jig’ and historic thrashing in the hour of farewell – Nacional is the first Madeiran club to score five goals in one game in European competitions. Ruben Micael shone on another perfect night. The final game of the Europa League for Nacional, until then without a win. But, what results lacked in the 5 earlier games, were soon forgotten. Not quite a perfect night as described, as the Austrian opponents actually scored first in the 5 – 1 result. In the other match of Portuguese interest, Sporting lost to a single goal by Hertha Berlim, a result that doesn’t affect Sporting’s guaranteed passage to the next phase of the competition.

Paul (Paul do Mar) has kindly come up with a ‘match report’ :

Nacional blow lightweight Austria away

CD Nacional bid farewell to the UEFA Europa League with their biggest ever European win, thrashing FK Austria Wien 5-1 in Funchal as slack defending consigned the visitors to bottom place in Group L.

From behind
With coach Manuel Machado still too ill to perform his duties, Predrag Jokanović captained Nacional’s sinking ship, but soon had reason to regret stepping into the breach. Schumacher gave Austria the lead on 21 minutes but, from then on, it was all Nacional. Rúben Micael and Mateus gave them the lead by half-time, the former doubling their advantage after the break before Darko Tomašević and Felipe Lopes pumelled the visitors into submission.

Sloppy opening
Nacional started slowly, Leandro Salinas screwing a seemingly unmissable chance woefully wide before a ducking defender allowed Milenko Ačimovič’s cross to come to Schumacher, whose first-time shot arrowed through Rafael Bracali’s legs and in. Then the tide turned. The hosts levelled two minutes later, the unmarked Rúben Micael completing a languid one-two with Mateus by stroking home from inside the box. The latter saw the Austria defence part invitingly again on 33 minutes; his run from midfield met no challenge before he flicked deftly inside the undefended Robert Almer’s right-hand post.

Classy saves
Having been afforded little chance to do so earlier, Almer showed his skills between the posts by pushing Nejc Pečnik’s goalbound downward header on to the crossbar before the interval, and his opposite number proved no less agile as the second half kicked off, with Bracali brilliantly denying Schumacher a second.

Resistance crumbles
Austria then gave up the ghost. A swift break through midfield on 57 minutes saw Rúben Micael breeze through for Nacional’s third, and it was 4-1 four minutes later, Tomašević rising unmarked to head in a sweeping Rúben Micael free-kick. Felipe Lopes made similarly light work of heading Nacional’s fifth from Mateus’ cross.

UEFA report with video – first success in the Europa League group stage

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.

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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 photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

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

(more…)

Today’s Photo Thanks to  Debs … Pet garden butterfly, he’s getting a little old now hence the holes in his starboard wing – must have been in a dog fight!

From the Norwich Evening News : More holidaymakers can fly to Madeira from Norwich International Airport next year with Atlantic Holidays offering six direct flights from the airport on Mondays from July 26 to August 30.

Fátima arrived in Ribeira Brava last night with a huge entourage of cars and motorbikes, all honking their horns, as well as a police escort. The convey must have taken 10 minutes to pass my house. The statue is supposed to be going around the churches over several months, but checking back on earlier blogs it should have already been and gone from Ribeira Brava, so perhaps it was just ‘passing through’. UPDATE: Apparently it was on the way from the high zones of Ribeira Brava bound for Serra da Água, where it will leave again today for the Igreja de São Bento in Ribeira Brava, where it will stay until Sunday.

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

Solidarity campaign has collected 2.200 Euros. The campaign to raise funds to donate an electric wheelchair to Ilda Maria Andrade has brought together around 2,200 Euros. The appeal began with a reader’s letter in the Diário and donations exceeded 700 Euros. This week this has more than doubled with a businessman linked to the company Modas Jacinto’s contributing 1,500 Euros. Even so, funds raised are still less than half the amount needed to purchase the equipment, estimated at 5,959 Euros plus VAT. The 59 year old meningitis and osteoporosis sufferer also needs a ramp built to access her home, and Ribeira Brava Council is studying the possibility of providing one, estimated at 25,000 Euros.

