Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Selina … Angels amongst the Funchal Christmas lights.

Today there are no promises of what is to come, and as I write this I don’t even know if there will be much in the way of news stories, aside from the continuing bad weather that is. Feel free to use the comments for Xmas messages, or whatever you like. Sometimes on Xmas day we get a celebrity visitor or two …

Tobi kindly sent in some video links, bad weather and a very dodgy aborted plane landing … many thanks :

SÃO VICENTE

BAD WEATHER 1

BAD WEATHER 2

ABORTED PLANE LANDING

I saw this on Don’s blog, and I realise it is 2008, but it’s better than nothing … which is what I have … not a single photo.

Many thanks for the messages and emails. Merry Xmas to all … have a great day. Der

Elaine (East) noticeably absent for a week, dropped me a line yesterday, and now all is crystal clear :

Der, Happy Christmas. Glad you are having a day off and company (hopefully). I have finally sat down with a glass of wine (first of many), ready for the festive season. I had an enforced stopping of blogging – did anyone notice—- No? Is it worth me keeping going after Christmas, writing fewer news items with less time taken up? Why do all the devils come at once and at Christmas? Devil no.1 the man downstairs who will not allow the condo. to put scaffolding on his ‘private property’, to repair cracks in the walls (again). Means our living room and bedroom walls are cracked, discoloured, growing mould and plaster peeling off. He has already spent 15,000 euros and will fight all the way to the appeal courts etc. if necessary. More money than sense and a long expensive battle. Devil no. 2 the weather. Combined with no.1 the walls downstairs are worse and for the first time, water down the attic walls. The wind has raised the tiles and rain seeped underneath (according to the condo. man). Silicon tube needed and a new place to live. Devil no.3 the f*** b*** who killed my computer. Why? Thought the bloggers might want to know what NOT to do if they have a similar attack.

WHAT NOT TO DO IF YOUR COMPUTER IS ATTACKED

1. Don’t just pray the anti-viral software will find the Trojan warriors – it won’t. Especially if embedded in the antiviral software/start-up screen and they keep turning off windows defender and firewall. Applications then slowly shut down until the computer becomes completely unusable, even in safe mode. Should have used registry clean-up tool?

2. Remember to take the computer details to the shop so you can buy the correct hard disc drive. O.K. as remembered after buying the wrong one last time.

3. Don’t get confused with the BlueRay manufacturer of HDD and Blue Ray videos, or the shop assistant has to try to understand why you are saying it is the wrong HDD.

4. Replace HDD – easy as have done it before. Screwdriver handily included in the box.

5. When re-installing windows, get the correct discs (not your older version from a previous computer) or you waste money at the local Internet cafe trying to find out why it won’t accept the product key. Wrongly conclude it is because you have activated windows once. (OEM software).

6. Then read the Microsoft manual and find you could have used a settings transfer wizard before the old computer died.

7. Find you can’t get the Internet. Ring up ZON and get someone who mutters about network adapters (?) He says you can set up the modem with the USB port and you realise you have been following the wrong instructions as you are using Ethernet (?) Modem is OK – phone working etc. so you phone again and get a different operator who says she will send someone out.

8. Wait 2 days for ZON to come (wrong time of year) and he fixes it in 6 minutes. Still wonder why you were supposed to install the VGA driver.

9. Screen still not right – small square on a wide screen. Find more cds you need to install.

10. Getting there – slowly. Download antiviral software as soon as you can. Any other defences possible.

11. Spend the next week (or so) updating old software/trying to get the computer back to how you had it before.

Silver surfer 10/10. Computer skills 1/10.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. HOPE NEW YEAR IS BETTER.

Thanks Elaine, igualmente, and great to have you back. Der

And then at 00.34 thus morning Elaine then sent in news from yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira … many thanks.

Market Night fulfils tradition. Thousands of people have kept alive the traditional Market Night, and the rain which struck the evening in Funchal, did not dissuade the enthusiasts of the festival, sponsored by the City of Funchal. The streets surrounding the Farmers’ Market, crowded with people, were filled with joy and colour, with stalls of various fruits, flowers and plants of the season, food, drinks and toys. Inside the flagship establishment of almost 70 years, thousands of people made last minute purchases to cheer the "Festa", with particular emphasis on fruits and vegetables. Animated, small groups of friends and family gathered, at times arousing the attention of the many tourists who were passing through. The group of singers, led by José Alberto Gonçalves, warmed the night in the fish market, with dozens of voices singing Christmas carols. The PSP controlled the traffic and public order, ensuring public safety.

Rain causes the dropout of six vendors. A councillor of Funchal, Rubina Leal, said that six vendors withdrew, who had requested from the authority licenses for Market Night. "This year the Market Night has 76 stalls selling food and drinks and joy. On the other hand we had six withdrawals of vendors, but this week the Board had more requests," said the councillor. Rubina Leal emphasized the involvement of different Council services in organizing the event; the office that organizes and distributes in the areas of market trade and services, civil defence with six teams, the fire department, transit and PSP.

