Buses in the good old days ; Mandate limit would be "anti-democratic" says Jardim ; Xmas news
How well do you know Madeira?
This teaser photo is from Vic. Many thanks.
48 hours allowed, then the correct answer will be given (if necessary).
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I have pretty much run out of daily photos for the blog, and I don’t really want a big rush in one go (would much rather have some written contributions), but does anyone have their blog photos online aside from Tobi? If so, could you give me permission to use them, and a link to the page where I could find them please. Using online photos is less work all round for the sender and me, but of course if you want to continue to send them as email attachments that’s fine.
Alternatively, if people would like to keep their photos on line, through something like the Flikr website, I am sure I could persuade Tobi to write a little piece about it and how it is done. Think of the advantages, free (I think), secure, not hogging up your disk storage space or cluttering your computer, and always accessible to the owner and whoever they want to invite for a peek from anywhere in the world. And then I can pinch some as well!
Anyway, a photo shortage is no big deal, it just means you will have to put with mine a bit more. This is a photo of a photo, hence the poor quality, part of an exhibition of photos of old buses currently on display in Ribeira Brava. The bottom part shows an old bus in Seixal very close to a pretty sheer drop. Makes my hands sweat just looking at it!
The following link takes you to the website of a Canadian artist, Sonia von Walter, who paints Madeira scenery, and now lives here POSTCARDS FROM MADEIRA
Limitations of mandates doesn’t worry Jardim – President of the Madeira government considers that the rule is anti-democratic. For Jardim the limitation of terms served signifies that "the people cannot choose who they want, when they want". The programme of the new government of Portugal foresees the introduction of limits on how many terms can be served. You only have to look at the photo of Uncle Bertie (from the Diário) to see when a man has served enough terms already. I wonder why prime minister José Sócrates would want to limit the number of terms a politician might serve, what could have possibly motivated that? As for the comment "anti-democratic", well why is the words pot, kettle and black, suddenly leapt into my mind?
Many thanks again to Elaine for yesterday’s top stories :
Population ignores danger. The public in the areas of Maiata, Larano and Lombinho in Porto da Cruz risk their lives every day by using the road Caminho da Maiata da Baixo, which runs beneath a rocky slope which is threatening to collapse. The road was closed by Machico Council in January 2008 with two large concrete blocks at the entrance but the closure is ignored by the public. People have repositioned the blocks despite a car being crushed by a falling rock last year and the occupant lucky to escape injury. People still use the road to prevent a long diversion, for example a six kilometre detour to the centre of Porto da Cruz. Three weeks before the local elections, the council removed the boulders most in danger of falling but work has since stopped due to lack of finance. It will resume when construction of a nearby promenade has begun.
Judicial Police seized 20,000 doses of cocaine. In the first ten months, there have been 49 arrests on suspicion of drug trafficking. Including the arrest yesterday of the man with 5,000 doses of cocaine, the police would have seized around 20,000 doses of cocaine. Also, 65,750 doses of hashish, and 51,500 doses of heroin.
Electronic security systems at entrances to baby and children units in the health service. To ensure safety, so they know who is on the units and to prevent possible kidnappings as occurred in Portugal. Part of the computerization of the health service including patient records and drug consumption, in the latter case to economise.
Christmas illuminations more environmentally friendly. Assembly has begun of more than 400,000 lights which will form part of the Christmas display in Funchal from 27 November to 6 January. The lighting will differ from previous years with themes of astronomy and science alongside traditional themes. The lights are more energy efficient with greater longevity and lower power consumption and therefore more environmentally friendly. There will be stars, comets, planets and angels and the predominant colours will be green, red, gold and white with more bolder colours this year. There will also be the usual themed street displays plus flowers and the traditional exhibition of cribs in December. Also street entertainment.
27th November – opening of the Christmas illuminations in the centre of Funchal. 4th December – general illumination of the entire amphitheatre of Funchal. 11th December – beginning of the Christmas exhibitions on Avenida Arriaga and other central locations of the city. 23rd December – Market Night. 28th December – St. Sylvester Race. 31st December – New Year’s Eve Firework Display. 6th January, 2009 – Twelfth Night Festival and End of the Madeira Festivities www.madeiratourism.org
Goodbye ‘Costa Europa’. The ‘Costa Europa’ arrived at 6.30 am from Tenerife with 4,800 tourists and left at 17.00 for Malaga. It is the 90th and final time she will be in port with that designation. Next year she will be operated by Thomson Cruises and the contract is for ten years, with the option to buy after five. The ship was built in 1986 and named ‘Westerdam’, then renamed ‘Costa Europa’ in 2002 and first visited Funchal on 15 May that year. The ‘AIDAvita’ (1,300) and ‘Oceana’ (1,900 mainly British tourists) also in port.