Parishes adhere to the banners of baby Jesus. All over Portugal and Madeira this Christmas you will be able to see on balconies and in windows, cloth banners with the image of baby Jesus. In order to bring the true traditional spirit of a Christian Christmas, in which the symbol is baby Jesus, several parishes across the region – Nazaré, Monte and Câmara de Lobos for example -  will sell such banners. From next week, they will be on sale for 15 Euros and the profits will provide baskets for needy families, support for the homeless and payment for works of the parish. The project ‘Flags for Christmas 2009′ was created on the continent by a group of families who wanted to share the joy of Christmas with others but noticed a void of Christian symbols in the decorations for Christmas. On the mainland there are about 20,000 banners and the object is to reach 30,000.

Integration of toxicodependents and police on the football field at Andorinha. The football match ended 8 – 4 in favour of the police. Social integration and promotion of healthy lifestyles mattered more than the result. A group of young people, mainly recovering drug addicts, Rua do Bairro de Santo Amaro Team, and the local police involved in the program Policing in Proximity were playing. The trophy won by the police was offered as a gesture of ‘fair play’ to the losing team and a joint lunch followed.

€46 million revenue from cruise ships. The Port of Funchal has higher taxes than the Canary Islands, justified by the fact that passengers and companies are pleased with the destination. The higher taxes are necessary to maintain the quality of the port. The new passenger terminal should improve tourist satisfaction. This year, six ships could not moor due to lack of space. The answer might be an extension of the south jetty or north pier. In comparison, the hotel business generates more than €300 million per year.

Two shopping centres among Europe’s finalists. Forum Madeira and MadeiraShopping are among the finalists for ESCA 2009 award. The International Committee of Shopping Centres announced the finalists last week and the winners will be known on 18 June 2010 in Vienna. MadeiraShopping is nominated in the category  ‘Public Relations’ for the fashion event ‘Pop-Up’, together with ArrabidaShopping, CascaisShopping and two Spanish centres. Forum Madeira is nominated in two categories. In ‘Community Relations’ it is nominated along with 10 other centres of the same chain, for the project ‘Will’s Book – The Magic Library’ and the project ‘RecyclART’. In the category ‘Sales, Promotions and Events’ for the project ‘Christmas Competition’. MadeiraShopping has already won European Awards 2002 in the category ‘New Shopping Centres’ and Madeira Forum won in the category ‘Christmas Present’ in 2008.

‘Miguel Angelo’. Enigmatic work in Gaula. An enigmatic work in Gaula has led to fears that public funds have been misapplied. The project which was completed in record time (5 days) was the elongation of Rua de São João Castelejo by a little more than one kilometre. According to the Regional Secretary of Social Infrastructure, the work was to repair deficiencies that occurred in the construction of the fast route  Funchal -Airport. But reports and photos show that when the contractor Construtura do Tamega tore up the tarmac to lay infrastructure, there have been left 5 cm longitudinal tears in the asphalt. Strangely, company officials and the population say that nothing had been placed underneath the tarmac, no infrastructure laid, just the trench opened and then closed. The members of the Parish Council of Gaula say they do not know anything about the work. They are puzzled why the road was subject to total resurfacing when the tarmac was in good condition and there are worse roads needing repair in the area. Both Tamega and the Regional Secretary say that the repair of defects in the construction work was written in the contract and the firm paid for the repair work. They both explain that the opening of the trench was to repair a longitudinal fissure that had occurred in the road surface.

Support for travel benefits half of the residents. Since the social mobility allowance was introduced by the State, 49.3% less trips (104,000 passages)  made by residents have been claimed after liberalization of air routes. Before liberalization of the air traffic, companies charged the State a fee of 118 Euros for  232,000 tickets sold to Lisbon and Porto. After liberalization, resident’s support is 60 Euros each trip or 30 Euros each way. Compared to trips made before liberalization, the State support to passengers fell 49.3%. So the State wins in two ways; the amount of support and the amount spent. The cost of air fare to and from Lisbon has fallen but it is not clear why the number of Madeirans claiming social mobility support has halved. Before liberalization, 22.9% of passengers were entitled to subsidy and since then, it has fallen to 11.4%. Some claims are outside the time limit and the Post Office still has 125 cases unresolved. The movement at the airports fell by 2.6% at Porto and 4.4% at Madeira, and has increased 18.5% at Lisbon. Before liberalization, the State spent 23 million Euros on support, an average of 103 Euros although the companies were entitled to receive 118 Euros per resident. This year, the full year of liberalization, the State spent only 7.5 million Euros for 117,513 tickets sold, ie a saving of 15.5 million Euros. The Government now wants an allowance equivalent to half the value of the ticket, which would be 73 Euros (13 Euros more than the current 60 Euros).