People seek the gastronomic elements. Enthusiast of the Market Night, responsible for the ‘Gastronomic Memories of the Convent of Santa Clara’,  Joao Dionisio, praised the adhesion of Madeirans in maintaining the tradition of the Farmers’ Market. "Despite the rain and cold, this is a night to mark the experience of the Madeirans," he stated, adding that "the market is well placed to handle all these thousands of people." The islanders are increasingly looking for gourmet items. The space available in the market receives again this year many people who have tried tasting the sweets of the convent.

Not even the rain deters those who live the tradition. The lawyer and former president of the Parish of Santo António, Antonio Rentroia, is a constant presence at the Market Night. Despite the unstable weather, he did not want to miss, this time, the tradition two days before Christmas. "This is a night with a lot of tradition which does not waive," he stressed.
For Antonio Rentroia, "The rain does not thwart the good Funchalenses and Madeirenses to come to celebrate this evening, which is wonderful for keeping alive the tradition." The lawyer, assumed gourmet, did not abdicate from tasting the dishes typical of the season and "Festa", and was there to fulfil the ritual.

15 thousand sandwiches of meat in wine and garlic, during the night. By early evening, Heliodoro Caldeira, owner for 20 years of the establishment Bar Cyca, at the entrance to the Farmers’ Market, told JM that he had available for sale, about 15 thousand sandwiches of meat in wine and garlic. "We prepared 15 thousand sandwiches which represent about two tons of meat, i.e. the same quantity as 2008." The trader noted that the best year was 2005, when he beat all records with almost 20 thousand sandwiches and about 2.5 tons of meat.

In the House of Rui Adriano

A presépio to delight. An hour is not enough to identify the details of the big presépio built by Rui Adriano, president of the Society of the Development of the North of Madeira. The JM had the privilege to view a charming setting that captured our attention from the first to the last minute of the visit. Over 400 miniatures, of shepherds and figures, make up the presépio, staged with pictures that depict moments in the tradition of the people of Madeira, such as the traditional arraial (which does not lack the espetada), the "Balinho da Madeira", the folklore, the Christmas romagens , the bordadeira, the killing of the pig, the making of the wheat soup, among other experiences. Porto Santo is represented by a scenic landscape, in which there is a mill.  Also a vulcao (designed with the use of electricity) takes a prominent place in the immensity of detail, identifying the history of the region. Aspects of the Azores archipelago, including the re-creation of the procession of the Festa do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (held since the seventeenth century in Sao Miguel, Ponta Delagada) also are evident. Besides the two Portuguese islands, Brazil is also represented, through a selection of pieces that Rui Adriano acquired in areas in Vera Cruz. "This is a diaspora," classified Rui Adriano, who, with artistic vision, took into account its aspects: movement, depth and space. Running water and light effects make the overall scene even more attractive. The making of the presépio, mounted in a room of his house, under the stairs, began in late October. "A thorough job," complicated to make, but the final result, gives "a pleasure." For example, says Rui Adriano, the implementation of the square (with movement) took 15 days. Also the construction of an elevator took days to complete. Traditional elements, combined with creativity and the pleasure of seeing the work done, is more than enough reasons for all the years Rui Adriano has created a presépio, always surprising. "Christmas without a presépio is not Christmas!", considers Rui Adriano.

Snow covers Europe. Eleven European countries were yesterday, experiencing snowfall, including Portugal, but none of the states of the Old Continent were on red alert, according to the network of European meteorological services (EUMETNET). The snowfall in Bragança and Vila Real, on the mainland, was anticipated but the alerts in force were only yellow or orange (third and fourth levels of a scale of five). The Portuguese were more fortunate than other Europeans, including the United Kingdom, where the conditions indicated snow and ice, with the country on yellow alert. Travel of thousands of British continued yesterday, conditional, with serious accidents on roads in England, one of which killed two people, causing a further 47 injured. The most serious accident, in Townshend, occurred when a bus crashed on an icy road, killing two women and injuring 47 people. The bus, carrying 48 passengers plus the driver, left the road before it landed on its side. A police car that went to the rescue of the victims, also crashed, with the victims of the bus accident finally retrieved by helicopter.

Temperatures approaching historic lows. Yesterday, they were an expected 12 million people on the roads of the United Kingdom, under severe weather conditions and temperatures approaching record lows in some places. The freezing temperatures also disrupted air travel, with dozens of flights of Easyjet and British Airways cancelled.

An accident was recorded involving an American Airlines plane that overshot the runway while trying to land at the airport in Kingston, with 91 passengers slightly injured. In another incident, a Ryanair plane overshot the runway after landing at Prestwick airport in Scotland, due to bad weather. However, the Eurostar service, linking London to Paris and Brussels by the English Channel, resumed on Tuesday, after a three-day suspension due to bad weather, but Eurostar said yesterday that it was not yet operating completely normally.

