Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – one of mine today for a change … A white peacock in the Municipal Gardens in Ribeira Brava.

Many thanks to Paul for this important message from the dolphins, and also the Jet2 snippet :

Swimming with dolphins: latest research. “In the open sea off the coast of Portugal, Amanda Stafford, of The Dolphin Connection, tells clients to wait for the dolphin to approach them – and keep their hands to themselves. If dolphins aren’t feeling sociable, they make it obvious. "Dolphins in the wild can go in so many directions," she says. "You have to be able to read their behaviour to see when they’re interested in socialising." Photo : Bottlenose dolphin.

British researchers have found that swimming close to bottlenose dolphins and trying to touch them can be highly stressful for the aquatic creatures – preventing them from resting, feeding or nurturing their young. Swimming with dolphins may be sold as a life-affirming experience, but research shows that it can be traumatic for the sea mammals themselves. So is it time to stop? Link to full BBC article

Madeira: enchants those lucky enough to visit.

-flavoursome and honest style of Portuguese cuisine,

-a year-round sub-tropical climate

-world-class varieties of fortified wine

Jet2.com, has launched the North West region’s first low cost service to the beautiful island of Madeira from Manchester Airport. Jetaway magazine article, magazine of Jet2.com

Thanks a lot to Becky for this we snippet and video :

“We wanted to show our support for Madeira, after the tragic flooding and mudslides in February and we decided to choose this worthy cause for which one of our colleagues at the British Honorary Consulate in Madeira is already involved as a volunteer”, the Embassy said in a statement sent to The Portugal News this week." PORTUGAL NEWS

Home movie of Madeira in 1955.

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

DIÁRIO 21/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Illegal streams.  Legally, the public water domain covers a strip of land of 10 metres width alongside non-navigational water, for example banks of streams. This would mean that the Minas Gerais building in Funchal is illegally built on public land bordering the Ribeira de São João. These public areas could be converted into mini dams to prevent the build-up of water and debris, for example at Fundoa. This has been done in Portugal where dams have been used to produce hydroelectric power of less than 10 MW and they supply 16% of the electricity produced in Portugal. Irresponsible dredging (without channelling) and deposition of material into the stream will cause a blockage at the mouth when there is an exceptionally high flow. The land upstream has to be forested without any illegal quarrying to prevent run-off into the streams. The diagram shows 10 solutions to 10 problems.

MADEIRA

Clean Portugal.  Volunteers yesterday joined this initiative to clean Portugal in a day. Multidisciplinary teams included scouts, schoolchildren, military and firefighters. Câmara de Lobos had the most volunteers, over 300. They spent four hours in the morning cleaning the county then the authority supplied lunch, a diploma, and since it was the Day of the Tree, they were also rewarded with a tree for participating. In Santana, the councillor responsible for the environment joined a team of 12 and they cleared 700 kilos of rubbish out of a stream bed (photo). Another team of 12 in the parish of São Jorge cleared viewpoints. Santa Cruz had less rubbish than expected but 50 volunteers still managed to remove 120 100-litre sacks of rubbish and three car loads of large items. They worked in the forested areas of Santo da Serra, Gaula and Camacha as well as on the beach at Portinho in Caniço. The sea front at Ponta do Sol is now cleaner thanks to the actions of 20 people who cleared away wood, iron and other debris.

Three million Euros for works in Funchal. The council has amended the budget to allow 14 contracts to be signed for urgent works that start next week. Recuperation of paths and lanes in São Martinho, Santo António, São Roque, Imaculado Coração Maria, Santa Luzia, Monte and São Gonçalo are a priority. Caminho do Cabeço dos Lombos in Monte and the Estrada Luso-Brasileira are important roads that need to be repaired. Damaged pavements and infrastructure in the baixa area of Funchal will be attended to. The council will undertake a geological survey of unstable slopes in eight areas. These were a cause of landslides that affected homes – Três Paus/Eira do Serrado, Trapiche/Curral Velho, Laranjal, Alegria, Fundoa, Corujeira/Cabeço dos Lombos, Tornos and Babosas. The study will produce recommendations for future occupation of these areas, risks and preventative actions. If houses cannot be reoccupied, the council will provide alternative accommodation. 291 homes that suffered minor damage will be repaired as it is psychologically important for the owners to be back in their own homes.

