Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … swimming pool area behind the Forte De São Tiago damaged in the December 2009 storms

With the Portuguese tax year just finished, and the time to submit tax returns just around the corner, this is a rather useful set of Questions & Answers on what you can and cannot submit in terms of medical expenses PORTUGAL NEWS ONLINE

The weekly travel challenge from the UK Independent newspaper this week targets Madeira : "Every week we invite competing companies to give us their best deal for a specified holiday. Today: a week in Madeira, departing on 26 February". The responses (so far) include 4 or 5 star hotels, but I reckon I could find cheaper (for a small fee of course). RESULTS

"Don’t miss the top spot to visit – Funchal Botanical Garden. With an area of 80,000 sq. m. it is the most famous tourist attraction on the island. There is a collection of more than 2500 plant species. Its location in the amphitheatre will enchant you. The Botanical Gardens provides its visitors with spectacular panoramic views over the mountainous backdrop, the city below and its bay with the deep blue waters of the Atlantic". I don’t think it the most famous personally. New year fireworks is for me if we are talking man made tourist attractions. Anyone think that some of those photos have appeared before as the blog daily photos? FULL ARTICLE

"With the advent of refrigerators and other similar devices today it has become possible to have ice all year-round. Now … imagine 100 years ago …. how could one get ice? Only in winter and in the highest regions of Madeira, when it snowed or hailed. Madeira ancestors solved the problem by building reservoirs in which they could store and preserve the ice and snow that winter brought to them those days. It was then used by hospitals and hotels, … thus resulting in the famous Wells of Snow (Poços da Neve)". Don has given his blog a new look HERE

Becky has come up with another batch of web snippets she found … many thanks :

A brilliant clip courtesy of British Pathe.  "Women’s Own" models, Gina and Brenda explore Madeira during a fashion shoot for the magazine in 1952.  Hilarious.  "Play suit" conjures up such different images these days. FOR THE OVER 18′s ONLY

At the risk of boring everyone with historical journals, here’s a link to a short chapter from the Letters of John Driver in 1834 (they’re getting earlier!). He writes engagingly and if you click on [PDF] you’ll get the first 10 pages. It seems he was more interested in chatting up Americans than the locals 176 years ago. If you like what you read, the book of letters has recently been published in hardback and paperback. FUNCHAL LIBRARY BLOG

Over twelve thousand visits from 106 countries to this blog in January, the best yet after 8 months with Madeira Island Direct.

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

DIÁRIO 31/01/2010 MADEIRA

Five pathways closed. In less than a month, bad weather and landslides have forced the closure of five footpaths and levadas which are included in the official walking circuit of the serras of Madeira. The official ‘Turismo’ site alerts walkers to the closures and the Regional Director of Forestry acknowledges that the renovation of such extensively damaged areas will be expensive. Levada do Rei, Caldeirão Verde, Caminho Real da Encumeada, Levada da Fajã do Rodrigues and Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal are the five closed footpaths. The worst affected is the Caminho Real da Encumeada, especially the section Boca da Corrida at Encumeada. Almost all the walking paths on the island have been damaged by the bad weather, the ones least affected are near the south coast and on Porto Santo. Before work can be undertaken, a survey will have to be carried out and a firm contracted.

Region lacks Nature Wardens. The Nature Wardens (vigilantes) began in 1988 with four people and there are now 36 members of staff. The law requires 50, which would be too many, according to the President of the Association of Nature Wardens of Madeira. Tuesday is the National Day of ‘Vigilante Nature’. They work in the protected areas and natural reserves under the Service of the Natural Park of Madeira (SPNM). Their work includes helping in conservation projects, raising awareness and environmental educational projects in schools and other establishments. The Wardens also stay on the Ilhas Desertas and Selvagens for three weeks at a time. The Association is facing recruitment challenges as for the past few years there have been no new recruits. The work is physically demanding, including the use of rock climbing equipment and boats.

