Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Martin … "Picture of Der’s car on display during the third week of June, prior to the annual running of the ‘Volta a Madeira". I can assure you Martin, that car puts mine to shame (and it probably is drivable).

RONALDO SET TO BE FIRST BILLIONAIRE FOOTIE ACE – Mega-rich Arab oil barons in Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar are willing to offer up to £3m a game to the Spanish side Real Madrid to play a series of exhibition matches during their winter break. But key to it going ahead is the inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo in the touring party. Sources claim the £3 m fee would be split 50-50 between the club and Ronaldo, giving him an amazing £16,000 for every minute he’s on the pitch. This is from a trash UK newspaper, but if it is true the numbers will BLOW YOUR MIND I think the answer is to play him for one minute, and then substitute him, still not bad 16 grand for an afternoon’s work.

Reminder. The expressway between Madalena do Mar and Arco da Calheta is closed until November 30th. due to the construction of a tunnel. The ER 101 closure is associated with the link between Ribeira Brava and Fãja da Ovelha.

Yesterday’s new stories … many thanks to Elaine :

Return of the Queen Victoria (shown in photo). For the first time this season, the port was full with three cruisers. The AidAluna (2,250 Germans) and the Oriana and the Queen Victoria (2,000 British on each ship). These tourists are known to utilize the tour buses, taxis and cable cars and visit the Farmer’s Market, wine and embroidery shops. This is the first time these three ships have all arrived on the same day and will all return on the 31st. December. Due to lack of berthing, the ferry from Portimão departed later on Sunday and will arrive at 16.30 rather than 9.30 am on Monday and leave at 19.00 for the Canaries.

Court acquits driver in fatal crash. He was charged with negligent homicide after a 52 year old man died. His car was in collision with a Madeira Beer Company (ECM) van which contained three occupants, one who died and the remaining two were seriously injured. The passenger in the car was not seriously injured. An expert witness said the car was not going fast enough to push the van into the stream. This occurred in 2005 at the intersection of Rua da Ribeira de João Gomes and Rua D. Ernesto Sena de Oliveira, and the truck went over the poorly-maintained barrier into the river bed about fifteen metres below.

To evict tenants, landlord needs to give five years notice. A couple leased a house out in 1982 with a one year renewable lease. The couple moved to England and the husband died. The landlord did not have an agent in the region and the tenants did not know where to pay the deposit, due to the death, so the rent was not paid since 2001. In 2008, the widow filed an eviction order and the tenants paid 50% of the rent due from 2001 to 2008. The court in Funchal dismissed the eviction order and the landlady appealed to the court in Lisbon, but this was also dismissed as the landlord must terminate an indefinite contract by notifying the tenant in advance of not less than five years of the date of intended termination.

Ribeira Brava Council promise to rectify the bad smell in Tabua. Today,  Monday, the council promise the removal of the accumulated sludge at the water treatment plant. This is to end rumours that the smell comes from direct discharge from the sewerage system into the river. The sludge build up was due to the heavy rains earlier this month, causing more water to enter the network. I was down their a week or so ago, and definitely a bit unpleasant … even the dog wanted to turn back. Der

Thousands follow the Virgin. Thousands of people, including a significant number of tourists, filled Sé Cathedral and courtyard for the Mass before the statue went to Fãja do Penado.  About 300 bikers and cars accompanied the journey and people were at vantage points throughout the route, e.g., overhead bridges. The statue was greeted by hundreds at the destination, since it is the only opportunity they will have of seeing the icon. It is particularly significant as in 1919, Fãja do Penado was the first place in the world to erect a chapel to honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Socialist Party leader to be elected on the 8th. and 9th. January. Jacinto  Serrão and Victor Freitas finally confirmed the date after a  heated debate when the Regional Committee was suspended after insults were traded. Victor Freitas wanted an earlier election date and the cancellation of this date, after a close vote, did not please some members of the Regional Committee who claimed Victor Freitas had given in after pressure and manipulation of the voting members by the leader João Gouveia.

