Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Martin … A Bentley Derby 1923, that competed in the 2009 ‘Volta da Madeira’.

OLD CASKS (PIPAS) NEVER DIE 

Well I certainly missed some notable news stories whilst ‘off line’, and the transfer of Câmara de Lobos hero Rúben Micael from Nacional to Porto must take the tastiest biscuit. Rúben Micael Freitas Ressureição player profile Anyone know how much Porto paid for the lad?

Another one of those travel / destination guides for Madeira … but I don’t mind the extra effort if it persuades a few more tourists to take a holiday here and spend their luverly dosh EVERY LITTLE HELPS 

Becky wrote in about helping out with material for the blog : “Once you’ve had a chance to read all the various suggestions re. the blog and submissions, maybe you can let us know what you think is best – I’m happy to contribute the best I can but maybe need pointing in the right direction as to when and where and what”.

It seems that we may have some extra contributors after the blog ‘time out’, and many thanks for the offers and half-offers. We will never have enough helpers I guess, so please help us balance the workload and share information. If you are thinking of sending in a news story, I guess the only way to ensure there is no duplication is if you put something in the blog comments to say what you are going to work on so other helpers don’t do the same thing. Any other ideas on how to manage this gratefully received, but people should really do what they want to do, as it is not right for me to dictate.

What would be ideal of course would be to have a number of regular contributors with either particular areas (like Vanessa has) or days of ‘duty’, but we are probably far from that at the moment. If someone would like to ‘specialise’ please let me know, but it does mean a regular commitment.

Another thing someone could help me with is the ‘snippets’ or ‘titbits’ like those above. As there is no translation involved, then it might be quite easy for someone to do. I could arrange for the alerts to be sent once a day, not necessarily every day for just one person, and then someone could check them out and if they are worth a mention it’s just a question of formatting them to be ‘cut ‘n pasted’ ready to go into the next blog (that would be explained) and emailing me. That alone would save me up to an hour a day to do something else. Or perhaps someone would like to a be a YouTube monitor (or any similar website) and just check every few days to see if there is are any new interesting and relevant videos posted.

Many thanks to Elaine for this huge contribution.

Ribeira Brava Philharmonic Band travels to Venezuela. The Banda Municipal da Ribeira Brava will tour Venezuela this year to perform to the large immigrant community. It will probably be during the summer, including the Day of the Region. 30 to 40 band members will stay for a week. The Mayor of Ribeira Brava promised to support the trip although it is the result of an invitation by a group of Luso-Venezuelan emigrants. The council supports such projects because they promote culture, represent the country and allow closer ties with the immigrant community. It benefits the emigrants as they meet together at such functions and many migrated decades ago but they never forget their roots.

Communists suspect the CDS will no longer back the Regional Finance Law / PS maintain their position. The regional directorate of the PCP-Madeira suspect that the CDS-PP will approve the State Budget of the Socialist Government and not the Regional Finance Law, as wanted by the Prime Minister José Sócrates. The PCP leader Jorge Cordeiro said, “The signs are worrying for Madeira.” “Everything indicates that the Regional Finance Law and the interests of Madeira have been transformed into a bargaining chip, particularly by the CDS.” The communist leader said the vote on the law was postponed twice then the PS and CDS approved another postponement. If the law is not passed, it is likely that poverty and unemployment will increase in Madeira. The PS-M maintain the position on the Regional Finance Law that they held in the 2007 elections, when they only received 15% of the vote. They insist there is an error as the GDP is inflated by the effect of the Free Trade Zone which has resulted in a loss of transfer of 500 million Euros from community funds. PS leader, Jacinto Serrão, says the relationship between Lisbon and Funchal leads to insults and attacks on the Government of the Republic and asks the Minister of Finance, Teixeira dos Santos, not to be so stubborn so both parties can negotiate.

Panelo with lack of cabbage. Today, Chão da Ribeira in Seixal hosts a festa for the traditional free panelo. The problem this year for residents is to obtain enough cabbage or grelos (similar to spinach). The wild pombos (pigeons) have devastated the local crops. The panelo is usually cooked using cabbage and semilhas (Madeiran potatoes) grown in Seixal and salted pork from the tradition of ‘killing the pig’ in December. This traditional panelo started around forty years ago when families decided to gather on the last Sunday in January at the Chão da Ribeira to consume the remains from Christmas. Pork, chicken or beef are cooked in a Portuguese manner then served with wine from Seixal. Tradition dictates that the panelo is served on a tablecloth on the ground and the afternoon spent with family and friends.

