Many thanks to Becky for finding some extra titbits :

Another (recent) dip into the blog of Executive Purser of P&O Arcadia.  He must have visited Madeira quite a few times, but still seems to enjoy it. "They are building a new Cruise Terminal at the Pier which should be open later this year – it appears to be all falling into place. We had 8 Shore Excursions operating along with a shuttle bus service into the town." PURSER POWER

Dolphins near Funchal, from YouTube posted on 7th February 2010.  I love the excitement they bring to the passengers on ‘Sea Pleasure’.  I’ve never been on a trip like this in all the time I’ve visited Madeira but I think I might try one after seeing this.

And also a handy tip from Pete … many thanks :

Have you thought about making your own bread? Nice soft large loaf. Something you can get your teeth into.  In Madeira the supermarkets they do an excellent flour. The Nacional Pão Caseiro flour,  most the ingredients are there, and all you add is sugar, butter, milk, and water.  Bread makers from Madeira forum are from €40, which is good value. The only problem is the loaf is soon snapped up. Now where that bread and butter.

Many thanks to Vanessa Swesnik for this complete article :

Loja do Cidadão installs number dispenser at Dolce Vita

Kiosk outside of store allows residents to manage time and handle their various responsibilities

Imagine you’re trying to run errands in or around Dolce Vita before heading to the Loja do Cidadão.  You can better plan your time management with a number dispenser on the second floor of the mall that began operating yesterday.

Upon getting a number to pay your electric or water bill, the monitor of the kiosk will tell you how long the line is so you can decide if it’s worth going to the Loja do Cidadão at that moment or if you should go later on in the estimated time until customer service.

LC’s director, João Lomelino, stated that this initiative being “pioneered in Portugal” as a compliment to the “physical and technical development” program of services offered could extend to other locations in Funchal.

He is appreciative of the receptiveness of Chamartín (Dolce Vita’s parent company) and the technological support of Portugal Telecom and MCC- Computadores; he also points out that this initiative not only contributes to the improvement of LC’s services, but also “makes peoples’ lives easier- which is really what interests us.”

Director of Dolce Vita, Timothy Broad, justified the acceptance of the offer as a way to create more “comfortable conditions for patrons” of the mall and to “eventually bring more of them.” PORTUGUESE ORIGINAL

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

DIÁRIO 10/02/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Man dies hours after hospital discharge. A 61 year old who had emigrated to Venezuela had returned to Madeira for a holiday and was due to return on Sunday. Late on Monday in Campanário, Camilo José Almada fell down steps and hit his head. He was taken to the local health centre then to the Hospital in Funchal where he was kept overnight for observation. He was discharged after radiological examination did not detect any unusual pathology. Camilo Almada was taken to his friend’s house but complained of feeling unwell, particularly in the abdominal region. He was then found dead an hour later at his friend’s residence. He had been unhappy about being discharged as he felt weak and access to his home was via steep stairs, which is why his friend was accommodating him. There will be an autopsy then a decision taken whether an internal enquiry is needed into his hospital care.

Controversy leaves 46 families waiting for a home. Impasse between Santa Cruz Council and the Institute of Housing and Urban Renewal (IHRU). The construction of the residential block started five years ago and was only completed late 2008, after a class action stopped the works. The council  has invested 4,276,000 Euros but the IHRU say additional work is required for the completion of the building and until then, will not transfer the amount they owe to the council. These additional works have been delayed by financial difficulties and there are 46 families waiting to move in. The council have put forward a new date for completion which is this summer. In 2009, the IHRU paid only 12,000 Euros to the council but the amount owed which should have been paid between 2003 – 2006 is 1,800,000 Euros. The council is paying interest on its loan, which has already totalled 550,000 Euros and could have been used on other projects.