Driver without a licence and insurance arrested twice in a few hours. A 26 year old man was arrested twice on Friday and Saturday for driving without a licence and without insurance. He was arrested on Friday evening in Funchal and again, hours later, in the early hours of Saturday in Santa Cruz. The second time, he was arrested for these two offences and also for driving a seized vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol (1.5 g/l). He went to Santa Cruz to "forget his grief". The police stopped him after his car broke down and he made a dangerous manoeuvre in the opposite direction to which he was travelling, between Santa Cruz and Funchal.

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

Madeira hosts Christmas party of UEFA – Platini avoids touching on controversial matters. Besides the meeting of the top European Football executive committee, Madeira is to be the venue for the annual UEFA Xmas bash. The party will be tomorrow night in Reid’s Palace Hotel, the same hotel where all the committee members are staying. Some of the members of the reunion are known to be staying on after ‘official business’ to enjoy the delights of Madeira. UEFA boss Michel Platini had already made enquiries. "He asked me if there is good weather. It is very satisfying to finally have an Executive Committee scheduled for Madeira, which was not easy, because other countries had already been asking (to host?) for much longer than Portugal. There is curiosity to know Madeira and I hope the good weather continues", said the president of the Portuguese Football Federation. the main items on the agenda include the Euro 2012, where some important final decisions will be made about the stadiums to be used, and some issues related to regulations, and some discussions about the internal organisation of UEFA itself. I knew it, and said some weeks ago that it was a Christmas jolly in disguise. Life is tough for football’s top bosses, and an expensive bash in Reid’s is probably just the remedy (warning : Der sarcasm in use).

New president of U.D. Santana criticises previous management.

Today’s main news headline :  Government delays payments – There are 55 cases of  ‘burden sharing’ on Madeira and works have already been inaugurated that will only be paid in 2011. It’s not an uncommon practice when the treasury is stretched, with public and private institutions sharing the financial burden, with their due payments delayed until better times. The list of 55 such cases has already been decided. The ‘Construction of the connection tunnel to the central and northern parts of the town of Ribeira Brava’ is the first example given of the postponement of payments. The work was finished and inaugurated long ago, but last October, by order of Ventura Garcês the payment terms were amended from those that provided for payment of the work in three years (€205,000 in 2006, €1.9 million in 2007 and €1.9 in 2008). The first two years were paid, but in the final one nothing was paid, and just €500,000 this year. The final €1.4 million will be delayed until next year. It’s no wonder public works contracts are so darn expensive, with companies involved in the tender processes having to factor in the costs of vastly delayed payments, as well as the back-handers needed to win the business. Still, several senior politicians have fingers in the pies, so when it comes down to it, arms can be twisted and contract terms amended without too much reaction from some of the companies affected.

Azoreans reject the amendment to the Madeira Regional Finance Law. The Regional Parliament’s Economy Committee is opposing Madeira’s proposal to amend the law on regional financing. According to the Committee, the Azores would stand to lose 32 million Euros if Madeira’s amendment to the law is passed by the Assembly of the Republic. The amendment was proposed by the Madeira PSD. In the Azores, both the Socialist Party and the CDS are against any changes in the legislation. The only party in the archipelago to support the amendment is the PSD, providing the introduction of a clause ensuring that the Azores would not lose out. (Courtesy of the RTP Azores website / Kitty Bale).

The main photo on the front page shows an elderly lady, sat in her dressing gown, and looking rather perturbed. One year of waiting for an urgent operation – Isabel Rodrigues, aged 84, is desperate for the promised cataract operations. SESARAM hide the number of patients waiting and the waiting time for consultations and surgery. Isabel Margarida Rodrigues lives in Travessa do Pomar, and says that she doesn’t want to die without being able to see again. She cannot see anything through her left eye, and she no longer has the courage to go out of her house alone. With the problem worsening day by day, she waited and waited for an appointment at the hospital, that eventually came this Summer, when the consultant recommended cataract surgery for both eyes. At the same time it was reported that there were already 800 people on the waiting list for that type of surgery. The rest of the article looks at the long waiting lists for that type and many other  types of surgery and procedures. The information provided by the health service is criticised by the auditors, who say that "The information system associated with the management of waiting lists (surgical and consultation) has a limited reliability and does not represent a true and fair global view of the patients and potential patients who are awaiting the provision of specialist services by Funchal Central Hospital.