Plants and animals in Funchal, Madeira 2010 competition. This is open to those aged between 10 and 25 years old. It aims to increase knowledge of the environment and biodiversity in the region. Teams of three to five can enter. Activities will occur in these seven locations of Funchal:  Parque de Santa Catarina, Jardim Municipal, Jardim das Plantas Aromáticas, Jardim de Santa Luzia, Jardim Botânico da Madeira, Núcleo dos Dragoeiros and Jardim do Madeira Magic. These activities will consist of obligatory tasks at predefined locations and dates, assessed for aesthetics, use of techniques and materials and originality. Prizes awarded for the best work of second and third cycles, secondary and university students and awards for all participants. The activities will be carried out during March and April and prize giving is on May 22nd, the International Day of Biological Diversity. The activities will strengthen ties with the natural heritage of Madeira, promote team working, help participants discover the plants and animals on the island and challenge them intellectually, physically and artistically. (Photo from the area Núcleo dos Dragoeiros).

ECONOMY

SATA promotes Madeira – Zurich flights for 278 Euros (round trip). Another special promotion. The direct flight to Switzerland leaves every Sunday afternoon and returns at night. The Airbus A320 has 160 seats. — No details of any conditions.

TerraMinha charter flights from Lisbon to Porto Santo. This firm is part of the tour operator Sonhando (Pestana Group) and has initial promotions using flights leaving Lisbon on Saturdays between 10 April and 23 October. Flying with SATA, the seven night package includes accommodation and breakfast. Prices are valid for advance bookings until April 30 or until 60 days before departure. Promotional prices vary from 432 Euros for accommodation at the Praia Dourada to 995 Euros at the Pestana Porto Santo, although the firm also uses other hotels.

Aigle Azur magazine devotes 18 pages to Madeira. This is the autumn edition of the in-flight magazine of this French carrier. The two principle articles cover 15 pages and describe the potential of Madeira as a tourist destination, suggesting routes and itineraries, and the history and geography of the archipelago. It also includes useful tourist information. There is a direct weekly flight from Orly Airport, increasing to twice a week from March. Aigle Azur expect Madeira to become a popular destination for the French tourist, thus invested in promotional flights which brought 150 travel agents and journalists to the island last October. This company had remarkable growth last year are are implementing a total of 40 flights per week from Paris to Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira.

NS magazine – no prizes given to Madeira wines. This magazine is distributed with Saturday’s editions of the two major Portuguese newspapers, ‘Diário de Notícias’ and ‘Jornal de Notícias’. Yesterday’s copy published the list of the ‘Best of 2009′ wines. In the 18 categories, Madeira wines had 5 nominations. They were on the short-list in 10 categories but could not get enough votes for the first place in any of them. The region was nominated for Best Protected DOC, won by Bucelas. Old Blandy Wine Lodge (Adegas de São Francisco) nominated for Best Wine Tourism Without Estate, won by Quinta do Seixo, Adegas Sandeman in Tabuaço. The Vila Cipriani restaurant in Reid’s Hotel nominated for Best Wine Service in a Restaurant, won by Fortaleza do Guincho in Cascais. The Madeira Wine Company nominated for Best Fortified Wine Producer, won by José Maria da Fonseca. In the Personality of the Year category, Américo Pereira of Diago’s Wine Cellar was nominated but André Ribeirinho of ‘Blogger Adegga’ won.

POLITICS

Arlindo prefers to preserve nature in Socorridos. Last Thursday, the Municipal Council of Funchal approved the Urbanization Plan of Socorridos by the firm Tâmega, with only the support of the PSD party. This will legalise the unlicensed industrial activity in the area, that has been repeatedly acknowledged by the council and Regional Government.  Arlindo Gomes, the Mayor of Câmara de Lobos, does not follow the intent of Funchal to urbanize the valley but prefers to recover and preserve the natural aspects of the area. He promises that as stated in the PDM, the land will be for agricultural purposes. Laurissilva in the corridor leading to Curral das Freiras will be preserved. In the photo, the left-hand side of the valley belongs to this municipality with the river bed on the side of Funchal.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

Azores will receive 20 million Euros. From the European Commission for the restructuring of the dairy sector under the strengthening of rural developments program. This restructuring of the dairy industry involves 27 member states and 14.5% of the total budget. The funds are from the CAP and the Economic Recovery Plan. The current economic and environmental situation requires action. — This is important to Madeira as the Azores are the main source of dairy products.