MADEIRA

Carnival MadeiraShopping. Three parades held on the 13, 14 and 16 February with the Modelo mascot, Popota, present on all three dates. It is an opportunity for everyone to create, innovate and reinvent clothing, accessories, face painting and even mimic the look of their idols. Three themes for the children’s parades: 13th February at 14.00, especially for young children, "Carnaval dos Pequenitos"; 14th February at 14.00 for Valentine’s Day,"Os Modelitos de S. Valentim" and 16th February at 18.30, the day of the traditional Fun Parade (Cortejo Trapalhão), "A Moda dos Trapalhões".

Landfill will be transformed into banana plantation. The landfill area at Porto Novo will be used for banana production. The area is 20,000 square metres and should produce 70 tons of bananas per year. A similar project using land in Caniçal for experimental projects for table wine production has been successful. The land will remain publically owned but the farming and management of the land will be a private enterprise and the owner may apply for support funds. The upgrade of the landfill will also have a positive impact on the landscape. The government is developing a project for experimental banana production. This project will explore the selection of plants, irrigation systems and methods of production. Once the project has been finalized, it will be open for tenders. The Regional Government is encouraging private individuals to expand their production to land which up to now, has not been used for agricultural purposes.

Funchal to double the number of gravediggers. The Council of Funchal need 10 more ‘cemetery assistants’ for their four cemeteries. This need was highlighted yesterday at the cemetery at São Gonçalo where the family had to wait in the mortuary chapel for half an hour after the Mass for four gravediggers to arrive. This increased the natural distraught felt by the family. The problem is enhanced by the council’s commitment to burial.

Injured Paraglider in Intensive Care.  A Swiss paraglider was injured yesterday afternoon after falling into the sea about 100 metres from the shore at Madalena do Mar. He was assisted by his friends, the Navy and SANAS. He was found unconscious, presumably from the ingestion of sea water, resuscitated by the EMIR team then taken by ambulance to the Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça in Funchal. He is presently in Intensive Care. The cause of the accident is unknown. Madalena do Mar is very popular with paragliders who often use the promenade as a landing site.

ECONOMY

Ford car sales led in 2009. Ford was the best brand for vehicles sold in the region last year, due to the new Ford Fiesta and Ford KA. There were 26.5% more Ford vehicles sold last year than in 2008 although overall, vehicle sales fell 23.8%.

POLITICS

Two cheques transferred four days before the new leadership at São Jorge Two cheques for 22,500 euros were signed during the week of the inauguration of the new president of the Parish Council of São Jorge. Teófilo Cunha was elected for the  CDS/PP and said he was surprised to find the parish council had no money when he took office. The previous party was the PSD with João Reis as president. This "embezzlement" accusation is for a cheque for 2,500 euros to the Clube Desportivo e Recreativo de São Jorge and one for 20,000 euros to the local Casa do Povo. These two organizations during previous years had received ridiculous amounts from a parish council that was short of funds. These two large grants were given in the days after the votes had been counted. The former president replies he has a "clear conscience". At first he said the cheques were dated before the election but later he said they were dated in the week before the inauguration of Cunha. He admits there was a two month delay in the transfer of funds after the decision was made in August and September, but cannot explain why. A lawyer is examining the accounts and transactions.

CULTURE

Carnival parade at Santa Cruz. On Sunday 14 February at 16.30. Organized by the Casa do Povo de Santa Cruz, local Junta de Freguesia and Santa Cruz Council.  Route: Rua do Bom Jesus, Rua Irmã Wilson, Rua 17 de Junho, S. Fernando, Rua da Praia e do Ribeirinho, Ponte Nova to the Praça Dr. João Abel de Freitas. Caniço Carnival Parade on Tuesday 16 February at 17.30. It starts near the C.T.T. Information on this SITE

Machico has a year of intense cultural activity. Gastronómica de Machico celebrates 25 years and brings Mariza to Madeira on August 4th. The main attractions planned by Machico Council this year are: V Festival of ‘Live Dancing’ on April 24th at 21.00 at the Pavilion of Caniçal; V Market Fair between 4 – 6 at the centre of Machico and the 25th Gastronomy Week from July 30th to August 8th in the central square next to Forum Machico. The top act will be the fado singer Mariza on 4th August. September 5 – 6, the Grape and Agricultural Festival is held at Porto da Cruz.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