Diocese collects 18,000 Euros for Haiti. The Diocese of Funchal has received 18,000 Euros in donations and the charity Caritas will forward it to Caritas in Portugal which in turn will deliver the money to Caritas in Haiti. Both the headquarters and warehouse in Port-aux-Prince are still standing. Caritas always helps areas where reconstruction and rehabilitation are needed, for example after the December 2004 tsunami and more recently, in Peru. One or two years after the money has been sent, a commission goes to the area to see how the funds have been used.

‘Park and Ride’ this year in Funchal. Funchal City Council want a single fare to cover using the car parks situated outside the city and transport into Funchal on buses run by Horários do Funchal. ‘Park and Ride’ has been attempted before but failed due to a lack of adherence. Car parks with spare capacity are located at Clube Naval and Rua Bela de São Tiago, near Largo da Força. The council are in talks with the companies managing the car parks as they want to make the price attractive to users so they gain financially. The service will benefit people who commute daily from Câmara de Lobos and Caniço. The council want to reduce the number of cars travelling into the city centre to reduce pollution and petrol consumption. Economists talk of an increase in the price of petrol in the near future. The cheapest monthly cost for a car park in Funchal is 90 Euros and the council want the new scheme to reduce this to 55 Euros.

Romeira closes municipal company. The Mayor of São Vicente, Jorge Romeira, will close a municipal company created four years ago by his predecessor Humberto Vasconcelos. The company Promovicente was created with the approval of the PSD councillors and the PS have always been against this decision. This company was created to promote the municipality and they were almost exclusively paid to promote cultural, social and sports activities. Jorge Romeira insists the activities of the company are only suspended. His motto is ‘clean’ and he has a tendency to cancel projects of his predecessor.

37 accidents in a month and a half at Porto Novo. The majority of accidents occurred on a 26.8 km stretch of the Via Rápida 1 in the direction Funchal/Santa Cruz, after the end of the bridge at Porto Novo. Some drivers blame the maintenance of the road by Vialitoral but the area has road signs that indicate danger in unfavourable weather conditions, as experienced between this period of 1/12/2009 and 17/01/2010. The firm’s statistics taken from speeds measured by 54 counters indicate that the majority of accidents were due to excessive speed.

Azores receive two billion Euros more than Madeira. Plenty of numbers in this article which are summarised in the diagrams shown. A study by the Regional Government condemns the State and Europe for guaranteeing in the past 12 years, 28% more for the Azores. The Regional Government is considering a full-scale campaign in national newspapers to publicise the amount the State has allocated to each region, especially the disparity between the Azores and Madeira. Declarations by the leader of the Azores have led to a break in the relationship with Alberto Jardim. Carlos César has said that the revision of the law would undermine the Azores. Under the present law, the Azores receive 60.5% of the money transferred from the State and Madeira receives 39.5%. With the revised law, the Azores would receive 52% and Madeira the other 48%. At present, the Azores receive 20% of the Cohesion Fund and Madeira receives 4%. The Regional Government say that the GDP (PIB) of Madeira is more than that generated by the Azores, due to high public investment and it should not be penalized for this. Since the 1998 Regional Finance Law, the GDP of Madeira grew 97% whereas that of the Azores grew 73%. Accused of spending, Jardim says that the Regional Government has spent 26.6% GDP whereas the Azores has spent 31% GDP. The State has spent 45.8% GDP which rose at the end of last year to 51.3% GDP.

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

Socialist Party of Madeira criticizes the “stubborn ones” affecting finances – The congress closes with some stick given to President Jardim and [Finance Minister] Teixeira dos Santos.

Minister ‘buries’ the Finance Law. Finance Minister Teixeira dos Santos is sticking to his guns with a ‘no’ to the Regional Finance law amendments, put together and submitted by President Alberto João Jardim of Madeira. “Why is it that one would give several tens of millions more Euros to Madeira in this conjuncture?” he asks. He says that both the Assembly of the Republic, and his own Socialist Party, are not available to do the revision requested, and that no one would understand why a government would approve the amendments of the Social Democrats of Madeira at a time when the county needed to keep a tight reign on public expenditure. It looks like Uncle Bertie will have a tough end to his dictatorship long period of rule then, with some tough choices ahead. What will he do … stop lining politicians pockets … cancel the €45 m redevelopment of the Marítimo stadium … flog off a few more publically owned assets. No I don’t think so, they would be easy solutions. Look out for cut-backs in job-rich community projects I reckon, especially in those areas where the PSD-M didn’t fare so well in the recent elections.