2010 has three less days of rest. Workers will only get 147 rest days in 2010, three less than in 2009. 2010 will provide opportunities for six ‘tolerance’ days, and 5 ‘bridge’ days, and those workers who know how to work the system can maximise their breaks from the 104 weekend days by another 43, using holiday leave (25) and weekday public holidays (10) and the goodwill of employers.

Recordings of ‘Until Tomorrow My Love’ start on the 14th – The mini-series of TVI gets underway here next Monday and brings familiar faces. The new anticipated TV series from the good people of Channel 4 is actually titled ‘Até Amanhã Meu Amor’ in Portuguese.

… and that’s when the Diário website crashed! 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

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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 photos / videos.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

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

(more…)

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

In yesterday’s Portugal Cup 4th round football matches, mixed results for our lads. União (Madeira) lost in a penalty shootout away to Mafra. The Mafra team came onto the pitch wearing protective masks as a protest, after attempts to postpone the game, because of squad members with Gripe A swine flu, were rejected.

Camacha however march on onto the next round, after beating Vigor e Mocidade by 1 – 0 in their home game. They should have won easily as the opponents were from series D in the third division.

Nacional struggled against Fátima in Funchal, with no goals in the actual game, but eventually qualified for the next round after winning a penalty shootout 4 – 3.

Elaine asked me to post this. I am clearly not having much luck in attracting sufficient help, so I really hope Elaine has more success :

WARNING BELLS ARE RINGING.

Der and myself are desperate for help. We are both taking far too much time on the blog, more than you would think (or I dare to admit). People really need to start sending Der articles or this blog will finish for good. We are both fighting hard to keep it going. Please don’t let everyone down by thinking your help isn’t needed or that your article won’t be interesting. Even a small contribution, regularly or otherwise, would help and encourage others. It would take some of the pressure off us both. The more diverse, the more interesting it could get for everyone.

Suggestions of how people can help:

Take a section of the online Diário. Front page, Madeira, Economy, Politics, Culture. I use Google translation toolbar, and other online translators are available.

Other newspapers online. Jornal da Madeira, Diário Cidade.

Tourism Board site. They will send you an email every month with details (in English). Also DRAC site has a monthly Cultural Agenda in English.

Scan newspapers and sites for articles about the island, tourist reviews and blogs.

Any travel articles. Ports, airports, organized tours, hotels.

Any experiences about your days out here, e.g. exhibitions, restaurants, cafes, bars, tours, museums, walks, places visited.

Local food with recipes and wine tasting.

Nature articles. Plants, birds, animals, environment, parks.

Local customs and culture.

Festivals and cultural events – coming or visited.

News and activities where you live, if on the island.

Shopping and offers.

Nautical events and special sports events.

Organisations and their events.

Any suggestions welcome.

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Elaine had very kindly again provided yesterday’s top news stories :

Enterprises, employment and tourism have money. Strengthening tourism promotion, incentives to businesses and jobs and greater investment in culture depends largely on ….. state.  At the end of the year, Madeira will have the largest direct debt in the history of the Region. For the bank loan guarantees, the Government has commitments in the order of 1,900 million Euros. Ventura Garces, the Regional Secretary of Planning and Finance will deliver tomorrow to the President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira the proposed budget for 2010. As normal, 40% of expenditure is for public investment to secure employment through public works and to prevent people becoming dependent on meagre state benefits. Little is known of this year’s proposals. Tax revenue is expected to drop significantly next year so they are optimistic that the State will transfer €70 million early on. The European Union has provided a transfer of €75 million. The Regional revenue (tax etc) and transfers from the State and the EU will cover 86% of expenditure, so a loan is required for the remainder. Garces would not admit to the amount which he is asking the State to agree but it is thought to be more than €200 million, enough to repay the loan and secure payment to suppliers. Education and Health account for 73% of expenditure and Garces is worried about the spiralling costs of the departments, institutes and autonomous funds which represent 28% of total expenditure, and these levels could be cut. Incentives to business will cost €20 million and tourism will have an increase of almost one million Euros for promotion. In the next three years, €362 million will have to be repaid to banks, €52 million next year. The Government owes more than €150 million to suppliers, backed with loans amounting to €1,174 million. The Regional Government debt is expected to rise to €784.9 million by the end of this year, the highest value in history. This is justified by the debt being 17% GDP and the EU allowing up to 60% GDP or a debt limit of €2,760 million Euros. Jardim hopes to save tens of millions by his recent cuts.

