Myth unnailed ; Madeira clean-up ; Cops pay for injured robbers ; "It was a wet February …"
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … Vintage hidden view point on St. Luiza street behind house # 152. No one knows about it I guess (the correct photo this time, but I bet no one noticed except Tom)
Many thanks to Becky for these two videos :
I’m sure you must have seen this footage of a base jumper hurling himself off Cabo Girão on a motorbike, as it’s from 2006, but I hadn’t seen it before and having recently stood at the viewing point of Cabo Girão, it has made me feel a little queasy … just the thought of it (and what a waste of a motorbike, too!)
Some great footage of someone’s day trip to Madeira (hang on, a day trip?!) in January 2010, with a Levada walk to Queimadas, Caldeirão Verde.
Thanks a lot to Paul for these three pieces :
Should we go to Madeira? The UK Daily Telegraph, 12 March 2010: Pat Dawson, from Bath, writes : "We have booked a week’s holiday in Funchal, Madeira, starting on March 23 but it’s difficult to discover what the situation is after the terrible floods. We are reluctant to cancel as we know how much the island depends on tourism, but if the centre of Funchal is cordoned off and most of the excursions aren’t running, is it worth going? We have booked independently so we can cancel our hotel up to seven days beforehand, but we would forfeit the flight".
Gill Charlton replies : In response to the many emails we have received from readers, Telegraph Travel sent Louise Roddon to Madeira this week to assess the damage. Link to Louise Roddon article. She discovered that the capital, Funchal, has recovered remarkably quickly, while areas in the interior, such as Ribeira Brava, have borne the brunt of the landslides. The island’s famous gardens and levada walks are almost all open, as the clean-up effort continues in earnest." The Telegraph, 12 March 2010
Support for Madeira from the American Senate, Washington. “Senator Kerry said the state of Massachusetts stands proud of its long-standing historical ties to the people of Madeira. "With their seafaring and cultural traditions, Portuguese-Americans have en-riched the Bay State beyond measure," he said. "I am fortunate to be married to a woman who takes great pride in her Portuguese heritage. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Madeira as 
they work to overcome this disaster and rebuild their island paradise."
Photo : Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
Sen. Brown reminded how a tragedy like the one occurred in Madeira can reveal the strength of the bonds that exist within communities.
"In this case, the bonds are very strong as Massachusetts owes a good deal of its history to the contributions of Portuguese-Americans," he said. "We offer thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families, and our full support in their time of need."
Sen. Reed said U.S. officials continue to work to ensure the safety and well being of about 400 U.S. citizens on the island.” Link to full article
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Archaeologists declare nail a ‘fantasy’ crucifixion-relic. "AN ARCHAEOLOGIST who identified a first-century Roman nail, which has been claimed as a possible holy relic kept by the Knights Templar in Madeira, said last week that it could not possibly have been used in a crucifixion."
Elaine found a couple of articles in The Portugal News Online:
Government measures welcomed. Prime Minister José Sócrates was this week the recipient of unprecedented praise as he unveiled a host of measures to quell fears Portugal could follow in Greece’s footsteps and further undermine confidence in the financial stability of the Euro Zone and its members. HERE
Guess what? It was a wet February, says Met Office. Data from the IM shows that large quantities of rain fell last month, particularly in Madeira, where average daily quotas of rain were between 144.3 millilitres (on February 20th) and 129 millilitres (February 2nd), in Funchal. HERE
Diário today repeated this article but added that Funchal had 3% more visits and 8% more passengers in transit (yearly total of 435,821). Portugal sets new record for number of cruise ship visitors. Last year cruise ships brought a record-breaking number of passengers to Portugal, setting a new high after more than 940,000 tourists disembarked from their liners at a Portuguese port. HERE
Tess emailed with this, thanks : "A few days back you had a feature on the blog about UK company ‘Naturetrek’ promoting a whale-watching holiday to Madeira. This was also featured in the Travel Section of last Saturday’s UK Guardian under recommended family activity breaks in Europe. A 5-day holiday joining a team of marine biologists for daily whale & dolphin watching trips on a privately chartered vessel costing from £895 inclusive of flights, transfers, accommodation, most meals, boat trips & guiding. Seems that the UK papers are doing their bit to get the tourists coming back. Fantastic!" TESS’S BLOG
Many thanks for those Elaine and once again for yesterday’s top news stories :
DIÁRIO 13/03/2010
FRONT PAGE NEWS
Police officers have to pay hospital charges for treating offenders. Police officers are being notified by the Hospital of Funchal to pay the cost of medical care of individuals with whom they have engaged in physical confrontation while working for the police service. The president of their union said this is unique in the country and is "absurd and unacceptable". The bill for medical treatment is sent to those whom the victim perceives to be the perpetrator of the aggression. 98% of notifications are not paid and the health service resorts to litigation procedures. The police are taking their case to the national director of the police force.