SIRAM (Colombo’s Resort developers) has lost the licence to build a hotel and casino on Porto Santo. The group signed the contract in 2005 to build a casino and five star hotel within two years, then tourist apartments and villas. They paid 8.6 million Euros for the land where Colombo’s Resort is and paid €3.3 million to the Government of Madeira to aid in the 27 million investment in the Porto Santo Golf development. The company has €100 million debts and the shares have been sold to the creditors.

In Portugal, the revenue from golf tourism is €1.8 billion per year. There are eighty courses, forty in the Algarve and the players are mainly from the UK, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. There are about 300,000 golfers a year, who spend on average more than 260 Euros a day.

Élvio Sousa awarded prize in England. The President of the Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary Archaeology (CEAM) has been awarded the prize for his work in Machico and the Autonomous Region of Madeira. It was from the Council for Kentish Archaeology which was formed in 1964 in Bromley and the prize is awarded to outstanding individuals in preventative archaeology. He will give a lecture when receiving the prize in Canterbury on October 24th. The regional Tourism and Cultural  Affairs have also been invited. The Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary Archaeology aims to protect and enhance cultural heritage and has carried out work in the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Azores. Élvio Sousa is responsible for the Research Unit to develop specific research projects in the field of Archaeology, History and Heritage Management.

Mandolin Orchestra in Câmara de Lobos has a waiting list. The Mandolin Orchestra Casa da Cultura de Câmara de Lobos started from scratch in 2008. There are already 22 children, aged between 5 and 15, but there is a waiting list of those wanting to train. They rehearse two or three times a week, more than most groups and the repertoire consists of children’s themes.

Students using all means to overcome economic difficulties to obtain a degree. Every year, due to family economic difficulties and the increase in the number of students, more and more students are applying to the Social Services at the University for support and for student bank loans. These are to pay for tuition fees, accommodation, food, transportation and textbooks. In Portugal, the number of students in Higher Education is approaching the European average, about 35% of the 20 year olds and there are more people who are aged over 23 years starting studying.

Madeira Theme Park creates a ‘resident card’. By the end of the year, there will be a new card available so locals can visit the facility in Santana at a nominal price. With the card, the restaurants, parks and playgrounds will be free but not the themed pavilions, and possibly discounts in other areas (restaurants, musical events, localities of culture and leisure). The present card costs 30 Euros per year. The sale of local handicrafts has been higher than expected, and September was a very popular month for visitors. About 310,000 people have visited since the opening in 2004.

Vandalism to property of the suspected murderer in Nogueira. The family have had to move for their own safety and are trying to find housing in another area. There has been damage to furniture and a water pipe, which Santa Cruz Council have had to repair to prevent flooding. The police have stepped up patrols in the area as a prevention and to try to calm the area.

Portimão hoping to receive 30,000 cruise passengers this year. This will bring a revenue of 1.8 million Euros, in addition to the passengers and vehicles on the ARMAS ferry. The first half of this year, there was a 227% increase in the number of transit passengers. The authorities are investing in the port, dredging to allow larger ships and constructing modern passenger terminals. It is expected to be the busiest port in the Algarve in 2010.

EU to help milk farmers who are in crisis. 280 million Euros in aid to be given, and the Portuguese farmers could get more than €6 million. ——Should be good news for the prices of dairy products.

Amazon launches Kindle in Portugal. The device for reading electronic books will now be sold in Europe, due to the large number of customers who want to read books in English. It will cost about 190 Euros and will be on sale on their internet site.

More about the newborn sharks story. This is the first time this species of shark has given birth in captivity. They are expecting more new arrivals in the next few days as they normally give birth to between 4 and 17 young. The gestation period is 10 to 12 months, so they thought the fertilization must have occurred in the wild (male captured 10 months ago). The young are 30 cm and weigh 250 grams and are being fed by divers. One is weak and might have to be placed in another tank. The species can live for 24 years and grow about 1.5 metres long.

A quick look at some of today’s front page news :

Coverage of the draw in the 2010 World Cup play off game between Portugal and Bosnia gets a corner of the Diário front page, the first leg being played in Lisbon on 14th November, and the away game 4 days later.

