"Docking early in Funchal meant there was plenty of time to explore the city before taking an afternoon excursion. A member of the crew then introduces everyone to each other which is a nice and informal way to get to know your shipmates. Funchal is a bustling city and I soon found myself at the indoor flower, vegetable and fish market. It was fun to wander around the groaning stalls of fruit and to see the magnificent display of fish. And as for the flowers, they were stunning and I couldn’t resist buying a bunch of roses for my cabin". A reporter for the UK Daily Mirror newspaper took a cruise that took in Madeira, a place she seemed pretty struck by. FULL ARTICLE

Boeing 737-800 – From Wien to Madeira Funchal with Lauda Air. Yes, it’s another one of those ‘pilot’s view’ videos, but this one is a little different if you have 8 minutes to spare. It shows the take of from a snowy runway, and the landing at Madeira Airport from the other ‘easy’ end.

Some more from Becky’s latest batch of interesting web links :

Madeira is a property hot-spot according to this recent article. VESTED INTERESTS?

Here’s a blog from some cruise passengers.  Although I love to see the cruise ships coming in and out of Funchal, is it just me or is the photo of all those identical balconies rather depressing.? I love to look at them, but would hate to be on one. Which makes it all the more puzzling why "Torsten" only got off the ship to go to a shopping centre! bem-vindo a Funchal

Caught in the act? Becky reckons this lad was having a grope of this statue’s feminine assets in Santa Catarina Park and was caught on this webcam grab on Saturday. Captions invited.

Vanessa Swesnik has kindly done a full and exact translation of the article covered yesterday by Elaine. The original article link is given below, for any Portuguese students who might find it useful.

Region has a Scarcity of Park Rangers – Currently, the regional corps has about 30 staff members. Currently there are only a few more than three dozen people in the region working as Park Rangers. The number has grown substantially since 1988 when the first corps of Rangers (then three or four) was created; however, there are still not enough for the large array of tasks undertaken by these professionals.

During this week in which another National Park Ranger Day is celebrated, João Paulo Mendes, president of the Association of Madeira Park Rangers (Associação de Vigilantes da Natureza da Madeira- AVNM) explained to the DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS that with the current legislation in force, the area allows for up to 50 Rangers. “Even that wouldn’t be very many,” he states.

Over the past few years, protected areas and natural reserves have grown under the auspices of the Madeira Park Services (Serviço do Parque Natural da Madeira- SPNM). Additionally, every year the number of conservation and preservation projects (in terms of animal and plant species) grow and the SPNM Rangers are asked more and more to support awareness-raising actions and environmental education projects in schools and other establishments.

João Paulo Mendez says that even though much of the community associates Ranger work with just keeping an eye on things, the truth is that these professionals do much more than “keep watch over” important areas.

“We work in a variety of functions,” he clarifies. “From environmental education to conservation projects of the Park Services – we also work as guides when people visit reserves and when we are stationed on the Desert and Savage Islands we have to do a little bit of everything because we are more isolated.

Despite currently being few in number, one of the other challenges faced by the regional corps is that no new Park Rangers have come aboard over the past past few years. “All of them are in the same age group [between 30 and 35], and if no new Rangers enter the corps, we will have a group that is too old to respond to daily demands within 15 years.”

According to the AVNM President, the daily work is complicated because in the grand majority of cases it demands a lot of skill and physical strength. “For example, some surrenders are made by boat, we have to load materials, collaborate on Freira da Madeira’s and Freira do Búgio’s conservation projects, and we have to know how to mountain climb and rappel,” João Paulo Mendes explains.

The three week tours on the Desert and Savage Islands aren’t easy either, although improvements in mobile communications have minimized the effect of separation from family and friends.

“Park Rangers either enjoy their work, or they don’t make it.” Regardless, João Paulo Mendes says the work is very gratifying in that Park Rangers can see the results up close of that conservation projects implemented by the Region.

Celebrations: National Day of Celebration in the Region on Tuesday : The AVNM is promoting a commemorative event for National Park Ranger Day this Tuesday, February 2 with the objective of “raising awareness of the profession and its importance in the world of nature and biodiversity conservation.”

The event will take place in the auditorium of the Regional Authority of the Environment and Natural Resources in the Golden Building (Secretária Regional do Ambiente e Recursos Naturais – Edifício Golden) at about 9:15 AM with an opening session presided over by the Director of the Madeira Park Service, Paulo Oliveira, and followed by another opening statement by the President of AVNM, João Paulo Mendes. Afterwards at 9:30 AM there will be a presentation by Park Ranger Nélson Pereira on “The Park Ranger’s Contribution to Nature Conservancy in Madeira” and another on “Biodiversity post 2010” by Domingos Abreu, President of The Order of Biologists.

There will even be a debate moderated by Paulo Oliveira followed by a speech at 11:00 AM by the Regional Environmental Secretary, Manual António Correira, and then an appreciation ceremony to praise local Park Rangers with outstanding job performance. The Closing Ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 AM.

In addition to this celebration, AVNM is working with its National counterpart in placing a bid to receive the 2012 International Rangers Convention. João Paulo Mendes says that if the event takes place here, it will be a good opportunity to publicize Park Rangers’ work here and throughout the world. FULL ARTICLE IN PORTUGUESE

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

Madeira Tourism Site – Information for February.

Tourist Entertainment Calendars for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish.

5th to 16th – Carnival Celebrations – Funchal. Carnival, one of the main tourist attractions of Madeira, is fiercely enjoyed by both Madeirans and the hundreds of tourists who visit us. It is a week of "revelry", which invades the hotels, bars and nightclubs, transforming them into continuous parties. This atmosphere of boundless joy bubbles with astoundingly creative and imaginative initiatives that find themselves audaciously parodied in the Slapstick Parade that takes place on the Tuesday of Carnival. The highlight of the celebrations is on the Saturday night (13 February) when the majestic float parade takes to the avenues of Funchal. Various groups with thousands of participants take part in this parade, flooding the city with music and joy.

The Tuesday of Carnival (16 February) is reserved for the Slapstick Parade. This is a typically Madeiran parade, open to all, where humour and social satire are the main themes. Gigantic puppets, floats and many "bunglers" entertain and interact with the public in a manner that nobody takes the wrong way. The detailed programme can be found HERE

6th to 7th – Festa dos Compadres – Santana. The Festa dos Compadres is a celebration that marks the start of Carnival in Madeira. Giant puppets travel the main streets of Santana, a small and peaceful town located on the north coast of the Island of Madeira, transforming it into the setting for a parade of humour, lots of colour and joy.