MADEIRA
Santa Cruz seeks justice in resettlement. Delays in the relocation of 51 homeless families in Santa Cruz is intentional and designed to avoid situations of injustice among the population in need. This is the conclusion drawn from words spoken by the Deputy Mayor of Santa Cruz. "We could have already relocated all the families but they would be more satisfied if they were in other areas. We have talked to the homeless on the situation and they all prefer to be resettled in their parish of residence. We do not rehouse the families from Santo da Serra in Funchal." "The Council has made every effort so people can return to their homes, but this was only possible in cases that just required clearing the access or the threat of landslides." In total, 12 families have been resettled and the five who remain in shelters should be relocated next week. The number of homeless families in Santa Cruz decreased from 83 to 63 this past week. 12 of these are related to the housing recovery project, leaving a total of 51 requiring permanent accommodation.
Caracas reunion of 600 people for Madeira. More than 600 people attended the Thursday evening party of solidarity (vinhada) in Caracas for the victims of the storms in Madeira. The organizers are counting on the support of the Venezuelan authorities, taking into account the system of exchange controls in force in the country that prevent freely obtaining foreign currency. If the money is transferred at the official exchange rate, it will be worth three times as much (in Euros) than at the unofficial market rate. It helps that the Venezuelan Government understands the great need of Madeira at the moment. —Hugo Chavez offered help to the Regional Government but I never found out if they took up the offer, so I presume they did not.
AJAMPS gave a homeless baby a surprise. The Young Entrepreneurs of Madeira and Porto Santo (AJAMPS) surprised Letícia Oriana on her first birthday with birthday cakes and a performance by clowns. The family were made homeless after the storm of February 20th and are staying at a Youth Hostel. They lived with their grandmother near Trapice in Santo António, Funchal. The house accommodated six people and sustained considerable damage and the ceilings are at risk of falling down. The 57 displaced people staying in the hostel were invited to lunch and dinner paid for by AJAMPS. Contributions were from members, friends and businesses and the vice president said it was rewarding to see these people smile.
Penalties in civil service affect region. Government employees in Madeira did not join the nationwide strike on March 4th, due to the recent disaster that hit the region. The Stability and Growth Pact passed by the Portuguese Government applies to civil servants in Madeira. Measures introduced to decrease the budget deficit are: freezing of wages; increased taxes on income over 150,000 Euros; retirement age increased from 62.5 to 63 and to 65 in 2012/2013; for early retirement the penalty increases from 4.5% to 6% of pension for each year. The latter measure was envisaged for 2015 but has been brought forward to 2010. The autonomies have some power to mitigate some of the points in question but the regional governments have not expressed an intention to reverse these national rules.