Rocks continue to fall. The rock fall between Ribeira Brava and Tabua continues, along a section that has been sealed off to the public for almost two years.

Bad weather boosts road casualties. The number of accidents increased this week with rain and excessive speed for the conditions. There were 61 accidents that caused 19 minor injuries, compared with 45 accidents and 21 injuries during the previous week. Funchal (26 accidents, 8 injured), Santa Cruz (13 accidents, 3 injured), Câmara de Lobos (9 accidents, 3 injured). Friday was the worst day, 5 people taken to hospital and 15 accidents. The via rápida, where there are an average of 11 accidents per week, had the most accidents with 28 last week resulting in minor injuries to 6 people.

UMajuda helps schools in Achada and Rochão. This University organisation collects donations, especially for the younger age group. They have distributed dictionaries, children’s books, encyclopaedias, maps, video tapes, games and sports equipment to the schools in Rochão and Achada, as elsewhere in the region during previous years. The university musical groups ‘tunas’ have also visited the schools. They have also helped the elderly and the Red Cross and SPAD.

Support for the outermost regions are possible. One of the MEPs said that permanent funding for the outermost regions is not guaranteed from 2013, but it is possible under the Community Support Framework. He said that with the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, member states have not lost their sovereignty under a centralized Europe, as there are sometimes opt-outs if they think the matter should be debated nationally. Risks are that some countries will dominate and defend their own interests first. Costs will increase with an increase in the number of posts.

Official websites of Government and councils lack maintenance. Lack of update. Regional statistics are out of date, some by two or three years. Most councils have not updated details about council members since the elections. Good examples are Câmara de Lobos, Porto Santo, Machico and Santa Cruz.

Bandolin Christmas Concert. December 12 at Teatro Baltazar Dias, Funchal, cost 5 Euros.

Lobo Marinho delayed due to power failure. An electrical failure late on Sunday night affected the electrical connections. The fault was detected at 8 am when the ferry was preparing to leave Funchal and delayed the departure. The electrical failure on the bridge and engine room made it impossible to leave the port of Funchal so a tug had to intervene at about 9.15 am. The failure did not affect the speed of the ship but it had to reduce speed to provide time for the tug to reach Porto Santo. The route normally takes 2 hours 10 minutes and took around 5 hours. The captain said the return journey should not be affected as tugs would be ready both at Porto Santo and at Funchal. The ship had about 200 passengers on board.

Government reinforces consular assistance in South Africa. Portuguese Government will reinforce assistance during the World Cup next year. They will also produce a brochure with local contact numbers for emergency assistance.

Builders guarantees on new properties provide most complaints. In 2008, the Office of Consumer Protection in Madeira received 305 requests for assistance in this area, and this year the number has already reached 289. For a period of five years, owners of new properties should be able to have any defects repaired by the builder. In reality, it is difficult to get the repair corrected and the person often has to go to court or pay themselves. They often find the builder has gone out of business or disappeared. Legal action has to be taken within three years of the complaint.

AIDS prevention. Madeira, like other European countries, faces serious problems that affect many young people, like drinking, smoking, drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. This was stated at the conference yesterday, ‘Youth Without Risk’. Portugal has a staggering number of infected people, especially related to teenage pregnancy. Young people are educated about the transmission of AIDS but still do not use protection.

Burglaries in Barreiros. Burglaries  at the apartments Barreiros Golden and Stadium in Barreiros over the past two days have resulted in doors being broken down and around 8,000 Euros of gold and cash stolen. These occurred last Tuesday and Wednesday and the police have increased patrols.

Failure of lifts in apartment blocks force tenants to climb 150 stairs. Apartment blocks affected are Varzea Park in São Martinho and Caminho do Amparo, block A 1 North. The top flats on the ninth floor are 150 stairs up. Some older people refuse to leave the flats and this has occurred for two months now.