Porto Santo Line maintains tariff. In 2010, the Porto Santo Line will keep the present price list (2009 prices) for the sea voyages between Funchal and Porto Santo. The departure times also stay the same. Economy class round trip costs 42.10 Euros for adults in low season (January – March and October – December) and 51.50 Euros during high season (April – September). Residents in Porto Santo pay 28.60 Euros for each return ticket throughout the year. Children between 5 and 11 years pay 50% of the adult fare and children under 5 travel free. Vehicle transport fares are the same as in 2009. The fares are subject to fuel surcharges.

Police identify a dozen individuals in raid. On Friday night / Saturday morning, both uniformed and civilian police officers held a preventative raid in areas of Funchal, Santo António, São Martinho and São Roque. They went to establishments that had given rise to complaints in terms of noise and public disorder. Social complexes were searched for narcotics, particularly Quinta Josefina in Nazaré and Ribeira Grande. Some vehicles were stopped and individuals were identified but no arrests made.

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

Cáritas [charity] and grandparents have to feed children – Couples robbed of resources by the crisis leave the children with the grandparents and institutions. There are more and more cases of kids getting caught up in the economic crisis, going hungry at school, and being supported by grandparents. The first impacts of unemployment are felt by adults, but the children end up facing the consequences when hardships arise. Failure of maintenance payments is also a harsh reality, with hundreds of cases being dealt with through the courts, and Madeira at the moment is in a peak of single parent families. In some cases, especially where drug addiction is involved, children are even being abandoned, without any warning, with grandparents. In cases like these the charities step in to help where the grandparents cannot provide what is needed.

Today’s main news headline : Company waits 12 years for €6 million from the government – Successive appeals in court continue hindering judicial decisions that indicate towards an indemnity from the Regional Government to the businessman Avelino Catanho.  At stake, lands at Zona Franca.

This photo was taken in Santa da Serra yesterday where the water depth here reached one metre, after heavy rain at the end of the morning. 

Today’s main photo shows the cruise ship AIDALuna in Funchal Port in some pretty agitated looking water : Strong waves delay docking – The angry sea obliged the AIDALuna to stay out at sea for 4 hours, for a peek of an opening in order to dock in the Pontinha, that finished up being done with the help of a tug boat. I think that spell of high waves yesterday occurred right on a very high tide, because although the waves were not that big, they seemed to sweep over everything in front. The picture on the news last night showed one swimming area in Funchal underwater, and the Lugar de Baixo marina looking a bit of a mess … nothing new there then!

In politics : Jacinto Serrão asks for the resignation of Ventura Garcês – The size of the regional debt scares the leader of the Madeira Socialist Party, who is going to ask for the intervention of President Cavaco Silva.

Canon Martins wants to see the icon in Ribeira Seca. The priest is referring to the statue of Fátima that is on loan from mainland Portugal, and has been touring the churches of Madeira for the last few months. He said at the end of mass yesterday, in Machico, that the statue was coming to Ribeira Seca, fulfilling a promise made by the Bishop of Funchal. Fátima is due to be in the churches in Machico between the 5th and 9th May. Canon Manuel Martins had asked the faithful to pray for this to happen, and for any obstacles to be removed. The power of faith and prayer eh! I prayed for a cheese and pickle sandwich at 11pm last night, and I am still waiting. No faith, that’s my trouble.

The main sport / football headline today : NONE! That’s twice in a week, what is going on?

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. 