Madeirans complain more. The Serviço de Defesa do Consumidor (SDC) has been in greater demand by local people. Last year they received 624 complaints, far more than the 467 in 2008. In 2009, SDC responded to 4,398 requests, of which 3,774 were for information. The remaining 624 cases were complaints that centred around: movable property (208), real estate (108), banks and finance companies (93), essential services (90), transport (47), tourism and leisure (22), distance selling (21) and insurance (16). More people (1,068) needed debt counselling and information before using credit. 104 cases involved arbitration. They can also resolve complaints from citizens of other European countries who purchase goods or services from entities located in the region.
POLITICS
Solidarity in London unites mayor and Albuquerque. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London and Miguel Albuquerque, the Mayor of Funchal are the leading players in a day of solidarity for Madeira, which takes place on Saturday March 27th in London. A fundraising dinner for 800 diners in Earls Court is the primary activity of a day that will also have other events with a single objective; raising money for authorities and institutions that are spearheading the reconstruction of affected areas and supporting people affected by the floods. The dinner is in the Ibis Hotel in Earls Court, one of the most prestigious in London. The Madeiran businessman José Silva has organized the events after being contacted by a group of friends in London. All the local Portuguese community organizations and the Ambassador and Consulate of Portugal in London have been directly involved. Other fundraising events are: raffles, auctions and other similar activities; contributions from individuals and large companies; contact with the media and exclusive interviews with Sky News and Sky Sports are being negotiated to highlight the cause. The President of CS Marítimo will be present, along with other sporting personalities who will be announced soon. Entertainment at the dinner event is provided by Maria Aurora from the program ‘Atlântida’ presented by RTP-Internacional, and possibly Madeira’s celebrity singer Vânia Fernandes will attend.
Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :
Users want Lido ready for Summer – Even without the swimming pool, the bathing complex is in the Summer projects. But Funchal Council does not guarantee reopening, even partial. Come rain or shine, Summer or Winter, the weekends are not the same without a trip to the Lido bathing complex. The destruction caused by the storm does not deter the regulars at the Lido complex, remaining faithful to the location, at least whilst the beach remains open. The restoration works needed will mean the closure of the complex, which is not going down well with some regulars, who want the sea access to remain open, and other spaces left open, with just the pool closed. I have to say that this ‘statement’ from the Diário took opinions from just a handful of people who frequent the facility at Lido, and is hardly representative of many thousands of people who at the moment have far more important and complex priorities.
Today’s main news headline : Stone of the storms causes row – Santa Costa ordered the taking of stones from the storm torrents to the marina at Lugar de Baixo. Then, he retreated, the president of Ribeira Brava appearing in the confusion. The question persists : the stone is being given or sold?
One doesn’t mess with nature – The alert comes from Segadães Tavares, an engineer that has received awards, by the way of the destruction of February, for example with the bridges. "That what is cheap ends up expensive", he reminds. Accompanied by a picture of the bridge over the Ribeira Brava, in the process of being pulled down after the February stone damage. It’s about time someone with credibility came along and said this. A few days after the storm that caused so much death and destruction, President Jardim was quoted in the media [I can't remember the exact words, but this is close enough] … "We have been hit by nature before, and come back to win, and we will do so again". What sort of message does that send to a population who look to Jardim for leadership, and even sensible advice? Everyone with their head screwed on knows that you don’t mess with nature, you work in harmony and within constraints … that is if you want to avoid problems in the future of course.
Beneficiaries of social integration growing – In just one year, the social security payments increased to take in another 1,277 claimants. Today the total is 8,122. The beneficiaries of this social support received, on average, just €92.81 in January, a little below the national average. The growth in the claimants shown is from December 2008 to December 2009. The number of claimants has been growing since 2005, except for a slight exception in 2008. The true number of poor people who need this support is not discussed, as not everybody qualifies of course, but there are I know many many more worthy cases than stated in the headline figure from the Social Security report.
Storm confuses the strategy of [Jacinto] Serrão – Leader of the socialist party of Madeira believes that it is possible to beat Jardim.