ECONOMY

Madeira betting on the market in Estonia. The market in Estonia is recognized by the Tourism Department as having a great potential. Representatives are at the Tourest fair in Tallinn between the 12 – 15 February and the Region is advertised throughout Estonia. The first direct flights to Estonia started between September and October 2008 and there is now another operator on this route. Top Tours begin flying on Friday using the airline Smartlynx with aircraft with 173 seats. These weekly flights are until 23rd April then begin again in September. Horizontal Travel fly weekly from March 11 to 29 April, using aircraft with 189 seats. Flights then begin again from 3 September to 18 November. This means some weeks there will be 362 seats available from Madeira to Estonia.

CULTURE

Rota da Cal promotes free visits. The residents of  São Vicente can visit the Núcleo Museológico – Rota da Cal (The Lime Route and Museum Centre) for free. This is to promote the second anniversary of the centre and the campaign runs until December. There will also be guided tours for groups of 5 – 25 people, which will take an hour and need to be booked beforehand. Residents will be able learn about the rural heritage, production and use of lime. The two limestone quarries contain fossils which are over 5 million years old. There is also a lime kiln house which is the only working one left in the archipelago.

Fura Samba in Brazil. The anthem of Fura Samba with music and lyrics by Nuno Bastos is very fashionable in Brazil. The song is a tribute to the Portuguese fado singer Amalia Rodrigues and will accompany the Fura Samba troupe at the Carnival Parade on Saturday night in Funchal.

Elaine also kindly provided me with this web snippet …

"Bemocked and minimized in importance for years – it is now time to give Tinta Negra Mole some credit. Not only for the fact it can provide great varietal wines but also for in some extent rescuing Madeira against the hybrid invasion that invaded the island after the Phylloxera. Tinta Negra Mole (TNM), a cross between Grenache and Pinot Noir, was recently upgraded to a noble grape cultivated on the island of Madeira. However, that doesn’t change the consumer’s view over night and for many TNM is still the grape that is disguised as a Sercial, Verdelho, Boal….well, you get it. Its chameleon character has been both its trademark and weakness". Tinta Negra Mole – Give the grape a break!

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

‘Vice’ leads events for 25 years in the European Union – The Regional Government chose Cunha e Silva to coordinate the 25 year celebrations of the integration of Madeira  in the European Union in 2011. Madeira let the 20th anniversary go by, but the Silver Jubilee is to be marked with a programme built by João Cunha e Silva [just one person] who is a vice president in Madeira’s government.  2011 also just happens to be an election year for the position of President of Madeira, as the Diário points out. That’s a laugh if I ever heard one! Nobody has yet integrated in the European Union, yet alone Madeira! That great concept of ‘lets all get together and make life better’, but with all those member states with secret agendas that all read along the same lines [it´ll be good for us and those suckers, whilst we also continue to do our own thing]. As for Madeira’s participation in the EU, it takes us to a new level of cherry picking and fleecing the EU for every cêntimo possible, whilst doing an absolute minimum to interface to the favour of it’s European ‘partners’. It seems to me that there is more will to interface with South America, than with Europe. It’s not fair to blame Madeira of course, so let’s blame the Madeiran Government to be more precise. I wonder if there will be any political ‘overlap’ between the events and celebrations of the 25th anniversary and the election of Uncle Bertie’s new lap dog.

Today’s main news headline :  Parents more negligent – Last week, a desperate child crying in a car while the parents enjoyed themselves. It is one of 132 cases of the parental negligence phenomenon on the rise on Madeira.

Chávez frightens – The order of expropriation of businesses in the Plaza Bolivia generates concern amongst Madeirans.

Peoples action defeated – The court judged  unfounded the injunction proceedings brought by Gil Canha against ‘Quinta do Lorde’. Yet another attempt to right the wrongs of the costal development in Machico was buried by the courts.