Today’s main news headline : GARBAGE CONSUMES 31.5% OF BUSINESS SUPPORT – The Regional Government has committed almost a third of the support destined for extra help given to company operations. And it did it to the benefit of the public body that manages the waste, the ‘Valor Ambiente’ [Environmental Value].

Scrap collections reduce to a half. Less scrap metal in the streets, with just 8 abandoned cars towed away per month during the last year. The considerable reduction comes after concerted efforts by local councils and police to do something to stop the problem. Making people aware of the importance of protecting the environment and the image of this tourist destination has been a key facet of the actions taken. Abandoned vehicles have been a problem for a long time, especially in areas distanced from population centres and main roads, and that problem still remains. Anyway, the figures in 2006 were 20 a month, and that last year was down to 8 a month. Owners traced as having abandoned cars face a fine of between €250 and €750, with the upper limit rising to €2,500 if the car is in a state of scrap. I don’t suppose it could be anything to do with the fact that people don’t have the money to replace their cars these days? The Diário mentions several such zones, popular for car-dumpers, but fails to mention Boa Morte [Good Death] which last time I went through was littered with decaying vehicles, but nether-the-less I was tickled that the place was perhaps named as such as it was the final resting place for old cars.

Crisis obliges working in unfamiliar areas – Not even the marketplace for work  can offer opportunities that match university qualifications. Find out about some examples.

The main sport / football headline today, and also the main picture :  Rúben makes an almost perfect debut – The Madeiran debuted for FC Porto in the League Cup and deserved praise. Saturday he plays in the Choupana [Nacional, Madeira ... the club he has just left].

Victory of Nacional was insufficient. Nacional beat Guimarães 1 – 0 yesterday in the league cup, but it wasn’t enough to move from the group to the next stage of the competition.

Manuel Machado retakes his place tomorrow. The manager of Nacional, who was critically ill in hospital with a post-operation infection before Xmas, is back at work tomorrow, some months sooner than originally expected.

There are still 3 more sports headlines to go, but that’s enough for me, save to say that my lads of Ribeira Brava beat Porto Moniz 2 – 0 yesterday, leaving them clear at the top of the Madeira Series league table.

Many thanks to Elaine out West for this from the Jornal da Madeira :

New link to Madeira. In early summer the Azorean airline SATA will start a new route between Ponta Delgada, Funchal and Faro, using the new Bombardier Q400 Dash, the first of which will be delivered today in Toronto. “This new service, which will be held twice a week, will depart from and arrive the same day in Ponta Delgada, allowing the connection between the Azores, Madeira and the Algarve,” said one SATA source, speaking to journalists in the Canadian city. In a ceremony at the Bombardier plant in Toronto on Monday SATA received the first of four Q400 NextGen Dash, acquired by an investment of 74 million Euros. The aircraft will arrive at Ponta Delgada at the end of the month, allowing SATA to begin the certification process to enable them to start operations in late February. The four planes purchased by SATA should all be flying by the end of the first half of this year, replacing the existing ATP aircraft. The new Dash Q400 NextGen will operate routes between the islands of the archipelago on routes between the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands and the link between the two islands and the Algarve which starts operating at the beginning of Summer. Fleet renewal SATA Air Azores began last year with the arrival of two Bombardier Q200, which replaced the Dornier that the company used for links to the smaller islands. The two Q200 will ensure links between Funchal and Porto Santo and the routes to the islands with lower demand in the Azores archipelago, in particular Corvo, the smallest island of the Azores.

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.

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Today’s Photo Thanks to Sue … "Just to think of sunny days … "

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.

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

(more…)

Oh dear! Anyone who doesn’t like football isn’t going to enjoy today’s news blog much. It nearly all revolves around an interview with the president of Nacional, Rui Alves, and with about 70% of the Diário front page, I guess it has a high profile because of tomorrow’s huge game here with Werder Bremen in the Europa League.

(16th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Ambitious Nacional – The alvinegro sporting city will have a central photovoltaic system, road connection direct to the Caminho dos Pretos, a rugby pitch and athletics track’. Alvinegro is the club nickname for CD Nacional da Madeira. Alves says he is optimistic about tomorrows game. The club is approaching an average of 3 thousand supporters for its games, and has a growing membership list. The club is looking at some changes in the stadium complex, including solar power, access changes, and also acquiring nearby land to host an rugby pitch and athletics track.

That headline then has 3 more sub headlines:
- ‘In An Interview With The Diário, Rui Alves Believes That A Victory Over Werder Bremen Is Going To Confuse European Opponents’.
- ‘Race For The Presidency Of The League Of Clubs Continues In The Plans Of Rui Alves’.
- ‘Players Of Nacional Make The Set In The ‘Powerade’ Awards’. The players won plenty of awards for their achievements last season.
But as I suspect this is of little interest to most, I will move on.