DRAC site – Cultural Agenda for February can be downloaded.

DIÁRIO 01/02/2010 – FRONT PAGE HEADLINES

Serrão asks Cavaco to intervene in debt. "It is a problem of the regime. There must be an upper intervention. The President must intervene." This is the position of Jacinto Serrão on the amount of debt of the region, its consequences and the attitude of the Regional Government, especially Ventura Garcês. The new president of the Socialist Party, Serrão, said he would inform the President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, to intervene in the case. During the debate and approval of the Regional Budget for this year, Ventura Garcês only admitted to 1.2 billion Euros of direct debt and hid the indirect debt, despite being confronted by deputies of the opposition parties. Serrão considers this a serious situation and shows that Ventura Garcês cannot resolve the situation and must resign. According to this socialist’s calculations, at a 5% interest rate on the 5 billion Euros total debt of Madeira, the interest is 250 million Euros per year, 20% of the Regional Budget. He says this is an impossible situation which cannot be solved without the intervention of the State. But you have to assign responsibilities and they are on the side of Jardim’s Government. It is an episode with negative consequences for the lives of Madeirenses. During the debate on the budget, the socialists calculated the total debt as nearly 6 billion Euros but Ventura Garcês said it would not exceed 2 billion Euros and he would "teach the opposition how to make accounts," and that the direct debt would not exceed 18% PIB (GDP).

MADEIRA

Landings limited. The reason why several SATA and TAP planes could not land in poor weather conditions during the last two weeks of December whereas other planes, EasyJet and some from European capitals could, was the extra safety restrictions of TAP and SATA airlines.  A TAP spokesman said the planes only land when the conditions are ideal for security and every company sets its own security standards. Aircraft failing to land cost more than those that land. Despite this, the other airlines are not breaching safety regulations of the airport or INAC, National Institute of Civil Aircraft.

ECONOMY

Campaigns that marked 2009. Still end of year round-ups. The most remembered adverts were for Meo and Orange telecommunications firms and Pingo Doce supermarket chain. Marktest survey found 4/10 respondents remembered the campaigns with Meo Gato Fedorento, 3.4 the TMN advert and 3.4 the Pingo Doce brand. Of the brands recalled, Coca-Cola dominated followed by Optimus, Jumbo (Portuguese supermarket chain), Modelo and Zon, showing that advertisements of telephone operators and supermarkets are the most successful.

Investment in a forest has a good return. The Portuguese can now invest in a forest. A Spanish company, Madeiras Nobres, has a branch in Portugal and will start planting trees this month at the Casal do Serrão in Loures. The return on the investment is between 8 and 13% per year depending on the batch of trees purchased. The company buys the land, plants hardwood trees – carvalhos, castanheiros or nogueiras – and cultivates them. The investor does not pay anything beyond the initial outlay and when the life cycle is complete and the tree harvested and sold, 90% of the sale goes to the investor and 10% to the firm. "This is a forestry investment with a big return." People who invest in forests "will have an economic return in the future". In addition to providing income, the trees produce oxygen, water-retaining soil, absorb carbon dioxide, combat desertification and produce high quality woods, helping to preserve virgin rain forests. Carvalhos (oaks) will be planted and the life cycle lasts 22 years. Each lot costs 1,700 Euros and a conservative annual return is around 9%.

Brazilian tourists this Easter. The Brazilian tour operator, Bis, in its program for Portugal includes an extension to Madeira this year. Tourists will fly from Salvador to Lisbon then to Madeira. Since last year, customers have shown more interest in visiting Madeira. The program is in conjunction with Windsor Travel, representing the Brazilian operator in Madeira. There are no official regional tourist promotion agencies in Brazil although interest was shown last October at the largest Latin American tourist fair in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s economy is in the fifth place globally and the currency is robust, so Brazilians are a great potential in terms of holidaymakers.

POLITICS

Câmara de Lobos asks for more than 900 thousand Euros. Espada to Venezuela and help to Timor. At the council’s public meeting, they focused on the need for a short-term loan of 900,000 Euros. This decision needs ratification by the Municipal Assembly. The Carnival in Câmara de Lobos will need an investment of 21,000 Euros; money is required for the air fares for a câmara-lobense, Tiago Brito, to take part in the 19ª Maratona de Lisboa; approval was given for the membership of the council to the Associação de Municípios Portugueses do Vinho; 1,250 Euros for the renovation of the Mercado de Bacau in East Timor and expenses for sending 300 kilos of espada preto to Latin America for the  4º Encontro dos ‘Filhos de Câmara de Lobos na Venezuela’. — 300 kilos of black scabbard fish – how many will that feed / costs?

CULTURE

‘The Nature of Things’ in John dos Passos. The Centro Cultural John dos Passos in Ponta do Sol, opens on Thursday 4 February a group exhibition entitled ‘The Nature of Things’. This is the first of ten exhibitions scheduled for this year. The centre can show new talent and allow local artists to exhibit their work, an opportunity they would not normally have. This exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, photography and drawings. One of the five exhibitors is António Pascal, who interprets various stories and legends of the region and draws satirical cartoons. Examples of his work HERE. — His webpage is interesting.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

CRIAMAR have new project. This association supports young people and has a new project named the Sol da Esperança (Sun of Hope). This was unveiled at yesterday’s car boot sale (Feira da Amizade). Funds raised from this new venture are for young people too old to continue in institutions but too young / unable to be employed, i.e. 15 – 20 years old. Two ex-users of Aldeia da Paz are funded to help with the renovation of Abrigo da Nossa Senhora da Conceição, one of whom is waiting for a place on a course run by the Pestana hotel group. There are already more than ten names on the waiting list for funding. Yesterday’s Feira da Amizade was poorly attended by both vendors and visitors as it rained heavily all day. There were 10 stalls and the visitors were mainly foreigners. The fairs will be held in the car park of the Pestana Casino of Madeira, from 10 – 17 on the last Sunday of every month. Anyone can sell items for this charity and further information is at: CAR BOOT SALE.