The ‘Madeira’ in documentary. Alzirino Henriques has produced a DVD about the ship ‘Madeira’ which used to transport goods and passengers between Madeira and Porto Santo. Its sinking on 21 October 2000 has led to its use as an artificial reef and this 30 minute video demonstrates the beauty of the flora and fauna which have colonised it. The video is in both Portuguese and English and the producer is Eduardo Costa, who has produced many local videos. It costs 15 Euros and can be purchased from FNAC, the Porto Santo Line and Tourism posts.

Sue very kindly sent in these news stories, many thanks …

The funeral of cabo Telo was held in the presence of hundreds of people – "Now he is in his own country". Hundreds of people gathered yesterday at the church of Paul do Mar for the last farewell to the first cabo (corporal) Gabriel Telo, killed in action 36 years ago in Guinea Bissau. The funeral closes a case of a group of soldiers, of whom two were from Madeira – the cabo and the soldier Telo João Nunes Ferreira. The process of exhumation and repatriation of the bodies to Portugal took about three years. The Union of the paratroopers was the body who started this rescue – being three elements of this special force among the 11 corpses – which now ends with this funeral, the last of the bodies were removed from Guidaje in Guinea Bissau. Now closed, in fact, a course whose objective was to bring home the bodies that had been buried in that cemetery campaign in Guinea, explained the president of the Parachute Regiment, General Avelar de Sousa, who yesterday attended the ceremony. Several entities had joined forces for the task to make this last tribute to the soldier, who died on May 25, 1973 (not 1963 as incorrectly written yesterday). Miguel Mendonça, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, in the morning put a wreath at the urn of the soldier, while still at the monument to the Madeira overseas soldier. A little later, in Paul do Mar, the district where  the cabo was born, Monteiro Diniz attended the funeral, ex-Representative of the Republic to Madeira, also Brazão de Castro, regional secretary, and Manuel Baeta, Mayor of Calheta, among other personalities. The process of exhumation and repatriation of the bones of cabo Telo opened a wound in the family that they had spent decades trying to heal. Mother, Flora Telo, never gave up so that the memory of the son would not be forgotten. During the last 36 years she insistently repeated stories about Gabriel, highlighting the qualities of this young man, who was sacristan in the church, the same church that hosted the final farewell ceremony. Yesterday, the upset prevented Flora Telo from saying what that final moment meant for her. The day before, however, she confessed that she still felt "a great longing for my son." And looked towards the sky and called to Gabriel. "He was a good dear son, as a child" and he helped in the church, she recalled. The arrival of the remains opened wounds of the past in the family, but, despite the moments of pain and anxiety, no one regrets the decision. Yesterday, Gabriela Telo, his sister two years younger, said one feels ’satisfied’ that Gabriel was now "closer" to the family. The youngest of the sisters, said she felt "a mixture of emotions that were impossible to describe." Still, she said that at that very moment, outside the cemetery, she felt "a joy, because he is now at home. These last days have been a difficult time, with resentment, but now that he is here in our cemetery in his country, it is now a relief." With the funeral of cabo Telo "we have closed, in fact, a path with the objective  to bring back the bodies that had been buried in that campaign cemetery in Guinea", said the president of the Parachute Regiment, General Avelar de Sousa, who yesterday attended the farewell ceremony of the soldier from Madeira, who died 36 years ago in Guinea Bissau.

Regional success against smoking in national press. At present, about 45 percent successfully quit smoking with smoking cessation consultations from the Health Centre of Bom Jesus. Compared to internationally, the success average here is 35 percentage points higher. Having just celebrated "No Smoking Day", which leads people to seek consultation  at the Health Centre of Bom Jesus. Ermelinda Alves said there are several reasons. Some people, because they became aware that tobacco is bad for their health, causing heart and lung disease, and that it is the cause of many cancers, and therefore making the decision to quit. One of the reasons that have more recently led to consultations relates to the economic crisis, where people cannot afford to smoke and come here to seek help to quit. There are also younger people who have young children who, at school, hear their teacher says it’s bad for health, and then the children ask their parents to quit and come to visit. But, of course, that success will be achieved when the smoker makes that decision, and has a strong motivation to quit smoking.