The oil spill in Caniçal on Sunday is being played down : Fuel Centre CLCM talks of a spillage of just 150 litres. A source in the company CLCM admits responsibility for the leakage of fuel oil during the transfer by ship in Caniçal. Quercus, the environmental protection organisation, say that there will be environmental damage.

The main news headline today : Madeira has 9 months to ‘invent’ €400 million – The European Commission has already determined : That payments to suppliers, starting from June 2010, have to be made within 30 days. With 80 million contos (old money) to be satisfied, the Madeira government and câmaras are seeing the collapse on the horizon. Just for info a ‘conto’ was 1,000 escudos, and there were 200 escudos to the Euro in 2001. Serious business this in theory, with massive amounts  of ageing debt across Madeira at government and council level, some up to two years old if I recall correctly from an article from a few weeks ago. The reality is that it will probably make little difference to the old debts, but should make some difference with the new ones. What supplier is going to rock the boat and risk future business by creating a rumpus about old debts, which they knew would take ages to pay when the order was placed. Their compensation, in some cases at least, was to overcharge the council or government to start with to compensate for payment delays, and on top of that Portuguese law was changed a couple of years ago to award penalties to suppliers for late payments, and some must be raking it in, or will be as the debts age.

Breaking news :

European Parliament approves reduced rate for rum and liqueurs Madeira – MEPs acknowledge that the measure is "necessary for the survival of local industry". The EU agreed the measure today that extends the reduced rate of excise duty on rum and liqueurs of Madeira, until the end of 2013. The value of the rate to be applied can not be less than 75% of the special rate of excise duty on alcohol consumption. The EU considers that the measure is "necessary for the survival of local industries, taking into account the characteristics and constraints of the outermost and isolated regions. They recognize that the raw materials such as cane sugar, fruit, and honey, among others, are more expensive than in normal production conditions. The measure is an important aid for eight manufacturing companies in this region, employing about 130 workers. The decision will also apply to liqueurs and spirits from the Azores, and rum from the Canary Islands. MORE INFO I am surprised at the number that voted in favour … 580 … with just 13 against.

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(21st September). ‘Return To School : Quality Is Higher With Less Students’. This is an interview with the regional secretary for education and culture, Francisco Fernandes, who says that with less students this year, the quality of teaching will improve. He also talks about the 37 projects of construction, improvement and expansion (individually listed) in higher education in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Two challenges being faced are the extension of full time schooling to 100%, as some children still have to ‘work shifts’ due to limited teaching resources, and the extension of compulsory education until the age of 18, something eased by a reduction generally in student numbers. 40,230 children and youngsters return to school today, although 2,941 will in truth be attending for the first time. They will be full time in school, apart from some small deviations in Funchal, Calheta, and Câmara de Lobos. 173 schools will be involved in the education of our children, one more than last year. Teaching staff have increased in number from 6,867 to 7,621, including 1,402 on temporary contracts. Non teaching staff have diminished slightly from 3,231 to 3,226.

Staying on the subject of schools : ‘School Ready In April – Government was counting on having the infrastructure enlarged for a thousand extra students this year’. The new basic and secondary school in São Martinho is not ready in time for this new academic year, as was targeted, due to a series of problems has put the completion target back to April 2010. The main problem arose when large storm drainage pipes were detected in the foundations of the new structure, which needed diverting at an additional cost of nearly €400,000. Funny time to be announcing it on the first day of the new school year?

’13 Already Died On The Roads This Year – A nasty accident on the via rápida, in the early hours of yesterday, was fatal for a 34 year old man’. The car lost control and hit the central barrier in the area of Magi Reis, close to the Caniço junction. It seems likely that the dead man was not wearing his seat belt. A woman in the car was also hurt, with a suspected fracture, and suffering from shock and bruising. The same night another serious injury was inflicted in Santo da Serra, when a car hit a wall at speed, and the driver had to be freed from the vehicle. It was a black weekend on Madeira’s roads, after a 79 year old man was run over and killed on the Estrada do Aeroporto, in Abegoaria, Caniço. 22 people died on Madeira’s roads in 2008 (but that does not include those who died later in hospital under strange counting rules).