… and to finish today, a couple of pieces from the Diário de Notícias from Elaine out West … many thanks.

Madeira Mandolins at Teatro Municipal.
A piece by Antonio Vivaldi and ‘Preludium and Allegro’, a work by composer Fritz Kreisler for mandolin and orchestra will be performed by Isabel Camacho and Sara Gonçalves together with soloist André Martins. These are works to mark the special concert of Mandolins da Madeira, led by Eurico Martins, on 18 February at 21.00 hours in the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias. Tickets (20 Euros) are now on sale at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.

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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.

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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Martin … "Picture of Der’s car on display during the third week of June, prior to the annual running of the ‘Volta a Madeira". I can assure you Martin, that car puts mine to shame (and it probably is drivable).

RONALDO SET TO BE FIRST BILLIONAIRE FOOTIE ACE – Mega-rich Arab oil barons in Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar are willing to offer up to £3m a game to the Spanish side Real Madrid to play a series of exhibition matches during their winter break. But key to it going ahead is the inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo in the touring party. Sources claim the £3 m fee would be split 50-50 between the club and Ronaldo, giving him an amazing £16,000 for every minute he’s on the pitch. This is from a trash UK newspaper, but if it is true the numbers will BLOW YOUR MIND I think the answer is to play him for one minute, and then substitute him, still not bad 16 grand for an afternoon’s work.

Reminder. The expressway between Madalena do Mar and Arco da Calheta is closed until November 30th. due to the construction of a tunnel. The ER 101 closure is associated with the link between Ribeira Brava and Fãja da Ovelha.

Yesterday’s new stories … many thanks to Elaine :

Return of the Queen Victoria (shown in photo). For the first time this season, the port was full with three cruisers. The AidAluna (2,250 Germans) and the Oriana and the Queen Victoria (2,000 British on each ship). These tourists are known to utilize the tour buses, taxis and cable cars and visit the Farmer’s Market, wine and embroidery shops. This is the first time these three ships have all arrived on the same day and will all return on the 31st. December. Due to lack of berthing, the ferry from Portimão departed later on Sunday and will arrive at 16.30 rather than 9.30 am on Monday and leave at 19.00 for the Canaries.

Court acquits driver in fatal crash. He was charged with negligent homicide after a 52 year old man died. His car was in collision with a Madeira Beer Company (ECM) van which contained three occupants, one who died and the remaining two were seriously injured. The passenger in the car was not seriously injured. An expert witness said the car was not going fast enough to push the van into the stream. This occurred in 2005 at the intersection of Rua da Ribeira de João Gomes and Rua D. Ernesto Sena de Oliveira, and the truck went over the poorly-maintained barrier into the river bed about fifteen metres below.

To evict tenants, landlord needs to give five years notice. A couple leased a house out in 1982 with a one year renewable lease. The couple moved to England and the husband died. The landlord did not have an agent in the region and the tenants did not know where to pay the deposit, due to the death, so the rent was not paid since 2001. In 2008, the widow filed an eviction order and the tenants paid 50% of the rent due from 2001 to 2008. The court in Funchal dismissed the eviction order and the landlady appealed to the court in Lisbon, but this was also dismissed as the landlord must terminate an indefinite contract by notifying the tenant in advance of not less than five years of the date of intended termination.

Ribeira Brava Council promise to rectify the bad smell in Tabua. Today,  Monday, the council promise the removal of the accumulated sludge at the water treatment plant. This is to end rumours that the smell comes from direct discharge from the sewerage system into the river. The sludge build up was due to the heavy rains earlier this month, causing more water to enter the network. I was down their a week or so ago, and definitely a bit unpleasant … even the dog wanted to turn back. Der

Thousands follow the Virgin. Thousands of people, including a significant number of tourists, filled Sé Cathedral and courtyard for the Mass before the statue went to Fãja do Penado.  About 300 bikers and cars accompanied the journey and people were at vantage points throughout the route, e.g., overhead bridges. The statue was greeted by hundreds at the destination, since it is the only opportunity they will have of seeing the icon. It is particularly significant as in 1919, Fãja do Penado was the first place in the world to erect a chapel to honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Socialist Party leader to be elected on the 8th. and 9th. January. Jacinto  Serrão and Victor Freitas finally confirmed the date after a  heated debate when the Regional Committee was suspended after insults were traded. Victor Freitas wanted an earlier election date and the cancellation of this date, after a close vote, did not please some members of the Regional Committee who claimed Victor Freitas had given in after pressure and manipulation of the voting members by the leader João Gouveia.