President of  the ’7 Wonders of Portugal’ visits the region. A team of judges will visit the Laurissilva forest in São Vicente this morning, starting at the Boca da Encumeada. The Laurissilva forest has been entered in the category, Forests and Woods.

Stabilization of the soil is a priority for forestry.  Afforestation projects stabilize the soil by the root system of plants holding the soil particles together, and protects against rainfall and winds. There is also organic matter created which helps to protect and change the soil structure and makes it more resistant to erosion. Trees such as the eucalyptus, pine and acacia are not being used as they compete with other species. The forests of Madeira occupy 54,000 hectares of which only 33,000 hectares are effectively covered by trees, occupied by too many introduced cultivated species. For public safety, the Regional Government is to buy 600 hectares of land in strategic areas of the serras in Ribeira Brava, Câmara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol.

ECONOMY

Jet2 in-flight magazine promotes Madeira. The February/March 2010 in-flight magazine of Jet2 (Jetaway, 80,000 copies) has a three page article about Madeira. The British low-cost carrier flies from Manchester and the article is based on a trip last December arranged by the Association for the Promotion of Madeira. The article is called ‘Living levada loca’ and compares the Laurissilva forest to the Brazilian rainforest. — Internet copy

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

Fish revenue falls 14%.

Cars of the  PSP [Police] are ready for delivery 5 months – The 10 vehicles are waiting for despatch on two ‘stands’. The 10 squad cars have been here, already adapted and licensed,  since October with two dealerships. The Police Officers Trade Union is convinced that the Police Command have no money to pay for them.

25% live from pensions on Madeira.

Today’s main news headline : Crisis arrives to hit subsidies. With the safes empty (see picture) the Madeira government gave 57% less. The total value of subsidies in 2009 was €229 million. Cuts penalize more companies and public entities. Support reinforced for sport, culture, and councils. [loan] Guarantees double to €32 million. There is a special supplement on the matter in today’s Diário, the online edition at least. The first charts shows just about everything that receives government funding getting slashed last year. In high level terms, where the regional government provided €539 million of subsidies in 2008, it provided to the same sectors (associations, councils, culture, sport, education, religious bodies, companies and public companies) just €229 million in 2009. The hardest hit sector was that of companies and private companies, that saw it’s state handout cut from €377 million to €66 million in that same period. Just picking out a couple of examples from the complete and detailed breakdown that stretched to 8 pages. In sport, the Palheiro Golf Club saw it’s state handout quadrupled, and I didn’t even know that Uncle Bertie played golf. Funchal Tennis Club has seen its handout drop from €106,312 to €14,748 in two years. Overall the sport sector saw a slight increase in subsidies in 2009.

‘Green stopper’ stretches itself to Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava and Ponta do Sol. Manuel António Correia announced the acquisition of lands for the purpose of reforestation. So the government coffers are empty (see main photo on today’s front page), but the government has announced that it to purchase 600 hectares [6 million square metres] of land in the interests of public safety. Very commendable objective, but why is it necessary to purchase all of this land in ‘strategic areas’ to replant it with whatever is needed to stop the topsoil collapsing in another storm that is statistically likely to be at least 100 years from now. Why not just plant whatever is needed, without actually buying all that land? Is anyone going to object?

The main sport / football headline today : Benfica thrash FC Porto and conquer the League Cup. Can’t deny that 3 – 0 was a good thrashing, started off by the worst ‘frango’ in goalkeeping history. After so many years of winning almost everything, it’s would have been embarrassing for any Porto supporter yesterday, not just to lose the cup to their fierce rivals, but to give it to them on a plate.

União win the II division, South zone.

