Madeira News Blog

(28th July). ‘Madeira Washes Its Face To Receive The Kings Of Spain – The arrangements are visible at Cabo Girão and The Institute of Wine. The visit starts on Thursday’. So now we know two of the secret locations on the schedule of the king and queen, accompanied by Portugal’s president, all kept quiet until now for security reasons. Some alterations are still being done, but the full programme should be divulged today. The royal couple arrive late on Thursday afternoon, and D. Juan Carlos and D. Sofia will dine with the President of the republic and the first lady. The following day will be full of activities, starting with a meeting with President Jardim at Reid’s Hotel. The king will also be a guest at Funchal Council, where his majesty will be honoured with the Gold Medal of the City. Then it is off to the Institute of Wine, Embroidery and Crafts of Madeira to be shown an exhibition, followed by lunch. Then they visit Monte, including a visit to the tomb of Emperor Carlos of Austria. Over in Cabo Girão, one of Madeira’s most visited tourist locations, walls are being repaired and painted, gardens being tended, and flowers being arranged. The royal couple are also expected to visit the Art Museum and Sé Cathedral. The last port of call may be Porto Santo Island before the return trip to Spain.

‘Government Alerts Emigrants To The Risks Of Gripe A – Airport also prepares a plan’. In holiday time and the time of visiting Madeira for many emigrants, many in countries with a high incidence of H1N1 swine flu infection, such as the UK, increase the likelihood of increased cases of Gripe A on Madeira. The health authority IASAÚDE is using its contacts to portray this scenario to Madeiran communities worldwide, to discourage travel. Maurício Melim, president of the Institute of Management of Health and Social Affairs (IASAÚDE) calls to people showing symptoms of flu to stay in their countries. "Cure the flu and then travel. Like this no one is put at risk" he says. "We have talked, and we have asked to transmit this information to Madeiran communities, but we still don’t know if it will have the effect we want it to have" he added. He also talked about measures being taken on incoming planes, namely a passenger questionnaire, but stresses that these measures are still being worked on and it may be another two weeks before implementation. Portugal now has 239 confirmed Gripe A cases. CLICK THE MAP FOR A LARGER VIEW. Why has Canada got that really massive black blob? Is it on the verge of extinction, or is the text just misaligned with the blob? Just thinking about the recent article on liability for infection if someone knows they have Gripe A, or some symptoms at least, but travels anyway. If one person did infect others and were held liable for negligence, they could go to prison, but presumably could also be sued by victims. There must be some clauses in travel insurance policies that limits the liability where this could happen.

‘More Works In The Hospital’. Several works to improve Funchal Central Hospital are scheduled to start in the final 3 months of this year. The external consultation unit of clinical pathology is due to be reorganised and refurbished, with the project already out to tender. Also expected to be underway soon and finished by the year end is the construction of a waste water treatment plant. A new bigger employee canteen is also planned, with a buffet service system. Also there are roof works needed, and a list other works in different departments that I am having trouble translating not being much of an expert in medical terminology.

The main photo today is of this rally car loaded onto a trailer : ‘The Rally Started – Many people went to Funchal, but the unloading of the cars took place in Caniçal’. Clearly these people are not blog readers, as I did say Caniçal and not Funchal, although a lot of people did turn up at the correct location. There are some issue with the safety car, number ’0′, which due to damage repairs did not make the ferry on time, and to fly the car over here was just too expensive. For anyone in Funchal Thursday night (10pm to 11.30pm), Avenida do Mar and surrounding streets will be closed to traffic whilst the first event of the rally takes place.

Continuing with sports headlines : ‘Chapeau da Esperança Joins Nacional And Marítimo on 8th August, in Machico’. The Chapeau da Esperança, or Hat of Hope, is a annual charity event to raise money for social causes, particularly helping children. The two teams will be playing each other to raise funds for the cause, at least that is what I assume as I am yet to find the full story.

’38 Works Embargoed By Funchal Council – The management of the union for civil construction says that the numbers show the constraints imposed by the council’. CMF have rejected the numbers claimed. The claim applies to new constructions and the repair of buildings, and the union man claims that the council has been careless and that the embargoes are affecting contractors, with probably over 100 workers unable to continue. CMF admits that there are more than 20 cases, but some of them have already been resolved and it is just a case of updating the files.

‘There Are 300,000 Bisbis On Madeira’. The number is an estimate resulting from a census developed by the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA). The project was supported by ‘Birdlife International’, part of the RSPB, the society for the protection of birds in the UK, and is the first reliable study on the population and conservation. A spokesperson for SPEA says the numbers are good news. The Bisbis, or Madeira Firecrests, are an endemic bird of Madeira, very small in size, and easily identifiable by its crown stripe, yellow in the females, and orange-coloured in the males. It also has a dark eye-stripe with a white stripe, that mainly distinguishes the Madeiran species from its European relatives. It measures around 8cm in length. They prefer to hang around at altitudes of between 400 and 800 metres.

