Madeira News Blog

(17th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Infant Mortality Falls – Infant mortality on Madeira registered the lowest rate in the country in 2008, with just three deaths, the lowest figure ever. Forty years ago the highest rate in the country was here’. Improved supervision during pregnancy and care after birth are said to be the reasons, and also expectant mothers are more aware of the risks. The method of measurement is made through the number of deaths per thousand live births, and on that basis Madeira achieved 1.1 last year, against a national average of 3.3. Beyond that Madeira also achieved a rating of 0.4 for neonatal mortality (number of deaths in infants less than 28 days old) against a national average of 2.1. A health service spokesman was visibly pleased with the results, as Madeira spent 4 decades as the worst region in Portugal, in both aspects. Last year the birth rate here fell once again, to 2,699 live births, but it is still above the national average, with live births here per thousand of population at 10.9, compared to a national average of 9.8.

‘Ilha Pays Tribute To The Emigrant – Folklore, conviviality and animation lead hundreds to the village of Santana’. Tribute to the emigrants is the goal of the festival that happens every year in the Summer in the parish of Ilha. Organised by the Casa do Povo (House of the People) every year, they look to vary the programme every time. The event attracts hundreds of emigrants from all over Madeira and from Madeiran communities abroad, and includes traditional games. If they are emigrants from all over Madeira, in theory they wouldn’t be Madeiran?

‘Not Even With Pepper Gas Can The PSP Calm Nogueira – A family brawl spreads and not even police officers can control’. The neighbourhood is each time more out of control. Police officers are starting to fear going there. This time the trouble started when a man assaulted his ex-girlfriend. Not even the use of tear gas was sufficient to help police to make arrests during the family brawl in Nogueira. The police were threatened and insulted, and the ruffian managed to escape the three officers called in on Saturday afternoon. He is known to use knuckle-dusters in fights and is well known for his aggressive behaviour, and his frequent involvement in fights. The cops need to start waving their guns around a bit perhaps.

‘Two Boats Adrift Receive Tow’. In separate incidents at the weekend, two boats had to be rescued. The yacht had an engine failure off Ponta de São Lourenço, and the other boat ran out of fuel 7 miles south of Funchal. When rescuing the yacht the 8 occupants of the boat were found to be sick (sea sick I think), and hadn’t realised that their boat actually had a back up engine. Both boats were towed to dry land.

‘Accident In Calheta Injures Four’. Why this makes the front page I don’t know, but a car went off the via-expresso of Calheta between Prazeres and Maloeira early yesterday morning, and the 4 occupants were taken to Funchal hospital.

Yup, footie is back. With about half the front page taken up with the picture of Alonso of Marítimo running in to take a penalty. ‘Steady Marítimo Surprise Benfica In The Stadium of Light – Firstly there was the surprise of the blue and yellow (kit), then the steady performance. Overall the goalkeeper Peçanha was fundamental in the 1 – 1 draw achieved. The ex-Nacional player Alonso scored the goal of Marítimo, from a penalty, with plenty of class’. I missed the first half, but the second was one-way-traffic in my opinion and hardly steady, but a fine result nether-the-less. That result made 6 out of the first 7 initial games of the season drawn over the weekend, with the big three teams all blessed with late goals to avoid defeat.

‘Mother Of God Wants A Bus- The council agrees with the population and asks for more understanding from the bus company’. Nothing special about the story about the transport needs of the population of ‘Mãe de Deus’ in Caniço, I just liked the headline. Of course Caniço rather oddly has it’s very own bus company (EACL), and perhaps not many people know that?

‘Helena Rodrigues Makes History In Canada’. A 4 woman team took the bronze medal in the k4 200 metre canoeing event in the world championships in Canada. Maybe Helena is from Madeira, it doesn’t say.

‘São Martinho Homes A Quarter of Funchal – The parish has experienced a large increase in population’. When the trend is for the decline in population, the parish of São Martinho takes the opposite path, homing approximately a quarter of the population of Funchal. According to statistics from 2006, the population of Funchal was 99,759 inhabitants, while that of São Martinho amounted to 26,540, almost six thousand more than in 2001. The area of 8.06 square kilometres is about 30% of the total area of Funchal, and is now one of the most sought after for housing. Hmmm, I doubt if Nazaré or even Santo Amaro are included in that statement, but as the mass expansion of concrete in Ajuda is also within São Martinho, that probably accounts for quite a lot of the growth.

(16th August). From yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ’274 Burglaries In Homes In The First 6 Months Of 2009 – Last year the police registered 647 situations’. 274 burglaries in 6 months on Madeira say the Public Security Police, who take some credit through action that they themselves took to ensure the numbers stayed low. That includes ‘Operation Safe Summer’ that warned residents to be extra vigilant during the holiday period, and even allowed people going on holiday to let the police know that their house was empty and to keep a lookout, although only 93 people have used this so far (until the end of July). Though I doubt whether everything has been reported, it seem pretty good, and it seems that potentially this year will even be lower than last years total.

(16^th May) ‘Disaster In Sâo Vicente Results In A 4 Year prison Sentence’.  This story goes back to December 2005, when a coach driver turned his coach on its side, killing 5 Italian tourist passengers in São Vicente. The court ruled that besides from being drunk at the wheel, he was driving too fast (70 kph in a 50 kph zone). He was found guilty on Friday afternoon of negligent homicide, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. The Italians were out on an excursion from the cruise ship ‘Costa Classica’. The lawyer defending the man announced the intention to appeal against the ruling.

