Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … "The erection of 51 tents on the Avenida Arriaga in Funchal today, (Thursday 25/3). Photo 1 While people looking at stalls in Madeira warm sunshine. 80 Stall owners asked for stalls and 20 rejected. Photo 2 shows space not used  could  this area empty been used to better effect?" No idea Pete, are you sure it was space that was limited and not the number of tents available? Der

Many thanks to Paul for these two contributions :

PORTUGAL SCORES A GOAL FOR CROSS-BORDER FOOTBALLERS! A Dutch citizen had been living in the Portuguese Algarve since he was 5 years old. He played amateur football at junior level for several years, but when he turned senior, the Algarve Football Association presented him with a Portuguese Football Federation ruling that stated that only one non-national player is allowed on each amateur team.

EU rules on the free movement of persons. As a result, he was unable to register for his preferred team, because they already had one non-national registered. Several other clubs turned him down for the same reason. In the end he had to stop playing competitive level football for some 3 years until he heard about SOLVIT. The Portuguese SOLVIT centre contacted both the Algarve Football Association and the Portuguese Football Federation, alerting them to this discrimination against non-Portuguese EU citizens and pointing out that they must abide by EU rules on the free movement of persons. Subsequently, SOLVIT Portugal received a copy of an official communication, dated 4 July 2005, from the Portuguese Football Federation to all Portuguese amateur associations and clubs stating that there should be no restriction regarding the number of amateur EU national football players. The rules now only restrict the number of non-EU nationals allowed to play. Solved within 3 weeks. Cartoon caption: SOLVIT HELPED A  BRITISH COUPLE GET PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN CYPRUS

SOLVIT: ‘free’ EU on-line problem solving network. SOLVIT is an on-line problem solving network in which EU Member States work together to solve without legal proceedings problems caused by the misapplication of Internal Market law by public authorities. There is a SOLVIT centre in every European Union Member State. SOLVIT Centres can help with handling complaints from both citizens and businesses. They are part of the national administration and are committed to providing real solutions to problems within ten weeks. Using SOLVIT is free of charge. SOLVIT LINK

Art in Calheta Region in March: Prazeres Gallery & Casa das Mudas.

Photo : One of the works in Ângela Costa’s exhibition ‘O Tempo passa, as memórias ficam’.

Ângela Costa’s exhibition was opened on Friday at the Prazeres Gallery in the ‘Quinta Pedagogica Complex’ behind Prazeres Church. Its title is: ‘O Tempo passa, as memórias ficam’ The artist was born in Funchal.

Casa das Mudas exhibition.

Photo : the first exhibition of the young artist Zé Maria opens on Saturday evening (27^th March).

Also, at Casa das Mudas another international art centre in Calheta the first exhibition of the young artist Zé Maria opened on Saturday evening (27^th March).

For more information see the venues’ websites: Casa das Mudas    Prazeres Gallery

Thanks a lot to Elaine for these web snippets :

Official – Crime down. 27/3/2010 Eyebrows were raised this week when the Government announced that the number of crimes perpetrated in Portugal during the course of 2009 had fallen by 1.2 percent. Violent crimes were also down, dropping 0.6 percent on the total for the year before. But while the Government was patting itself on the back for overseeing this reduction, police forces stressed that these statistics should be treated with caution and that the battle against crime was far from being won. ARTICLE

Sponsored shave for Madeira. HERE

Many thanks to Becky for this video and web snippet :

The arrival of the AIDAluna yesterday – looks like a beautiful day, wish I had been there instead of a rather grey London.

How did I survive without knowing about dredging today.com ?!  (sorry to have used the lowest form of wit) RIVETING ARTICLE

This translation is from yesterday’s Diário, many thanks to Elaine (West) :

Swiss in Porto Moniz to sample honey. Usually the honey with a lighter colour is weaker and softer. A group of Swiss beekeepers were present last Thursday night at the Centro de Ciência Viva do Porto Moniz (CCVPM), where they were able to appreciate the qualities of Madeiran honey. Carlos Pestana, beekeeper and promoter of the event, said that the cultural exchange will allow the release of the product abroad through several photos in a specialty magazine. In this kind of charm offensive, the organization offers a taste of honey in the region. Carlos Pestana said that on the table were 20 products from a number of locations all different in their colouring. A beekeeper in his spare time, he said that "all the honey produced in a sensible way is good honey." He added that the other main condition that determines the quality of the product is caution. "It is prudent not to use antibiotics to fight disease. If they are used, comply with the safety limits and the specific quantities,” he said.

Carlos Pestana explained that "often the brightest honeys are weaker and softer. These are more for children and the elderly, precisely because they are kinder on the stomach," adding that contrary to what has been disclosed, honey should not be eaten on an empty stomach. From a foreign perspective René Zumsteg stated that "good honey is produced in this beautiful island" and in his view this is due to the amount of water and flowers that abound in the region. The event was also attended by Valter Correia, mayor and director of the Câmara, and Liliana Sousa, director of CCVPM. This meeting also sampled traditional regional poncha, a product widely appreciated by the visiting delegation. There was time for a visit to the Unidade Primária de Extracção de Mel in Santa, Porto Moniz, and the group also visited an apiary located in Malhadinha, in the parish of Canhas, at the invitation of a local beekeeper.

After Marítimo’s spectacular win 3 – 2 against Sporting on Friday night, the Madeira ‘double’ was on and a good possibility, but Nacional blew it in the 90th minute. They led most of the match away at relegation candidates Vitoria Setúbal and ended up losing 2 – 1.