Jardim considers that the extraordinary convention "is not going to get anywhere". In the week that precedes the direct [leadership] elections Jardim is going to get together with the PSD party activists in all the regions of Madeira.
The main sports / football headline today : Wave of red invades the Choupana [the stadium of Nacional] this afternoon – Nacional hosts the league leaders in a stadium where one foresees a clear majority of Benfica supporters. L.F. Vieira promises housing to some families made homeless by the bad weather.
Many thanks to Elaine (West) for this piece from today’s Jornal da Madeira:
“Help for Madeira” in Machico Forum. On Saturday, April 20 there will be a solidarity show entitled "Help Madeira” in Machico Forum. The event, organized by the Council of Machico, is aimed at raising revenue to help in the reconstruction of Madeira. Beginning at 20.30, the show will feature several figures and prominent guests in the field of regional music and, in particular, of the county.
The programme includes performances by Vânia Fernandes (closing the show), Pedro Garcia and Sara Cooper, former competitors from "A Song For You", the group Flores de Maio, Claudia Nobrega, São de Leste, the Grupo de Fados de Machico, the “tuna” of the Banda Municipal de Machico / Casa do Povo of Machico, Amigos da Música/De Passagem, Prestige Dance, Metamorfose, Nuno Nicolau, Folk Group of Machico, among others. The show is expected to last about three hours.Tickets are on sale from the Freguesia in Machico and at the Machico Forum priced ten Euros.
If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.
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Jardim Orquídea is a genuine exhibition. We have built a miniature forest where you will have the opportunity to admire a wide variety of orchids, both in their original form and hybrids, as well as other tropical plants.
Optimism on Portugal’s austerity budget: “the Socialist government has cut a huge budget deficit before, when it soared beyond the EU limit in 2005”
ON Fusion Art by Porto Bay, 16 – 18 July. The third edition in the Old Zone of Funchal arrives earlier this year, normally held in September. The exhibitions bring together painting, photography, craft shows, multimedia design, fashion, dance, street theatre and other forms of expression. Events are held at: Largo do Corpo Santo, Rua de Santa Maria, Jardim do Almirante Reis and the Hotel Porto Santa Maria. The Porto Bay Group’s "duty" is to boost private enterprise in Funchal and accept its share of social and cultural responsibility. ON in the name is from the fusion of Old and New and means to activate, connect and energize. The revival and revitalization of the historic area is in mind during the three days of intense activities, including live performances. ON is a biennial event and the works of art are auctioned at a formal dinner for not-for-profit institutions. The first two events in 2006 and 2008 raised a total of 65,000 Euros for social services institutions, particularly the Associação de Paralisia Cerebral da Madeira (Association for Cerebral Palsy) and the Centro de Acolhimento de São Tiago (Shelter). Money raised this year is for the Associação dos Amigos da Arte Inclusiva – Dançando com a Diferença (Association of the Friends of Inclusive Arts – Dancing with a Difference) and the Associação de Desenvolvimento Comunitário do Funchal (Community Development Association).
Candidature of Ribeira Brava might be suspended. Following on from the last item, the Mayor of Ribeira Brava thinks the application for the beach at Ribeira Brava to gain Blue Flag status should be withdrawn. The council has not discussed the suspension. He thinks this precaution is needed as there is a lot of work to be done, particularly in Tabua and Serra de Água. During the flooding on February 20th, the entire sea front and the basin inside the breakwater were completely littered with debris. The area surrounding the beach is still strewn with waste despite the removal of a large amount of material. Some of the mud removed during the clean-up was discharged directly into the sea near the beach front and into the river, whose flow has taken it to the shore. The mayor, Ismael Fernandes, believes the quality of sea water will be good during the summer season even if the Blue Flag is not raised.
