Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … One of the last remaining objects from the railway closed during  the II WW, I believe 1941, the last and the only bridge of the train.

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for that cartoon, and this web snippet :

Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste by David Hancock. New Haven: Yale, 2009. This engaging and thoroughly researched (150 pages of endnotes) work delves into all aspects of Madeira from the growing of the grapes on the Portuguese island of Madeira to the merchants, shippers, and consumers. The often complex and changing transatlantic trade was not restricted to the British colonies, but among many nations. HERE

Becky kindly send in this link to a video of fantastic nature photography HERE

How our islands are made … Pete HERE                                      Thank you both.

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

DIÁRIO 16/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Government builds walls on the beach.  To protect illegal small villas that were originally ‘casas da lancha’, the Regional Government is building walls in the middle of the beach of Porto Santo. These buildings were for storing boats and have been transformed into holiday homes over the past 20 years. Porto Santo Council has made a complaint to the government. The target of the main complaint was the house belonging to Carlos Machado, the ‘Posto Avançado da Democracia’ (shown). Carlos Machado is associated with Alberto Jardim and the first wall built was to protect his holiday home. These artificial barriers impede the natural movement of the sand and sediments and will have a significant impact on the size of the beach. The Regional Government has also allowed the sand dunes to be destroyed by the replacement of wooden boat houses, with the installation of septic tanks that are emptied at night time onto the beach. The width of the beach is now less than 40 metres in areas and some areas are completely submerged at high tide. Over the last three decades, it has been estimated that 350,000 cubic metres of sand have disappeared, equivalent to 23,000 lorry loads. 13,000 cubic metres per year are lost. There are also less sediments transported to the beach by streams, the flow lessened by constructions designed to control storm water. The houses impede the circulation of sand from the north to the south. To remedy the problem, the Regional Government need to dredge the sea bed to replace the lost sand. These holiday homes are illegal yet other structures have been demolished, for example the Bar do Henrique because it was not a wooden construction. The Ports Administration has identified a number of houses in an attempt to prevent their proliferation. Santos Costa, the Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure has rejected replenishing the sand. He has also allowed the removal of large stones and pebbles that dissipate wave energy and prevent coastal erosion.

Santa Cruz terminate the contract of a firm dumping earth in the ribeira. An ironic situation arose. A construction firm in Santo da Serra was contracted by Santa Cruz Council to clean the estrada do Ribeiro Serrão (Camacha), that had become impassable after the storms on February 20th. The firm deposited the debris from the road into the Ribeiro Serrão, resulting in the council terminating their employment. The council already have a very rigid policy against individuals and companies that harm the county. The debris was being removed from the site of the Ponte de Pau and the action destroyed pipelines that carry drinking water to Camacha. This area had been without a drinking water supply for one week and the pipes had been repaired that very same day. The firm’s manager denied they had worked for the council but instead for ‘Estradas da Madeira’, and did not understand the accusation. The councillor backed his initial statement, adding that the firm dumped the earth into the stream to prevent having to transport it to temporary landfill sites.

MADEIRA

Expenses paid only when there is a conviction. Clarification of a previous report that the police have to pay for injuries sustained to the attacker, whilst defending themselves. Payments for medical treatment and social security contributions after aggressive incidents are paid by the perpetrators only if they are tried and convicted. The decision rests with the courts and not the health service. If the accused is innocent, the costs are paid by those who lose the court case. These procedures apply to both civilians and the police.

Social Security pays 15 million Euros to institutions.  In 2009, the Centre for Social Security transferred 15 million Euros to Social Security institutions and other not-for-profit institutions. This is 25% higher than in 2008. The number of institutions has not increased and they are mainly for children and the elderly, the latter increasingly in need of support.

ECONOMY

Two more dredges and the Zenith in port today. Two regional dredges started to clear the Port of Funchal after the storm of February 20th. Two more from Lisbon and Setubal will help them. One dredger, the Varosa, arrived yesterday morning with the aid of the Comandante Águas tug. It is 55 metres long, 11 metres wide and can hold about 670 toneladas (tonnage/tonnes ?) of inerts. The second dredger, the Gruamar, is transported from Setubal by the tug Monfort and arrives today. This vessel has a length of 39.4 metres and a width of 11.5 metres. Today is the inaugural visit of the cruise ship called the Zenith. Coming from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands with 220 tourists on board then sailing on to Lisbon. The ship was built in 1992 in Germany and is 208 metres long, 29 metres wide and can receive 1,374 passengers served by a crew of 657 personnel. 