With an indication of snowfall and strong winds, Austria had a yellow alert in place, and also Spain (orange alert). The Czech Republic was on orange alert, with estimates of snowfall throughout the country, a situation similar to that of Finland, the country on yellow alert in some locations and orange in other locations. In Germany, a yellow alert, was due to snowfall in most of the area, with strong winds and fog. In Ireland, there were indications of snow and fog, with yellow alert, while Italy was on orange alert, with expected rain and strong winds over most of the territory and snow in Piemonte. In Latvia, a country on yellow alert, it was assumed that the entire country was covered with snow. In Norway, on yellow alert, the weather service predicted snowfall and strong winds.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Eiryl … Xmas scene from Câmara de Lobos

The Jersey Evening Post reports that traditions travel : Mr De Sousa said: ‘Last year I created something like this in Madeira where this sort of thing is typical. I think that this is the best thing for Christmas as you need more than just a tree to mark the occasion. We have even had one class of schoolchildren come and visit. They all took a picture and said how wonderful it was. People just love it and I am very happy to see them so excited.’ No room at the inn … but there’s space in the garage

What do you put on the dinner table at a climate conference? The answer: you make sure that the carbon footprint is low. Indeed, key ingredients for the royal banquet placed the emphasis on locally-sourced products rather than exotic materials flown in from afar … Madere Hors d’Age. Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands, which belong to Portugal. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry to sweet wines. The islands of Madeira have a long wine making history dating back to the days when Madeira was a standard port of call for ships heading to the New World or the East Indies. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirit was added. On the long sea voyages, the wines would be exposed to excessive heat and movement which transformed the flavor of the wine as the wine producers of Madeira found out when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique wine making process which involves heating the wine up for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Judging from the outcome of the conference in Copenhagen, Madeira Wine also doesn’t reach the parts that other wines don’t reach. Madere Hors d’Age on the menu

Anyone thinking of checking in on the blog tomorrow, I can’t promise anything. I worked the last two Christmases, and the blog had as many visitors as any other day, but us bloggers need a few hours off now and again, as I said I can’t promise anything. I will make a posting I will prepare later, perhaps just a photo to start with, and we can see what happens from there. You can leave an Xmas message, a humorous one if you like, or whatever you fancy.

More than four thousand toys for needy children – Success of the campaign ‘Brinquedão’ is a result of the solidarity of the Madeirans. The collections centred in the Madeira Forum will result in 4,200 books and toys being given to children in institutions within Madeira’s social support network. The donations are both new and used, and were given in the build up to Christmas. The campaign almost doubled what was collected last year. The Foundation D. Jacinta Pereira de Ornelas and the Movimento de Apoio à Criança (Child Support Movement) are the beneficiaries of the initiative.

Crude oil slick sighted on the North of the island – A Navy ship was sent to the scene. The Navy is at the scene to measure the extent of the slick and collect samples for analysis.

Madeira is the main destination for the Portuguese during Christmas and through the new year – Crisis impedes a general increase in the end-of-year travel sales. The effects of the economic crisis are still making themselves felt, and the Portuguese are not spending much on travel during the festive season, although sales are expected to be close to the level registered in 2008. The travel agents are not suffering (financial?) losses compared to 2008, but any improvements are few and reduced (in  value?). According to the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (APAVT), sales of travel this year have fallen around 15%. Aside from the crisis, Gripe A concerns have taken their toll. APAVT data indicates that there is a growing demand for domestic destinations, at the cost of some travel locations abroad, and that Madeira is the clear favourite. The rise in the number of Portuguese holidaying on Madeira has really been a blessing this year, and I hate to think what the 13,500 unemployment figure would have been like if this hadn’t been the case. And that wouldn’t have happened without the general reduction in the price and additional availability of flying options between Portugal and Madeira. The politicians and airlines that made it possible for sure had other motives in their involvement, but even so they have unwittingly saved Madeira (so far) from a far worse economic crisis than the bad one we are currently facing.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias, absolutely loads of them :

People defy the bad weather and come down to Market Night – The rain came at the time of the interval yesterday at the start of the night. The people took advantage. (hope that makes sense, as it doesn’t to me). I saw some coverage on the 9 pm local news last night, and quite a few people were milling around, but not too many smiling it seemed. Less people attended than usual, a fact confirmed by the fact there was less rubbish to clear up this morning. The clean up team was organised by the council to start work at 5.30 this morning in the Market Night vicinity. The counsellor in charge of the clean-up, Henrique Costa Neves, commented that "there could have been a little more civility", because the garbage ended up outside the catchment area and to some extent all over the city. Well of course he is right, and whilst I have no idea whether there were adequate rubbish bins spread around, he is being a bit of a humbug. Of course people make a mess, but when their behaviour is influenced by alcohol into the early hours of the morning, things can get even messier. Who supports the event, who issues licences to the sellers (who originate the rubbish), and who issues licences to those who sell the booze? … Funchal Council of course. Sr. Neves didn’t create the rubbish, but his council facilitated it!