(16^th May) ‘Another Robbery On The Petrol Station In Campanário’. It’s the fourth robbery in a year, with money, alcohol, and tobacco taken from the Repsol petrol station. This time two men wearing hats and sunglasses broke in and committed the robbery, which was captured by the CCT camera.

(16^th May) ‘People Of Câmara de Lobos Against Demands Of The Priest : €15 For A Confirmation’. The Diocese of Funchal explains that the cost is the responsibility of the parish, but parents in the parish of São Sebastião are not happy. Over a hundred children are due to attend their first communion on 7^th June, and if all parents pay, then the church will pocket over €1,500, which the priest claims is to cover the cost of the arrangements and the flowers. The priest was uncontactable for comment, but other priests both inside and outside Câmara de Lobos, were surprised to hear that their colleague was charging parents, and felt that even so the cost per head would not exceed €5.

(16th May). Lemon production this year is roughly in line with the last 10 years, at 800 tonnes. The announcement was made at the opening of the Lemon Festival in Ilha yesterday, which runs through until tomorrow. 400 exhibitors are there to show their produce. That must be a real thriller, 400 lemon displays!

Essential rescue equipment bought by Carvoeiro Golfers, tried and tested in Madeira
From – Portugal News On-line 15/5/2009

Last week a group of eight Lagoa firemen embarked on a training course to Madeira, where they were shown by their islander counterparts how to use a new tripod and harness specifically designed for cliff rescues, bought for them with money raised by members of the Carvoeiro Golf and Country Club.

Full story : Portugal News

Monday’s main headline : ‘Chaos In João Almada Causes Resignation’. The Hospital Dr. João de Almada has lost it’s regional coordinator, who resigned over concerns about the running of the unit. The beds are all occupied, mainly with elderly people with high problem levels, and there are too few nurses to cope with them all. The purpose of the hospital is to care for elderly bedridden patients, with a special small unit for cancer patients. At certain times in certain locations, there is just one nurse per 25 patients. A spokesperson for the Association of Nurses confirmed the situation, “This in fact corresponds to what is happening, but the truth is that the Hospital Dr. João de Almada is not in fact a normal hospital, it is a unit of a Network of Care, it is a nursing home.” And, in a home, explains Juan Carvalho, the need for nurses is not the same as in a hospital. “There are no patients, but there are clients”. The unit is outside of the state health care system. The clinical director admits the unit is full up, but says that the numbers of doctors and nurses employed is sufficient.

The fisherman who drowned in Porto Novo, whilst collecting limpets on Sunday, was a 50 year old man from Caniçal.

In part two of the feature article about Ilha in Santana, there is much talk about the independence of the parish, and the fact it doesn’t rely too much on funding from the state. The article is probably not of much interest unless you live there, and doesn’t really belong on the front page, but I have included it because it is the venue of the Lemon Festival that starts this week. The official opening is scheduled for Friday (15th), at 4pm. The program for the event involves various cultural initiatives including a Percussion Group and the hornpipe (or it could be bagpipe) group of Machico, a performance by the Children’s Dance House of the People of the island, a Dance Competition, the initiative ‘Santana Singing the City’ and other musical entertainment. The event runs through Saturday and Sunday.

Next time your dog is sick and the cat is coughing, what will you do? Owners of domestic animals can ask questions and seek advice in pharmacies that have joined the project ‘Animal Space’ (Espaço Animal) launched by the National Association of Pharmacies. on Madeira, a dozen pharmacists have received training and have made space on their shelves to put on display, drugs and products for pets. ‘Animal Space’ is still being launched in the region, and the training of pharmacists will continue. The logo for the pets section is a dog with a green pharmacy cross, and here, as well a necessities, will be toys and pet hygiene products. You will be able to ask your participating pharmacist for advice on animal health issue, and if they don’t know the answer, the have a ‘green line’ through to a qualified veterinarian. A pilot project was launched in 50 pharmacies in Portugal last year, with the aim of boosting sales of drugs and supplies for vets. It worked, and it was decided to roll-out the scheme nationally. What an excellent idea, though in my local pharmacy I have several times taken in stray dogs for a ‘consultation’ for eye infections and other visible ailments, to find an initial look of disgust about bringing mangy looking animals into sterile looking premises. But the staff have always been helpful, although not to the extent of administering the medication. I suppose I can’t blame them for that. It doesn’t say where participating chemists are, but I bet the nearby vets will be pretty cheesed off at losing consultation revenue and medications for simple problems.

The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources is testing different types of onions, grown on Madeira, to determine their potential storage duration. This is still an experiment, which aims to identify greater durability of  onions, so they can be sold for more time over the year. Also, equipped with this information, farmers can learn the best time to plant and opt for the types of onion that have a greater shelf life. That can only be a good thing, as a bag of onions I brought in Pingo Doce just a few days ago have already gone manky, and the potatoes I brought there are absolutely ridden with rot. I think our local store only sells the stuff that the pigs refuse to eat, and that is well overpriced to make matters worse.