Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine out West … View looking over Cabo Girão cliff.

God’s Garden – at the Royal Opera House (London). Date: February 11th until the 13th. "As the sun beats down on the village of Porto Moniz, Madeira, a young man prepares to take the biggest step of his life and get married. While his family and friends rejoice at this momentous occasion, he is uneasy. The young man decides to take matters into his own hands and flees on his wedding day to sow his wild oats, leaving his heartbroken bride behind. When he eventually returns to the village, his family are delighted and celebrate his homecoming. He laps it up, believing that everything is as it was before he left, ignoring the fact that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. God’s Garden is the latest full-length work from choreographer Arthur Pita and is based on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Using a combination of text, live music and dance, Pita’s exploration of love and betrayal promises a highly-charged and exciting evening’s entertainment". Anyone who happens to be in London on the dates mentioned might like to savour a little taste of Madeira MORE

I noticed one or two ears pricked up with this story yesterday, so this article gives more details on the birds affected … "Ponta do Pargo – the destruction of an IBA for a golf course. Unfortunately the economic crisis did not hit Madeira Island as it should and money is still being spent on the worst things… One of Madeira’s Important Bird Area (IBA) is being destructed for the construction of another unprofitable (the 3rd one already!) golf course… Ponta do Pargo is the westernmost tip of Madeira island and it was a very good spot for bird watching some of the endemic birds as Berthelot’s Pipit, Rock Sparrows and Spectacled Warblers but also for migrant birds where Stonechat, Wheater, Woodchat Shrike, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Buff-breasted Sandpiper were some of the species already recorded there. MORE

And the last of today’s web snippets came in from Becky … many thanks :

Anyone need a Life Coach?! You have one on the island, and here she describes her move to Madeira: LIFE COACH – IS THAT A REAL JOB?

Extracts from an old (2003) BBC radio programme about Madeirans on Jersey, learning the language and some returning to Madeira. You need ‘Realplayer’ to hear the clips.

Becky has also very kindly donated a couple of stories from yesterday’s Diário de Notícias … many thanks.

Custody for suspected drug trafficker – The cocaine seized could yield close to 126 thousand Euros if it were to be sold on the street. A man of 33 years, of foreign-birth, is in custody in the Prison of Funchal (EPF) after being caught by the Judicial Police (PJ) last Tuesday with 5,070 individual doses of cocaine. The arrest, revealed yesterday by the coordinator of the Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ in Funchal, Ricardo Silva, was made in Madeira International Airport, where the individual, who is originally from an African country, landed on a domestic flight. "From the prevention investigations carried out, we collected strong evidence that culminated in the seizure of 5,070 individual doses of cocaine, carried inside the body, which was aimed at being trafficked in the Autonomous Region of Madeira," said the Judiciary in a statement. The man was taken to the Hospital Dr. SMF Mendonça, where the drugs – valued at around 126 thousand Euros – were withdrawn from his body. This was an isolated situation, which is not related to other investigations of the PJ, which has already prevented about 10 thousand individual doses of drugs – heroin, cocaine and cannabis – from arriving on the streets of Madeira. The numbers given are not read as indicators of increased consumption, but with a more effective police force and the dwindling supply of drugs in Madeira.

Aldo Lima takes ‘stand-up comedy’ to Chega de Saudade. It is an initiative of solidarity that brings Aldo Lima to Madeira. The comedian presents a show of ‘stand-up comedy’ this Friday at Chega de Saudade. The event will help the earthquake victims in Haiti and will also feature live music and dj’s. According to Chega de Saudade, there will be no entrance charge at the door, so it is through the consumption at the bar that the money will revert to the AMI.

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

DIÁRIO 29/01/2010 – FRONT PAGE NEWS

Jewellers feel unsafe and make their own security patrols. There have been a number of robberies on jewellery shops in the centre of Funchal despite alarms, surveillance cameras and reinforced doors and windows. The shop owners complain about the low police presence on the streets at night and at weekends and visit their shops several times to inspect the premises. Most of these jewellers are uninsured against burglary because of the expense, conditions imposed and not many companies will provide cover due to the high risk involved. Most of the robbers are not caught or items recovered. The target of robberies at these shops and private residences are gold items as the price is high because of global demand.