The Yacht Bar in Lido, Funchal, was broken into and robbed early yesterday morning. Thieves got away with €6,000. They broke a window to enter, found the key and opened the safe, and took the takings for the weekend. I wouldn’t fancy explaining that one to the insurance company.

This photo was taken at the Banana Exhibition / Festival in Madalena do Mar, which runs through until the end of today, with much gastronomy and musical entertainment for those attending. The prize giving for the best banana clusters is today … and I can hardly wait for the result.

(19th July). The main photo in today’s photo shows a car a distance away on a road : ‘Businessman Was Murdered – The case of the kidnapping of the Porto Santo businessman ended in the worst way. Guilherme Bernardino was found dead in a well in Camacha. The PJ Police detained a Brazilian citizen yesterday afternoon and are now searching for a Madeiran who is still at large. The detainee was heard in the court in São Vicente and taken to the prison in the car in the photo’. The 78 year old man was murdered on the day of his abduction, and dumped in a well used to provide agricultural water. His body was retrieved by firemen last night. The story lacks detail because it was breaking as the Diário print deadline was passing, but one other detail is that the kidnapped man rang his family himself after being kidnapped during a phoney meeting, and had said that he needed a large amount of money. The 3 calls thereafter came from the Brazilian kidnapper.

‘Pigeons Appear Dead – Funchal Council says that it will not investigate because of a lack of resources’. Yesterday afternoon around 20 dead pigeons were found dead in various parts of the city. Some were found still alive and suffering, much to the disgust of locals and tourists. The finger has been pointed at restaurants, who are thought to be responsible for previous occurrences, in an effort to stop the birds annoying customers.

‘To Try And Understand The AEDES – Specialists are on Madeira until 31st July to study the mosquito’. Starting tomorrow a team of experts will take a new approach on the problem with the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, that will look at how the insect has managed to adapt itself to the conditions here, and also study the effectiveness of the insecticides being used in an attempt to control the pest. A further study will be conducted in October, involving entomologists and specialists, to look at new ways to tackle the problem, and consider using a method that genetically modifies the male mosquito to halt effective reproduction.

‘Agreement Between Doctors And HCF’. Doctors and administrators at Funchal Central Hospital have  eventually reached an agreement over the maximum number of working hours in the accident and emergency department. The administration has now accepted a limit of 12 hours per day, split into two blocks of six hours, but the doctors have accepted some flexibility as to when to work these blocks, depending on the workload and level of emergencies. Any hours needed over and above this limit will be at the discretion of the doctor, and will be paid as overtime. The doctors say the fight was not over money, but giving a better service to the population.

‘More Drugs Than Work In Curral Das Freiras’. Its the biggest parish of Câmara de Lobos, but the only means of access is from Funchal, and as such is isolated, despite the new tunnel. It lacks police, has no secondary school, and there is little work. A second headline calls it ‘a lawless territory’, and the population has to live with growing crime problems, and complains that it needs a police station based there. As well as the problems with petty crime and drugs, one resident says that the bars stay open all night without licenses to do so, and they have to put up with night time car racing. Even when police do go to the area, some sort of early warning system by mobile phone, alerts the law-breakers before the squad car even enters the access tunnel. Another resident says "We need another (access) road, but not from Câmara de Lobos, that would only bring thieves". It seems that a new road connection to Boaventura is the preferred option. The area, better known to many as ‘Valley of the Nuns’, covers 25 square kilometres, and has an ageing population estimated at over 1,600. It has a chemist, a social security office, a health centre, and a small crew of equipped firefighters.

Today’s main sports news ‘Nacional Win Trophy In Croatia – "Alvinegros" enjoy a party after beating Hadjuk Split and drawing with Blackburn’. Our lads won the triangular trophy, presented in front of around 6 thousand fans in the stadium of Hadjuk Split yesterday. Nacional beat the home side 1 – 0, and drew 0 – 0 with Blackburn Rovers from England, to finish top with 4 points.

Today’s main news headline : ‘Orange Strengthened – A survey by the Diário / TSF reveals the voting intentions for the national elections that increases the dominance of PSD-Madeira’. The headline also includes, like a football score ‘PSD 5 – 1 PS’, being the predicted allocation of the six deputies that Madeira has (3 – 3 in the last elections in 2005). The survey of 712 participants gives the PSD a 40% lead over the PS, and was carried out last week. It asked quite simply, if the elections were today, who would you vote for? : PSD 45.1%, PS 12.9%, BE 6%, CDU 5.6%, CDS/PP 5.5%, PND 1.1%, MPT 1%. I am not sure where the 40% comes in, but lets get into the detailed analysis … just kidding!