[sports] leaders offended with the "ignorance" of Arlindo Gomes. The president of Câmara de Lobos council said this week that he wouldn’t stand for blackmail, and council grants would be cut.

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 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 Elaine out West … Dried herbs and chillies on sale in Funchal Market

"Toward the end of last year, a delegation of top producers from Madeira – Blandy’s, Henriques & Henriques, Justino’s, Barbeito and Borges – paid a visit to Prague. … Vintage Madeira is a seemingly ageless creation, very much a case of "the older, the better," as attested to by such connoisseurs as the legendary Madeira Club in Savannah, Georgia. ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MADEIRA WINE ARTICLES

"The Isaiah Davenport House Museum will uncork an affable taste of early Americana this month as it hosts "Potable Gold: Savannah’s Madeira Tradition" during a special series of programs. Offered to the public only on Friday and Saturday evenings in February, "Potable Gold" involves sampling two types of Madeira wine and allows participants to experience the circa-1820 house at dusk, after the usual visiting hours, said museum Director Jamie Credle". AND ANOTHER

There’s a free album download offer on this website, but it’s limited to 15,000 so don’t hang about :  OFFER

We’re back to the minnows in this weekends football fixtures. On Sunday Nacional goes to Olhanense for a 3 pm kick-off. An hour later Marítimo host União. Neither game is televised.

If one could go around not knowing having seen the latest news, the Regional Finance Law amendments were approved in Lisbon yesterday, even with the Socialist government voting against it … "Portuguese lawmakers approved a regional finance law Friday that could add to the budget deficit at a time when investors are growing increasingly concerned about the state of Portuguese public finances.  Opposition lawmakers pushed through the legislation against the votes of the ruling Socialist Party, which currently form a minority government". EVEN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COVERED IT 

And on the same subject, this article evaluates the impact of the decision MARKETWATCH

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

DIÁRIO 05/02/2010

Residence at risk of falling down the hillside. A house in Larano in Porto da Cruz is at risk of falling down the slope on which it was built due to landslides caused by recent rains. The foundations are now visible and the cement has cracked so part of a small wall has collapsed. The owners are unaware of the situation as the house is only inhabited at weekends and there is still furniture left outside. Neither the local council or fire department were aware of this situation.

More than 50,000 Euros for Haiti. Between 18 January and 4 February, the Diocese of Funchal collected over 50,000 Euros to help the earthquake victims. A Mass in Cabo Girão received 10,264 Euros, Caritas collected 680 Euros, the Igreja do Colégio collected 2,000 Euros and the School at Curral das Freiras raised 1,150 Euros.

TAP extends its network to destinations in Africa. TAP will have three flights a week from Lisbon to Morocco. Its passenger numbers in the African sector have increased 129% since 2001. It is the only sector in 2009 where there was growth. With this new route in June, there will be connections to eight countries in Africa from Portugal.

Jet2.com begins regular flights to Madeira on May 3rd. Low-cost company sells Manchester – Madeira flights for 260 Euros round trip. Jet2.com already flies from Faro to two cities in the United Kingdom. According to the British press last week, this new route might benefit the British who have accommodation on the island (second home or timeshare). Trips are sold on the website at base prices of around 100 Euros. The return price reaches around 300 Euros because in addition to fees, Jet2.com charge separately for the carriage of luggage, check-in, choice of seating, meals and insurance. jet2 website

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

Three houses in danger. At least three dwellings are at risk of being swept away by slippage of earth at Serra Velha de Baixo in Curral das Freiras, near the Ribeira dos Socorridos. The families have been advised to leave their homes. The council agree that a wall is needed to support the earth which cannot hold the amount of water flooding onto it.

Car and warehouse destroyed. In Corujeira de Dentro in Monte. Both the car and warehouse were destroyed by debris swept down onto the road by flooding. The car owner has difficulties feeding his animals (dogs, chickens and rabbits) as road access is blocked by the landslide. Initially, residents at the other end of the road were isolated until the council made the road minimally passable. The land that collapsed is privately owned so the council have refused to help the residents.

