Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo thanks to Tom … "Funchal downtown hidden between two apartment buildings, a nice family of three, parents and baby. Testament of the love for children in Madeira and strong family value here".

Tom also said : Russian Ballet is going to happen in Funchal on April 01 at the Congressional Centre. Tickets are for sale in the tourist info office @ 50 Euros each.

Thanks a lot to Elaine (East) for this web snippet :

Voyages of Christopher Columbus. A detailed account including the discovery of Madeira (excerpt from The Exploration of the World by Jules Verne online at ONLINE).

Many thanks to Paul for the table tennis contributions below :

Table tennis in Madeira. “Table tennis in Madeira, with its headquarters in Funchal, has made notable progress; nowadays there is an annual international tournament, an ITTF Junior Circuit event and Marcos Freitas is the islands leading light.”

Photo : Marcos Freitas, ranked 8th in the world as an under 21 player. Link to Marcos Freitas’ website: HERE

Tribute to Abilio Carvalho da Cruz in Funchal. “Recently, in Madeira Abilio Carvalho da Cruz was recognised for having contributed to no less than 50 years of unstinting work to the sport of table tennis. He has coached throughout the world, especially in Spanish speaking countries; wherever he has visited, his efforts have been appreciated.

He is a former winner of the Boys Singles event at the European Youth Championships; now a formidable force on the ITTF Pro Tour. Table tennis for Abilio da Cruz started at the age of nine as a player in Lisbon, he became the national champion, later the Technical Director and organised a series of programmes for schools and coaches. Later, he became a global traveller; his coaching exploits are a geography lesson.Furthermore, he has no intention of resting on his laurels.”

Planning for a new training centre in Madeira. He is involved with the planning for a new training centre in Madeira and especially is desirous of continuing to help countries in particular in Africa and Latin America. Link to ITTF News article

This weekends football : The big match of the weekend is here tonight, as Marítimo take on Sporting, both teams looking for points to secure a place in Europe next season. One talking point will be the return of Sporting manager, Carlos Carvalhal, who was sacked by Marítimo at the beginning of the current football season. SportTV1 8.15 pm. Nacional play away at Setúbal on Sunday at 4 pm, but it’s not televised. The big game is tomorrow, and that could decide the champions this season as Benfica host Braga.

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

DIÁRIO 25/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Homeless and neglected. There are still people homeless in the high area of Lugar da Serra in the parish of Campanário. In the locality of Terreiros de Baixo, one house has disappeared, another is partially destroyed and the roof of the third has been damaged by a landslide. Two houses are situated below the road that leads to this isolated settlement in the hills. The seven occupants of one of these old houses have lived for more than a month in an annexe to their badly damaged property which is unfit for habitation. There is no water and the electricity supply is precarious as a street lamp has fallen onto the house. The owners of the uninhabited destroyed house live abroad and regularly come to Madeira. The woman living in the house with a damaged roof is frightened to return as she lives alone. They say they are forgotten about and without any support. The council has photographed the damage but has not returned or communicated. The farms have also disappeared. As time passes their hopes fades.

PS present alternative to Jardim’s PEC. The Madeiran socialists want an immediate debate on the PEC (Stability and Growth Programme) of José Sócrates, that Alberto Jardim has approved. They state that Jardim’s government has imposed higher taxes for businesses and households and a lower minimum wage than in other regions of the country. Other measures of the Regional Government are: transport costs are higher therefore penalise the economy and consumption of essential goods; unfair competition in the public / private sector; delays in payments to suppliers; absurd investments at high outlays with inadequate returns and a total absence of measures to promote the diversification of regional economy. They state that the negative measures of PEC need not be applied to Madeira as it is an autonomous region. The Socialist Party agree with some parts of PEC: tax on stock market speculation; tightening public investment; raising taxes on the banking sector and increasing taxes on income above 150,000 Euros.

The PSD will make available votes if the PS request them. The election of the Vice President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira failed yesterday. The leader of the Socialist Party, Jacinto Serrão needed 24 votes out of 47. The PSD guaranteed 10 votes in favour as it is committed to a vice president from the opposition to avoid plurality. The opposition parties, mainly socialist, had to return 14 ‘yes’ votes in the election but the outcome was one vote short. This result means there is no-one elected at present, down to the internal politics of the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party must request more votes from the PSD but Jacinto Serrão said they will not do so, he will not be subject to a second vote and has appealed to Cavaco Silva to intervene. Monteiro Diniz, the Representative of the Republic said the Socialist Party must submit another candidate.