(22nd June). Today’s main news headline : ‘Women And Children Pay The Price Of The Crisis – The situations of single parent families rise as the consequences of the crisis increase for the most vulnerable’. The fact is proved by the charity of the Diocese of Funchal, Cáritas, which gives support to the needy. A spokesman says that unemployment has pushed many families into despair, resulting in the break up of parents, not helped by other problems such as drug addiction, and illness. It currently has 67 cases, or 29% of its total, that are single women with children. You might see just one or two men in a similar situation he said. It is generally women who approach the charity for help, for whatever reason, and in 2008 that was 91% of cases. What makes the matter worse is that single mothers find it even harder than anyone else to find new employment. The article does say that donations do keep coming in, as those who can try and help those without, and there are also volunteers coming forward willing to help others.

‘Poverty Leads Canon Of Sé To Attack With Passion The Legislative Assembly And Social Security’. Canon Manuel Martins has made some harsh criticism of how Madeira’s government and the S.S. are dealing with poverty. Several statements were made, firstly about the social democrats rejecting the proposal of the BE party (Left Block) to set up ‘social canteens’, somewhere where the poor can go to get food. He says the situation is so bad, that he knows mothers who give their children tea to drink, to help hide their hunger. He talks of cases of extreme poverty where people turn to the church for help, often through unemployment problems, or with drugs or alcohol, or inability to pay for housing or food for themselves and their children, of even the elderly and bedridden, but they have to wait months to meet with officials from Social Security to ask for help. Hospitals also come in for criticism for not helping pensioners with medicines, by giving them prescriptions for expensive brand medicines, rather than free or cheap generic ones.

‘Caniçal Protests About Police Post – The president of the parish council blames the government of Portugal’. He claims that the money was provided in the 1998 state budget, but was never delivered to Caniçal, the featured area of this week in the Diário. "Caniçal is not what they say, it is not just drugs" says a local lady born in Caniçal, but who has moved to Porto da Cruz for peace and quiet. The area has grown with new roads, health centre, civic centres and schools. However it is the problems with the young that worry most, and the people want more support for them, a place to spend free time, a sports facility, or swimming pool, anything to keep them away from drugs. The nearest police station is in Machico, and that is a situation that urgently needs to change.

The main picture of the front page shows a nice looking house, with a rather large hole in the roof : ‘Ten Rehomings In São Vicente – Rockfall hits two houses and a car in the Juncos’. Around 10 families moved out yesterday afternoon, deemed to be in danger from further rockfalls. Throughout the day boulders were falling causing extensive damage to property, and one person was injured when fleeing the zone. The locals are afraid to return home and blame the situation on the works of the via expresso tunnel of São Vicente – Boaventura, for destabilising the rockface. While most families have gone to stay with relatives, the council have agreed to pay the stay of one couple in a hotel, and are considering whether the nearby coast area should be closed.

‘Today Promises Ticking-Off In The Hospital’. This goes back to the story on Saturday’s blog about Henriqueta Reynolds, the director of the anaesthesia service, who was asked to resign by her boss but refused. Now there is a lawyer and trade union official involved, and at an emergency meeting planned for today in Funchal Central Hospital, it seems likely that it will be deemed that her boss exceeded his authority in asking her to resign, and offering her position to someone else, who has already accepted the position.

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Paul in Paul do Mar asked me to post this, so here it is :

Whale Conference, Madeira 2009: whales are worth much more alive than dead!

Whatever the objectives of the IWC Conference in Madeira and its difficult on Monday 22 June 2009 for a person in the street to understand what the objectives are as there is not even a press release on the IWC website on the Conference’s opening day! Whales are worth much more alive than dead.

As one organisation Greenpeace put it in their press release:

“The island has a long association with whaling; in the 1700s, whaling ships called here for supplies and to hire skilled crew for whaling voyages. Whaling contributed to the island’s economy with a catch of over 4,000 sperm whales between 1941 and 1981. In 1981, Portugal agreed that to fully protect whales and dolphins would to come into force in 1986. Madeira voluntarily stopped whaling in 1981, five years before the rest of the country

Madeira now has a fast-growing whale watching industry, which works to ensure that the business does not harm the populations on which it depends, showing once again that a whale is worth much more alive than dead. Most Madeiran whale watching vessels complete sightings sheets, which contribute to expanding scientific knowledge of cetaceans in these waters.”

So, a priority of this Conference should be to conserve and protect cetaceans everywhere on the planet.

Links:

Greenpeace Press Release on the IWC Conference IWC61

BBC Article