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

DIÁRIO 28/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

International Business Centre loses 409 firms. At the end of 2009, the IBC or Fee Zone had 3,221 companies registered. This was 409 fewer companies than at the end of the previous year, a drop of 11.2%, therefore less income for the management firm. The only increase was in companies registering with the International Ship Register (MAR) but this was only 0.8% more (238 to 240). In 2001, the Free Zone had 6,242 firms registered or 48.4% more. In 2009, the IBC contributed 20 – 23% of PIB (GDP), mainly from the International Services, MAR and Industrial Companies sectors with a lesser contribution from Financial Services. Competition comes from Malta and Luxembourg. There have been more companies lost already this year.

MADEIRA

88 packets of noodles for a lunch for volunteers. 500 volunteers were given a lunch to thank them for their support in the cleaning and solidarity campaign after the tragedy. This was organized by the Community Development Association of Funchal. The president, Ricardo Silva, first thought of forming a troupe wearing jackets and boots for the Flower Festival Parade but decided it was best to forget that fateful day. The owner of the restaurante do Mercado Abastecedor supplied the pasta, olive oil and chouriço, Empresa de Cervejas supplied drinks and the market stall holders provided fruit for dessert. The lunch cost 2.50 Euros to cover other expenses, not to make a profit.

Endless work upsets those who live in Garajau. The enlargement of the Estrada do Garajau in Caniço is putting people who use this road daily and the resident population on the verge of a nervous breakdown. These works have been ongoing for more than two years and do not seem to be coming to an end. The work was authorized by the Government on the 14th July 2007 at a provisional cost of 1 million and 300,0000 Euros. The delays have been due to difficulties in expropriations, thus there is no completion date, which could be some time yet. They have been working on sections of road instead of in phases due to the intensity of traffic.

ECONOMY

Three Madeiran establishments listed in the Expresso’s ‘Boa Cama Boa Mesa’ Guide.  This guidebook is published by the newspaper Expresso and is the benchmark for the accommodation and catering sectors in Portugal. The 432 page guide includes hundreds of restaurants, places to stay and useful information for unforgettable moments. The sector  ‘Boa Cama’ was won by the ‘Pousada do Porto – Palácio do Freixo’, run by the Pestana Group who received the Platinum Key. 25 Gold Keys included Madeira’s ‘Choupana Hills’ and ‘The Vine’. Included in the 25 ‘best’ in the sector ‘Boa Mesa’ was listed the ‘Il Gallo D’Oro’ restaurant at the Cliff Bay Hotel, led by Chef Benoît Sinthon. This restaurant was awarded a Michelin Guide star in 2008 for its Mediterranean and Iberian inspired aromatic cuisine.

Revenue in Porto Santo no longer enough to pay the staff. The first two months of this year were the worst for a decade for the hotel trade in Porto Santo. Prospects for Easter are bleak. 75% of the beds were not available this year due to some hotels closing for the low season. 20% less passengers used the airport and 18% fewer sailed on the Lobo Marinho during these two months. Total revenue fell dramatically from 2007 (62.8%) and the price per bed also decreased by 5 Euros per night. In 2007, the income covered the staffing costs but this year it only covered 41% of the costs. The resorts and local residents of Porto Santo are suffering a diminishing economy.

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

Suspicions cast a shadow over the police statute – The Trade Union Association says that the government ‘bought the  peace’ with the officials at the cost of operations and taxpayers.

Today’s main news headline : Fight in farming against lack of water – The storm of February destroyed almost all of the principal levadas of the Region and predictions point to 3 months for the repairs. The Directorate for Agriculture and the IGA join forces to speed up the process. Madeira’s farming output is at risk, as there is more than a month since the filling of the farming water supplies, and there are already cases where insufficient water has been provided. All the blame lies with the storm of 20th February, which damaged the infrastructure of the water distribution network. The principle levadas of Tornos, do Norte, das 25 Fontes, do Galhano and do Faial, to name the most important, make up 600 kilometres of levadas in need of repair. Worried farmers spread around the island, with hoses in hand, are resorting to drinking water to save their crops. The Regional Directorate of Agriculture (DRA) and the Institute of Water Management (IGA), have joined forces to advance quickly with the repair work that is classed as "unprecedented in the region". So a quick calculation says that it will be the end of June before the work is completed, add to that the ‘Madeira productivity factor’, and we are well into Summer. Expect a rather expensive salad on your plates in the coming months!

The securing of the slopes [landslide risks] has also moved forward, but case by case.

Gouveia discards his immunity – The ex-leader of the Socialist Party of Madeira goes to court to respond to the complaint of Jaime Leandro.

Renewables don’t slow down petroleum  – Despite the penetration of new energy sources, petroleum based electricity consumption shoots up.

75% occupation on the first few connections of the new route – ‘transavia.com’ started the new Porto – Madeira connection on Sunday. Since 4.30 pm yesterday Madeira has it’s second connection with the continent through the low-cost airline Transavia. The first flight had 135 passengers, and the first 3 flights have sold around 75% of seating capacity for the French Company [I just translate, if you disagree please write to the Diário]. Madeira’s tourism boss, Conceição Estudante believes that the new flights will open up Madeira to those from the north of Portugal and also Northwest Spain. If all goes well the 4 weekly flights of Transavia could turn into daily flights in or after October.

The main sport / football headline today : Defeat in Setúbal complicates the situation for Europe – The victory goal arrived in the last moments of the fixture. Those in charge at Nacional continue to believe that the Europa League is still a possibility. Of course it is … a mathematical possibility, not a realistic one.

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. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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.