Today’s main news headline : Nurses expose environment of terror – The president of the Order [of Nurses] say there there is a concerted action coming from the highest level to hide the problems in the health Service. The expulsion of the head of nursing at Santo António is an example of the "climate of fear and persecution". "There is a concerted action at the highest level of the hierarchy of the Health Service with the aim of silencing the more assertive voices, or silencing those who are closer to the users and that know the problems and needs". The complaint is made by Élvio Jesus, president of the Order of Nurses, who speaks of the existence of a "climate of fear and persecution" in order to silence those who know from the inside, what goes wrong in the health system of Madeira. This ‘climate of fear’ shows in the removal of the head nurse at the Health Centre of Santo António, who blew the whistle on doctors and politicians getting friends and families vaccinated quicker against Gripe A,  but also has deeper consequences. Nothing new here … it is reported frequently that the Health Service is run in the fashion that  Uncle Bertie runs the government, and that the government runs Madeira.  Even the Regional Health Secretary opts to keep quiet on the matter. Anyone attempting to speak out about a wrong is told to shut up, and probably threatened with some sort of big bertie stick if not.

The main photo today continues the weather theme of most of the last week, and shows a road and supporting wall which has half collapsed into a river, and looks like it will be very expensive to repair. Storm continues its destruction and  the spread of chaos – In São Vicente, isolated locations and houses are at risk of collapse.

Santana : 4 parishes (freguesias) without drinking water.

Torrent bursts through promenades at Faial and Madalena.

Santa Cruz : fall of trees damages houses and cars.

Floods and rock falls in Funchal and in Curral [Valley of the Nuns].

Mistakes cost more than €300,000 in a laboratory construction – Further works to will worsen the cost of the Veterinary Laboratory.

Elaine (west) has kindly covered some of the above bad weather stories … many thanks.

Bad weather devastates São Vicente – "The pig was drowned in the pen, the chickens and the dogs died". Most of the inhabitants of São Vicente woke up joyless, others with no desire to live. There were many tears shed throughout the day yesterday, particularly in sites of Rosário, Ginjas and Ribeira Grande, where the storm’s trail of destruction left a family homeless and several homes at risk of collapse. A desolate scene. The uplands of Rosário and Ribeira Grande were the worst affected, and there was panic to take care of several families. There was criticism of the lack of cleanliness of streams and of discharge of waste. The family of Leonitina Camacho was until yesterday afternoon the only one to be relocated. The water rose through the river bed destroying part of the house. A few meters from the entrance gate, the Vargem de Cima road was literally ‘bitten off’ by the current. "There was despair. No one got any sleep all night," she reported, her nerves still on edge. Nearby, Helena Silva was in tears as she tried to protect her husband’s car. "In another 10 minutes the river could sweep the car away.” Below, on the other side of the river lives Luciano Gomes. He is paraplegic and saw the water steal the few belongings he had. He told the Diário that all he had was some clothes and his wheelchair. "I have nothing left," he said. Waiting for the weather to improve was a group of men, all in their 30s. All knew that the weather report indicated more rain and more wind for a second night. José Manuel Rui Camacho had almost lost his cars. "The water nearly dragged them over the bridge. I had to tie them with rope otherwise they would have been in the river below," he said.

In Ginjas the picture, though bleak, does not compare to the neighbouring village. Fatima Lira lamented the loss of property and animals. "The pig is drowned in the pigsty. The chickens died, and the dogs," she weeps. In the village, the morning also brought the discovery of the damage. In the Galleon Trade Centre. Gabriel Cunha has not yet worked out the cost of the damage to his store. "It certainly exceeds 5,000 Euros," he estimated. The insurance policy provides cover the damage, but the construction of the pavement had facilitated the entry of water into his premises. However, another trader, Tomas Jesus, does not have insurance to cover his flooding totalling 2,500-3,000 Euros. Both lamented the loss of stock at a time when things are difficult. Ribeira Grande is causing greatest concern to the authorities. 50 residents are at serious risk. Cláudia Silva (21) could not get home. "I finished work at 10 pm and when I got here (on the bridge of Ribeira Grande) I saw that I couldn’t even get home on foot", she said. For 20 hours she tried to contact her father who was not at home. Then the phones died. "There was no phone connection, no way to travel on the roads, and no electricity. We were totally isolated from the rest of the world.” In the town the damage is enormous. In the worst case the water was up to the roof of a garage. Farmers were left without their plots of land. In the village of São Vicente the supporting walls of the chapel (built in 1694) were battered by the sea. The storm spared the religious monument. Above, the expressway between the roundabout and Loural Fire Station is closed.

PP Peoples Party  presents in São Bento [Lisbon Parliament] law to share out advertising.

‘Lobo Marinho’ returned to stay in Funchal. Commander of the ship predicts the next journey to Porto Santo will be on Saturday. Rough seas make docking impossible at Porto Santo, so the ferry returned to Funchal this Thursday morning. The first flights out today from Madeira went as planned, although a flight from Frankfurt had to stay airborne for a while until there was an improvement in weather conditions. The airport management company predicts that there will be some delays.

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 Thank you in anticipation.