‘Tourism Nationally Distinguishes João Borges’. The state is to officially award João for his services in tourism and promoting Madeira, and Bernardo Trindade, secretary of state for tourism will present him with the gold merit medal. Known around the world as ‘Mr. Madeira’, he assumed the role of public relations for our island, and was a key figure in the consolidation of tourism here as former Regional Director of Tourism. A medal of merit is also to be given to the Museum of Sacred Art for the provision of services relevant to the satisfaction of tourism, and enriching the tourism experience. The Secretary of State for Tourism, feels that the museum exhibits one of the finest collections of Flemish art in Portugal, and even in Europe, and for that is the most visited museum on Madeira. Much of the collection was assembled through past generations producing and exchanging sugar in exchange for Flemish art.

‘Day Without Cars’ On Porto Santo Will Have Free To Use Bicycles – Companies on the island join in with the challenge : "Improve the environment in the city". Tomorrow Porto Santo joins in with the European initiative ‘Day Without Cars’. The main road ER120 will be controlled between 8 am and 4pm to take the pressure off of traffic in the city, and bicycles will be loaned free of charge.

A photo from yesterdays’ football epic, Nacional v Marítimo, has most of today’s front page : ‘Race And Efficiency Make The Difference – Edgar doubled up in the first victory for Nacional in the Portuguese Premier League’. Edgar scored twice to give Nacional the three points, and spoil the 99th birthday part of Marítimo, who failed to take advantage in the second half of a 10 man Nacional side. ‘After the game, Marítimo’s Bruno forced his way into the changing rooms, resulting in the involvement of the police’.

‘African Association wants to know the size of the community’. One hundred members of the African community in Madeira were present yesterday at the taking on of the social body of the Cultural and Recreational Association of Africans in Madeira (ACRAM). After several years of low activity, the association wants to undertake work from scratch. The new president Augusto Mané wants to carry out a survey about the community on Madeira. Mané admits to not knowing the number of African immigrants on the island and their needs, and wants to address this. Regardless of the outcome of the survey, Augusto Mané assures commitment to social and economic issues. "The biggest problem in the community is legalization [in immigration]," notes the president of ACRAM. "In second place we are concerned about housing and employment". The regional secretary for Human Resources, Brazão de Castro, attended the event. The politician stressed the attitude of the Regional Government on immigration as "responsible and serious", stressing the openness to dialogue, especially since 2003, when the it supported the establishment of the headquarters of ACRAM in the neighbourhood of Nazaré.

‘Robbed Three Times In A Month And A Half – A robbery in Gaula, in the early hours of yesterday, yielded over a thousand Euros to the thieves’. The bar of Alexandre Caldeira has been robbed again, with the robbers entering through the toilet window, and breaking into several machines with cashboxes, and causing a lot of damage in the process.

‘Lacked Fruit And Money – Business was poor for the farmers and traders who went to Ponta do Pargo’. The Festa do Pêro ought to be at the beginning of the month when people have more money, suggested one farmer, who was disappointed with the level of trade. "This year is worse. They come, they look and go away. They do not buy hardly anything", she said. In ‘food and drink’ things did not go any better. Manuel Costa gambled in taking "one hundred and something kilos" of meat. "This is worse", he said, still hoping that he might sell half of what he sold last year. Did anyone go? I am curious to know what the fruit is, as what I always thought was the ‘Pear Festival’ is in fact technically sweet apples, as the word for pears is PÊRA.

I expect a few people, like me, saw this ship bombing along the south coast yesterday, and wondered what it was. It is the sail boat ‘Cisne Branco’ (White Swan), that has just finished the ‘Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge’, where it finished first in its class and second overall. It is now travelling between Europe and Brazil. It belongs to the Brazilian Navy, and was built 10 years ago for the purpose of representing Brazil in commemorative events and tall ship races.

From yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ‘€300 Million For Improvement In Water – Madeira will have a strong investment in the water sector in the next six years’. The president of IGA, the new water management company, says that there are in hand new investment programmes of renovation and reform of the main water pipes and ducts, public distribution networks, and agricultural watering, that will run through to 2015. The investments will address the problems of water loss through leakage, and provide for the storage of large quantities of surface water from Winter rain, as well as improve the treatment of residual waters and water for recycling. The measures will also provide contingency for reduced rainfall through climate change. The article doesn’t actually say where this €300m is going to come from, but presumably there are grants and European funding up for grabs, although the article does mention that water services are very cheap for the public, which does suggest that one source of expected revenue raising could be from us. €300m works out at €1,200 for every man, woman, and child on Madeira, so maybe it would be cheaper all round to import it and deliver bottled water to our homes.

That’s just about it from everything in the Diário, except ‘politics’, and I will be back with that and today’s main headline later.

(11th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Savoy (to be) Demolished Floor By Floor – The option of implosion is put on the shelf. The hotel will come down in bits with strict environmental conditions. The debris will have to be channelled to a special landfill for INERT materials to be constructed in Santa Cruz within a month’. The Regional Directorate of the Environment has dismissed the plan to demolish the disused hotel by implosion, and it will now be done top down. The owners, Group SIET, will be responsible for separating out the debris to determine and allocate the correct disposal route. The first landfill site for ‘inertes’ on Madeira, in Santa Cruz, will be licensed in time for the demolition. As well as safe materials, such as wood, cement, plastics and metals, there will also be hazardous and asbestos materials. In the information provided to Funchal Council, the Regional Directorate for the Environment has also made recommendations about the dust and noise from the demolition, although much of that will have been mitigated by the decision not to implode the building. The complete work will need to be covered, with water jets being used to ‘damp down’ dust, and vehicles leaving the site will have their wheels washed. The noise will mainly affect a residential and tourist area, so the hours of work and intensity of machinery will be planned with this in mind. The Portuguese word INERTE translates into English as INERT, which confuses matters (for me anyway, as it signifies non-reactive), but it sounds like Madeira’s first ever landfill site for INERTES may be for the less pleasant materials, but I may be wrong. I don’t think I would feel too happy about that in Santa Cruz. Firstly it is rubbish from Funchal, so why take it elsewhere. Secondly, with the mountainous terrain and sometimes heavy rainfall, I would hope the location is well placed and absolutely safe from leakage and cross contamination. No doubt our man in the area will have an opinion on the matter?

The main front page photo today shows a group of third generation men sat around a table in a public place, playing cards : ‘Estate And Rats Harmful For Residents And Tourism – Santa Maria Maior presents many complaints’. This is the Diário featured location this week. The people in Santa Maria Maior have little interest in local politics or the elections. The list of complaints from one trader is headed by rats, "as large as rabbits, which horrify the tourists" yet the council do nothing. The problem, states Manuel João Vieira, is aggravated with the smell and dirt in the drains, "The rats along there are almost like tourists" he said sarcastically. The ex-president of the parish council admits to the problem, but says it is the owners of the buildings that need to deal with the problem. The Diário spoke to five residents about what they thought about the performance of the council (below are the full responses given):
Luís Sousa – Painter – "This council leaves much to be desired … the rats and the smell are a shame for tourism and the president does not speak to anybody".
José Freitas – Retired – "There are many bad things, starting with the rats and the smell in the historic area. Then there is the garden where there are lots of drugs".
José Nóbrega – Retired – "They have done some things. It more or less performs. I think it is better to have the PSD than those who do not understand these things".
Ernesto Silva – Retired – "I see everything much the same. I think this council has not done much, but for me any party will do".
João Manuel Vieira . Trader – "The work has not been bad. What is most lacking is dealing with the rats in the historic centre, where there are rats like rabbits, and restoration of the houses".
That was pretty much it rats and more rats, although there was a second separate article that headlined more on drugs and prostitution in that area. That’s Santa Maria Maior crossed off my list of places to visit this Summer.