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

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 – Many thanks to Rita … Topiary display at Palheiro Gardens

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for this web snippet :

Did they have camels here? This is totally worth spending all of Saturday working, and still working at half-past midnight: I’m transcribing the 1825 journal of someone sailing from Scotland to Australia in 1825. The journey takes about four months. It is fascinating and awesome, and at one point there are sharks.

- Santa Cruz, Madeira, in the mid-1820s:
"The natives of Santa Cruz are very indolent, & Greedy as soon as we went on shore they ran after us begging. The dress of the women is very peculiar; they have a blanket that covers the head & hangs down their back & on their head over the blanket is a hat, the same hat as is worn by the men. Camels are very common there instead of draught horses, they carry very heavily burdens on their back; the ass also in Santa Cruz is very plenty & a small kind of horse, there are no Carts there. Oxen are also in great abundance & instead of dragging by the neck they drag by the horns a sort of sledge without wheels, & upon this machine they drag their wine & water; the natives drive the horses & oxen into the sea & swim along with them to wash them." SOURCE

Many thanks to Becky for this video and snippet : Fado "A Júlia Florista" na Ilha da Madeira

Brilliant old ITN programme called ‘Roving Report’ presented by Sandy Gall in January 1964.  "Report on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean which can only be reached by sea. However the sedate traditional way of life is likely to change as the airport under construction is nearly finished."  Sadly, ITN archive won’t let you hear the audio of clips 1, 2 and 7 (of 8 clips in total) unless you pay a fee to licence it, but there’s enough here for a very worthwhile watch even if some of it is without sound.   Fascinating to see how the island has changed in the last 46 years and strange to think of a time when there was no airport. HERE

"I noticed in today’s (Monday) blog there was a mention about a tsunami  from a Canary Island. I was doing some studying the other day about the Lisbon Earth quake in 1755 and there is a small mention about how it affected Madeira as well as many other parts of the world. Thought the link here be of interest" … Pete  LISBON EARTHQUAKE

‘PIGS’ – article adapted from BBC articles. Links below.

The BBC wants comments and information from people who live in these countries: Portugal, Ireland, Greece or Spain? “PIGS is a horrible acronym. But this is how the financial markets refer to the troubled and heavily-indebted countries of Europe – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain.(Some analysts use PIIGS to include Italy – Europe’s longstanding biggest debtor.)” The BBC is after answers to these questions:

How bad is the economic situation in your country?

How has it affected you and your family?

What measures have you taken to cope with the economic crisis?

“Greece has dominated the concerns of investors since late last year, when concerns over whether it will be able to pay off the 300bn Euros ($419bn; £259bn) in government debt it currently owes. The euro has been battered over the past month as some even started to fear the break-up of the eurozone.Now the European Union has agreed a deal to rescue Greece – with perhaps other wrecked economies to be helped at a later date.”

Just how bad a situation are the PIGS in, and how does that compare with the UK for example?

GREECE – Economy, in European Union : Thirteenth-largest

Latest GDP figure: -0.3% (Third quarter of 2009) ; Gross debt in 2010, forecast : 125% of GDP ; Gross debt in 2007 : 94.5% of GDP ; Jobless rate : 9.7% ; Population : 11,260,402 Stocks performance in 2010 : -10.5% (to 11 February)

IRELAND – Economy, in European Union : Fifteenth-largest

Latest GDP figure: 0.3% (Third quarter of 2009) ; Gross debt in 2010, forecast : 82.9% of GDP ; Gross debt in 2007 : 25.4% of GDP ; Jobless rate : 13.3% ; Population : 4,450,014 Stocks performance in 2010 : -1.5% (to 11 February)

SPAIN – Economy, in European Union : Fifth-largest

Latest GDP figure : -0.1% (Fourth quarter of 2009) ; Gross debt in 2010, forecast : 66.3% of GDP ; Gross debt in 2007 : 36.2% of GDP ; Jobless rate : 19.5% ; Population : 45,828,172 ; Stocks performance in 2010 : -13% (to 11 February)

PORTUGAL – Economy, in European Union : Seventeenth-largest

Latest GDP figure: 0.9% (Third quarter of 2009) ; Gross debt in 2010, forecast : 84.6% of GDP ; Gross debt in 2007 : 63.6% of GDP ; Jobless rate : 10.4% ; Population : 10,627,250 ; Stocks performance in 2010 : -9.7% (to 11 February)

Portugal – with its high borrowing and sudden reversal in economic fortunes – has been lumped in the same category as its Mediterranean neighbours.

The country has vowed not to leave the eurozone, with its finance minister telling the BBC that it faced "an extraordinary and exceptional situation, due to a major financial and economic crisis without precedent in our recent history".

UNITED KINGDOM – Economy, in European Union : Third-largest

Latest GDP figure: 0.1% (Fourth quarter of 2009) ; Gross debt in 2010, forecast : 80.3% of GDP ; Gross debt in 2007 : 43.8% of GDP ; Jobless rate : 7.8% ; Population : 61,634,599 ; Stocks performance in 2010 : -4.2% (to 11 February)

Although the UK did officially come out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 – ending six consecutive quarters of economic decline – the growth was just 0.1%, much less than expected.

The UK government spent £85.5bn last year on bailing out the banks. Now, Chancellor Alistair Darling is predicting a record £178bn of borrowing in the current fiscal year.

With an election this year, Labour and the Conservatives have been sparring over the exact size of spending cuts and many economists have raised concerns that the UK could have its credit rating cut.”