Mini-series will be shot in RAM. After the success of the TV series "Flor do Mar", Madeira will return this year to be the scene of another project of the TV company TVI. After the series (Flower of the Sea) that "exceeded expectations" in terms of growth in the number of tourists from Portugal visiting Madeira, the regional secretary for Tourism and Transport, said that the private channel is preparing a new Portuguese mini-series to present to their viewers in the first quarter of next year. Filming will take place in Madeira in December. "The plot is funny, but I will not reveal", said Conceição Estudante, explaining that the purpose of not wanting to remove the mystery around this new project is to ensure it commands a good audience in Portugal. The exact date when the mini-series will go on air also remains unknown.

Cakes, cakes, liqueurs and pork – In times gone by all these products were made at home and since the beginning of December there was a great hubbub, especially from the ladies in the preparation of these delicacies. Recipes for cakes and liqueurs were often kept in the minds of people and passed on to subsequent generations. A tradition that has persisted over many generations was the so-called "Night of bread." At a time when there were few existing bakeries in Madeira and Porto Santo, families gathered on the evening of 23rd December to bake the bread in the oven. The hard work was done with joy and often the sound of typical melodies of Madeira. Even today in some parishes, especially in the city of Funchal this tradition is maintained. The meat of the pig that was killed on the 8th of December, or the next few days after that date, provided an enormous amount of different recipes.

When the "Feast" had another flavour. Maria Fernandes 78 years clearly remembers the "Feast" and at times it is with some nostalgia that she refers to the many activities taking place in the build up to Christmas. "In the past it seemed that time was not moving. We waited with anxiety the arrival of December to experience the festival. And since there were many difficulties times, Christmas was a very special time because meals were better, we had cocoa and cheese, which during the other months of the year were a luxury. "Also important was the day the pig was killed. The entertainment around the event was varied" Maria Fernandes recalled. "On the eve of that day I almost could not sleep thinking about the task the next day. From early morning until the night I had so much to do with helping "Marchant" (the man who kills the pig), to prepare the various ingredients with the meat of the pig, the innards, blood and lard. And as it was a day of entertainment, I was always looking to play some pranks such as asking someone to go and get oil to lubricate the saw to cut the pork, or  placing of the nails in the pockets of some of the more intoxicated people. And throughout the day no one went hungry or thirsty, with coffee with brandy drunk early in the morning, and not forgetting the dry red wine". These traditional activities of yesteryear are still re-created in the present day by some cultural associations of the region. And in some rural parishes of Madeira, there are those who keep their Christmas with an authentic flavour.

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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.

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.

(more…)

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Jon … Another ancient picture postcard from his collection

Thanks once again to Elaine for keeping the blog going with yesterday’s main news stories :

40% couples live together before getting married. There are more couples experiencing life together before getting married. According to the 2008 Demographic Statistics, 40% of couples who married in 2008 in the region had already lived together. In 2003, the percentage was 19% and this has increased each year to 31.9% in 2007 and 40% in 2008. In Portugal, the trend is from 20.6% in 2003 to 35.4% last year. There has been a decrease in the number of marriages both nationally and regionally and the upward trend of cohabiting couples is a reflection of social instability, according to a Sociologist. The number of divorces is increasing, 27% more in 2007 than 2006. Second marriages are also increasing, up from 15.9% in 2003 to 24.1% last year. The tendency to marry more than once is also up, from 16.3% to 23.4% and more couples, 27.6%, have children from previous marriages. The mean age of first marriage has increased to 28.1 years for women and 29.6 years for men.

Armistice Day ceremony on Saturday. A morning Mass at 9 am in Carmo Church followed by a military ceremony at 10.00 at the Monument To The Dead From All The Wars in the Avenida do Mar. There will be a tribute to soldiers who died in World War I, the War in Africa and also Afghanistan.

Santana Council promote vacation holidays in the area. The Council want both travel agents and the locals to identify the most attractive features of the county for visitors, in the areas of culture, sport, landscape and recreation. They want to be able to offer stays lasting 1, 3 or 7 days during which visitors can travel the county from end to end, spending nights in tourist facilities and dining in the local restaurants. The Mayor wants public-private partnerships. He highlights the following features. Arco de São Jorge has a roseiral (rose garden) and local museum. São Jorge has a bathing zone, church, traditional houses and ethnology museum. Archada do Marques is an excellent area for walking. Attractions in the area are Madeira Theme Park, traditional A frame thatched houses, Pico das Pedras leisure area leading to the Caldeirão Verde (Green Cauldron), Rocha do Navio cable car and Pico Ruivo. The promenade area at Faial is being redeveloped and at São Roque do Faial there are levada walks to Portela, Balcas and Ribeiro Frio. Animation will be better marketed, for example the Festival 24 Hours of Dancing.