Two more acupuncture centres in the region. Since the opening of the Acupuncture Centre in Funchal in 2001, the response rate has been quite large as people have seen good results in various illnesses. People are more informed today and have either previously used acupuncture or know others who have. Two more centres will open this year and they hope to have demonstrations at this year’s Chinese Medicine meeting. Most of the treatments are given for pain and allergic conditions, especially respiratory. Combined with a diet plan, weight loss can be achieved and Chinese medicine can treat almost all illnesses. Children of any age can be treated and they can use a laser device instead of needles.

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

SIAP gives deadline to the command in order to keep the commissioner away – After going to the Ministry, the Trade Union is preparing itself to go to take the case of Roberto Fernandes to the Public Prosecutor. This follows the headline from a few days ago, when the TU representing police officers tried to escalate within the political system in Portugal, the case of a police commissioner who is alleged to have different sets of rules for his troops and the senior officers. Now the Independent Union for Police Agents (SIAP) has launched a national petition calling for the acquittal of police officers charged under the disciplinary regime of commissioner Roberto Fernandes, and has given the Regional Police Command a two week deadline to remove Fernandes from his current duties, under the threat of exposing the ‘dossier of protectionism’. The ‘dossier’ has already been given to the national director of the PSP police force following advice given to the TU official by the responsible Minister for Internal Affairs. This story just gets weirder and weirder, but hopefully will expose any wrongdoings and result in a cleaner more accountable police force.

SIC refuses to divulge voting in the [Pop] ‘Idols’ [competition]. Carlos Costa complains of the jury, that made biased appeals. The young man from Porto Moniz is out of the competition, saying that the jury on the TV show appealed for votes for the other contestants.

Today’s main news headline : Four years of losses given as profit – Engineering accounting allows ‘Valor Ambiente’ to present an administration with a negative result of 10 million Euros as a profit of €5 million. And the total liabilities are 177 million Euros. A bit of trouble translating that headline, and I am not sure that even now it is 100% right, so I certainly won’t be attempting the whole story.

In politics : Albuquerque against the Jardim theory – The leader [Jardim] wants the major meeting of the national Social Democrat Party closed to the media. The Funchal counsellor already feels "foolish" about the ‘closed door’ conventions. President Jardim and leader of the PSD-M feels that a closed event is needed because the party is going through a difficult time. The previous Regional Convention was also behind closed doors.

Filipe de Sousa rejects return to the Socialist Party of [Jacinto] Serrão. Sousa and his ex-PS-M pals in Santa Cruz broke away from the party to form the JPP (Juntos pelo Povo), which had some impressive success in last years local elections. But now that ex-party leader Gouveia has been sidelined, the new leader has appealed for those who distanced themselves from the party to return. "Out of the question" says Sousa. A shame really as the PS is the only party that has any chance of scoring any victories over the PSD-M in the coming years, and some sort of alliance would benefit all concerned, especially now the new leadership gives opportunities for a fresh start, and Uncle Bertie’s lot are really in the hot seat over debt and finances. Maybe our man in the Cruz will have a word in the ear of Sr. Sousa, for the benefit of Madeira, not just politics.

The main sport / football headline today : Victory in Matasinhos interrupts the suffering of the Verde-Rubro [Green-Reds] – The end of the game yesterday was a double relief : to guarantee a victory suffered away to the detriment of Leixões (1 – 2) and for interrupting a cycle of four defeats.

Argelino Abdelmalek Cherrad reinforces the Verde-Rubro attack. The normally unflappable Tánia Spinola, the news presenter for the TV station RTP Madeira, was stopped in her tracks on this story this morning. Eventually she got a similar sounding name out, making the excuse that it "was very difficult to pronounce".

Also lots of bad weather stories today, or should I say damage caused by the bad weather. Bad weather causes collapses, floods, and fall of trees. Santana was the area worst hit, with various streets cut off due to landslides or rockfalls. Walls also fell, but there is no account of any personal injury. The airport is working as normal, although one plane was diverted to Lisbon due to the rain. Three schools in Madeira closed due to bad weather. The children of the schools of Porto da Cruz, São Roque do Faial and Santana will be most disappointed today. Der forced by rain to stay in pub until long after closing time. Blog writer Der, when out for a walk last night, was forced with a friend into a pub by driving horizontal rain. Unable to borrow an umbrella, the two were forced to stay there with other customers who were unable to leave on foot. After two hours the landlord called time, and gave those stranded a lift home. Jesus … poor guy! No wonder his blog is late today.

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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No ‘bonus items’ for today, so no other websites to visit, videos to watch, just Becky’s photo above, so that’s allowed me a little time to have a ramble, and reflect on the weekend just passed.

Saturday morning started off with a trip to the local Modelo. There and back in less than an hour, so I was quite please with myself … for a while at least. A new sale 50% had started, although according to the flyer I received afterwards, it wasn’t actually supposed to start until Sunday, but nether-the-less there it was, so I managed to stock up on many things I didn’t really need with a 50% discount (on the Modelo loyalty card, as usual). Most of the ‘sale’ items’ were also unusually all located together, so that was really handy to stock up all from one aisle. 18 litres of milk were acquired, but it wasn’t until I returned home that I noticed that the b*****ds hadn’t discounted the 73c price by 50%, so I had paid an extra €4 and something. Most annoying! And then to make matters even worse, I opened a carton of Continente ‘tuna chunks’ on Sunday night, to find one chunk missing. What’s the matter with these people, can’t  they count. I don’t think I have ever been to Modelo without some mistake being made in 6 years, but I usually manage to sniff out more of the ones in my favour.

I didn’t really get time to browse the newspapers this weekend, but somebody did give me copy of MAIS, the weekend magazine that comes with the Diário newspaper. That put me off my beer when I saw a very unexpected mug peering out at me … enough said!

I mentioned on Sunday morning the appearance of a new sandy beach at Ribeira Brava, and forget to thank the people of Calheta for donating it. By Sunday afternoon it had gone again, so I figured that it is just a low tide beach for now, as it was back again on Sunday night. Yesterday morning the sand was even deeper. I had figured this would happen one day, but expected a gradual build up of sand, not for it all to happen overnight. Fishermen in hoards have taken over the beaches and the quay, mostly fishing in areas they shouldn’t be, but the council don’t care it seems. I said before that I thought that one of the giant nets at the offshore Campanário fish farm had broken in the stormy seas, and looking at the tiddlers these fisherman were catching, I think that must be the case. Some of them were bagging skinny little fish as small as 7 or 8 cm long, a mouthful at most, and I am guessing that they are Dourada, but am not certain. If they all held back on the catch for a few months these fish would have grown significantly and been worthwhile fishing for, but whether that’s a fisherman or human mentality or not, I don’t know.