Marginal serves as a dump for rubble. The coastal road between Ribeira Brava and Tabua is used for storing the debris removed after the flood of February 20th. Since last week, lorry loads of inerts mixed with rubbish, washed ashore during the flooding, have been deposited in the section beneath the parish cemetery. The Chairman of the Council assures that the situation is temporary, allowing a quick recovery back to normal life and an attractive county. The mayor is convinced there is no risk to Public Health as the area is safe and away from the populated area. 
The BBC wants comments and information from people who live in these countries: Portugal, Ireland, Greece or Spain? “PIGS is a horrible acronym. But this is how the financial markets refer to the troubled and heavily-indebted countries of Europe – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain.(Some analysts use PIIGS to include Italy – Europe’s longstanding biggest debtor.)” The BBC is after answers to these questions:
Financial crisis: IMF boss says there’s no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place. "No one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow morning but there’s no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place" 
Available for all. "I am available at any hour and any moment, as I always have been and I always am wherever I go." That is the message of the rally driver Bernardo Sousa. Diário asked him if he would be associated with any tourism promotion campaign carried out by the Regional Government. He said that no one has contacted him but he would be willing, not only abroad but also in Portugal. Three days ago, he won the Rally Torrié and soon will be competing in countries where the residents choose to spend their vacations in Madeira. Bernardo is taking part in the World Rally and says Madeira could draw dividends form the media attention. He will be in France, Germany and England and the events will be covered by television, newspapers and the radio. Bernardo will be going next to Jordan in early April. The events are usually covered by 200 journalists and the organization has its own TV channel and radio and their website is visited by many millions of enthusiasts. The photo shows the Flag of Madeira raised on the podium when he was in first position in the Campeonato de Portugal de Ralis de 2010. It was placed on the roof of his Ford S2000, in solidarity with the victims of the storm.
Weather forecasting model not implemented for 7 years. The Centre for Geophysical Sciences in Lisbon University proposed to the Institute of Meteorology in 2003, a project for high resolution, more detailed forecasting of weather conditions in the Azores and Madeira, 48 hours in advance. The Institute of Meteorology agreed to participate but only the Azores progressed with the project; Madeira lacking partners. For the weather forecast for Madeira, the Institute uses a European model, which is the best global model but it does not have enough spatial resolution to represent the topography of Madeira sufficiently. To compensate for the island’s physical characteristics, additional regional data is collected from remote radars and satellites. The installation of the high resolution model would cost no more than 100,000 Euros. The diagram shows the model used by the Centre for Geophysics in Lisbon to allow more detailed forecasts, thanks to high resolution orographics (how hills and mountains affect the weather – BBC website).
Flower Festival "is already sold out". The Regional Secretary for Tourism said that hotels are largely full, a "good omen" for the tourism industry after the storm of February 20th. Three and four star hotels are almost all fully booked and five star hotels are going that way. But the President of Porto Bay Group, António Trindade, cautions this optimism, saying that high occupation rates are not a reality. If there is too much optimism it could generate a disincentive for agencies to sell Madeira. He said the market is reacting positively to the events of February 20th but there are still many beds to fill. 
Museum of Sugar will only reopen within a year. The Museu do Açúcar or "Cidade do Açúcar" in Praça Colombo, one of the most emblematic and important museums in Funchal, requires 300,000 – 400,000 Euros of repair work after the flood of February 20th. DRAC is still at the stage of assessing and costing the damage. The building was damaged and 30% of the exhibits are missing, mainly small items. The only other museum to be affected is the privately owned religious museum, Mary Jane Wilson in Rua do Carmo. Water entered through the front door of the Museu do Açúcar and the collection in the basement was completely flooded. Members of the public and the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação have volunteered to restore damaged items. It could have been worse because many of the most valuable items are in the Palácio da Ajuda in Lisbon for the exhibition, ‘Obras de Referência dos Museus da Madeira – 500 Anos de História de um Arquipélago’. This exhibition of 300 museum pieces from Madeira, representing 500 years of an archipelago, should have ended on 28th February but is extended to April 6th and the extra ticket returns will go to Madeira. 