Oh what bliss it was to sleep through the night last night without the mega-bangers at 5 am, 6 am, and 7 am for the Missa do Parto. I ended up sleeping through to 9.30 am undisturbed, and today was a day I really wanted to get up early, and now I am all behind. 9 days of just 3 or 4 hours sleep has taken it’s toll, and I am knackered, although from the comments the last few days it seems that many people are having a less than desirable run up to Christmas. A friend of mine coming from Ireland via England to stay over Xmas was supposed to have arrived Wednesday. His flight was cancelled, and he has had to stay in hotels and rebook a flight with another airline for tomorrow at a different airport (250 km away) because of weather problems in the UK. When he rang to tell me about the delays, I reluctantly told him of the weather problems at this end and the impact on flights, and he was none too pleased. If I can keep my eyes open long enough, I am really looking forward to tonight, as town will come to live after about 12.30 am, after the Missa do Galo has finished in the local church, but the feeling is locally that even if the rain holds off, many people will head home early and town will close much earlier than it normally does. It seems strange that the Missa do Galo (cock / rooster) is at midnight, as that would be the more apt name for the 9 early morning services. It was bedlam in the local Pingo Doce this morning, but I am glad I got there reasonably early, failing to find just potatoes, although they did have some really expensive ones.

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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  Eiryl … another photo of a lava cave in São Vicente

"Madeira: land of the zimmer frame. God’s waiting room, where pensioners sunbathe in their overcoats. Madeira, like the sticky bottle of wine named after it, sweet, old-fashioned, lingering in the back of the cupboard. Why would any youngish person want to spend their winter holiday in a place that shares its name with their granny’s favourite cake?" … "It’s reputation as a haven for the elderly is just not fair". SUNDAY TRIBUNE

"On a visit to that little fishing village [Câmara de Lobos], I stopped off at one of the fisherman’s bars on the right hand side of the bay. One old sea dog there emptied pint glass after pint glass while filling my head with fantastical stories about the island. According to him, there are very short, ancient-looking creatures living here that are not actually human. ODD BUT INTERESTING – THE PEQUENINOS

“Madeira is the seventh destination in the world, after the Douro Valley in Portugal, the City of Mexico and Riviera Maya in Mexico, the Principality of Andorra, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada, to recognize the value of a measurement system like the SMED and to sign a partnership agreement with the CED. As in these destinations, the Madeiran authorities will set up a working group whose objective will be to implement the recommendations made in the official SMED report” IT’S OFFICIAL … MADEIRA HAS BEEN SMED’ed

Thousands stranded abroad as Scots airline Flyglobespan goes into administration.  SCOTLAND’S biggest airline Flyglobespan collapsed tonight as a last-gasp multi-million pound rescue package failed – leaving hundreds of employees facing the axe and thousands of holidaymakers stranded abroad. Up to 1000 jobs could be lost and all of the company’s plans have been grounded, leaving as many as 10,000 tourists stranded overseas. More than 5000 more holidaymakers face losing Christmas and New Year holidays as a result of the firm going in to voluntary administration. Edinburgh-based Flyglobespan had been trying to secure a s10million cash injection to carry on operating. But talks finally broke down today after three months. Bill Munro of Barrhead Travel, Scotland’s biggest independent travel firm, said: "This is a grim day for the industry and we will do everything we can to help. MORE – DAILY RECORD This was announced last night, and as the airline flies from Edinburgh to Madeira on Mondays, it will be bad news for many.

Elaine (East) kindly sent in another article from the Jornal da Madeira in the Xmas Traditions series :

CHRISTMAS 2009 – Living Christmas with the joy of the presépios

Since the year 1223, when Sao Francisco decided to represent the time and occasion of the birth of Jesus, and celebrate Christmas Eve with his brothers and citizens of Assisi in the forest of Greccio, presepios have been the essence of Christmas throughout the world.

The word presépio means ‘a place where they collect livestock, corral, stable ‘. However, this is also the name given to the artistic representation of the birth of Jesus in a stable. In Madeira and Porto Santo, the presepios always mark the presence of the Christmas season. Made of various materials, they continue to be one of the attractions both in private dwellings, as in churches and more recently in public places. At the time when plastic was not yet part of the everyday life of the population, the presepios and Madeiran lapinhas were constructed from paper, painted with vioxene, the sheets stuck with gum arabic (glue), or maize or flour paste. In early December, the sellers or grocery stores had a large quantity of vioxene, powders of several bright colours and glue that would serve to make the lapinha. After acquiring these products, it was time to get down to work and join the family for the construction of the lapinha. Once the structure was made, which may be of wood, trunks or scallop cane, the paper was put on, painted and before it had time to dry, the powders of various colours were applied, with emphasis on gold and silver.

The shepherds and various images of regional motifs were placed with great care, between the scene of the killing of the pig and the Madeiran arraiais with the representation of the procession, and the philharmonic band in the bandstand. These objects had already been acquired in previous years, or were renewed with purchases from the speciality house in Funchal. To make the streams they used cotton, and the ponds with fish were placed on small mirrors which gave the aspect of bright water. The cardboard templates could also have been purchased ready-made from the sellers or other commercial establishments, or cut out, because they had cardboard sheets with drawings of houses, churches and castles that were used for this purpose. After skillful gluing at the edges, these produced beautiful buildings.