‘Ronaldo, Happy For His Father, Sent Message And Scored Two Goals In Zurich’. His father was posthumously awarded for his contribution to sport, at the ‘Powerade’ Awards’ yesterday. CR737 then went on to score two of the five goals for his new team, Real Madrid, in the champions league victory last night.

‘Car Parks In The Centre ‘Summon’ Drivers – In the opinion of the environmental agency, Quercus, and drivers, the existence of accessible and diverse parking in Funchal feeds and fattens the traffic indulgence’. A vice president of Funchal Council says that they are developing a project, with the bus company Horários do Funchal, for a ‘park and ride’ scheme, where one drives to the outskirts of the city, parks ones car, and then catches a very frequent bus service from the car park to the city centre. The Funchal central traffic problem is getting steadily worse, just because parking facilities exist, and it also it still being possible to park without paying. "Paying to park is very cheap, and it shouldn’t be", says the president of the Madeira branch of Quercus. He believes that the comfort and speed of a car journey should be challenged by better public transport, and that there should be bus lanes on the main routes to improve public transport travel times. Around 47 thousand vehicles are believed to enter Funchal daily.

‘Armed Masked Robbers Raid Cash Desk’. They struck twice yesterday, firstly at the Hotel Funchal Design (Rua da Alegria), where they surprised the receptionist at 4.30 am. The two robbers had a knife, and forced the receptionist to hand over €57 from the cash till. Then sometime after 11 am, masked men appeared at Elos cash and carry in Viveiros, and forced checkout staff to hand over "a significant sum". They then fled on foot, chased by shop staff, but managed to lose their pursuers in the street labyrinths of Viveiros.

‘Elderly With Keys Around The neck – The robberies in the top of Ribeira Brava give rise to appeal : "The police must have compassion for the people". The call comes from ‘up top’, from the people in São João. "We asked the police to have compassion for the people". Celina Gonçalves, 75, lives alone in Lombo da Levada, and this Summer has been robbed three times. She is not the only one. The ‘nightmare’ started late in July when her house was freshly painted and wide open, and two individuals tried separately to steal the €400 she had set aside to pay the decorator, the second attempt was successful. She had been duped, so she she didn’t report the matter to the police or tell her family. Not long after, €300 she had set aside for another job that needed doing in her house, and after that another €200, were all stolen. She now has lock on every door, and wears the keys on a cord around her neck. Another story along the same lines follows, and the victim aged 67, reported to the Ribeira Brava police an attempt to rob her home, and was concerned that the response was not compassionate towards her. Even the church of São João has been a victim, with the donations from a mass and a box of candles stolen. They say "they only don’t take [steal] more because the people don’t have".

‘Eleven In The Final Of ‘Funchal A Cantar – Vânia Fernandes will be the patron on Saturday in the final, that will include fireworks’. The final of the singing competition will be held in the Praça do Município (town hall square) at 8 pm, and promises to be an unforgettable event, with a total of 65 artists involved. The 11 individual finalists were whittled down from the 30 in the preliminary round, held on Monday night.

‘Four New Cases Of H1N1 On Madeira – 21 suspected cases were investigated by the laboratory in the last week’. The Institute for Health Administration IASAÚDE confirmed 4 new case of Gripe A swine flu, taking the total to 39 since 12th July. One case came from Canada, the other three were secondary infections. On a related theme, vaccines for seasonal flu were starting to be delivered to pharmacies yesterday afternoon. Medical prescriptions for these vaccines are valid until 31st December.

‘Man Aged 29 Caught Selling Drugs In Night Spot (club or bar?) – 120 doses of cocaine and 600 Euros seized’. He was caught in the act by police with the drugs, and money presumed to be the takings from the drugs sold. In Funchal a police operation resulted in the seizure of hashish sufficient for 2,400 fixes.

‘Linha Saúde 24 Strengthened – 400 nurses with the capacity to answer 15 thousand calls a day’. Currently the health service hotline is taking 4,500 calls a day, 1,000 of those being specific to Gripe A concerns, but if necessary can deal with up to 15,000 enquiries daily. The centre is run by a private company, and should they fail to deal with 15% or more of the enquiries, they will be penalised, as they have already been 3 times for failing to meet half-yearly performance targets, since it was set up in 2007. The short term objective is to recruit 200 more nurses, to raise the call answering capacity to 20,000 per day, and then longer term, to cope with new cases of Gripe A swine flu, 800 to 900 nurses will be required.