Madeira might loose 75 million Euros of European Funding. There are calls for more flexible time limits for implementation of community aid, which has to be within three contractual years. Madeira has only taken advantage of 5% of the available European Regional Development Fund and 11% of the European Social Fund. Madeira needs to submit projects which take advantage of 75 million Euros by the end of 2010. There are also funds for agriculture and fisheries not claimed.
Dispute over the funeral parlour in Porto Santo. Yesterday, it was reported that a funeral parlour was to be installed in an apartment block without notification of residents. The estate agent who sold the commercial space said the work was just to widen and repair a doorway, so a licence was not needed and he has no knowledge of his client’s future use of the area.
New public garden at Alamos. It will be 1,500 square metres and in Panrteada, Santo Antonio.
Regional Plan for Homeless People presented today. 37 measures to be implemented by 2011. Multi-sector and in collaboration with public and private organizations. The plan is initially for the 60 homeless people the authorities know about, and to prevent further situations developing through drug addiction, alcoholism, unemployment, family conflicts and psychosocial disorders.
Portugal wants to modernize the political system, including Madeira. The Socialist Portuguese government wants to limit the mandate of the Presidents of the Regional Governments. Propose a limitation of seats in the office of the prime minister and presidents of regional governments. Jardim is not worried about this nevertheless considers that the rule is anti-democratic as limitation of seats means that "people can not choose who you want when you want."
Google continues to travel across Funchal. D. Cidade again highlighted that a Google camera car is collecting data for Google Street View. Also reported in J. Madeira on November 1 which stated that the car had been travelling around Funchal for several days arousing curiosity. Funchal will be the third Portuguese city, the other two are Lisbon and Porto. —- So you might see a red car with Google stickers and a grey camera mounted on top, judging by the photo in Diário da Cidade.
A few news headlines from today’s Diário front page :
Uniforms in the schools – against the inequality, the idea of uniforms in the schools develops. André Escórcio also proposes teachers in smocks. Both excellent ideas. I had to wear a school uniform, and it didn’t do me any harm (but I have stopped making those films now).
New museum – The emigrant will have it’s own historic space in the old health centre of Ribeira Brava.
FC Porto Qualified – The Portuguese team has already passed to the next stage of the millionaires league. Porto won 0 – 1 at Apoel last night. This is the same team (Apoel) that once lost 16 – 1 to Sporting (of Portugal) in Europe, so I wasn’t impressed with the one goal margin.
Today’s top headline : Câmara obliges ‘Infante’ to carry out urgent works – A clear ultimatum : either the administration of the building goes forward with repair works, or the council manages the process and passes the bill to the residents. We have great laws here which oblige owners to keep their property in good nick, and if they don’t the local council can take on the maintenance and repairs and bill the owners. This condominium building ‘Edifício Infante’ now has that ultimatum from Funchal council, and from the photo I think they have a fair point.
Consumption on Madeira falls €1.6 million per day – Only touching on the issue of electronic transactions, the Madeirans spent €437 million less in 9 months.
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The Neighbourhood of Nogueira becomes more and more uncontrollable. The population is tired of the terror. After an assault on a fireman with a bottle on Saturday night, there is an upsurge in criticism about the scarcity of policing. Nogueira finds itself under siege. The Diário found ‘in situe’ an atmosphere that ‘one could cut with a knife’. Also the main photo on the cover, that shows the remnants of the glass from the bottle used to attack the fireman. It seems that a Diário reporting crew ‘cruised’ the district of Nogueira after the dreadful attack on the firemen. The interview, mostly with a lady, revealed the same old trouble, unemployment, drugs, neighbours in dispute. The conclusion is that the neighbourhood has the air of a Latin American country. 