Links: To send your experiences to the BBC click HERE    SOURCE

Financial crisis: IMF boss says there’s no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place. "No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow morning but there’s no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place"

Image:  from wikimedia

"there’s no reason" to expect that Spain and Portugal would also need to call for external support, says IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn     Link to BBC article

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

DIÁRIO 09/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Available for all. "I am available at any hour and any moment, as I always have been and I always am wherever I go." That is the message of the rally driver Bernardo Sousa. Diário asked him if he would be associated with any tourism promotion campaign carried out by the Regional Government. He said that no one has contacted him but he would be willing, not only abroad but also in Portugal. Three days ago, he won the Rally Torrié and soon will be competing in countries where the residents choose to spend their vacations in Madeira. Bernardo is taking part in the World Rally and says Madeira could draw dividends form the media attention. He will be in France, Germany and England and the events will be covered by television, newspapers and the radio. Bernardo will be going next to Jordan in early April. The events are usually covered by 200 journalists and the organization has its own TV channel and radio and their website is visited by many millions of enthusiasts. The photo shows the Flag of Madeira raised on the podium when he was in first position in the Campeonato de Portugal de Ralis de 2010. It was placed on the roof of his Ford S2000, in solidarity with the victims of the storm.

"We make a point not to put debris into the sea." Funchal Council will transfer the storm debris from Praia Formosa to a licensed landfill at Carreiras. Costa Neves, the Councillor for the Environment, said they would not deposit the debris and sludge into the sea, learning from past mistakes. The material is being separated; metal is sent for recycling and the sludge, stones, sand and wood are sent to landfill. The Regional Government was considering dumping the deposits by the Avenida do Mar into the sea. A portion of the landfill is being buried as it contains food from the supermarket in Anadia and other organic substances, which are rotting and affect nearby hotels. The cars damaged by the flood are being sent for scrapping, either to the area previously used for this purpose or to land in Fundoa. The owners have to decide whether to send them for recycling, depending on their insurance. Yesterday, the Armas ferry brought to Funchal a machine to clean the sewerage network, which is full of rubble which has also damaged the pipe work. The machine has been rented for a week at a cost of 20,000 Euros, and can clear the debris, check the pipes for breaks and repair them. It will operate in the Avenida do Mar and Market areas, then go to the outer regions of Santo António, especially to clear the pumping station at Trapiche. It will also be used at the Estação de Tratamento de Águas Residuais do Funchal. The inventory of houses damaged in Santo António is still being finished but roof tiles are being sent to home owners. The council will also assist owners in rebuilding their homes where the land has been assessed to be safe from further landslides. Each case will be individually evaluated and the home owners will also have to financially contribute.

MADEIRA

Marote case opens with exchange of accusations. Two of four accused of embezzlement (the abuse of power and economic participation in business negotiations) were in court yesterday. The ex-vice-president of Funchal Council, Rui Marote, is one of those accused. The Public Ministry has scrutinized the process of providing cleaning supplies to Funchal Council and concluded there had been collusion to promote three companies that supply chemicals to the council.  In court, there were the environmental engineer and former head of the Division of the council, and the technical engineer who was the Director of the Department of the Environment. The former head of the Division is accused of using council services to clean a house in Santo da Serra. He replied the work was out-of-hours, unpaid and council products were not used. The former Director of the Department of the Environment said it was standard practice for products to be directly purchased, with a ceiling of 2,500 Euros per requisition. The purchase of only three supplies passed this limit. A warehouse employee told the council there was over-consumption of products by the Division headed by the engineer. The defendant then blocked new acquisitions, so only external ordering was allowed. The stress involved caused his admittance to the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus.

South Africa in solidarity. Casa da Madeira de Joanesburgo, Club Sport Marítimo de Joanesburgo, Red Skins and Madeira Golfe have helped to collect 72,000 rands for Madeira. They used the African NGO (non-government organization) called ‘Gift of the Givers’, which has recently distributed more than 360 million rands in aid throughout 27 countries. In South Africa, it has 20 units which treat 40,000 patients each month. By Saturday, it had received 10 tons of clothing, food, bottled water, baby food, nappies, medicines and other products intended for Madeira. The organization was still busy helping Haiti when it received a phone call informing of what had happened in Madeira. After 48 hours of assessing the situation, the organization decided to appeal for help. The goods should be delivered within three weeks. The Casa Social da Madeira in Pretória has raised 125,000 rands.

Weather forecasting model not implemented for 7 years. The Centre for Geophysical Sciences in Lisbon University proposed to the Institute of Meteorology in 2003, a project for high resolution, more detailed forecasting of weather conditions in the Azores and Madeira, 48 hours in advance. The Institute of Meteorology agreed to participate but only the Azores progressed with the project; Madeira lacking partners. For the weather forecast for Madeira, the Institute uses a European model, which is the best global model but it does not have enough spatial resolution to represent the topography of Madeira sufficiently. To compensate for the island’s physical characteristics, additional regional data is collected from remote radars and satellites. The installation of the high resolution model would cost no more than 100,000 Euros. The diagram shows the model used by the Centre for Geophysics in Lisbon to allow more detailed forecasts, thanks to high resolution orographics (how hills and mountains affect the weather – BBC website).

Cruelty to animals not reported. Few cases of animal cruelty actually reach the authorities. Complaints to the police about mistreatment and neglect are rarely followed up, as it is not practical. Instead of the general public going directly to SPAD (Society for the Protection of Domestic Animals), they only receive complaints through the Regional Directorate of Veterinary Medicine, PSP or GNR. The complaints are not accompanied by documented evidence, such as testimonies, videos or photos, so they cannot prosecute. People are also afraid of complaining because of fear of reprisals. Fines for violence to animals range from 500 Euros to 3,740 Euros or up to 44,890 Euros if the perpetrator is a legal entity (company or institution). Neglect is a punishable crime, alongside irresponsible ownership of dangerous or potentially dangerous animals. Animals which are involved can be seized, with the intention of adoption.