SESARAM denies any discontent among Health Professionals. The Health Service counteracts yesterday’s allegations in the Diário. They say there have only been 95 complaints from a total of 547 doctors, there is no career vacuum and recruitment occurs nationally. There will be no changes at the Health Centres as regards doctor’s  lists.

Luxury yacht in port today for refuelling. As well as 3,700 tourists in port from two cruise ships, the MSC Fantasia and the Grand Mistral, the mega-yacht Odessa expected at 13.00. After refuelling, the boat departs around 17.00 for Antigua. The last time this yacht called was on the 25th April on a repositioning cruise from the Caribbean to Europe. The five luxurious cabins can accommodate ten guests.

Marítimo owes 5 million euros to construction firm. Construction of Marítimo Sports Club Complex might end up in court over 5 million euros. During the construction, Marítimo decided to make alterations to the project, which the construction company carried out. These alterations were due to Government amendments and they said they would support the work. This work cost an additional 5 million which is 150% more than the Government promised. The Government now says it will pay €2 million leaving the club to find the other €3 million.The construction firm is threatening court action and the €5 million has accumulated €1 million in interest, also still to be paid. There are complex legal issues about the legality of the amendment to the original contract, and whether the work is unauthorized, and who is responsible for paying. The construction firm originally invested €8 million for the main building.

Airport paid for by RAM. The Regional Government cannot change the airport charges, as did the Azores, because it is paying in full for the construction work. The Government is paying back the loan from the European Investment Bank. "The Portuguese Republic has not put a penny into Madeira airport," stressed The President of the Regional Government. The Regional Government cannot decrease the airport taxes as there is not enough money in the budget.

MEP worried about European funding after 2013. The European Commission is working on guidelines for distribution of cohesion funds which will adversely affect 2/3 of European regions, including Madeira losing funding. Access to funds will be dependent on when the country joined the EU, (old or new countries), and on their competitive advantages. The Commission also want to centralize the management of funds at either a national level or at Brussels, rather than regionally.

Suspicious fire threatens a family. In Piornais, a fire caused by a gas cylinder broke out in a structure built over a house. The man living in this annexe has previously threatened arson and is thought to have started the fire, endangering other members of his family below. The police are investigating the case and had already visited the family that afternoon.

Fire in offices at the top of a building in Funchal. The building was in the street in between the Rua dos Aranhas and Avenida da Arriaga. A large response of firefighters was required due to the built-up area. The cause is unknown, possibly an electrical short-circuit.

Santa Claus is coming to town. Arrives at Forum Madeira on Saturday 14 November at 12.00. There is also a collection area for used and new books and toys, to be distributed to various charities.

There will be money to pay the Regional debt. Reassurances from President Jardim about public properties used as guarantees for debt. He said the process was legal, a normal operation for all sovereign states and is properly supervised by the Court of Auditors. "There is no drama." "The critical stage will be 2009 / 2011, because they will be taken to finalize and pay for large investments in Madeira, which will be practically completed by the end of 2011. From next term, the Region has no major capital expenditures to make and there will be more money available to pay off the debt." "From 2011, public spending will be lower."

Porto Bay hotel chain wins 12 awards. This hotel chain previously won awards from tourists travelling with the TUI group. Three new hotels have won awards from the German operator Thomas Cook / Neckermann; Suite Hotel Eden Mar, The Residence and Porto Bay Falesia. In London at the World Travel Market, the group earned nine gold awards from the tour operators Thomson and First Choice.

Madeira is prepared for predictable epidemic of influenza A. The Regional Secretary for Social Affairs said that Madeira is ready for the foreseeable epidemic and stressed the importance of preventative measures to minimize the effects of the rapid increase in the number of cases, particularly among children. There have been cases of infection in three schools, for the first time in the region, and contingency plans have been activated. The Director General of Health in Portugal has called for the Health Professionals who have refused to be vaccinated to protect themselves, as the epidemic activity will intensify and the risk after the vaccine is virtually nil.

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