SIRAM (Colombo’s Resort developers) has lost the licence to build a hotel and casino on Porto Santo. The group signed the contract in 2005 to build a casino and five star hotel within two years, then tourist apartments and villas. They paid 8.6 million Euros for the land where Colombo’s Resort is and paid €3.3 million to the Government of Madeira to aid in the 27 million investment in the Porto Santo Golf development. The company has €100 million debts and the shares have been sold to the creditors.

In Portugal, the revenue from golf tourism is €1.8 billion per year. There are eighty courses, forty in the Algarve and the players are mainly from the UK, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. There are about 300,000 golfers a year, who spend on average more than 260 Euros a day.

Élvio Sousa awarded prize in England. The President of the Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary Archaeology (CEAM) has been awarded the prize for his work in Machico and the Autonomous Region of Madeira. It was from the Council for Kentish Archaeology which was formed in 1964 in Bromley and the prize is awarded to outstanding individuals in preventative archaeology. He will give a lecture when receiving the prize in Canterbury on October 24th. The regional Tourism and Cultural  Affairs have also been invited. The Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary Archaeology aims to protect and enhance cultural heritage and has carried out work in the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Azores. Élvio Sousa is responsible for the Research Unit to develop specific research projects in the field of Archaeology, History and Heritage Management.

Mandolin Orchestra in Câmara de Lobos has a waiting list. The Mandolin Orchestra Casa da Cultura de Câmara de Lobos started from scratch in 2008. There are already 22 children, aged between 5 and 15, but there is a waiting list of those wanting to train. They rehearse two or three times a week, more than most groups and the repertoire consists of children’s themes.

Students using all means to overcome economic difficulties to obtain a degree. Every year, due to family economic difficulties and the increase in the number of students, more and more students are applying to the Social Services at the University for support and for student bank loans. These are to pay for tuition fees, accommodation, food, transportation and textbooks. In Portugal, the number of students in Higher Education is approaching the European average, about 35% of the 20 year olds and there are more people who are aged over 23 years starting studying.

Madeira Theme Park creates a ‘resident card’. By the end of the year, there will be a new card available so locals can visit the facility in Santana at a nominal price. With the card, the restaurants, parks and playgrounds will be free but not the themed pavilions, and possibly discounts in other areas (restaurants, musical events, localities of culture and leisure). The present card costs 30 Euros per year. The sale of local handicrafts has been higher than expected, and September was a very popular month for visitors. About 310,000 people have visited since the opening in 2004.

Vandalism to property of the suspected murderer in Nogueira. The family have had to move for their own safety and are trying to find housing in another area. There has been damage to furniture and a water pipe, which Santa Cruz Council have had to repair to prevent flooding. The police have stepped up patrols in the area as a prevention and to try to calm the area.

Portimão hoping to receive 30,000 cruise passengers this year. This will bring a revenue of 1.8 million Euros, in addition to the passengers and vehicles on the ARMAS ferry. The first half of this year, there was a 227% increase in the number of transit passengers. The authorities are investing in the port, dredging to allow larger ships and constructing modern passenger terminals. It is expected to be the busiest port in the Algarve in 2010.

EU to help milk farmers who are in crisis. 280 million Euros in aid to be given, and the Portuguese farmers could get more than €6 million. ——Should be good news for the prices of dairy products.