Jorge Sá complains to the police about a dark campaign. A few days after the disaster of February 20th, an e-mail was circulated claiming that the Sá supermarket chain was taking advantage of the break in the drinking water network by raising the price of bottled water in some municipalities. Thousands of people in Madeira received this e-mail. The sender was identified as a former employee who is currently employed by a rival firm. A second e-mail was sent suggesting that people shopped at Pingo Doce supermarkets, mentioning that the owners of this chain were donating one million Euros to help the reconstruction effort, as opposed to the Sá Group not offering any financial help. The e-mail also alleged that Jorge Sá demanded that employees worked overtime without being paid to do so. Jorge Sá denies these accusations.

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

Today’s main news headline : Renovation of Serra de Água at the cost of privates [companies] – RTP Television and Sonae have clubbed together €1.5 million with the €1.2 million of Mota Engil, in order to guarantee the construction of 26 new houses.

The joint committee starts work tomorrow on the evaluation of Madeira [damage].

A mysterious ‘Crater’ disturbs Achadas da Cruz – The people are suspicious of something that the scientific community have promised to investigate.  The hole that is causing restlessness in Achadas has a diameter of one metre and a depth of 1.8 centimetres [yes I have double checked], and locals believe that it was caused by a meteorite. The hole appeared at the beginning of the month, a few days after the extreme rainfall, but the locals don’t believe that the two matters are related. Maria Pestana, owner of the land which took the hit, says that she can now laugh at the situation. However, in the beginning she was not amused at all, and even prayed about the event. She swears that in 78 years of life that she has never seen anything like it, and refuses to cover it up or peek into the hole. "It’s the power of God," she says. As for a reasonable explanation for the event, she refers to the fall of a "lightning bolt", or at worst, for "something more sumen" striking. What is ‘sumen’, and how can someone peak into a hole that is 1.8 cm deep? Sr. Diário reporter, I think you need to go back an remeasure the depth of that hole.

Undercover officer compromises ‘Caso da Mala’ [The case of the case] – An operation of the PSP [Public Security Police] raises a request of invalidity in a case under judgement.

Madeira promoted in Porto and in Vigo – ‘Tourism’ develops a promotional action following the new route of Transavia. The new air link between Funchal and Porto, by the French ‘low cost’ airline, has prompted the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport to promote Madeira in those two cities. Workshops have been organised with tour operators and travel agents.

Carlos Costa sings in the School Sports festival – The Madeiran ‘pop idol’ participates in the opening session of the event, on the 27th April.

The main sports / football headline today : Councillor condemns "blackmail" of the clubs – Arlindo Gomes [council president] criticises the leaders of Câmara de Lobos and Estreito and warns that he will reduce the support for sport. "Nowhere is there any commitment to continuity of support and the council is going to decide what will be allocated and how much it will allocate, within its capabilities." This is the response of the president of Câmara de Lobos facing the criticism he has suffered, because it has not yet been decided what support to give to sport.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and other material.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

(17th September). ‘Secret Houses Bother Councils – The local authorities hide numbers and even support illegalities. The lack of paperwork leaves the occupants in difficulties’. The vast majority of the houses were built in the 1970′s and 80′s and are located in Funchal, Machico, and Câmara de Lobos. The story is nearly always the same, and the complications too. When life changes and a bank loan is required or someone else enters the equation, nothing can be done because the house was built without consent and is not registered. The câmaras don’t know the extent of the problem, but there are hundreds in the locations mentioned. The councils try to work around the problems so that occupants have water, sewerage and electricity connections. Some even try to lessen the impact on the landscape by providing materials for the owners, such as paint, tiles, and building materials (presumably to help them blend in and look acceptable?). Funchal is mentioned as having given such materials free of charge to people in the high zones, who don’t have the money to pay for them themselves. Often such assistance was misdirected. The problem occurred when there was an acute housing shortage, and in the case of Câmara de Lobos, assistance was offered by the council by allowing utility connections without the required permits, and there are hundreds of such houses in that district alone. It is not easy or cheap to legalise such houses, with lawyers finding legal obstacles in the process that can take years to resolve. Sometimes it is not possible at all because the ‘plots’ are too small for legal building, and the câmaras cannot issue permits to legalise the situation. Meanwhile the owners cannot sell the properties, and banks will not allow mortgages.