MADEIRA

New houses will be built in at least two estates in Serra de Água. The Housing Association of Madeira (IHM) has ruled out the idea of building a single neighbourhood of 25 houses to relocate the families displaced by the storm of February 20th. A team of architects, an engineer and the Director of Heritage Services went to the area to assess two or three locations they have in mind. To place 25 houses in one location would have a high impact on the area and there are not many areas in Serra de Água that could support so many houses. Since this neighbourhood was badly battered by the storm, they have to be cautious. The families come from different locations so if they build at least two estates, they may be able to get near to the original areas. In the county of Ribeira Brava, the council hopes to rehouse the 17 homeless families by the end of the week. It is difficult to find accommodation to rent in Serra de Água, especially small units for the elderly.

Casa de Saúde de São João de Deus launches fundraising campaign. The Fundação São João de Deus which manages this hospital in Trapiche, is raising funds for those displaced by the storm who are still residing there. The campaign slogan is ‘Help us to help’ (‘Ajude-nos a ajudar’). Donations can be sent by cheque of postal order or through the Multibanco (Entidade 20952 e Referência 777 777 77) or bank transfer to NIB 0033 0000 4536 7133674 05. The hospital needs the following items delivered, either new or used: games and educational books for adolescents (10 years), blankets, pillows, sheets and towels, clothing and footwear (ladies sizes 36 to 40 and mens sizes 40 to 43). The 20 families temporarily housed in this institution are being helped by the army, Casa do Voluntário da RAM and Caritas. Their situation is managed by Social Security and Funchal Council.

Dog rescued had no chance of survival. The president of SPAD said the dog rescued on the 17th March in the vicinity of Palheiro Golf after about a month buried in debris, has been subject to euthanasia. The dog had lethal serious injuries, fractures to the limbs and lumbar spine, and a humane and dignified death was the only option. Several people were interested in adopting the dog but he would not survive. As a result of this case, there have been serious threats made over the phone to vets working at SPAD. One vet has had to stop working with the association. On the issue of overcrowding, the president said they house 200 animals but being confined in a small cage for a long period of time harms the quality of life. The adoption rate is 40%.

ECONOMY

Aggregates pass through tourist area. Last week, for the third time this month, a boat carrying aggregates docked at Porto Moniz and unloaded thousands of cubic metres of sand. Half a dozen lorries were waiting and after loading drove off in the direction of São Vicente. The noise and pollution from unloading and transporting the inerts is affecting tourism. The Administration of the Regional Ports say it is an exceptional situation and the inerts are for the access road between Meia Légua and the tunnel da Encumeada. The town already has a paucity of tourists who are unhappy about this new ‘attraction’. Businessmen complain it is affecting trade and a councillor proposed compensation. The Mayor of Porto Moniz said he had been informed by the Ports Administration that this transport would occur and it is not illegal for lorries to use the roads in the centre of the village. He said it is favourable to the construction companies who are building houses in the northern region, as it is cheaper to transport by sea.

POLITICS

Taiwan gives 10,000 Euros. Taiwan gave a cheque for 10,000 Euros for Madeira to the Assembly of the Republic in Lisbon. It will be forwarded to Madeiran deputies (PSD, PS, CDS) who will then distribute the funds to institutions helping the victims of the storm. This ends a diplomatic embarrassment since Taiwan has no representation in Portugal. Lisbon did not want to upset China, that considers Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, and did not want to offend the generosity of Taiwan. This solution took several weeks to formulate by the centrist deputy who is the President of the Committee of Foreign Affairs.

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

Dispute closes the petrol station on Porto Santo during Easter – If the retailer and supplier don’t settle in the meantime, the island will lose the main filling station. The current contract between the company that operates the petrol station, and the fuel supplier Galp, expires on 1st April, with neither party in a position to renew the contract. The dispute involves debt, obsolete and damaged equipment, and irregular opening times amongst other issues.

Today’s main news headline : Reported crime increased 5.4% on Madeira – The ratio for  reported crimes in the Region is 30 to 40 crimes per 1000 inhabitants. The annual report of the Internal Administration puts Madeira in ninth position for the districts with the most increased levels of crime in 2009. Last year nationally there was a decline of 1.2% in reported crime compared to 2008, but Madeira bucked the trend.