Festa dos Compadres. This is a tradition specific to Santana. It is patently ironic, sarcastic and has a lot of social criticism. The compadres are made in secret and are effigies of social figures. On Saturday 6 February at 17.00, there is the cortejo folião with nearly a dozen groups from schools, followed by music starting at 18.30 on a stage erected in front of the council building. Next to this building, a tent has been set up where there will be a ball of ‘Comadre e do Compadre’ at 22.00, 3 Euros entrance fee. The main parade is on Sunday 7 February, starting at 16.00. The public judgement of the compradres occurs at 17.45, ‘sentencing of the compradres’. Awards presented at 19.00 for the best floats and troupes followed by musical entertainment from 19.30 to 22.00. The final day of the festa is Thursday February 11th, starting with fireworks at 12.00 and the traditional event ‘Os compadres passeiam a camadre’ occurs at 20.00. The council hope the festa will help the economy of Santana by bringing in tourists and raise the spirits of the population, needed after the area has been battered by storms. Program on Santana Council website

‘Revolt of the Flour’ was 79 years ago. On February 4 1931, the islanders rebelled in a movement that became known as the  ‘Revolt of the Flour’. On 26 January 1931, a law was passed that monopolized milling and was known as the ‘Decree of Hunger’. This ended free wheat and flour imports, handing the monopoly to a group of millers. The riots spread and lasted until the 9th February. The Companhia Insular de Moinhos was targeted and on the 6 February, an assault on the firm left five dead and many injured. The law was repealed but the island suffered reprisals by the central government sending armed forces to make arrests and deportations. The climate of terror and instability lasted until the ‘Revolt of Madeira’ on April 4th against the dictator Oliviera Salazar. On April 11th, the ‘Revolting Movement’ installed a democratic government in Madeira but this succumbed to the dictatorship’s military offensive on 2 May.

CARNIVAL 2010

Fábrica dos Sonhos [Dream Factory] reveal secrets of the sea. There are about 150 members in this troupe which is known for originality. They will represent marine animals; jellyfish, mermaids, starfish and crabs. The mermaids and jellyfish are the leading figures. The Veterans are dressed as fish and the procession will be a sea of colour incorporating silver and blue. A group of Hot Dancers open their parade and a group of ‘fish’ close it. The dancers rehearse at the Rua das Pretas, no 16.

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

25 years of gastronomy – Machico brings Mariza. The silver jubilee of the Machico Gastronomy Fair this year will be graced by top (living) fado singer Mariza, on 4th August. The visit will form part of her tour ‘Terra’, which is the title of her new album, and includes performances in Egypt and the Royal Albert Hall in London. So it looks like Machico has all the money then! It’s definitely a great idea to pull in the punters to the fair, but whether they will be spending their money on ‘gastronomy’ or not we will have to wait and see.

Law approved yesterday doesn’t bring any money – The alterations to the controversial Regional Finance Law were passed. Without dividends. The defeated socialist government will do everything in it’s power to stop the application of the law, starting with a constitutional challenge. The defeat was substantial, with 87 socialists voting against, and all the opposition and one socialist (França of Madeira) voting in favour, 126 in total. You would have thought that this was the big story of the day, the week, and even the year, but the Diário editor thought not, giving it just a corner of the front page. Surely nothing to do the fact that Uncle Bertie actually succeeded in his quest to change the LFR. I wonder what the other loopaper newspaper, the Jornal da Madeira, has plastered all over it’s front page?

Today’s main news headline : 2008 bill : bad debts cost €23 million just in interest. The problem arose from the delays in payments of debts by the Regional Government, the majority of which were to contractors that had responsibility for the execution of public works.

Lagoon continues not to generate earnings – The reservoir of Santo da Serra never reciprocated to the €4 million investment, 30 years ago. But there are new works in May. With a reduction in capacity. 