LATEST NEWS

Flower Festival "is already sold out". The Regional Secretary for Tourism said that hotels are largely full, a "good omen" for the tourism industry after the storm of February 20th. Three and four star hotels are almost all fully booked and five star hotels are going that way. But the President of Porto Bay Group, António Trindade, cautions this optimism, saying that high occupation rates are not a reality. If there is too much optimism it could generate a disincentive for agencies to sell Madeira. He said the market is reacting positively to the events of February 20th but there are still many beds to fill.

Museum of Sugar will only reopen within a year. The Museu do Açúcar or "Cidade do Açúcar" in Praça Colombo, one of the most emblematic and important museums in Funchal, requires 300,000 – 400,000 Euros of repair work after the flood of February 20th. DRAC is still at the stage of assessing and costing the damage. The building was damaged and 30% of the exhibits are missing, mainly small items. The only other museum to be affected is the privately owned religious museum, Mary Jane Wilson in Rua do Carmo. Water entered through the front door of the Museu do Açúcar and the collection in the basement was completely flooded. Members of the public and the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação have volunteered to restore damaged items. It could have been worse because many of the most valuable items are in the Palácio da Ajuda in Lisbon for the exhibition, ‘Obras de Referência dos Museus da Madeira – 500 Anos de História de um Arquipélago’. This exhibition of 300 museum pieces from Madeira, representing 500 years of an archipelago, should have ended on 28th February but is extended to April 6th and the extra ticket returns will go to Madeira.

Caritas has not suspended the request for food aid. Contrary to previous reports, please deliver donations to the charity’s warehouse in Rua do Brasil nºs 76 e 79, not military units. It still requires: food, toiletries, household linen (bedding, towels etc.), crockery, furniture, cooking equipment (cutlery, pans, plates etc.) and help with transporting donations throughout the region.

Quote of the day.

Rui Caetano, PS councillor in Funchal Council. He was to make a complaint against the Regional Government but has decided not to, because of the political partnership with the State after the floods of February 20th. He said, "In the meantime, much water has passed under and over the bridge."

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

‘ON’ animates the ‘Old Zone’ in July. ON Fusion Art by Porto Bay is from 16th to 18th July, in it’s 3rd edition, with the promise to fill the old zone of Funchal with art. Paintings, photography, crafts, design and multimedia, fashion, dance, street theatre, and more, will be arranged in Largo do Corpo Santo, Rua de Santa Maria, Jardim do Almirante Reis and the Hotel Porto Santa Maria.

Health Service owes €50 million – The pharmaceutical industry and the suppliers of medical equipment equipment demand the defaulted payments.

Today’s main news headline : Support for new cars – the state and Madeira promise help to those that lost their cars in the latest storm : 4 thousand Euros for the scrapping, and access to a line of credit, to a global value of €10 million. Must be great news for car owners, especially those who didn’t have the right insurance to cover their losses, and yet another show of cooperation between the two levels of government. The government of Portugal having just agreed a very tight budget, with plenty of cuts and restrictions, must be living a nightmare with what is happening on Madeira and the eventual cost, but must flow with the tide of solidarity that has swept the country,. Let’s be honest here … they are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Social Security boosts grants for the funerals of minors.

Suspicions oblige searches in Ribeira Brava and Curral das Freiras.

"It was promised that there will be special solutions for special situations". The Prime Minister assured Ventura Garcês, who will "attend to the situation in the Region". The Government of the Republic signed the order on Wednesday to form the Joint Committee for surveying the damage caused by the storm.

Inert materials [sand, stone, etc.] from the storm help out in the marina of Lugar de Baixo. €40 million would be needed, a sum that the government will now save, putting to use the materials brought down by the water torrents. The problem of Lugar de Baixo marina may finally be resolved, as some creative thinking from the authorities and technical bods came up with the plan to dump deposit the sand, dirt, stones, and garbage accumulated from Serra d’Água through to Ribeira Brava, and also Tabua river, to form part of a frontal protection. Two problems solved in one go, what great news … or is it?

Ministry of Defence will invest in military communications in Madeira – The current system revealed flaws during the storms on 20 February. Augusto Santos Silva guarantees that the system will be corrected.

The main sports headline today : Parents disgrace youth andebol [handball]. Apparently at a game in Funchal on Sunday, the kids did OK, ending up with a drawn match, but some of the parents disgraced themselves with verbal abuse and threatening behaviour to opposition players and supporters (parents). I wonder why parents think it acceptable to behave so badly? Nothing to do with professional footballers surely, hefty pay cheques, spoiled brats, get away with murder. Of course there are some good and honest ones as well …

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. 

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

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

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

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 – Many thanks to Elaine (West) … The last of the New Year 2010 fireworks photos I was sent, again of course from Funchal

“Cable TV reached 4.3 million households across the country’s major operators at the end of September 2009, representing an increase of 22,000 on the quarter and 93,000 more year-on-year. The increases could be attributed to expansion of the ZON network in Lisbon and the North. ZON also boasted the largest number of subscription TV subscribers, though at 66.6% this is 1.8pp less than in the previous quarter. The medium is prominent in Madeira, Lisbon, the North and the Algarve. DTH presented some 26%, its heartlands being the Alentejo and the centre of the country”. SUBSCRIPTION TV IN PORTUGAL

“Mr and Mrs Kennett’s cruise left Portsmouth on December 22. They flew home from Madeira on January 1. The ship was due to return to Portsmouth today but instead came back yesterday to be deep cleaned. This is not the first time there has been a norovirus outbreak on the ship. There have in fact been cases on the last three Boudicca cruises”. A pretty unpleasant tale, showing that not everyone who was here for the new year 2010 firework display had such a good time. £3,500 DOWN THE DRAIN

Email spam seems to be on the increase again, but not nearly as bad as it was a couple of years ago, until a spamming organisation was closed down. A quick glance through the spam folder this morning, as I feel compelled to do (just in case …), a mail from Felicity Swell was offering me another 4 inches. I didn’t bother to open the email, as I am not a short person by any means, and anyway I can’t afford to buy all new clothes.