The image of Baby Jesus was placed in the cave, Mary and Joseph were in the centre of the lapinha and they always had the prominent place with the oil lamp that would illuminate the scene during the Christmas season. Vegetation like the typical ‘goatlings’ and moss gave colour to the presépio. Depending on the space in the houses, the presepios were of different sizes and were the cause of admiration by visitors in rooms adorned with cheerful themes, where visitors were offered a glass of liqueur, honey cake or broas. For those who had less space at home, the solution was the ‘rochinha’. With socas made of scallop cane artistically arranged in the form of a pyramid, at the base was left a space for the cave in which to put the images of the Birth of Jesus. The paper that could be extracted from bags of cement, and others, was also painted with vioxene which gave it a brownish tinge, and glued to the socas and then painted with brilliant powders.

At present there are still many people who are faithful to the tradition of the presépio of the ‘old style’, and in many locations competitions are organized for the presepios and lapinhas, showing a lot of creativity.

Many thanks Elaine … I remember translating a story last Christmas on the subject of presépios and lapinhas, which implied that the construction of these was often very much a matter of social status, with the wealthy deliberately spending more money to have bigger and grander exhibits than their less well off neighbours, who they would then invite around to show off their ‘wealth’. The poorer families would often use items of fruit to make their displays more attractive, as well as costing less of course, but would make a lot of effort all the same to ensure that they were not the laughing stock of their village. LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Madeira-web has been back to Câmara de Lobos for today’s photo.

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

Speed limit remains at 40 km. In 15 districts on the continent, Portugal has decided to limit the speed to 30 km per hour in some areas. The deputy mayor of Funchal, Bruno Pereira said there is no legal support to implement this change in Madeira. The areas in Funchal where accidents happen most are limited; Estrada Monumental, Camacho de Freitas and Rotunda D. Francisco Santana. Limiting the speed is not the answer, it would be better to utilize traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. "The reality of Funchal is different from a city like Lisbon since due to characteristics of the streets, even if the speed limit is 50 km/h, it is a value difficult to achieve." The Police Commissioner said, "The Region has done much in the area of road safety." Examples are pedestrianization of areas, and other ways to reduce accidents involve education, improvement of roads by lighting and road surfaces, police surveillance and radar monitoring.

Complaint against the BIR. (More details after Der’s headlines yesterday). The father of a 17 year old boy is accusing a member of the BIR (Rapid Intervention Brigade) of assaulting his son in the early hours of Sunday. The Public Ministry is investigation his complaint. "My son and two friends went out at night, as do the young, and were preparing to return home when they were approached by the BIR." He said the three were on the Caminho da Achada at five o’clock in the morning, near the house of one of them, and talking about the possibility of the alleged victim returning to his home by motorbike. "His friends were saying that he’d better take a taxi home because he had been drinking." The BIR arrived and wondered what they were doing there. They asked the boy if he had been drinking and he replied, "What matters if I drank or not?" A member of the BIR slapped him across the face and his friends were advised to run or they would also be hit. He took his son to a private clinic for treatment for a cut lip and marks to the eye and face. The police cannot comment at present while ascertaining the facts for any criminal charges.

Fall of nine metres leaves man seriously ill. A 40 year old man is seriously ill in hospital after an accident yesterday on the fly-over on the highway at São Martinho. The Opel driven by him  was negotiating a curve and went through the safety barriers, ended up falling about ten metres. It is not known what caused the accident but it was raining heavily at the time. In a separate accident, a 50 year old man died immediately after falling only a few metres down the stairs in his apartment block.

Madeira lost tourists and Euros. More about the Oriana being unable to stay yesterday. The port was full with the MSC Fantasia and the Costa Marina, so there was no room for the Oriana to moor. The schedule depends on the order of arrival of the ships, and the owners, P & O, decided that the Oriana would still visit and rely on the lifeboats to ferry passengers to the shore. The ship stayed for a little over an hour for replacement of crew members but then left for Southampton, due to the bad weather. APRAM lost 10,000 Euros in port fees and other services. 22 buses had been hired, 10 as shuttle buses to the city centre and 12 to take 600 tourists to visit various attractions around the island. The failing to land 1,700 tourists had an impact on; Monte, where the ‘carrinhos de cesto’ men were waiting – expecting more than 200 tourists, the cable car, Botanical Gardens, Madeira Wine Cellars, 14 tourists had booked on the whale watching catamaran, others had booked jeep safari trips, and also the shops and cafes. An estimated loss of 30,000 Euros in revenue.

—- Sad photo of Oriana returning to the UK without staying. Yesterday, the complaints highlighted that it was a loss of older UK tourists. They need to find a solution as cruise ships are getting larger and becoming more popular. The port is increasing passenger numbers whereas today there is yet another article about a fall in hotel revenue. Average October room rates were 29.1 Euros, a fall from 35.1 Euros last year, a fall of 15.4% in room revenue and the total income of the hotel industry fell by 13.1%. Occupancy rate in October was 51.4% (57.7% last year) and so far this year, an overall fall of 11% from last year.