The receipt of a ‘Golden Buda’ email (from two sources) one Sunday afternoon, told me that I was going to get some luck in the next few hours. I can’t get lucky stuck indoors I thought, so I ventured off into town at night Then Nacional lost to Benfica, so the luck obviously wasn’t coming from all angles … persistence was obviously needed. I went with a pal to a bar I hadn’t been in since 2008, and it is now under new management. I got the new customer treatment, which was nice, even though a medium beer was a pricey €1.20. I was given a free liquor, or something like that, but didn’t like it much. The Polvo (Octopus, or even squid perhaps) turned up in a small bowl. I knew I shouldn’t have indulged, but it did taste nice even though pretty tough as usual, and so I am still picking out chunks stuck in my teeth two days later. Then another beer later came along with a dish of piping hot spicy chips. That was a little bit of my promised luck I thought, but at €1.20 for a beer a free complete meal was what I  really deserved.

Then it was back to school yesterday … it’s beginning to seem that the start of a new term for us Portuguese students is doomed to fail, and yesterday was no exception. 20 minutes into the lesson, and still no teacher. A quick trip down to the office, and it materialized that the dozen of us who had turned up were on our way out again without so much as lifting a pen. Teacher was off on doctors orders, and no one had told us, and no substitute was arranged, and it seems we have two more weeks of the same. As a kid I would have whooped with joy, but at a slightly less tender age now, I just want to get on with it and see the course out.

The vaccination of under 18 year olds against Gripe A is underway – Maurício Melim admits limitations in the health centres. Starting yesterday the health centres of Madeira are vaccinating against H1N1 swine flu in the age group 6 months to 18 years, and also the parents of babies under 6 months old. The president of the Institute of Health Administration IASAÚDE predicts a natural increase in the influx to the health centres. The target priority group will be widened as more vaccine supplies arrive. It will probably be about 5 years before my turn then, what with being an ageing foreigner and all that. We will probably have moved onto Halibut flu (aka Gripe ZX2) by then, and just be entering the phase of Banana flu that is forecast worldwide. In the meantime, I will just have to continue to protect myself with © Toranja Poncha ©, so that’s a bit of a bind now as Toranjas are out of season. Pimpinela poncha for sure wont be very palatable to fill the gap, but the research will go on.

55 new cases of gripe A were diagnosed on Madeira last week.

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

Cancelled Porto Santo ferry. The Lobo Marinho ferry did not sail for Porto Santo this morning due to rough seas and strong winds forecasted. The Captain of the Port of Funchal has advised all vessels to stay in safe harbour today with improvements expected this afternoon and tomorrow. 100 reservations had been made. Yesterday, the ferry left Porto Santo at 16.00 instead of 19.00, warning all passengers in advance, due to strong winds forecasted which caused the captain to fear berthing at Funchal in a strong swell. Despite previous announcements to the contrary, the boat will not sail tomorrow as Tuesday is the usual day for maintenance. It’s nice to think that somewhat is enjoying the bad weather, namely the ships crew. Der

MSC Splendida visits Funchal for the first time. Photo of the ship this morning. This new cruise ship accompanied two others, bringing a total of around 7,000 tourists. The Splendida has 3,300 tourists on board but can accommodate up to 3,887 passengers. Arriving form Tenerife at 7 am, she sails for Malaga at 17.00. Traditional arrival ceremony hosted by the Ship Enthusiasts Club and the port authorities but she will not be seen here again until 21 January 2011.

TAP overbooked flight. Yesterday morning at Madeira Airport, nearly two dozen passengers were left behind due to a TAP flight to Porto being overbooked by the airline company. The flight TAP3574 should have left at 11.40 but finally took off at 12.26 due to the confusion. The passengers were left behind despite arriving early, having booked months in advance and some paying more than 300 Euros. Some are University of Porto students who have examinations soon and they thought they had been bypassed in the queue as they were single travellers. The majority were able to fly at midnight yesterday but one student contacted knew of a colleague who could not get a flight until 7am this morning. TAP will pay 250 Euros compensation.

Rampa de Carros de Pau in Água de Pena. (These are home-made wooden go-karts). 28 ‘cars’ and 40 participants in the fourth edition of the race which is organized by the Parish Council. There were more participants yesterday afternoon than previously. Some ‘cars’ are conspicuous in their originality, one decorated with the ‘colours of Ferrari’. The competition is open to all ages and there are prizes for all present, especially the winners of the two categories: individuals and pairs. As they went between the Caminho Florestal and the Queimada de Cima, there were a few minor scratches and bruises from falling off or to poor driving ability, especially around corners, but all the participants were satisfied and happy to complete the course. — I watched them on the news this morning and they were able to accurately steer when they had to weave in between tyres placed in the centre of the road, and quite reasonable speeds were achieved. Some were wearing the requisite helmets and elbow and knee pads but not all. I remember that the race had to be rescheduled to yesterday due to previous bad weather. Fathers and children had combined forces, really enjoying themselves and proud of their efforts – great to see.

JPP accuse PSD of voting against the interests of Gaula. PSD members of the Parish Council of Gaula voted against the 2010 Budget and Plan for the Council. Élvio Sousa (JPP) is the leader of the Parish Council and fails to understand how the PSD can vote against a budget that provides 7,500 Euros for the purchase of medicines and 3,500 Euros for the support of impoverished families. Despite this, the proposals were passed due to the support of the JPP councillors and will be put into practice, an announcement that was received with great enthusiasm from the local people who filled the auditorium of the Civic Centre. Élvio Sousa accused the PSD members of obeying the directives of their party in Funchal. "A true gaules would not vote against the interests of the People of Gaula." Regulations are now being drafted and will be sent for judicial review at the end of January. Élvio Sousa does not know what will be the main criteria for reimbursement of the cost of medicines. Humberto Bettencourt explained that the PSD had voted against the budget because it was a 26% increase relative to last year’s budget and this has not yet been voted for by the County Council. "We never questioned the social measures that the new president presented. We did not vote against it because of these measures."