MADEIRA

Work at Jardim da Serra moving ahead without a budget. The Parish Council of Jardim da Serra has draft plans for the renovation of the Quinta Leonor but have not costed the project. This building belongs to the Region but has been assigned, on a temporary basis, to this Parish Council to be used in a project for the development of socio-cultural research and agro-forestry. It is thought to be a potential use of community funds and will also need private and public investment. 4,000 square metres of land in the Sítio da Fonte Frade, practically opposite the School of Jardim da Serra, are included in the plan. This project is of public interest as it concerns the development of rural communities, the development and promotion of farming and regional products and the social, economic and cultural role of farming. There will be three areas of work: preservation of ethnography, preservation of biodiversity and rural tourism, leisure and education.

Over €58 million spent on medicines. During 2009, Madeirans spent more than 58 million Euros on medicines and pharmaceuticals, buying 6,700,000 units (packages). There has been a decline in the amount spent since 2007 despite more units dispensed in 2009. The explanation is the decrease in prices ordered by the Government of the Republic and generic medications accounting for 9% of those bought. There is still a lot of self-medication and Infarmed (government organization) warn of the dangers of buying over the Internet as there are many illegal sites. They produce a list of approved sites on their website: APPROVED PHARMACIES.

Giga Park continues in Ponta do Sol. A smaller version of the Christmas entertainment park will remain until at least Easter, possibly until October. It has been renamed the Amusement Park of Ponta do Sol. The new opening hours are: Friday 19.00 to 2 am; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 16.00 to 2 am.

Customs seize a kilo of drugs. Customs at Madeira Airport arrested a Madeiran man in his 30s who had heroin and hashish hidden in his underwear. This kilogram of drugs is equivalent to 5,500 doses. He had flown from Lisbon. This is the second arrest this year by Customs, the previous amount was two kilos of heroin or 27,000 doses.

ECONOMY

A classic in port. The tall ship, Stavros S Niarchos, returns to the Port of Funchal and will stay until 14.00 on Sunday. This ship belongs to the Tall Ships Youth Trust, a non-profit making organization. Since 1956, TSYT has catered for 70,000 young people of different nationalities. Madeirans first joined this initiative in November 2006 with the support of Navigation Blandy. The ship will take on youngsters at Funchal for an 11 day trip of the Canary Islands at a cost of 229 Euros each. Tomorrow, 40 youngsters of different nationalities, some flown in, will join the ship. The ship has two masts with 18 sails, is 60 metres long and was built in Devon in 2000, modelled on a XVIII Century sailing ship. The ship has two engines, an air conditioning system, desalination plant and modern radar, sonar, GPS and communications systems.

55 fishermen were considering protesting. Due to the renovation of the Port of Funchal, São Lázaro was to be closed at the end of this month. The boat owners, who said it was difficult to remove their boats, met yesterday afternoon and were considering various forms of protest. The area has been used for 40 years, some boats for fishing and others for sport, some to earn a living. The owners were pleased to negotiate the permanency of their craft in this area.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

Carnival 2010 – Turma do Funil depict mythical figures of the oceans. In line with the Carnival Parade overall theme, Seas and Oceans, this group takes the theme, The Ocean in Folia (Infopedia – lively dance or great fun, spree). On the night of 13 February, there will be 150 participants in this dance group and the costumes will focus on orange, green, purple, black, white, silver and turquoise. Accessories include feathers, stones, pieces of mosaic and chains of coloured sequins. Rehearsals take place in the Casa da Cultura de Câmara de Lobos. The Flag Bearers are the Goddess of the Sea and the ‘Mestre de Sala’ symbolising the King of the Ocean, Neptune, in foaming waves. Following, there will be fishermen delighted by mermaids, and floats depicting the lost island Atlantis with oysters containing precious pearls in the ruins of the submerged island. Then young children will depict pirates looking for treasure followed by animated girls dancing next to sailors. The Rainha da Bateria and revellers will pay tribute to the people of Câmara de Lobos introducing the Espada-Preto fish and  the boat ‘O Xavelha’. At the opening of each group of dancers, there will always be a pair of open wings representing the magnificent coral reefs. A guest will represent Vasco da Gama.

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

Catalogue lacking from the war in the west – The artists of the exhibition ‘Linha de Partida’ [Line of Departure] that has been running for a year in the Casa das Mudas, has Ricardo Veloza under fire.

Today’s main news headline : Horários of Funchal in technical bankruptcy – the company shows it’s own capital as negative and has already had a passive loan [debt] of €30 million at the end of 2008.

Government puts forward another €250,000 for management of the Jornal da Madeira. Is this never going to end? Despite the complaints of the Diário de Notícias at an international level, nothing changes, and the taxpayer is still funding the political mouthpiece of President Jardim’s government. And no doubt the other negative aspects of this state sponsored propaganda mechanism are alive and well, with government advertising expenditure deliberately targeted to ensure that the competition to the Jornal is pretty much excluded from benefitting.