Waiting times for consultations wear out patients – On the Nacional Day, users blame the scarcity of family doctors but they praise the physicians and nursing staff.

Grievances : Storm used [as an excuse] to sack. The organisation that represents the trade unions of Madeira has received "many complaints", none yet been formalized, from workers who have lost their jobs since the storm of 20th February. Most cases come from the hotel and commerce sectors.

Party activists choose the 18th leader of the Social democrat Party – Regardless of the winner, President Jardim believes that everything will remain the same. Nearly 90 thousand PSD activists will be able to vote today for the new party leader to replace Manuela Ferreira Leite. There are only really, according to polls, two of the 4 candidates in the running, led by Passos Coelho and followed by Paulo Rangel. "What will happen, whoever wins, is that the party will continue in the same disorganised state of mind that it currently goes around in," considers Jardim.

The main sport headline today : Marítimo and Sporting tonight in atypical match – Carvalhal returns to Funchal in silence and with Izmailov in the entourage.

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. 

For anyone who has the Zon Box HD + DVR : Tobi has ‘had the man around from Zon’ (CaboTV) because his newish Zon box crashed and won’t record. I have had similar problems with mine, but not nearly as bad it seems. Zon are trying to fix the problem through automatic software updates, but the last attempt failed again, so no timescale yet for resolving. The man from Zon showed Tobi a workaround, and Tobi has kindly typed out the instructions for me, but it’s a bit lengthy to put on the blog if no one else has the problem. If anyone wants the ‘temporary fix’ instructions just email me and I will respond. If there are a lot of people with the problem then I will post the solution on the blog.

Don kindly sent in this link: SPAD FACEBOOK however it is mostly in Portuguese … you can follow the discussions about SPAD and the latest issues. Perhaps someone would like to post details about the ongoing story and ask for advice before doing anything too rash?

Top tip for UK folks … thanks to Paul : Top 10 late holiday deal of the week – March 28: Madeira! Head for Madeira and stay at the luxury five-star Madeira Regency Palace in Funchal for 414 pounds pp including seven nights’ b&b and flights from Gatwick leaving April 30.

Photo : A view of Funchal towards east from Pico da Cruz (261 m)

Full article in ‘the Mirror’ UK newspaper

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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 teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

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

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

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … Good morning Madeira! The Carnival Time flower

I am sure many will be off to see the Carnival parade tonight in Funchal, and no doubt it will be as wonderful as ever, but don’t forget to send in your best photos. As a bonus for us over the west, there is a ‘Trapalhão’ parade starting tomorrow at 4.30 pm in the streets of Ribeira Brava. That means it’s a free-for-all, so come along and watch, or even better, get yer Carnival togs on and join in the fun … and don’t forget to spend some money, the town needs it. See you there!

The last one from Becky, many thanks … anymore anyone?

Captions please:

I’ll start, with… "Does anyone know where I can get some Toranja Poncha?"

(But you can keep yer hands off mine Bertie. Der)

Thanks a lot to Tobi for this link, that gives access to a brochure called ‘Active Tourism Madeira’. Use the ‘Fullscreen’ button to read the text. NATURE BROCHURE

This weekend’s football : Both our teams play tomorrow, Valentine’s Day of course. Nacional host Rio Ave at 4 pm, and Marítimo go to almost top-of-the-table Braga. The second match is on SportTV1 at 6 pm.

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

DIÁRIO 12/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Dumping controversy.  Seven months ago, Diário denounced the illegal mining at the site of Landeiros and dumping of the earth. The local population called in the Forestry Police and they have seized a truck and bulldozer. During the stormy weather on February 2nd, earth dumped by the side of the stream at Lajes caused it to overflow, resulting in a trail of destruction. The local population want Machico Council to build retaining walls around the stream to prevent any further damage. The Regional Director of Forestry and the Regional Director of the Environment do not know if the company is working legally or not. The council said they have authorized the work to repair storm damage in this area and the Forestry Police have no jurisdiction. The Regional Government has the responsibility for the construction of any stone walls.