Right to a view in Avista Navios recognized by the courts. A widow in her 70s living in Caminho do Avista Navios in Nazaré, Funchal has had a long standing dispute with a neighbour over construction work which obstructed her view of the bay of Funchal. She owns a building of 762 square metres and a neighbour built a wall that caused the dispute. The neighbour bought the property in 2003 and in 2004 built a wall which was 2.35 metres high rather than the legal 1.5 metres, and a chimney for a barbecue which also obscured the view. The widow complained that her house has an aluminium and glass porch with a 80 cm high balcony, from which there had been a fantastic view over the city. She has had this right to a view for over 20 years and in addition, the building works caused water damage to her property. In 2005, the defendant was ordered to lower the wall to 1.80 metres and replace the adjacent roof and gutter that had been removed. The neighbour refused and in 2008, another court case ruled that the widow had a right to a view, the offending part of the wall would have to be demolished and compensation paid. The case then went to the Appeal Court in Lisbon and without any reasons given, the court ruled the first decision was correct. The neighbour, still not satisfied, went back to the Appeal Court and on the 10 December, the court again ruled the widow had a right to a view and part of the wall had to be demolished. The defendant has no right to further appeal and will have to comply with the court order.

Cultural events in various areas this month. Cantar dos Reis on Tuesday January 5 at Funchal, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol and other localities. Sunday 10 January, Romarias de Boaventura – São Vicente at the Casa do Povo da Boaventura at 15.00  At 16.00 on the 18 January, the third Canticos da Festa in the Parish Hall at Raposeira, Fajã da Ovelha – Christmas songs from the various parishes. 30 – 31 January at the Praça da Serra de Água, during the afternoon and evening there will be an Exhibition of Crafts and Local Traditions, including recipes for ponchas. On Saturday January 16, a walking tour of Paul da Mar integrated into the festa de Santo Amaro, patron saint of the parish. There are various organizations involved and it recalls the times when local people went down the vereda dos Zimbreiros to go to Paul da Mar. People are invited to take a bordão (walking stick), musical instrument and their friends and be very joyful and it starts at Sítio do Lombo, Ponta do Pargo at 14.00. Alternatively, you can travel by bus from Fajã da Ovelha to Paul and meet the group at Ribeira das Galinhas. Return bus to the Sítio do Lombo leaves at 19.00, run by the County Council. Water, cakes and fruit juices will be distributed during the tour.

Two hundred watched the Cantar os Reis. The rain did not stop attendance at this initiative yesterday afternoon, organized by the Casa do Povo da Camacha. It is the first time a tent has had to be used due to heavy rain, erected in the Largo da Achada by Santa Cruz Council. Folklore groups from Camacha and Santo da Serra took part. They will still keep the tradition of singing at people’s homes during the night of the 5 – 6 January.

And from the Jornal da Madeira – North of the island revives the tradition. Last Saturday night, the Youth Group of the Parish along with the Casa do Povo de São Roque do Faial maintained the tradition of "Cantar os Reis" (Singing of the Kings) at houses in the parish. This tradition has resumed after for almost a decade, it was in danger of being lost forever in that area and had practically not occurred in the northern parishes. Since then, several parishes have heard the sound of the "Cantar dos Reis". This initiative is nurtured by the people of the parish who welcome young people and offer sweet confectionery left over from Christmas, like bolo or broas de mel accompanied by local wine or liqueur, abundant during the holiday festivities. The visits began in the late afternoon. The group sang the Romagem de Natal and then went to the residence of Father João Mendonça, situated in the village of Porto da Cruz. The music and songs sung were retained in the parish collectively by the older people.

It is recalled that each year there are more houses visited. The "Kings" are received with great joy and are always invited to visit the Lapinha and have a liqueur and sample the traditional broas and cakes of this season. This activity has always been held on the Saturday before the Epifania do Senhor (Epiphany of the Lord), (the day the Church celebrates the Dia de Reis, second Sunday after Christmas). The fact that this initiative falls on a Saturday makes it possible for young people, mostly students, to participate since the visits last into the night.

This year despite the weather, the group of players and singers took a tour of the parish covering homes from the lower part up to higher sites. "A curiosity of our region is that one of the ‘Kings can carry’ the Menino Jesus to people for kissing," said Heliodoro Dória from the local Casa do Povo, stating that "the visits ended only at two in the morning despite uncertain weather with some rain." After that hour the bells stopped ringing. Note that in addition to singing and music, the group was accompanied by bells in order to be heard in the distance so that people could prepare for the visit. For the president of the Casa do Povo, the main reason for this activity to continue is to "keep alive the traditions of this region and provide moments of conviviality and fellowship among the dozens of people involved." 

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

Tradition of ‘Cantar os Reis’ livens Madeira – In Curral das Freiras, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Funchal, and out there somewhere, the coming night is going to warm. I think we have probably covered these stories several times here, so no more from me to be said. But it does seem to me that what I understood was mainly a sort of house-to-house tradition is moving more outdoors into organised events more recently. Am I mistaken?

Today’s main news headline : Lisbon without any pressure delay the Regional Finance Law – The successive resort to technical advice about the various alterations to the LFRA is surely going to ‘red tape’ the conclusion of the process, and the release of funds for which the Regional Government has been campaigning. The PS Socialists say they are not dithering on purpose, but that also they do not exist to serve the requests of the PSD Social Democrats.

The main front page photo today shows a rural / agricultural scene littered with debris resulting from the recent bad weather : 200 farmers have already requested assistance – The Environment Agency has 16 technicians to inspect damage from the bad weather. Up until yesterday afternoon, around 200 farmers had already applied for financial support from the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources, from a resource set up to assist citizens with land damaged resulting from the bad weather suffered in the last two weeks of December. Regional Secretary, Manuel António Correia, says that inspections are already underway, so that the farms can be restored, and even improved, as soon as possible. The 16 technicians have not only to evaluate the damage claim, but also verify that it was caused during the most recent bad weather. The funding has been ring-fenced from both Regional and European sources, and can cover between 85 and 100% of eligible expenses.

Wind and waves continue to hinder navigation. The Lobo Marinho did not make the trip and the tanker ‘Madeiro’ unloads its fuel with an ‘eye dropper’.

150 thousand litres of water ‘bail out’ Ponta do Sol. Over 150,000 litres of drinking water have been distributed in just 4 days. The tankers used to provide the water will not result in any additional costs for Ponta do Sol council. Normality is returning to domestic users in Ponta do Sol, as drinking water now flows through household taps.  A week ago around 5,000 people in the district were still without drinking water, due to storm damage to the supply network in Rabaças on 22nd December. The council used it’s own tanker, and one from the fire brigade from Ribeira Brava, to meet demand for drinking water, but as it pays €100,000 a year to the ‘bombeiros’ in support, the service provided will not cost the taxpayers in Ponta do Sol anything extra.