Debt varies with the pleasure of the political colour. Government and opposition have very different calculations with regard to the debt of the region.  According to the Socialists and Christian Democrats, the debt by mid – 2010 could reach more than six billion Euros. Whereas Ventura Garces, the Secretary of Planning and Finance and Filipe Ramos, the PSD spokesman, say the debt is less than a third of that value. The Secretary offered to "Teach the opposition to count." Ventura Garcia noted that the direct debt is only 18% GDP and according to Filipe Ramos, the current expenditure has been reduced by 5.2%. The debt will grow by more than 180 million Euros in 2010 to ensure the use of all funds. Garces acknowledged that the unemployment level is presently 13,000  and he will support some companies that will create jobs. Garces said that the State in the last legislature, cut off all possibilities for the Region to borrow. The opposition read the numbers differently. The PS accuse the Government of disguising the total disarray of public accounts. The PS spokesman listed, in a long speech, the various portions of the debt, which already exceeds the value of the regional GDP. "We walked into the abyss which leads to the governance of the PSD." The PCP said that already the Government cannot hide the scale of the financial disaster and that, "The reality shows that Madeira has reached the point of collapse." A BE member alerted the possibility of a new jump in debt because "Madeira would have to invent 500 million," to meet all commitments. The PS reckon the debt is worth 5 billion; direct and indirect debt, debt of public sector business, securitization of credits, operations of PATRIRAM (Ownership and Management of Public Assets), the unpaid burden and operations of Via Litoral and Via Expresso. The reduction of debt authorization from 129 million to 79 million is why, according to Ventura Garces, debt to suppliers remains above 85 million Euros, which will increase in 2010.

Electricity tariff increases by 2.5% in 2010. Around one euro on the average monthly bill of 40 Euros.

Saturday is Market Night in Santa Cruz. Saturday December 19 from 22.00 hours. Fair of Traditional Sweets and Liqueurs produced by the Casas do Povo, between 13 and 20 December from 18.00 to 22.00 in the Praça do Municipio, where the presépio is being constructed. Evening entertainment form 20.00 on the stage erected in the Praça do Municipio. Friday, the entertainment will be traditional Christmas carols. Saturday, dancing to Latin sounds and karaoke. Sunday, the groups from the Casa do Povo de Santa Cruz.

Conventual sweets sold in Rua da Carreira until January 6. ‘Smells and flavours of Christmas to the Kings’ theme. Promoted by Funchal Council, and the Association of Gastronomic Memories. The kiosks selling the conventual sweets close between 19.00 – 20.00 hours. Selling, torroes de Santa Clara, papas-de-anjo, barrigas de freira, sericaias and encharacadas. The Association sells two types of bolo-de-mel (Madeiran honey cake), according to a recipe from the XV – XIX century and one from the XIX – XX century. They differ due to the use of soda. They are also relaunching a sweet called ‘negritos’.

From Martin L & Paul (Paul do Mar), some more news on the Flyglobespan situation :

Airline Takes a Dive – Some news from Scotland that has a Madeiran slant to it and could be worth a space on the blog.

Flyglobespan the Scottish travel agent and airline went into receivership yesterday with all flights being cancelled immediately. They flew to Madeira every Monday direct from Edinburgh and the Madeiran flights were usually fully booked, although in the past few months there were flights with several unsold seats. They have been in operation since 2002 and flew to several destinations in Europe, Canada, Florida, and Egypt. The airline had experienced cash flow problems and was trying to re-negotiate its finances but the deal did not proceed and they were unable to continue in business. It seems a few thousand passengers are stranded at various destinations, and although some them will be covered through the travel agency insurance arrangements, many will be unprotected as they booked the flights direct. Madeira is totally dependent on air traffic for its tourism and this demonstrates the precarious nature of the airline business and although Flyglobespan’s input to Madeiran tourism was probably minimal, it is nevertheless a loss of revenue to the island. Another event that could affect tourism income over Christmas is a threatened strike by British Airways staff across the entire Christmas holiday of 11 days.

You can get more details on the BBC news website. (in the Scottish section for Flyglobespan if you need clarification). BBC LINK

Article title: Flyglobespan, Scotland’s biggest airline has collapsed (Source: BBC News) :

“An operation is under way to fly back to the UK thousands of people left stranded after Flyglobespan, Scotland’s biggest airline, collapsed. Its parent company, Globespan, entered administration on Wednesday, with all flights cancelled and 800 jobs going. About 4,500 passengers are stranded – mostly in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Egypt. The Civil Aviation Authority will be repatriating about 1,100.” LINK 

The Labour MP for Edinburgh North Leith Mark Lazarowicz said: “It will potentially be a massive problem to those who have booked their Christmas holidays with the airline, or who are overseas now.” Source including film: STV SCOTLAND

Helpline: Flyglobespan passengers are advised to call a helpline from 10 am on Thursday and visit the website for further information in the meantime (see the link below). The call centre number is 0871 271 9000 for UK calls and +44 141 332 3233 for people calling from Europe.