MADEIRA

Santa Cruz Carnival Parade has less troupes due to lack of financial support. There will be three troupes and 200 participants, fewer than in previous years, due to a lack of financial support from the local Casa do Povo. Two of the three missing troupes are ‘Malta do Furor’ and ‘Amoreiras’. The director of Malta do Furor explained that they will participate at Gaula but the costumes and floats are expensive to make. Santa Cruz Council indirectly supports the Carnival Parade by financing the Caso do Povo who always organize it. The Caso do Povo have financial limitations but still provide six buses and a meal after the parade. There will still be 500 participants on Sunday.

Unions representing doctors cut relations with SESARAM. The two unions representing doctors in the region have suspended relationships with the Health Service Management Board. They complain that SESARAM promotes a climate of permanent tension and that professionals are despised and held in contempt. The unions are ignored and union delegates persecuted. They never hear a word of encouragement and the management is only interested in numbers, indices, percentages and productivity. Careers for Medical Professionals no longer exist in Madeira, so they cannot progress, and their careers are not recognized on the Continent. One union is taking their concerns to Alberto Jardim and are waiting to hear what the Secretary for Social Affairs has to say about the tense climate that exists.

Woman threatening to camp outside the Town Hall in Funchal. A 42 year old woman is threatening to pitch a tent outside the front door of the City Hall in Funchal until the council find her a home. She has been sleeping at the Temporary Shelter for the Homeless during the last month and the length of permanent stay is a maximum of 15 days, which ends today. The woman has had talks with several people from the council with no result. She receives 330 Euros from Social Security which she says is not enough to pay for accommodation. Unemployed, divorced for five years with two children; one son is married and lives in his own house and the other is living temporarily with a friend.

ECONOMICS

Porto Santo Line keeps prices the same.  Porto Santo Line run the maritime ferry, ‘Lobo Marinho’, between Madeira and Porto Santo. They will not increase prices this year, in a bid to attract customers. Turnover (cargo) fell 14% last year although the number of passengers increased by 3% to reach 361,275. The drop in business meant a loss of 1 million Euros in turnover. In four years, the cost of travel to Porto Santo has increased a little over 2% and the price for residents is kept uniform throughout the year. The winter season (October to March) is 19.9% cheaper and 40% of passengers travel then. Resident rates are 38.3% below the average ticket price but they are not publicly subsidized, unlike in the Azores. Porto Santo Line are exempt from port charges to compensate for the reduction for residents. A fuel surcharge was not added last year following a drop in fuel prices. Porto Santo Line promotes packages – travel plus hotel, groups of two or four passengers in a car – which can drop the ticket price by 20 – 50% during the winter season, and summer discounts are smaller, 3 – 10%.

UPDATE

"Invasion" of Madalena do Mar stopped. The dispute centres on the emergency exit routes of the tunnel to Calheta going through the access to a parking lot of a condominium. On Wednesday, in the Legislative Assembly, the Left Bloc denounced the "invasion" of private land by the construction firm. On Wednesday, the residents were verbally told that the excavators would be going onto their land but found they were already there. The Left Bloc said this was a way to prevent the owners from triggering any legal mechanism to prevent the invasion of their land. Legally, they should have been given written warning of compulsory purchase of their land by the Regional Government. Today, the construction company was prevented from entering the private property. The residents denied the company access and the police were called. This is a tug-of-war between the residents, Regional Government and the construction company. The residents have had a subpoena filed in court to protect their rights and liberties.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Working group for the recuperation of the Marina and Avenida do Mar. The Municipality of Funchal and APRAM (Ports Authority) have formed a working group to develop a master plan for the recovery of the Marina of Funchal and the third phase of the renovation of the Avenida do Mar. The third phase is from the Verdinho bar to Ribeira de São João. The aim is an integration of the terraces of the Marina and the Avenida do Mar, an area that is little used and unappealing. The council want more green areas and need to consider how to move the palm trees, which were imported from the Canary Islands in the 1980s, to other gardens. The monuments must be preserved and integrated into the new design which must align with works on the North Pier and on the west side. The council also want to know if the central reservation of grass and trees is justified.

REGIONAL

Debt of Madeira Palace is 7.5 million. The Hilton and Sheraton hotel chains are in discussion about the management of the construction of the Madeira Palace hotel. The work stopped for several months last year. The construction company has 50 employees on the site but is having a problem due to the developer owing them 7.5 million Euros. The construction company cannot carry out any more work and the licenses expire in March, but should be easily renewable.