Amazon launches Kindle in Portugal. The device for reading electronic books will now be sold in Europe, due to the large number of customers who want to read books in English. It will cost about 190 Euros and will be on sale on their internet site.

More about the newborn sharks story. This is the first time this species of shark has given birth in captivity. They are expecting more new arrivals in the next few days as they normally give birth to between 4 and 17 young. The gestation period is 10 to 12 months, so they thought the fertilization must have occurred in the wild (male captured 10 months ago). The young are 30 cm and weigh 250 grams and are being fed by divers. One is weak and might have to be placed in another tank. The species can live for 24 years and grow about 1.5 metres long.

A quick look at some of today’s front page news :

Coverage of the draw in the 2010 World Cup play off game between Portugal and Bosnia gets a corner of the Diário front page, the first leg being played in Lisbon on 14th November, and the away game 4 days later.

The oil spill in Caniçal on Sunday is being played down : Fuel Centre CLCM talks of a spillage of just 150 litres. A source in the company CLCM admits responsibility for the leakage of fuel oil during the transfer by ship in Caniçal. Quercus, the environmental protection organisation, say that there will be environmental damage.

The main news headline today : Madeira has 9 months to ‘invent’ €400 million – The European Commission has already determined : That payments to suppliers, starting from June 2010, have to be made within 30 days. With 80 million contos (old money) to be satisfied, the Madeira government and câmaras are seeing the collapse on the horizon. Just for info a ‘conto’ was 1,000 escudos, and there were 200 escudos to the Euro in 2001. Serious business this in theory, with massive amounts  of ageing debt across Madeira at government and council level, some up to two years old if I recall correctly from an article from a few weeks ago. The reality is that it will probably make little difference to the old debts, but should make some difference with the new ones. What supplier is going to rock the boat and risk future business by creating a rumpus about old debts, which they knew would take ages to pay when the order was placed. Their compensation, in some cases at least, was to overcharge the council or government to start with to compensate for payment delays, and on top of that Portuguese law was changed a couple of years ago to award penalties to suppliers for late payments, and some must be raking it in, or will be as the debts age.

Breaking news :

European Parliament approves reduced rate for rum and liqueurs Madeira – MEPs acknowledge that the measure is "necessary for the survival of local industry". The EU agreed the measure today that extends the reduced rate of excise duty on rum and liqueurs of Madeira, until the end of 2013. The value of the rate to be applied can not be less than 75% of the special rate of excise duty on alcohol consumption. The EU considers that the measure is "necessary for the survival of local industries, taking into account the characteristics and constraints of the outermost and isolated regions. They recognize that the raw materials such as cane sugar, fruit, and honey, among others, are more expensive than in normal production conditions. The measure is an important aid for eight manufacturing companies in this region, employing about 130 workers. The decision will also apply to liqueurs and spirits from the Azores, and rum from the Canary Islands. MORE INFO I am surprised at the number that voted in favour … 580 … with just 13 against.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or 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. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos / videos, or if you can contribute regularly, I can give you a special account that allows you to create your own blog postings.
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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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(6th July). ‘Another Illegal Extraction Of Aggregates – It takes place in Machico, threatens houses, has been identified officially, but it continues operating’. The council has authorised a reshaping of the land for agricultural purposes, but the construction company instead is taking out earth and gravel from the site for its own use, at the site in Landeiros. Despite involvement at police, council, and government level, the unlicensed activity continues. Dozens of houses located beneath the site are considered at risk, and residents are alarmed with the situation, and the apparent inability of the authorities to do something to stop the activity which has now been ongoing for 6 weeks. Some residents were minded to block the access route to the site to prevent lorries entering, but were warned by the police not to do so. The residents have particular concern in case there is heavy persistent rain. The construction company believes that it is acting within the terms of its licence.