Salaries in arrears prompt rout in the Association  of the Casas do Povo [Social Centres].

Opposition make possible inquiry of the Socialist Party about regional debt – The PP and PCP ensure enough signatures to allow a commission of inquiry proposed by the PS , in order to determine the value of the debt denied by President Jardim.

In Lisbon, after several concessions, there is discomfort on the Social Democrat bench with the Regional Finance Law.

Agreement : Transition period began and nobody understood. I bet a few people will look at this headline today and wonder what this is all about, as it shows a paper with various Portuguese words shown and their new replacements with simplified spelling. The idea is to ensure some level of language consistency in the Portuguese speaking world, a move which is not going down particularly well on this side of the pond at least. Some examples : Lectivo will become Letivo, Correcção will become Correção, and Jóia will become Joia. The changes should also reflect better the way the words are actually pronounced.

The main sport / football headline today :  Madeira doesn’t attract stages – Other regions of tourism try to attract teams. Through here there is a lack of reaction. Today Nacional – FC Porto 17h – SportTV and TSF. Despite what it sounds like, the article is saying that at the moment there are national teams looking for warm-up games in preparation for the World Cup this year in South Africa, and are looking for fixtures, or training venues at least, in Europe. The article says it is up to the Regional Government to attract interest, since there is no other entity that can promote all the sports facilities and stadiums of Madeira and Porto Santo. The Diário was unable to get any response from the relevant government department.

An extra headline article that I thought was worth a mention, or a look rather, shows our great President Alberto João Jardim in his famous peg-leg pose. "I will not resign". Jardim asks the parties not to further postpone the vote on the Regional Finance Law. The guarantee of Jardim is that if there is no change in the Law of Regional Finance (LFR), the president of the Regional Government of Madeira is not going to resign. Well he has given them Hobson’s choice really, and getting rid of Uncle Bertie in exchange for losing a few million Eurobucks would have been a worthy exchange indeed. Back to the grassy knoll plan then I think.

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 – Many thanks to Sue … The complete statue at Portela Miradouro (that featured  in ‘How well do you know Madeira?’ some months ago).

"You crazy English: a German’s view of our buying habits – The editor of the Germans property magazine Bellevue insists his compatriots have been good at avoiding mistakes. It’s the same old story. Wherever you go on a shore in the sun, there are more of them. They have always outnumbered us Germans on Madeira and Cyprus, granted. But did they have to snatch Tuscany from us?" Just about worth a read, as Madeira does get a very quick mention. TIMES ONLINE

This came in to me by email from Memuir : "Would you be able to put in a tag for  "Porto Santo"?  There must be quite a few of us having paid over half the cost for an apartment or villa at the Colombo’s Resort and now just stuck in limbo, even though the first block of apartments are complete but can’t seem to be fenced off from the rest of the site and completed and used – no need for the hotel to be complete anyhow – the island is so gorgeous but all this is very depressing". There is a tag for Porto Santo, but it only appears when there is a story that day that involves Porto Santo. There is a tag for all the 11 regions of Madeira, although admittedly I don’t always use it because it seems sometimes that the tag list is getting longer than the blog itself. Hope you resolve your problems with the Colombo resort, but it could be a long process to find new investors. Der

Becky very kindly sent this in : "My love of old guide books about Madeira led me here: AMERICAN LIBRARIES ARCHIVE Just click on ‘read online’ or download it.  It’s from 1882 and it’s a fascinating read.  I’ve attached a hilarious page which includes useful Portuguese phrases (it’s out of copyright so it’s OK to reproduce it).  I think I might try them next time I’m over and see how far I get with "Hold your tongue"!  Some of them might be useful now if they’re bringing back the "hammock" – if you adopt your best Lady / Lord Muck voice of course … "

