Madeira News Blog

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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