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

Porto Santo left with no links  Porto Santo yesterday had no travel connections with Madeira, between the ferry not sailing due to a rest day and the SATA aircraft malfunctioning. A spare part was to be flown from Ponta Delgada in time for the evening flight but dense fog at the airport in the Azores hampered the flight. Porto Santo was left without the daily newspapers and other publications as they are usually flown in. This aircraft also flies between Madeira and the Canary Islands. This failure affected 47 passengers to Porto Santo and 70 to the Canaries. In the past 20 days, the Lobo Marinho ferry has only made half of the 16 scheduled trips. Normally, there are an average of three to four cancellations per year and the difficulties this winter have been due to strong winds hampering docking at Porto Santo. Sometimes the island lacked essential fresh produce and fewer tourists were transported, so considerable damage has been done to the company and to Porto Santo. Both air and maritime links were re-established today. The Lobo Marinho requires annual maintenance work between 12 – 30 January and passengers will be transported by plane, a maximum of 50 residents per day. The work will be carried out locally at Caniçal. In addition, a cargo ship has been chartered weekly.

Tourism awards ‘ambassadors’ The Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport said yesterday that tourists visiting the archipelago more than once, regularly returning to holiday in the Autonomous Region are true ambassadors of Madeira. She said the Government should reward this preference of tourists, because no one returns to a place where they do not feel good. They are important free advertising and promotion of Madeira as a tourist destination and this has a multiplying effect on family and friends who might one day visit. The Secretary awarded the Finnish couple Erkki Rask and Aino Naltonen with a certificate for their 25th visit.

New AIDA cruise liner named The AIDAsol and another ship are under construction, the latter with a completion date of 2012. The new AIDAblu will enter service this February and its first call at Madeira is on September 9 2010, replacing the weekly AIDAluna. The newly named AIDAsol should join the fleet in April 2011. This ship will replace the AIDAblu for the Canary Islands / Madeira cruise during the winter season; its inaugural visit to Madeira is on September 11 2011. AIDA Cruises carried 414,000 passengers in 2009 and the revenue totalled 720 million Euros. The firm is a German subsidy of the Carnival group. —According to Wikipedia, the old AIDAblu will be transferred to the Ocean Village cruise company and renamed Ocean Village Two.

New Year’s Eve was good for the hospitality sector The Portuguese tourists contributed to the success of the hotels in Madeira during the celebrations of New Year’s Eve. No official figures yet so Diário reporters asked the major hotel groups for feedback. They were often surprised by the occupation rates and income despite the economic downturn. Only flight delays due to bad weather prevented some hotels from being fully booked because some Portuguese travellers cancelled as they had only booked for four nights. Porto Bay Group’s five hotels were 97.8% full, similar to last year. The Pestana Group owns nine hotels in Madeira and their occupancy rate and revenue improved this year. The eight hotels in Funchal were fully booked between 28 December and 1 January and events and entertainments were sold out. Between 29 – 31 December, the restaurant at the Casino averaged 400 meals a night, the Casino Park served 600 dinners on New Year’s Eve and the Copacabana nightclub was full until dawn. The five-star hotels, Reid’s Hotel and the Royal Savoy had lower occupancy rates during Christmas and New Year compared to last year. Reid’s had 5% lower occupancy rate (95% during the last 3 days of the year) but revenue increased at the restaurants and bars. The Royal Savoy achieved 12% less than last year’s revenue with some cancellations due to flight delays. More than half of Tivoli Madeira customers were Portuguese and the higher than normal occupancy rate was 96.2%. The Vine, the new five star hotel in Funchal was full with rates appropriate to the quality of accommodation and service. The gourmet restaurant – Uva – was fully booked and the bars well attended. The Four Views Group had all four hotels full from 28 December – 1 January, mainly Portuguese clientele and they served 1,300 dinners on New Year’s Eve. The other five star hotels, the Melia Madeira Mare was 100% full only on New Year’s Eve with 43% average occupancy rate during 2009; the Choupana Hills had a slight fall in revenue.

Caminho da Gloria transformed into a stream  Access to the Capela da Gloria in Campanário is in a pitiful state and will not be repaired until 2011. The path has cracks in the asphalt and is often flooded by the stream next to it. The Capela da Nossa Senhora da Gloria is located on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the sea. The access path was built in the 1990s and is also affected by water from a pipe placed underneath an overpass over a main road, which is not wide enough and often becomes blocked and overflows onto higher nearby land and the water flows downwards onto the path. The Mayor of Ribeira Brava said that he is aware that intervention is needed but will wait until a new road has been built nearby connecting Porto da Ribeira and Pedra de Nossa Senhora. When this has been completed next year, the path will be repaired and retaining walls built.