Benfica 6 Nacional 1. Sod the Diário report, you get mine. An absolute disgrace of a game! I am not complaining about the result, it wasn’t unjust and could have been more if the linesmen hadn’t been alert to the offside rule, but the referee was absolutely dreadful, and I hope he has RSI strain from reaching into his pocket so many times for yellow and red cards. The Benfica Goal Machine got more and more superior as the game progressed, but they obviously felt inferior as they just dived and dived, in the end getting two Nacional players sent off. I have just returned from watching the game as I write this, with steam coming out of my ears, so a couple of beers have put me in swearing mode, so here goes *!*!, and ##€€#*#. Sorry about that. That referee deserves a red card, and why Benfica had to put up such a pitiful act when they were clearly far superior is beyond me. At times I want to give up on football, and last night wasn’t helped by the fact that I watched the game in a local bar with around 20 other people. The other 19 were whooping for joy as the sixth goal went in against our local side. What a bunch of wet *!##*!, totally against their local team. 
Cultural Centre in London experiencing difficulties. Portuguese Cultural and Sports Centre is facing financial and management difficulties. The 27th anniversary party had 180 in attendance at the church hall in Brixton, London. Difficulties are due to debts and departure of people but there are plenty of young second-generation Madeirans volunteering, especially in using new technologies in promotion. They have six football teams, and a traditional music group who perform both in the UK and abroad. The London ambassador to Portugal attended and said that language and cultural differences were barriers to full integration, and that all immigrants had to unite to overcome them. Online consulate’s services have helped to register births and marriages and issue cards to citizens.
Fire destroys old home / workshop. A fire of unknown origin destroyed an old wicker workshop at a residence in Canto do Muro in Funchal. Although two fire crews attended, they could not save the building due to the presence of flammable material. Witnesses saw a bearded man dressed in a tracksuit fleeing before the flames appeared. The place has been disused for three years and is a residence for many drug addicts, who have broken down the doors replaced to try to prevent re-entry.
Negligence and marital conflicts are causes of some fires. Some people set their own homes on fire due to severe psychological pressure after a divorce or serious marital conflict. ‘If I can’t have it, no one can’ mentality. The two arrested were for car arson, one after an incendiary device. Most fires, both urban and forest, are due to negligence especially with an ageing population. Forest fires are often caused by land clearance or cigarette butts. Urban fires are caused by a forgotten pot on the stove or forgetting to turn it off before leaving, or falling asleep with a lit cigarette. Car fires are usually either due to the electrical system or battery.
Cavaco stresses the importance of understanding between central government and the autonomous regions. At the inauguration of the second government of José Sócrates, Cavaco Silva the President of the Republic stressed the importance of dialogue and understanding between the central government and the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores. He said, "A culture of negotiation must be everybody’s responsibility."
Outside Seating. The first cafe to have outside seating in the Rua Dr. Fernão Ornelas applied for a licence four years ago. For the past week the nine tables have had good occupancy. This area was enlarged a few years ago and there are questions about commercial trade in a public area and its effects on mobility of citizens in a very busy area of Funchal. When the licence is reviewed in three months time, the critical period will be Christmas with the increased number of pedestrians. Two of the three other cafes in the area are applying for a similar licence, including Sã’s Severa cafe. The council is also considering partially closing the street to traffic, as has happened in other areas, e.g. Avenida Arriaga.
‘Aedes’ in Caniço. The ‘Aedes aegypti’ mosquito has previously been found in Câmara de Lobos and larvae have now been collected from the cemetery in Caniço by the team of entomologists. The density is high for this time of year and is partially due to people leaving containers of stagnant water. One way they collect adult mosquitoes is to have a special collection tube attached to a bare leg, so they can assess the risk of disease by the density of aggressive mosquitoes attracted to humans. Not very ethical as they use themselves as ‘bait’. Final results will be known in a few months time. The female mosquitoes are more active during sunrise and sunset when they forage for food. They also like sheltering in dark and low areas, so bite legs and feet more. They are attracted by warmth, sweat and smell and some people are more susceptible to bites. They only go to ceilings when they have been fed.
Explosion and fire in residence in Pena. A house annexe was destroyed and some rooms damaged. None of the occupants were home at the time and two neighbours tried to douse the flames with water hoses but were driven back by flames from an exploding gas cylinder. The damage was loss of a washing machine, dryer, two dogs kennelled nearby and a cat which succumbed to smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is unknown, possibly a short-circuit. The neighbours smelt smoke at 18.15 and two fire brigades attended, but were slower in arriving than expected due to heavy traffic.
Swedish training ship ‘HMS Gladan’ in harbour. The two-mast schooner arrived in the Bay of Funchal on Monday 19th and after three days navigation along the coast, it arrived today at 9 am. It will be here until 9 pm on Sunday 25th when she will sail for Tenerife. The stopover is because a cadet requires medical attention.