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

FRONT PAGE HEADLINES

Government commits 31.5% of EU support to Valor Ambiente. The Government has committed almost a third of the announced support for companies, for additional costs of operation, to one public company – Valor Ambiente. The initiative is designed to compensate companies for additional costs incurred in the support of the operation and provision of services of general economic interest and infrastructure and amenities. This option of the Government to allocate this amount to one company reduces the amount available for other regional firms. Valor Ambiente is a waste treatment firm and will receive 50% of eligible costs, totalling 10.4 million Euros. The approval of this application raises questions. Companies are entitled to 15% of eligible expenses, to a limit of 50,000 Euros for micro-enterprises and 100,000 Euros for small businesses, not more than 10% of turnover. The Diário could not obtain the 2008 accounts so had to use those from 2007. This firm operates the Meia Serra waste treatment station and this company’s liabilities were 176.7 million Euros with a bank debt of 30.1 million Euros and 34.8 million debt to third parties. They received 114.9 million Euros from the government and the councils. It is suspected that today the company is insolvent and in recent years, the Budget injected more than 70 million with 19 million Euros transferred in 2009. To avoid bankruptcy in the entire regional system of waste disposal, the Government has chosen to inject more EU money into the company and this year, is expected to inject 16.7 million Euros. And if I am not mistaken there are government officials with a stake in the Meia Serra plant!!! Der.

Graduates working in another area. In a competitive labour market, graduates are having to seek work in unrelated occupations but might receive more personal satisfaction. In December last year, there were 749 graduates enrolled with the Institute of Employment. This represented 5.7% of the total, down from 6.8% in December 2008. At the end of last month, 240 of the graduates were under 25 years old and 509 were 25 or older. 528 had been unemployed for less than a year. Many emigrate for employment, especially nurses, which is a profession where there is a shortage in some EU countries, particularly the Netherlands.

‘Mea culpa’ (my fault) Jardim.  The new Socialist leader, Jacinto Serrão spoke at the closing session of the XIV Congress of the PS-M. He is certain that in the debate on the Regional Finance Law, the Regional Government has damaged Madeira by abusing the Government of the Republic. Serrão reprimanded the Finance Minister who threatened to resign if the new Regional Finance Law was passed and for his stubbornness. He appealed to the Regional Government, the Government of the Republic and the national PS to change some of their behaviours that prevent a positive outcome for this problem. This former deputy of the National Assembly has no conscience about the law of regional finances that the Government of the Republic reversed in 2007. He always warned, since 2004, the Regional Government of the consequences of an inflated GDP. Serrão said the Regional Government has wasted money on the Marina do Lugar de Baixo and non-priority infrastructure such as stadiums. The present Government has hidden poverty and used scapegoats like the PS, the Government of the Republic and the Regional Finance Law to free Jardim from the responsibility of the current state of things.

MADEIRA

Sugar cane production at the maximum limit. The Regional Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources warns cane sugar producers not to make new investments in the sector as the current production has reached the maximum supported by the market. They are advised to enter other sectors which are lacking, for example banana production. Between 2000 and 2009, there was a large growth in the amount of sugar cane produced (from 2,800 to 6,000 tons), so the priority now is to create new markets and increase the existing markets for all products derived from cane sugar. The Regional Government is in a joint operation with a supermarket chain for the export of bolos and broas de mel to the national and Eastern European area, where it has 1,500 stores. The Regional Government will also support producers whose crops were damaged by the wind. Yesterday’s meeting was attended by many sugar cane farmers who tasted a bolo de mel which weighed 40 kilos and was made a year ago in the Engenho (sugar mill) of Calheta.

Compensation for the family of a banker. On October 2 2006, an employee of the BANIF branch in the Estrada Monumental died instantly when crushed by a 1,500 kg safe falling from a height of 1.78 metres. The bank branch was being refurbished / upgraded and the safe had been moved from its usual place during the execution of the work. The safe had been left on a pallet and not stabilised enough. The employee was seeking a document from inside the safe and when he opened the door, the safe fell on top of him. The 51 year old man was married with a 19 year old child. The widow and child resorted to the Employment Tribunal for compensation from BANIF and the insurer. The court partly upheld the charge that both the contractor and BANIF had violated the safety rules and ordered them to pay various amounts. The family then went to the Appeal Court in Lisbon who upheld the conviction but lowered the compensation by 5,000 Euros.

99% of the expropriations for the golf course at Ponta do Pargo have been negotiated. The investment is 16.4 million Euros and the new golf course is to be finished by summer next year. The cost for expropriation of the land was 20 million Euros and clearing the land started last August. Only four areas of the land are still to be negotiated. One of the former land owners still has a residence which lies inside the boundary of the new golf course. She has lived in the area since 1989, when there were few inhabitants and is happy with this new situation. The neighbourhood is half deserted with an ageing population. 100 hectares for the development are in the area surrounding the iconic lighthouse of Ponta do Pargo that will be implemented in the infrastructure.