Breakdown in the Teleferico das Achadas Cable car access to farm land near the coast at Achadas da Cruz is suspended again due to mechanical breakdown and spare parts have to be sent from Austria. The former mayor of Porto Moniz, Gabriel Farinha had said that the cable car is a ‘bottomless pit’ and costs around 100,000 Euros a year for maintenance. Analyzing the costs, he asked the Government to build a road from the town of Porto Moniz. Initially, the Executive agreed and it was included in the 2007/2011 Government program but Jardim withdrew the action on his last visit to the area because he did not think it was cost-effective. Farmers have difficultly accessing their land as the upward path takes 45 minutes to ascend. Actually, rumour has it that the road project was withdrawn because the locals didn’t vote in the PSD in the local elections. Der

Contradictory evacuation It is a mystery the way in which a Madeira Natural Park warden was evacuated from the Desertas Islands on 29 December. The Associations of Wardens of Nature of Madeira said a request for help was sent to the Portuguese Air Force but they said they did not receive a formal request. The Association also said the Merlin flew over the Desertas on the 29 December but the Air Force said there was no missions between 19 and 29 December. The warden’s health deteriorated on the 28 December and a doctor was consulted over the phone. The Association informed Funchal Harbour / Navy that day but the Schults Xavier ship was unable to approach the island due to 5 – 6 metres waves. The only way off the island was by air but the case was not classified as a medical emergency by the Air Force. The Office of the National Park of Madeira paid for the civilian helicopter Helibravo to evacuate the ill warden, which it managed despite the poor weather conditions. The Emergency Department at the Hospital of Funchal said the man had needed treatment for drainage of his abscesses. The Association cannot understand why the Merlin was not deployed as it is used for life saving missions and it was scheduled to fly over the Desertas Island at that time.

Funchal should increase the budget due to damage The Deputy Mayor of Funchal, Bruno Pereira, admitted that the budget for the swimming facilities would have to be increased after damage by bad weather, especially at Barreirinha. Work cannot be begun until spring (March / April) when the bad weather has definitely ended, so the complex should reopen in June / July. At present, the budget for the swimming complexes is 250,000 Euros. There is structural damage at Barreirinha to the concrete platform, solarium and pool area and minor damage to doors, access road, staircase and electricity supply. The Lido and Ponta Gorda also need repair work as well as the gardens at Ponta Gorda. In addition, Funchal Council rehoused a family from Lajinhas in Monte after access was blocked and the council wanted to rehouse two families in Romeiras, also due to a wall falling, which threatened their houses but they refused to move out. In Ribeira Canavial a family went to live with relatives after an escarpment threatened their home.

7,000 Euros stolen bike returned Four people aged between 17 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of theft in São Martinho. Three had scaled a wall to steal a racing bike from an annexe and had dismantled it to sell the parts. The other young man arrested in São Martinho was an 18 year old who was in possession of 1,100 Euros of tools used in construction work.

— I checked with Jornal da Madeira to confirm the (high) price of the bike. 

and a later bonus from Elaine from the Jornal da Madeira :

520 kg Bolo Rei “filled” Praça do Município. For the fifth consecutive year, Funchal City Council presented the population with a Bolo Rei Gigante, an initiative that yesterday afternoon attracted many hundreds of people to the Praça do Município. The cake weighed 520 kg and measured 160 metres in length. The weather helped, allowing the eve of Dia de Reis to be a joyful event.

Many hundreds of people gathered yesterday in the Praça do Município to anticipate the celebration of the Dia de Reis (yesterday, January 6), through an initiative of the City Council of Funchal that once again offered a Bolo Rei Gigante with great conviviality. “The ‘Kings’ are with us!” said the Mayor of Funchal, greeting the groups of singers who wore the costume of the season. At the door of the City Hall, one of the formations responsible for the animation, the group of “Kings” from the Casa do Povo de São Martinho (Funchal) sang a few songs alluding to the season and were accompanied by the mayor, councillors and other residents. After the singing, Miguel Albuquerque praised the grandeur of the Bolo Rei and invited all present to taste. “We have here in the Praça do Município, 520 kilos of cake which is of 160 metres in length. I think this has a place in Guinness,” he revealed. In a joyful scene, Miguel Albuquerque thanked the fact that São Pedro had helped the party. The mayor used the occasion to wish “a good year to all Madeirans.” The Bolo Rei was made with 250 kg of flour, 40 kg of butter, 35 kg of sugar, 800 eggs, 60 kg of dried fruit, 130 pieces of crystallized fruit, 90 kg of sultanas, rum, Madeira Wine and egg strands.

Confectionery loaded with symbolism – You cannot talk about the typical sweets of the Christmas season without mentioning the famous Bolo Rei with its distinctive crown, crystallized peel, dried fruit, nuts (almonds, walnuts and pine nuts) and the beans. This cake is loaded with symbolism, one can simply say that this cake represents the offerings by the Magi to the Menino Jesus. The côdea (the outer part) symbolizes the gold, the dried fruit and crystallized peel represent the myrrh, and finally the frankincense is represented by the aroma of the cake. An explanation for the existence of the bean inside the Bolo Rei is linked to a legend; that when the Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem which announced the birth of Christ, they disagreed about who had the right to deliver to the Menino the presents they carried. As they could not reach an agreement, a baker, to end the discussion, proposed to make a cake with a bean inside the dough then each of the three Magi from the Orient would take a slice, the one who had the good fortune to take the piece containing the bean won the right to deliver the presents to Jesus. It is not known who had the winning slice, it could have been any one of the three, Baltasar, Belchior or Gaspar. Of course this is only a legend, the Bolo Rei is actually of French origin. The Bolo Rei recipe is known around the world, much of the fame that the cake has gained is due to the prosperity given to the person who eats the slice that possesses the bean. However, tradition dictates that whoever receives the slice with the bean must provide the Bolo Rei next year.

This article is from Vanessa Swesnik … many thanks.