‘A Sailboat Crashed Against the Shore Yesterday Morning – The one crew member was found with fatigue and dehydrated’. The leisure boat that was shipwrecked near Ribeiro Salgado had an English flag. According to the port authority, the boat coming from Tangiers (left on 27th July) suffered damage to the mast whilst at sea, with further damage to the hull when hitting the coast at Porto Santo. The boat was taken to the beach, where it will be repaired, and will then be towed to the marina. The 53 year old Swiss citizen in command had fallen asleep with exhaustion prior to the crash, and had run out of drinking water.

‘Lethal Accident On Porto Santo’. A motorcyclist died yesterday afternoon after a collision with a jeep’. The ex-footballer aged 40 used to play in goal for local side Portossantense, and was well known locally as ‘Chico’. The accident occurred in sítio do Cabeço, and Chico was airlifted to Funchal Hospital but died later from his injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.  That makes the 10th road death this year, and the second already this month.

‘Balloon Registers Record Of 3.88′. A 41 year old driver arrested in Santa Cruz on Sunday, registered a 3.88 blood-alcohol count when stopped by police, beating the previous record this year.

‘Robbery In Camacha’. A family were awoken at their home in Sítio dos Casais d’Além, in Camacha, by an intruder who was turning out the bedroom drawers. The father who worked nights was just parking his car outside, at around 5am on Sunday morning, when he heard his wife screaming, but he managed to apprehend the burglar and call the police. The individual was identified by the police, but he will only be charged with ‘invasion of property’, as had not had the opportunity to steal anything. The four year old daughter who witnessed the event was very shocked, and spent the rest of the day unable to speak, very scared and tearful. This case, for those living in Camacha, is just another example of the need for more policing and security in the area, that has long ceased to be a peaceful place.

Today’s football headline is the draw for the Portugal Cup football fixtures . ‘Taça de Portugal Opens With Two Local Derby Games’. The first round, to be played on 30th August, has drawn Canicense with Porto Moniz, and Santana with Porto Cruz. That should save some travelling expenses. There were 7 more Madeira teams in this stage of the draw, with the ‘big guns’ coming in later.

‘Five New Cases Of Gripe A – The laboratory in Funchal Central Hospital reported cases detected between 3rd and 9th August’. The pathology lab confirmed 5 new cases of swine flue H1N1. Four males and one female aged between 15 and 30 were infected, but none were hospitalised. The victims were from Spain and the UK, and that takes the total for Madeira to 21 cases since the start, all so far imported.

In case anyone failed to notice, July was a hotter month than usual, and was the hottest and driest place in Portugal. The Institute of Meteorology used the reference period 1971 to 2000(???) for its conclusion that on Madeira and Porto Santo the mean average air temperature was higher than normal. Besides the higher temperatures, the rates of ultraviolet radiation (UV) on Madeira have been unusually very high, and even at ‘extreme’ levels in recent weeks.

‘Agricultural products rot in fields and stores – Farmers of the West can not sell products’. Potatoes are badly hit, with the trade price down as low as 5 to 7 cêntimos per kilo. One farmer talks about losing 400 tons of crops, as he cannot cover his production costs, and may have to finish in agriculture. Leaving everything to rot in the fields is a cheaper option. Other vegetables and apples are also facing a similar ‘serious crisis’. "The supermarkets import products at the time of our crops and strangle the market for production" says a spokesman for farmers of the West. Anyway, that explains why potatoes have plummeted in price in the last few weeks. I have just read the whole article again, and there is no indication of whether this is a local or national story, but I now realise from the TV news that this is in Portugal.

‘Outdoor Cinema At Madeira Forum – Showings take place Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday in the central square’.  Starting today the open air cinema will be at  the forum, through until 6th September. Today’s offering is ‘Who wants to be billionaire’, a work by Danny Boyle that tells the story of an orphan of 18 years from the suburbs of Mumbai, India. Thursday will be ‘Milk’, a film that won Sean Penn an Oscar for best actor. The first week of outdoor movie ends with the movie ‘Marley & Me’.