Difficulties of companies in 2009 take a record 89 insolvency cases. The last three months of 2009 confirmed what was already a certainty, that in both the cases of individuals and collectives, all records for Madeira were demolished with 89 insolvency cases through the courts. The last three months were in fact quieter, with just 15 cases, but the year overall saw an increase of 150%.

In sport / football, after what seems a long absence, Marítimo are back on the front page : Marcinho prohibited of entering the club – The Brazilian player has already arrived, but not yet trained. It is claimed that Marcinho has had a virus and he wants to explain that to the president.

Rain and strong winds are remaining in the forecasts, from this afternoon. Tomorrow a slight drop in temperature may result in snow on the highest peaks.

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.

If you post a comment and are not registered on this site (free), your comment will be moderated, so please do not waste time with spam postings.  If you register, your comment will be posted automatically. If you register, your email address will not be passed to any other party … promise!

Please send any topical or Madeira related photos or videos to Der at blog@madeira4u.com to appear on this blog. Photos may take a while to appear, depending on the number waiting. Please don’t send copyrighted material.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Madeira News Blog © 2007 – 2009 All Rights Reserved

Some people publish their family holiday snapshots online, never expecting anyone to ever see them, so naked sunbathing photos are not recommended. I expect this lady will have a bit of a surprise when she sees her visitor stats tomorrow. TÂMARA’S MADEIRA HOLIDAY

"These two astronaut photographs illustrate the northern (top) and southern (bottom) Savage Islands. The two views were taken 13 seconds apart from the International Space Station; the geographic centre points of the images are separated by about 15 kilometres. Selvagem Grande, with an approximate area of 4 square kilometres, is the largest of the islands. The smaller and more irregularly-shaped Ilhéus do Norte, Ilhéu de Fora, and Selvagem Pequena are visible at the center of the lower image. Spain and Portugal both claim sovereignty over the Savage Islands". ILHAS SELVAGENS

"In an attempt to liven things up a bit, we started trying to determine which of the interesting looking fruits might be edible.  These rather attractively purple bananas (you will need to click on the link to see the photo) turned out to be not only ripe, but deliciously sweet, and rather oddly crunchy, with seeds the size of peppercorns. I SUSPECT THOSE ‘WILD’ BANANAS WERE FAR FROM RIPE OR WERE NOT BANANAS worth a read and some nice photos

British lawyer laundered bribes to Nigeria – "The entire Nigerian bribery scheme was organised through London, according to the US authorities, taking advantage of Britain’s weak laws against overseas corruption. Labour ministers waved through a British loan guarantee for part of the deal in 2003, describing it as an example of "sound financial judgment". Cash flowed down an elaborate route, involving a subsidiary registered in Madeira, a Tesler company registered in Gibraltar and bank accounts in the Netherlands". LINK I doubt if the Madeira free zone needs this type of publicity as it is under so much scrutiny at the moment with accusations that it is effectively an ‘offshore’, but as this article was published in the UK Guardian newspaper, I doubt that reproducing this here will cause any further damage.

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

Government outlines new goals for organic production. Bio Madeira Week. At the time when the region has 5% of agricultural land classified as organic, the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources yesterday set a challenge of increasing this area from 240 hectares to 500 over the next few years. In 2000, there were only 21 hectares devoted to organic farming. For these producers there are added incentives, e.g. payments higher than for traditional farmers – 30% more for organic grapes and bananas. The expansion of this type of agriculture is an opportunity and a factor of competitiveness. As Madeira is only a small island, farmers cannot compete on price so the produce must be of high quality and organic certification is a critical distinction.

Verandim yields and ‘betrays’ two elderly people. Two women, aged 69 and 79, were yesterday admitted to the Central Hospital of Funchal from injuries suffered in a fall from a balcony, about two feet up. They were leaning against a varandim (balcony) of iron when, for reasons not known, it gave way causing both to fall. They were assisted on site by the bombeiros and taken to the hospital. One had a cut on the scalp and both complained of back pain. The older woman was kept under observation in the Emergency Room and the younger one admitted to Orthopaedics. The accident occurred at a private house in Sao Roque.

Man denies domestic violence case. Following on from yesterday’s article about domestic violence in Porto da Cruz. "For 20 years I do not drink." The outburst from the man accused of scaring the daughter and ex-wife who live in a secluded area of Porto da Cruz. He denies the allegations that he appeared drunk on the doorstep and is sure that he has not seen his daughter since the divorce. Outraged and hurt about the complaints to the police and the Commission for the Protection of Children, he says he will proceed with a criminal complaint against his ex-wife and son. The marriage lasted for 25 years. In his version, the ex-wife will have given false information about the alleged appearances at the old family home. As for drink, every time he has been breathalysed in police stops over the past 20 years, the reading was zero. He has not seen his 11 year old daughter since the divorce at the beginning of this year, although access is guaranteed by the divorce ruling. It is the ex-wife who prevents him from seeing the daughter and he abides by her decision. He stills pays the maintenance every month. He insists he never injured the daughter and has only been to the house to collect his belongings.

Regional Development Forum. The current economic situation determines the theme of the World Forum of Regional Economic Development, which is taking place in Funchal until tomorrow. A key objective is to find concrete measures that are feasible and apply them to the various regions, whatever they are. About 70 people of various nationalities are participating in the Forum which began yesterday. They are from places as diverse as China, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, United States and Europe. Energy is expected to be a fundamental aspect of the future. Hence the presence of the Russians and Ukrainians in the meeting, " They open and close the tap." One aspect that is certainly discussed at the meeting is the importance of social aspects. Today the world and regions face a social crisis. "In some countries, more than half of young people are unable to find work."

PS does not celebrate November 25. As the Legislative Assembly of Madeira did not celebrate April 25 1974 by a special sitting, members of the PS (Socialists) will not participate in any ceremony dedicated to 25 November 1975. In the commemorative session they will recall the military action that led to the stabilization of democracy. On 25 November 1975, according to the PSD, a party which for years promoted the realization of this plenary, models of Communist rule were rejected. ALM celebrates this ‘consolidation’ of democracy but does not devote any space to the celebration of the Carnation Revolution that ended more than four decades of dictatorship in Portugal. The leader of the PS, João Carlos Gouveia, explained that it is a celebration by a right wing party that does not accept democracy, and is closer to the fascist regime that oppressed Portugal. A year ago, the session on November 25 did not have any members of the Socialists, Left Bloc or New Democracy Party.