On the edge of the abyss. This is a section of the Caminho dos Três Paus to Viana in Santo António. This road has been in need of repair for a long time but the rains in December have contributed to a further narrowing of the road. Hundreds of vehicles use this road every day. Residents want retaining walls similar to those that have been placed in other areas of this road. A few years ago, two people died on this road.

POLITICS

Privatization of the sea worries the CDU. The CDU are worried about the consequences for fisheries and the regional economy if the reforms envisaged in the EU Green Paper are implemented. The communist leader said the EU want to allow the entry of foreign vessels into our seas and privatize the management of the seas. This will damage the regional industry and economy. The communists want to mobilize public opinion in order to avoid these reforms proposed by the EU. He has asked the regional fishermen to be attentive to announcements by the European Commission led by Barroso.

Schools cost much and yield little. The CDS-PP consider that the results of the educative sector of Madeira are poor compared to the investment made in this public sector. 28% of the Regional Government’s Budget are reserved for this sector, more than the national average (15%) and OECD countries (12%). However, Madeira has the highest ratio of non-attendance from secondary school and the failure rate and non-attendance rate have worsened between 2005 and 2009. They urge the Regional Government to examine and understand the causes behind this failure.

LATE NEWS

TAP Porto / Funchal for 48 Euros. Due to competition, TAP have a promotional price of 48 Euros, including taxes, for flights between Porto – Funchal and 55 Euros in the direction Funchal – Porto. These fares are for travel from March 28 and this promotion is subject to special conditions with a limited number of seats. Booking: TAP And for the Madeira residents another €30 off each-way in the form of a rebate I assume? Der

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

Socialist Party of Madeira regroup – In the aftermath of the congress, the objective now is to recover voters and party members that were distanced.

Culture scorned – The council of Machico has increased its support for sports. Meanwhile culture continues with the same as it had 5 years ago.

Today’s main news headline with the main photo today : Police Trade Union takes complaints to the Minister – SIAP condemns today to the Minister of Internal Affairs "persecution", "threats" and "protectionism to the PSP officials". The TU man is off to Lisbon to complain about the disrespect for the processes for [internal?] enquiries, and the application of disciplinary processes being inconsistent. Dionísio Câmara is equipped with a dossier about police protectionism practiced in the higher order in the police service in Funchal. He wants to know why Commissioner Roberto Fernandes, chief of Funchal police, is exempt from the disciplinary procedures, when he is officially accused of crimes that include falsification of documents and abuse of power. Of particular interest is the case of a road accident that happened in 2004 that involved a family member of the police chief, and that person is now spokesperson for the Public Security Police of Madeira. Dionísio also accuses the commissioner of crimes punishable by law. The case file was in the desk drawer of the public prosecutor, but there it remained all those years, and now may either  proceed following a technical hold-up, or be dismissed. He will also raise a number of other issues. Corruption in a police force … whatever next! Actually in the lower ranks it seems that corruption is now much lower key than a few years ago, and slipping the officer a €20 note inside your driving licence is not really the done thing anymore. But the bosses it seems are still ‘a law until themselves’, and who could have possibly set such a bad example in a country that openly admits to having an excess of bent public servants, politicians and business leaders. Good luck Dionísio, but I suggest you lock your car in your garage at night, and keep a lawyer in your bedroom in future.

Cargo for Porto Santo fell in 2009 – The transportation of passengers is fine, but the fall of 45% in cargo led to a one million Euro loss. The year saw 361 thousand passengers transported, and 47 thousand cars, but the receipts at the year end were one million Euros short due to less freight. The shipping and ferry company Porto Santo Line has been hit badly with the clear reduction in imported goods being taken to the island. Passenger numbers were in fact 10,594 higher than in 2008, with increases in 7 out of the 12 months. Altogether, in volume terms, there were 876 less containers during 2009, around 16 less per week. Apparently there were more motorcycles and bicycles carried than usual, so a sign of the times perhaps. The article doesn’t explore the reasons for the reduction in freight transportation, but it is obvious that to some extent that the cancellation and suspension of major building projects on the island is having a big impact on both employment and materials imported. Add to that the fact that properties just aren’t selling there at present, then that must also be an impact when homes are not being furnished.

The main sport / football headline today :  Football solidarity tonight – Maribor and Nacional, already with reinforcements, play tonight for Haiti. The game that starts at 8 pm between Nacional and NK Maribor will raise funds for the earthquake appeal in Haiti. The teams are jointly appealing to the Madeiran people to come and give their support. Tickets cost €5, and there is also a singer called Joana Rechard performing.

Diakité (Marítimo) and Todorovic (Nacional) are already on Madeira.

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.

(more…)