Airport indicators in fall – the number of passengers and movements fell in the first month of 2010. Traffic statistics from Madeira Airport fell back once again according to ANAM, the airport operators. Compared to January 2009 there was a fall in movements of 2.4%, and 1.8% in the number of passengers to 158,322. Cargo also fell by 1.8% to 456 tons.

The main sport / football headline today : Refusals to the Region – The national teams of Portugal and the United States thank for the contact, but they are not coming here to prepare. The Portuguese Football Federation has ruled out Madeira as a preparation venue for the 2010 Football World Cup, saying that it was looking for ‘parameters’ specified by the technical team, led by Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz. Without saying where the chosen training venue would be, Gilberto Madaíl said that Madeira would be considered for a future opportunity though, and if possible, even a game. Other countries contacted to offer this preparation opportunity include  Australia, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The approaches have been made through the embassies of those countries, based in Portugal.

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

I saw this photo on Flickr titled ‘Natures Fireworks’, which I thought was very clever and appropriate. It was taken in the Farmers Market in Funchal.

Many thanks to Tom for sending in this link : “The Greek debt crisis has spread to Spain and Portugal in a dangerous escalation as global markets test whether Europe is willing to shore up monetary union with muscle rather than mere words … Credit default swaps (CDS) measuring bankruptcy risk on Portuguese debt surged 28 basis points on Thursday to a record 222 on reports that Jose Socrates was about to resign as prime minister after failing to secure enough votes in parliament to carry out austerity measures … Parliament minister Jorge Lacao said the political dispute has raised fears that the country is no longer governable. “What is at stake is the credibility of the Portuguese state,” he said”. UK DAILY TELEGRAPH It had 112 comments by 9 pm yesterday! 

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

DIÁRIO 07/02/2010

MADEIRA

Laurissilva among the favourites. The list of 77 candidates for the next stage of the competition, ’7 Natural Wonders of Portugal’, will be released today for public voting between 7 March and 7 September. These have been chosen from the original 323 entries and there will be 11 chosen for each of the seven categories.

The nine wonders of the region
Ilhas Selvagens – Located about 163 miles from Madeira, they represent the extreme south of the country. The Nature Reserve of Selvagens was established in 1971 and is one of the oldest reserves in Portugal.

Ilhas Desertas – Biogenetic Reserve since 1992 and Nature Reserve since 1995, the Ilhas Desertas are one of the last strongholds of Lobo-marinho. They are also an important centre for nesting seabirds.

Floresta Laurissilva – Considered World Natural Heritage by UNESCO and classified as a Biogenetic Reserve by the Council of Europe, the Laurissilva is endemic to Macaronesia.

Cabo Girão – Located in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, it is the highest promontory in Europe with a height of 580 metres. The viewpoint of the site is one of the most sought after.

Fajã dos Padres – Narrow strip of land along the coast, under a cliff about 250 metres high, this fajã is located on the south coast of Madeira and is endowed with an agricultural area of excellence.

Pico Ana Ferreira – About 283 metres above sea level, it is the highest point of the western part of the island. At its peak there have developed a spectacular set of prismatic columns known as ‘piano’.

Praia do Porto Santo – Stretching over six kilometres between Vila Baleira and Ponta da Calheta, the golden sandy beach is one of the attractions of Porto Santo and the sand has therapeutic capabilities.

Cabeço dos Laranjas – On the islet of Cima (Porto Santo), you can see a spectacular outcrop of fossils of red algae, known locally as ‘oranges’ for their striking resemblance to that fruit.

Galerias do Ilhéu da Cal – In the largest island of Porto Santo, where the limestone mining industry began in the XVIII Century, today there are wonderful galleries where you can see subaquatic lava flows and volcanic ash.

1,000 participants in the Carnival of Câmara de Lobos. 18 groups will participate in this traditional parade held on the evening of February 15th. This year it will include the Associação de Animação Geringonça and  Malta do Furor (Achada de Gaula) and two other newcomers: Banda Filarmónica do Caniço e Eiras and the Escuteiros de São Martinho. Participants from various institutions, of all ages. The parade begins at 21.30, starting at Avenida Nova Cidade and ending at the car park of Baía de Câmara de Lobos.