Fábrica dos Sonhos  and Geringonça in Machico. Geringonça has been invited to open the Carnival Parade in Machico on Sunday at 15.00. Fábrica dos Sonhos (Factory of Dreams) will be the final act. This will be the tenth time Geringonça has taken part in Machico Carnival. Local schools and youth organizations will participate along with the Municipal Band of Machico.

EVENTS

‘Ritual’ in the cemetery of Câmara de Lobos. A most unusual situation was found in the cemetery on Tuesday morning. Gravediggers found on the stairs near the chapel, in a corner, a ‘table’ on which there were three bottles of aguadente (rum), three bottles of champagne, various glasses, a 2 kilo piece of beef, cigarettes and a fire near the wall. Since this is not a place for parties, the conclusion is that it is part of a ritual by either ‘healers’ or ‘masters of magic’ to invoke the dead for various reasons. 

Also, many thanks to Elaine for these web snippets :

A Texan family from a cruise ship visit and are initially harassed but still enjoyed the visit. Lots of good photos.

"I know, I know…I’m very slow! This is the last port day that I have to share with you and in my opinion it was the prettiest. I would love to be able to go back some day and spend more time in Portugal.

Once again we got off the ship with no real plans. We dined with a family that had visited Madeira before and they told us is was unnecessary to buy the bus ticket into town, which were 4.00 each way. So, we took out walking…and we walked…and we walked…and we walked. We were beginning to second guess the decision to walk to town when a gentleman approached us and told us he could take us all over the island and be our personal tour guide for the day. He was a pretty aggressive salesman and I could tell the girls were rather nervous. After Brent dickering with him about the price, the final price was 130 Euro. Brent hemmed and hawed and told the man he would have to pass" TEXAN TALE

Discovering Portugal’s Madeira Wine. Three page article in the January/February edition of Virtuoso Life Magazine.

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

Children shrug-off the Carnival rain – Even with limitations, the kids shook the city.  Well of course they did, the kids are born waterproof these days … when was the last time you saw a kid carrying an umbrella? Anyway there is a nice photo on the front page, and probably more inside. But just blowing the blog trumpet a little, you didn’t have to wait until the next day to see carnival pictures on this website.

Serrão gives paid place to the decisive supporter – The leader of the Socialist Party of Machico will be the local government coordinator.

Race on in the national Social Democrat Party : The ‘oranges’ from here are disturbed with the order of Jardim.

National Council of PSD – Jardim quarrels with Passos Coelho. The leader of the Social Democrats of Madeira said that Passos should no longer be making policy in the PSD.  Alberto João Jardim was involved in a lively battle with the candidate for the leadership of the PSD, Pedro Passos Coelho. In a speech appealing for party unity, one of the first of the PSD National Council, the Madeiran leader criticised Coelho for his stance with the Regional Finance Law. In a face to face confrontation, Jardim told Coelho, ex leader of the Youth PSD, that if it was up to him he would be making any more party policy. Coelho responded that "it is just as well that the party doesn’t depend on you".

Today’s main news headline :  Earth from the landslides invades rivers of Faial – After the storms, it is needed to clear the roads. Rivers pay the price. Justification : in times of emergency, one forgives  the bad with the good that it does. Yes I know, that last bit doesn’t make total sense, but I get the drift of the message. The gist of this is that in Ribeira Seca the muck and rubble from the mudslides is being cleared from the roads and then being dumped into the river to be taken out to sea. There are proper sites where this debris can be deposited, but the president of Santana, Rui Moisés, says that in the time of war it is no time to be cleaning weapons, and that restoring normality is the priority. Environmentalist say that that is the exact reason why rivers cause landslides, because the river beds are fouled. As always, I am with the ‘play it safe’ environmentalists when there is any element of uncertainty in such an action, but with the rainy season just around the corner, we will soon find out who was right and who was wrong. That’s a bit scary isn’t it, after what we have already seen this Winter, to think that the rainy season hasn’t even arrived yet.

People power stops advance of the machines – Yesterday morning was one of tension in Madalena [do Mar]. Despite of the police presence, the exit construction works from the tunnel didn’t get started. There is a thought provoking picture of an elderly lady, armed with an umbrella, ‘getting booked’ by the village bobby.  Both Elaine and I have both given this story plenty of coverage, so not much more to add really.

The main sport / football headline today : 100 – "I have already had to cut-off unpleasant conversations". The referee Elmano Santos will tomorrow complete his 100th game in the top flight.

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

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

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

(more…)