‘Festival Has Always Been Rising – The 10th Jazz Festival worked out well’. It finished Saturday night and deserves a mention for the good organisation, getting better each year, and with the change of venue adding to the event. "Santa Catarina park is magical" said a spokesman. The president of Funchal council is already thinking about next year, and thinks that 2011 should be the year to pay homage to the women of jazz. Vânia Fernandez was a woman last time I looked?

‘To Have A Driving Licence It Is Needed To Know How To Drive In Tunnels – Community directive obliges knowledge in theory and practice’. Europe has demanded that Portugal incorporates this requirement, amongst other things, into domestic law. Any candidate for a driving licence must now have a good theoretical and practical knowledge of driving in tunnels, in order to improve safety in the criticised infrastructures. Several attempts have already been made to get Portugal to incorporate this requirement, so far without success, but it looks that this time it will happen, and is something clearly very relevant for Madeira. There are also other new safety requirements covering the need to revalidate driving licences for bikers aged over 50, and also new tougher requirements for medical assessments for conditions relating to eyesight, diabetes and epilepsy.

‘Walk Through The Serra Finishes In Tragedy – 53 year old man died after falling around 25 metres on the São Vicente levada’. The victim on a Sunday walk with his family and friends along the levada at Ribeira do Inferno, fell to his death. The reasons for the accident are unclear, he just fell and died almost immediately. A mountain rescue team took four hours to retrieve the body because of difficult access.

A new police station in São Vicente is to be inaugurated at 6pm tomorrow. 

At 6.28pm yesterday evening the Diário helpfully published a late bulletin that an 18 piece guitar group was performing in Ribeira Brava church square … starting at 6pm yesterday!

‘Vodafone wants To make Available New Smartphones At A very Cheap Price Until Christmas’. Aside from companies, those who want them most are young people, without sufficient money to buy them. To help, Vodafone and various partners, is to offer these powerful devices at less than €200.

In football and today’s main photo, a picture of a striding Cristiano Ronaldo, surrounded by trophies : ‘Ronaldo Tries His Luck In Madrid – The foreign journalists warn that the player won’t have an easy life in Real. Today 80 thousand supporters will welcome the star to Madrid’. At last CR737 makes the move, after what I thought had been a quiet few weeks since the transfer was agreed. It’s taking up about half of the TV and radio news this morning, and live pictures show fans gathering at the stadium for the introduction which doesn’t take place until tonight. I guess the introduction will be pretty long distance for 99.9% of the fans, the important thing for the club will be getting them to spend their cash on expensive new football merchandise with Ronaldo’s name.

I know there are lots of British readers who check in on this blog, and whilst that doesn’t imply that a love of Madeira also implies a liking for Madeiran music, I felt some duty to help boost the audiences for The Madeira Mandolin Orchestra, by announcing the dates for their tour of the United Kingdom this month. Accompanied by Portuguese tenor Carlos Guilherme, the program consists of performances of music by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Bach, and they also accompany Carlos in a selection of Neapolitan songs. Established in 1913, the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra is the oldest established mandolin orchestra in Europe, but in terms of average age it is considered to be the youngest in the world. Performances :
July 16, 2009 – St. Paul’s Church Knightsbridge
July 17, 2009 – Petersfield Utd. Reformed Church – Petersfield
July 18, 2009 – Maldon Town Hall, Maldon Essex
July 19, 2009 – The Albert Hall – Nottingham
July 20, 2009 – Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield
July 21, 2009 – The Grand, Clitheroe
July 22, 2009 – Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
July 23, 2009 – Lichfield Garrick
July 24, 2009 – The Forum, Bath
July 25, 2009 – St. George’s Bristol

(5th July). ’38 Confirmed Cases Of Gripe In Portugal’. 30 of the swine flu cases have been registered in the last week, including the first cases of direct transmission. UPDATE 6th July : A 20 year old woman was taken to hospital in Funchal suspected as having gripe A. She was known to have spent time recently in the company of people from Mexico, the United States, and other high risk countries, and the precaution was taken after she displayed the swine flu symptoms. Tests cleared the woman of the virus, and she has now been released.