Plans for Vila Giorgi and Castanheiro in discussion. From 18 February to March 17, plans for the redevelopment of this area of Funchal will be available online. The mayor noted that this is a very balanced plan when it comes to shopping, houses and services as it sets a percentage for each. In between Rua das Pretas and São Pedro, there will be a plaza of 1,700 square metres under which there will be a car park with 450 spaces, and 150 of these will be reserved for local traders. Vila Giorgi is a private development consisting of a five star hotel with 44 rooms and a block of 33 apartments. The detailed plan of the area Ornelas will be available between 18 February and 10 March.

Court establishes that the driver responsible for a fatal accident had no licence.  The accident occurred on the 25 October 2008 near the viewpoint of Cabo Girão. At around 3 am, the car hit a stone wall causing the death of one of the occupants, an 18 year old man and the other was seriously injured. At the time, it was a popular location to practice dangerous manoeuvres. The driver had no licence and the car was uninsured. The driver was still learning at a driving school and had only been in possession of a car for a short period of time.

PT and PSP used in ‘phishing’. If there is an e-mail in the mailbox with the logo of the police and PT (shown), it should be deleted immediately. Clicking on one of these logos takes the user to a copy of the website and an executable file is immediately downloaded.

ECONOMY

430,000 Euros for the Open de Golfe and Rali Vinho Madeira. Turismo de Portugal will provide 330,000 Euros for the Golf Open and 100,000 Euros for the Madeira Wine Rally. This is 30% of the total needed for the golf tournament at Porto Santo, and the Regional Budget will provide an additional half a million Euros. The Wine Rally also needs 1 million Euros in funds and will receive 650,000 Euros from the government.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA – FRONT PAGE NEWS

‘Healer’ takes money and gold at Caniçal. A case of doorstep fraud. A woman and her son knocked at the door of a house where a 40 year old woman lived with her son. The visitors tried to sell clothing but the resident was not interested. The street vendor then changed the course of conversation, claiming that she was a registered healer, reading palms, tarot cards etc. She wanted money for powerful remedies which would be fully effective. Over a period of several days, the victim handed over 3,500 Euros in cash and gold items, totalling 5,000 Euros. The police have found the two suspects, assumed mother and son, and some of the items but not the money. The local people commented on the ridiculous way in which this has happened.

EVENTS

Five robberies in Calheta. Five burglaries in recent days but the assailants have not been caught. Most of the damage has been by the forced entries rather than items stolen. Two houses at Ledo, two at Palheiros and the Junta de Freguesia have been robbed.

ECONOMY

Loja do Cidadão and Dolce Vita have a new innovation. A new information system will be installed in these two areas in Funchal. The user of the Loja do Cidadão can find out their place in the queue for their chosen service and estimated waiting time. The service is also accessible on the second floor of the Dolce Vita commercial mall, so the user can shop or consume food while waiting. This service will be inaugurated at 18.00 on Monday February 8th.

CULTURE

Cortejo folião animated “Festa dos Compadres”. This was the first time this parade has taken place in Santana during the Festa dos Compadres. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, 16 groups from the primary and secondary schools took part. The parade was followed by musical entertainment. Prizes were awarded to the best participating groups and the best participant. The Ball of Compadres followed at 22.00. Many, including families, watched this procession especially as it was the initial one. It is to be kept as a separate additional event from the main parade, which is on the following Sunday afternoon (this afternoon).

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

500 waiting for tobacco consultations. The search for help in quitting smoking grows, but Madeira cannot provide an adequate service, lacking facilities and doctors to cope. [Why is a doctor needed I wonder?]. Outside of Funchal, only Câmara de Lobos can actually offer consultations to help smokers. It has been two years since the publication of the directive of the Directorate General of Health, which called for the creation of specialized clinics in all health centres and hospitals, but decentralization has still not happened.