‘Information for Customers’: official notice on the appointment of joint administrators to the Scottish travel firm, The Globespan Group plc and Alba Ground Handling Ltd including ‘Information for Customers’ FLYGLOBESPAN

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

Debt of €10 million surprises Porto Moniz – The debt increased 84% in 2008.

ANAM in technical insolvency. I have been through the newspaper and can’t find this article, so maybe it is just in the printed edition of the Diário? I will have a look tonight. But ANAM, who operate the airports of Madeira and Porto Santo, have been in a ‘technical insolvency situation’ for eternity, because of the huge debts they have to service through the last airport expansion.

It is Madeira that has more growth in the PIB (GDP). In 1995 Madeira had GDP / PIB growth 11% lower than the national average. In 2008 it was 28% higher.

Charge interest on delayed payments is the answer – Companies fed-up with a government that doesn’t pay on time. Companies that do work for the Madeira government that have not been paid are looking for both settlement, and interest on the outstanding debt relative to the delay in settlement. Madeira, over the last 12 years, has already paid €103 million in interest charges on delayed payments, and that excludes banks and credit institutions. Many of these companies are in financial difficulties, and news of authorisation for the Regional Government to borrow €79 million to pay suppliers (even though a much larger sum was requested and rejected) has left some anxiety in the air, as no one knows who will be at the front of the queue for the €79 m payouts. The ‘shareout’ will save some businesses, but with the total supplier debt standing at around €200 million, others will be left out in the cold. This does not include those on ‘payment arrangements’ (contractual arrangements to spread costs), who don’t know whether the next instalments will be paid or not. The legal recourse to recover such debts are not often used by companies for government debt, as there may be repercussions of course. One person interviewed, from the Association of Commerce and Services, believes that the €79 million will be used exclusively to pay the hundreds of small and medium sized companies.

Today’s main news headline : Justice Police catch Madeiran paedophiles - Suspects were made defendants after a sequence of home searches made on Tuesday throughout Portugal. "Second life" also happens on Madeira. The JP police took part in a national operation on Tuesday to combat paedophilia on the internet. At least two locations in Funchal were searched, but there could have been more. The national operation named ‘Second life’ resulted in the identification of 13 suspects, some of them Madeiran, who have been caught with computers and equipments used to store pornographic material involving children and hence committing criminal acts.

‘Crociere’ already has five ships registered in the ‘Mar’ – The biggest European cruise company opts for Registro Internacional of Madeira.

‘Jig’ and historic thrashing in the hour of farewell – Nacional is the first Madeiran club to score five goals in one game in European competitions. Ruben Micael shone on another perfect night. The final game of the Europa League for Nacional, until then without a win. But, what results lacked in the 5 earlier games, were soon forgotten. Not quite a perfect night as described, as the Austrian opponents actually scored first in the 5 – 1 result. In the other match of Portuguese interest, Sporting lost to a single goal by Hertha Berlim, a result that doesn’t affect Sporting’s guaranteed passage to the next phase of the competition.

Paul (Paul do Mar) has kindly come up with a ‘match report’ :

Nacional blow lightweight Austria away

CD Nacional bid farewell to the UEFA Europa League with their biggest ever European win, thrashing FK Austria Wien 5-1 in Funchal as slack defending consigned the visitors to bottom place in Group L.

From behind
With coach Manuel Machado still too ill to perform his duties, Predrag Jokanović captained Nacional’s sinking ship, but soon had reason to regret stepping into the breach. Schumacher gave Austria the lead on 21 minutes but, from then on, it was all Nacional. Rúben Micael and Mateus gave them the lead by half-time, the former doubling their advantage after the break before Darko Tomašević and Felipe Lopes pumelled the visitors into submission.

Sloppy opening
Nacional started slowly, Leandro Salinas screwing a seemingly unmissable chance woefully wide before a ducking defender allowed Milenko Ačimovič’s cross to come to Schumacher, whose first-time shot arrowed through Rafael Bracali’s legs and in. Then the tide turned. The hosts levelled two minutes later, the unmarked Rúben Micael completing a languid one-two with Mateus by stroking home from inside the box. The latter saw the Austria defence part invitingly again on 33 minutes; his run from midfield met no challenge before he flicked deftly inside the undefended Robert Almer’s right-hand post.

Classy saves
Having been afforded little chance to do so earlier, Almer showed his skills between the posts by pushing Nejc Pečnik’s goalbound downward header on to the crossbar before the interval, and his opposite number proved no less agile as the second half kicked off, with Bracali brilliantly denying Schumacher a second.

Resistance crumbles
Austria then gave up the ghost. A swift break through midfield on 57 minutes saw Rúben Micael breeze through for Nacional’s third, and it was 4-1 four minutes later, Tomašević rising unmarked to head in a sweeping Rúben Micael free-kick. Felipe Lopes made similarly light work of heading Nacional’s fifth from Mateus’ cross.

UEFA report with video – first success in the Europa League group stage

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 Thank you in anticipation.

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