Junta de Gaula against Jardim’s cuts. The JPP party (Together for the People) on Sunday in public denounced the cutting of public works by the Government and Council of Santa Cruz. The leader of the local Freguesia, also JPP, was also against the cuts. Élvio Sousa said it revealed a profound disregard for the interests of the Gaula population, a situation which needs to be explained by the mayor of Santa Cruz and the former executive responsible for the Freguesia of Gaula – that the analysis deceived the people of Gaula. He cannot understand how the work has been postponed when a framework contract has already been signed in March 2009. Élvio Sousa asks the following question: "To what extent are local councillors, who must defend the interests of the people of Gaula, ‘slaves’ of the masters in Funchal?"

ALM budget approved in eight minutes. Less than 10 minutes were enough to discuss and approve the budget for the ALM. Only the PCP communists referred to the famous ‘jackpot’ for the parties and the questions raised by the Court of Auditors in relation to the use of funds transferred by the Assembly. In discussing the accounts of the ALM in 2008, Baltasar Aguiar of the PND New Democrats commented on the high cost of parking, paid by Parliament (165,000 Euros per year). He also asked Miguel Mendonca why a trip to America that was to last 3 days ended up lasting 11 days.

Christmas Outreach Project. The Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Transport put forward an action of solidarity, aimed at the young. There will be a large Santa Claus in the Avenida Arriaga where you can deposit toys which will be distributed to children in institutions in the region. The toys will be distributed at the show ‘Singing of the Kings’ at the Municipal Park on January 5, 2010 at 20.00.

There will be less money in 2010. Presenting the budget for next year, Ventura Garces announced several cuts. The budget has been reduced to €1,531 million, €50 million less than 2009. The region should experience an increase in net debt of around €178 million resulting in a loan of 230 million Euros (still lacks the authorization from the State) and €52 million is needed to repay the loan. Another loan worth 50 million Euros might be applied for from the European Investment Bank. Sport will receive 11% less and agriculture will receive 14% less. The opposite applies to business development that increases 111%, employment over 37%, and tourism 6% more than 2009.

Meeting of the Union of Embroiderers in Turkey. The Madeira Union of Bordados (traditional embroidery) at a meeting in Turkey, want the creation of an International Federation of Home Workers. They want an Internet site to unite home workers from every country, and a Federation to fight for their rights. The Union has delivered its proposal to IBTAM to double the payments made to embroiderers, as an incentive. There are fewer and fewer workers due to the low income.

Car caught fire on motorway. A car caught fire yesterday on the Funchal – Ribeira Brava motorway. The incident occurred around 15.30 and the front of the Peugeot 206 was completely destroyed. Manuel Rodrigues, the owner, said that while going from Funchal to São Vicente, at the exit from the tunnel after Quinta Grande the car started to emit smoke and then fire broke out. This continued until the exit to Campanário. He used a fire extinguisher but it was the bombeiros who eventually extinguished the fire. The car was purchased in London and was brought to the region yesterday via the Naviera Armas. The fire might have been caused by a short circuit.

Cruises yield €40 million per year. The Ports Authority want to increase the number of calls by cruise ships, which is close to 300 per year. The objective is outlined at a time when the administration is preparing to make a new study on the satisfaction of cruise tourists who visit the island. Cruise ships tourism generates revenues of €40 million per year, but APRAM want to end the seasonality when May to August are quiet months. One way is the association with Medicuise which should give access to new routes. The last survey was in 2005 and this one will occur in the first half of 2010. It aims to update the data on spending patterns of the passengers and crews while on the island. It is recalled that in 2005, the study concluded that each passenger spent around 70 Euros a day. An EU survey concluded that crew members spend an average of 25 Euros per day. The inauguration of the new Maritime Station has been scheduled for next year, but no date fixed. The building will be completed by the end of this year then in the first half of next year, the equipment to operate it put into place. The cost will not be passed onto cruise ship passengers. The Traditional Trade Association want an extension of Saturday and Sunday opening to catch the weekend trade of hundreds of tourists when cruise ships call. Only last weekend there were 6,300 tourists who found a city deserted and empty. The authorities should promote tours to the city center and the Farmers’ Market. Sights of interest should also open at the weekend.

Government will encourage ‘Park and Ride’. The Horários Bus company, the Council of Funchal and the Regional Secretariat of Tourism and Transport are studying this concept. This initiative is intended to relocate parking from the city center to the periphery and make public transport sufficiently attractive so that people do not want to drive into the centre. A previous attempt at Viveiros did not work due to low compliance. The idea is to have two parking areas, one at the Western side and one at the Eastern side.

Police detain nine suspected of stealing from several homes in Funchal. Nine men between the ages of 20 and 59 are suspected of burglary and are thought to belong to a gang "presumably involved in concerted behaviour." Several items were seized including several pieces of gold, worth more than 6,000 Euros. The suspects are residents of Funchal, Santa Cruz and Lisbon.

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

Top story today : Demolition of Savoy starts in January – The hotel comes down in a process without implosion that will take 10 months. The developer Horácio Roque says that he intends to spend the New Year eve 2012-13 in a new building, budgeted at €120 million. Perhaps Mr. Roque is thinking of staying in another new hotel then, or perhaps in a hotel outbuilding? If it needs 10 months to knock down the old one (using traditional methods) and clear the site, that leaves just over two years to build a new one. This is Madeira … I have seen houses that have taken longer than two years to build. The bets are on! The idea is demolition with as little disturbance as possible, but that is of course impossible to avoid. I have pity for people in that zone that will have to put up with all this for years to come, particularly as this project was never necessary, and better options were available to revitalise the fortunes of the Savoy hotel, and for the loyal staff that were all sacked.

Debate concludes that the crisis is going to endure – The ’100 Biggest and Best’ (companies) united bosses of success in times of difficulties. I agree. An economy based so heavily on leisure will always be amongst the last out of recession, and I didn’t need to attend a conference of company bosses to work that one out.