In politics : Social Democratic Party and Socialist Party without proposals since the Summer – The two biggest parties only came up with two projects of decree in the current legislative session. It’s a good point actually. With the distractions of the regional and national elections, Christmas, the PS leadership election, the Regional Finance Law, and the bad weather, it seems that the politicians here have taken the opportunity for a verrrrry extended Summer holiday.

Many [suffer] damages without the right to compensation. The majority of the storm damage caused over the past weeks, will not be covered for repair or replacement. Natural disaster damage can be covered, such as that experienced recently by thousands of people, and can be remedied, but only for those who have appropriate insurance. The other option for some, is to find someone else to blame, but Saint Peter (São Pedro) himself is exempt from such claims. This is pretty much the situation facing those who are victims of natural phenomena, that may or may not be worsened by human intervention. And the problem is that, except for compulsory insurance associated with bank loans for house purchase, the majority of homes in the region (especially rural) are not insured. The article also has a helpful ‘Question and answer’ session fielded by the Insurance Institute of Portugal, as well as citing various laws that cover this area with insurance policies.  Just for Martin’s benefit, after raising the subject at the weekend.

Today’s main news headline : Bad debt threatens health – The Regional Health Service owes 147 million Euros to suppliers, that admit withholding supplies from the hospitals and health centres. With wisdom the people say : health doesn’t have a price. But the truth is that on Madeira it costs plenty, more than the money that the Region makes available. The shortfall is paid through the long waiting lists, as well as from the medical suppliers whose ‘financial health’ for a long time has been connected to the [life support?] ‘machine’. At the end of 2008 the Regional Health Service (SESARAM) had to pay €147 million to the suppliers, a scary figure if one considers the impacts on the suppliers of essential products to health centres and hospitals. Several other large figures are presented, all related to various categories of debt, or lack of equity, and the Diário once again labels another major organisation as ‘technically bankrupt’. 60% of the health budget on Madeira is used to pay doctors, nurses, and other staff. Skipping through the meat of the article, the Diário changes tact somewhat, and then reports that the average costs of public expenditure per head of population here (in general terms) is 36% higher than in the Azores. In medical terms the two archipelagos compare differently, with Madeira with 2.5 doctors and 7.7 nurses per thousand of population, and the Azores with 2 doctors and 6.7 nurses for the same numbers of people. Both sets of numbers are however well lower than the European average. Madeira spends on health an average per head of population of €1,312 [per year?] compared to €960 on the Azores. So where does that leave us you ask, with a health service in technical bankruptcy? What can we do to protect ourselves in our times of greatest need. Whilst we can all do things to lessen our risk of needing health care, like Uncle Bertie packing in those toppling Cuban cigars for instance, the answer of course lies in Poncha. More research and investment is needed in Poncha, and I am prepared to do my bit to help. Where health facilities are being starved by suppliers of essential medical supplies, low cost Poncha substitutes are the key. We could allocate different flavours for different illnesses for example, with the traditional lemon being used to treat problems with stress and depression, whilst the rather more sickly maracujá flavour could be used for ladies with problems.The main sport / football headline today : What lacked in the paint remained in the points – The game in Barreiros was delayed because one could not see the lines on the pitch. But neither that, nor a barely tolerable performance stopped Marítimo beating União de Leiria [1-0], and overtaking Nacional, defeated  [1-0] in Olhão. The unimpressive photo with this story has the lions share of the front page of the Diário, with the rather bizarre scene out on the football pitch, of a solitary man and a pot of paint and a brush, repainting the seemingly non existent white lines on the pitch. It could only happen here … a premier league match, a cut field with goalposts, two football teams, a refereeing team, a couple of thousand fans, … but someone had forgotten to mark out the pitch, and nobody noticed until it was too late!!! Luckily the game wasn’t televised, as this embarrassment can hopefully be maintained on Madeira. It must have been quick drying paint too. The plot of distraction obviously worked as Marítimo overcame the opposition to win. Well done lads, good tactics (said through gritted teeth).

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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

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

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