The main sport / football headline today : Final effort of Madeira in order to bring World Cup teams – Covilhã chosen, it remains to hope that Portugal undertakes training here in the last few days. And only if the the political environment were to help. The series points also to other squads. Not sure I got that last bit 100% correct, but anyway the main picture of the day shows a nice overhead view of the Sports Stadium of Madeira, at the back end of Ribeira Brava. If it is being suggested that that is the venue to attract national teams to warm up for the World Cup in South Africa in June, then it’s a good choice. But they will need to get the cleaners in first I would imagine, as it has hardly been used since it was completed, and must be full of cobwebs by now. A study group, made up anonymous Madeiran citizens with various backgrounds, has concluded that our island is the perfect place for preparation for teams competing in the competition. That group has persuaded an otherwise apathetic Regional Government to support a project called ‘Mundial 2010, pré-estágios das selecções apuradas para a Fase Final – Opção Ilha da Madeira’, which forgetting the first part is putting forward Madeira as an ideal training option. One interesting selling angle, is that Madeira has the identical climate and humidity as South Africa, and is geographically actually a part of Africa, but has the safety aspects of being European. The locations put forward are in Ribeira Brava and Camacha, as well as the two football stadium complexes of Marítimo and Nacional. I reckon the teams that qualified some months ago will have probably already booked up long ago their preparatory destinations, but we might pull something off with a bit of luck, and maybe even have the chance to ‘knobble’ the opposition before June.

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…)

(16th September). ‘Bank Complaints Rise 27%’. The number of customers complaining about their banks rose 27% in the first 6 months of this year.

The government of Madeira will compensate farmers whose grapes do not reach the minimum standards (grade). The weather conditions have hampered the ripening of the grape crop, worrying farmers that their produce may not reach the ‘minimum degree of alcohol’ needed for Madeira Wine and table wine. The compensation will be between €0.50 and €0.60 a kilo, depending on the destination for use. Another type of grape ‘Arnsburger’ will attract less compensation.

‘Building project thinking about the foreign investor – ‘Monumental Residence’ cost €10.5 million. The 2nd phase was inaugurated yesterday’. It looks like many other buildings in Amparo, Pilar and even Ajuda, but this new building near the Rotunda da Assicom, in Funchal, is built with the aim of selling the 55 apartments to external investors, foreigners, or even emigrants that want a second home on Madeira. Sales are going well according to a spokesman for the building, which also includes 9 commercial units. An average T2 apartment there will be in the price range of €175,000 to €200,000. "In relation to what is normal, these apartments are 25 or 30% more expensive than market prices". Why? And who chose that silly name?

The last of today’s headlines (for today) : ‘Siram Win Tender – End of year illuminations are judged. The lowest price was worth nothing, as proposed by ‘Inductora’. The Siram consortium ‘Luzosfera’, who have had the contract for Christmas and new year lighting and decorations in Funchal for many years, have been reawarded the contract, despite the entrance of an under bidder in the tender contest. The Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport assessed the two proposals using a points system, and awarded the contract once again to Siram, who have been in the chair for 20 years unopposed. The two areas that swung the deal were experience, and creativity in the new proposal. The two year contract, worth €6.5 million, also includes the Carnival and Flower Festival. The Siram consortium is made up of six sub-holdings, being Luzosfera, Art of Sound, ‘Festival Factory’, Stage Madeira, Kevents, and Full Zoom. Original blog article with more detail HERE

Duarte Ferreira, Director at Madeira Airport, said: “The launch of this new scheduled route is extremely positive news for Madeira and will open up this beautiful region to many more visitors. The creation of this brand new link, especially at a time when other operators are looking to cut costs and services, plays such an important role for tourism in the region, benefiting the local economy and people working and living on the island. We hope that this partnership with Jet2.com will result in the opening of several new routes from the UK in the near future”. Talking about the Jet2 announcement that it is to commence a weekly scheduled flight from Manchester to Madeira May next year.

The cruise ship ‘Pacific Dream’ will be making its last visit here on Friday. At least there is no agreement made that signifies that it will be returning.