In the Madeira budget for 2010, 29% of the revenue needed is not guaranteed. Someone else fancy a look at this one?

Health is in contention in the screening for Gripe A – Each exam costs more than 100 Euros and should be reduced. In January support for private analyses finishes. There seems to be two intertwined stories here, but the one in front of me says that tests and analyses samples taken by hospitals and health centres on Madeira, that went to private companies for processing, will no longer have the costs reimbursed from January. All such work will in future be undertaken by the Pathology Laboratory in Funchal Central Hospital. That’s old news, but maybe the effective date is new?

SATA wants to continue the operation Funchal – Porto Santo. President of the company showed himself to be interested in the contest anticipated for 2010. That can be no great surprise, as it has been well known for a long time that the Azores airline SATA brought two new (not brand new) planes to service the route. Quite why they will be flying from Funchal I am not sure, perhaps the usual airport at Santa Cruz is expected to fall into the sea next year. Cruise ships go to Funchal, not air traffic. You know what I have actually met people who think this island is called Funchal.

Madeira ground-breaker in the inventory of organs. Church organs that is. The inventory of church organs started on Madeira recently is the first of it’s kind in Portugal. It seems a book is to be published ‘Organs of the churches of Madeira’. It must be a job creation scheme? Surely no one is going to buy the book in sufficient numbers to make it a financially viable project.

Today’s sport headline, well two in one actually : Cristiano returns and Barcelona defeat Mourinho – The Madeiran is back tonight in the Champions league. Barcelona shone yesterday. Ronaldo is back for Real Madrid v FC Zurich after injury. Portuguese José Mourinho watched his team Inter Milan lose last night.

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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.

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

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

If you post a comment and are not registered on this site (free), your comment will be moderated, so please do not waste time with spam postings.  If you register, your comment will be posted automatically. If you register, your email address will not be passed to any other party … promise!

Please send any topical or Madeira related photos or videos to blog@madeira4u.com to appear on this blog. Photos may take a while to appear, depending on the number waiting. Please don’t send copyrighted material.

The headline news & other snippets reviewed here on the blog are mainly from the Diário de Notícias of Madeira, although news from any source is used and welcome.

The blogs in the ‘uncategorised’ category come from the old madeira4u blog.

IF YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE, TRY THE MENU ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ‘USEFUL LINKS’ & ‘TIPS & HELP’

Madeira News Blog © 2007 – 2009 All Rights Reserved

‘Quotas: Inequality Or Justice? – After the elections, the country will see if the parity was a sham or the beginning of a new era’. Whether you agree or not with the mandatory requirement that a third of electoral lists are women, the law of parity has at least achieved one purpose : preventing the masculine status quo continuing to clash with the entry of women in politics. Invited to ‘give a face to a party’, the women mastered the opportunity to prove their abilities. So say some of the candidates heard by the Diário. No one says it openly, but there are those that suspect that once the elections are over, that one will come to see the ‘distancing’ of the ‘imposed candidates’ in the favour of male candidates more desirable for the party structures. There is nothing in law, once the elections are over, that forces the top politicians to show equality in the allocation of portfolios and the top jobs in politics. The election rules themselves require that there cannot be more than two consecutive male candidates on the lists. In a country where female participation in political office is very low, and gender discrimination of women continues at many levels, the past few months have brought ‘to light’ complaints within political parties on the difficulty of finding enough women. Never before has it been seen in Portugal, so much interest in the inclusion of  ‘ladies’ on the electoral lists, and at the time of submitting the official lists, some parties are keen to shout publicly about their pride in fulfilling the law of parity. A female candidate in Santa Cruz said "The law is good in a society that still discriminates, because in some cases it could guarantee women an opportunity to prove their capabilities".  In contrast, the number three candidate for the PSD in Machico (also a woman) disagrees with the imposition of seats for women on electoral lists, but admits that it is an effective way to ‘open the political doors’ to the female sex. It’s a really interesting long article on the subject, which left me a little surprised that women in politics didn’t especially support the law of parity, and a controversial comment was made was that women candidates would be more attractive on the posters and political propaganda, and that might make a party more attractive to a voter. Well I will be voting in the local elections, and although I am open minded at present (particularly as my vote will be a waste of time anyway), I will be looking out for the parties that have women placed at exactly number 3, 6, 9 etc. on their lists, and not casting my votes in those directions.

‘JPP want everything in Santa Cruz’. Rework the policies, support investment and reset priorities. These are some objectives that a Group of Citizens ‘Juntos pelo Povo’ (Together for the People) delineate for Caniço. Carlos Costa is the political representative of the JPP, and stresses that the movement is banking on "getting everything" in Santa Cruz. "Our intent is to win all the parish elections together with the municipal council (câmara) and the municipal assembly", he said yesterday. The candidates led by Filipe Sousa were outside of the church in Caniço to present some of the proposals of the movement, when it challenged the delay in implementation of some urbanization plans in the area. I wish you all luck, I really do, but the snag of course is if successful on the scale outlined, where will you turn for money and government support … the social democrats in regional government of course. That means Santa Cruz will probably be number 11 on a priority list of 11 regions, and the reality is you will have less and achieve less than with the status quo. I love to see democracy at work … thanks Uncle Bertie.

In another sort of related article : ‘Independents In Santa Cruz ‘Seen’ As Socialists – Two years after leaving the PS, they continue as socialists on the câmara website’. Filipe Sousa (mentioned above, and now in the JPP) abandoned the PS-M socialists two years ago, along with two other PS councillors, but the câmara (mostly PSD) left them as socialists on the official website, with photographs and all. Those concerned were appalled by the situation but nothing changed. The Diário contacted the President of Santa Cruz last week on the subject, but he refused to make a statement on the matter. However, the inside whisper was that "there were more important things to be done". Miraculously the website has now just been changed.

"In The Truth The People Don’t Know" – Fransisco Dias Challenges Jardim to clarify the future of the marina of Lugar do Baixo’. The socialist candidate to the council of Ponta do Sol takes up the theme, challenging Jardim to "clarify exactly" the future of that undertaking. "When Dr. Alberto João Jardim came to Ponta do Sol last week he said that the people knew what was going on in the marina of Lugar do Baixo, but in the truth the people don’t know, but they want the matter clarified". He recalls that when the matter was raised by his party PS-M in the legislative assembly about why there were discussions going on in private, without a public tender, the question was ‘flunked’ by the socialist democrats.