TAP denies discrimination against pregnant employees. The Portuguese airline, TAP, denied discriminating against pregnant workers in the distribution of performance-based bonuses, stating that in 2007, 37 of these payments were awarded to women on maternity leave that were absent for no longer than 6 months.

TAP’s terms and conditions stipulate that employees “who have had absenteeism or suspension of work for an accumulated duration equal to or more than 5 months” are excluded from receiving the bonuses.

The newspaper, “I”, published today that the Portuguese airline operator failed to pay performance-based bonuses to 10 workers who were on maternity leave in 2007. This decision has been classified as “discrimination” by the Commission on Equality, but was granted approval by the Prime Minster’s Cabinet.

“The business argued that because the 10 employees were absent, they did not meet the minimum criteria for work days to earn the bonuses; justifying the decision as in accordance with the company’s terms and conditions. However, a report from the Commission of Equality in the Workplace (Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e Emprego- CITE) labelled the decision as discrimination,” reports the newspaper, “I”.

In a statement released to the press today, TAP clarified that “the conditions for rewarding the bonuses, which are of exclusive responsibility to TAP, respected all applicable legal and contractual provisions.”

On the other hand the company also writes, “no initiatives were taken against pregnant workers,” highlighting the fact that, “all [pregnant workers] that were of service for the specified duration received the bonus in question.”

When questioned by Lusa, the spokesperson for the airline company specified that 37 women on maternity leave earned the performance-based bonus in 2007, but their absence from work did not surpass the 5 months allowed for in the terms and conditions. This year another 10 pregnant workers did not receive the bonus because they surpassed the limit.

The newspaper, “I”, that also heard from many constitutionalists on the issue, wrote that TAP’s decision also violated the Brussels agreement which stipulates that the exclusion of protected periods of time of a mother from the amount of work time needed to receive a retroactively remunerated payment would constitute work discrimination of the female sex.

The constitutionalists are divided on the legitimacy of the measure. SOURCE : DN ECONOMIA

I have left the exact paragraphing for Vanessa’s article and included the source, because Vanessa translates the complete articles, word for word, but of course in her own style. For those trying to learn Portuguese this may be a useful learning aid. Der

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

Demolition of the Savoy Hotel has already begun – The works are going to take 10 months. The new hotel opens with 420 rooms at the end of 2012. Like we didn’t already know, as we had a photo sent in before Xmas of the sign being taken down. So, is anyone brave enough to book now a holiday for Xmas 2012 / new year 2013, staying at the new Savoy Hotel. No I didn’t think so. I reckon if it’s ready by the end of 2013 it will be a miracle.

Today’s main news headline : 1,183 waiting for the student support grants – Withdrawal from the University is the path followed by some of the approximately 1,400 students who applied for financial support to take their courses.  Because until now, only 200 were awarded. Students who registered in Madeira University last June, to start in September 2009, are not being processed fast enough in terms of state financial support according to a spokesman at the University. He says that “there are hundreds of people making an effort to enable students to continue their further education”, and now students are having to leave as families reach their limits in providing financial support.  He says that there have always been delays in providing ‘grants’, but that this year has been a “failure” because of a new system for approving applications, which was actually introduced to simplify and speed up the process. Only 222 out of 1405 applications have actually been awarded their scholarships so far. That is an absolute disgrace! Students who have chosen to continue their education in this time of high unemployment should be given every encouragement, but instead, those in families of limited means are being penalised. And that will probably punish those wanting to take such an important step, quite possibly for the rest of their lives.

Most of today’s front page is taken up with a close up of João Carlos Gouveia, almost ex-leader of the PS Socialists of Madeira : Gouveia on his way out turns into a loose cannon – The day before the PS-M starts to choose a new leader, João Carlos Gouveia has assumed that he lost. And he blames others. Above all, the “two Trojan horses” who resigned and who helped the PND. Other complaints in an interview with the Diário : “It is certain that the MP will make a charge against Dr. Jaime Leandro”; “One obstacle to the strengthening of the PS of Madeira is the PS at national level”; “I have been requested by the Government to give benefits and favours, which I refused”; “90% of the PS representatives want to be in the vice-presidency of the Madeira Legislative Assembly”. Phew, that was a tough one to get through! There is no way today’s party leader Gouveia will get re-elected, and there was not much chance anyway before he gave this interview. What a waste of space he has been for the last two years, and a pretty pathetic opposition leader to a government that tramples on everybody. Lets hope a new leader can pull something together that can at least deserve the tag of ‘opposition’, even if it can’t knock Jardim and the PSD of of their perch.

State owes €1 million for the library of Câmara de Lobos.

The top sport / football headline today : Synthetic [pitch] of União passes from €2.415 to €1.818 million – Bank changes the terms and ‘forces’ the Regional Government to save €579 thousand in interest charges. The new football field in the complex of C.F. União, in Vale Paraíso in Camacha, has to face cutbacks, even though the contract was finalised. The original contract had a period of grace of four years to make payments,  with the last possible payment being made within 15 years, but now the capital repayments and interest will have to start being cleared starting this year, effectively saving the Madeira government €579 in interest payments. Other changes are also imposed. Apparently the complex of União already has two pitches, although no specifics are given, so why our cash-strapped government is putting it’s name to new contracts is beyond me. Beside that, the government has spent years equipping Madeira with new sports complexes and facilities, apparently all vastly underused. But what amazes me is that the government here has any credibility, or even credit, left with the lending institutions. Not a week goes by and we read some news story about the failure to pay suppliers, contracts, and clubs and social institutions etc., and there is no doubt that the money supply here in the public coffers is very tight. If I was a money lender, I would have scrubbed the GR off my list long ago. Not to mention the new hospital that we need so urgently.

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. 

—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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…)