‘He Ordered A Funeral But Was Saved Through The Agency -  Morbid and highly unusual. The case occurred on Porto Santo’. Yesterday morning the staff of a hotel and a funeral agency managed to prevent a death through a suicide attempt by a pensioner, a guest at the the hotel. The man who wanted to end his own life, ordered his own funeral, and even had his own burial suit ready own his hotel room. He had asked for anonymity at the hotel, and on Tuesday had asked the hotel reception not to put through any calls or disturb him after 9.30 am. The funeral director turned up in the hotel reception as requested by the man, and asked to speak to the guest, but the telephone was not answered, and eventually a maid was sent along to the room. The room door was open, and the maid, seeing traces of blood on the floor and bed, raised the alert. Help was summoned, and the man was found still on the bathroom floor with his wrists slashed, but still alive. He was taken to the local health centre, and then to Madeira by air. A suicide note was found alongside the burial suit, with instructions on what to do after his death.

‘Fraudsters Attack On Madeira’. Two women posing as social security workers tried to enter a house in Santo Serra yesterday. The two women, aged around 20 and 40, are believed to be trying to rob elderly people living in isolated locations. The intended victim alerted the Diário to warn others of the danger, but was not actually robbed due to her cautious actions. A spokesperson for Social Security said that their employees are obliged to show identification before entering private premises.

‘Archive Shows ‘Legacies To The History’. The ‘Arquivo Regional’ will have on show items donated for the exhibition ‘Legados para a história’, which opens to the public on 24th September, continuing until 21st October. The exhibition will be housed in the lobby of the Arquivo Regional da Madeira, showing exhibits donated & acquired (loaned?) from people and private collections between 2005 and 2008. The complete collection comprises over 5,000 photographs, and 169 maps, plans, and drawings. The archive is always looking to acquire new material, and people who have documents or items of interest but don’t want to donate them, can take them along for microfilming or scanning.

Today’s main front page photo is taken outside the stadium of Nacional, with many things being delivered and set up, including TV cameras : ‘Europa League Brings Hundreds Of Tourists – Spanish and Austrians arrange special flights’. It’s probably the biggest game in the club’s history for Nacional, as they take on Werder Bremen. ‘The Circus Is Already Assembled’, refers to a number of changes and improvements demanded by UEFA, at the Stadium of Madeira in the Choupana, in order for the match to take place. The smell of fresh paint still hangs in the air, and everything has now been done to meet the UEFA requirements. The game tonight between Nacional and Werder Bremen is considered ‘high risk’, and around 70 police officers will be in attendance. Some officers will be in ‘plain clothes’ and will mingle in with both sets of fans. Everyone will be searched on entry using metal detectors. I know the Germans don’t have the best of reputations when it comes to problems with fans at football matches, but I can’t imagine that the fans of Nacional cause any concern, despite what UEFA think.

‘Coach Of Werder Bremen Is Enchanted With The Location Of The Stadium Of Nacional’. I can’t find this story, but I certainly agree with him … except when the mist or cloud comes down that is.

The match is on SportTV 1 at 8.05 pm.

‘New Screening Unit For The Beginning Of 2010 – The mobile screening unit is aimed at early detection of breast cancer’. The agreement was signed yesterday between the regional health service SESARAM and the bank Espírito Santo. The new acquisition is a welcome contribution in reducing backlogs in screening, that have been up to 7 or 8 months. There is one unit already in use, but at 10 years old is showing signs of wear and tear. The regional secretary for Social Affairs, Francisco Jardim Ramos, said that there are around 120 new cases of breast cancer detected on Madeira each year, but 80% of the cases are treatable because they are detected early enough.

Funchal Council are looking at the idea of giving parking discounts of 50% to environmentally friendly vehicles. A change to municipal regulations is set to be discussed next week. The change is expected to cover both electric and hybrid powered vehicles. To take advantage of the scheme, owners of such vehicles will need to go to Funchal Council offices to obtain a permit.

‘Police Identify Alleged Robber’. Police believe they have identified one of the two masked men who appeared at Elos cash and carry in Viveiros in Funchal, armed with a knife, and who forced checkout staff to hand over "a significant sum". (See yesterday’s blog). No mention of an arrest yet, but it appears that the other robbery reported, at a hotel reception, was carried out by a different pair of criminals.

At one of his inaugurations yesterday, president Jardim used the occasion to announce that he has already ordered the removal of the fences from the Marina of Lugar de Baixo, with the clean up work barely finished, regardless of ongoing legal issues. "I am a revolutionary. This is how I work, acting in the interest of the people" he said.

‘Journalists For ‘Good Health’ Visit Madeira And Porto Santo – French, Italians and Germans in the Region’. The Association for the Promotion of Madeira, is supporting the organisation of three trips for the media from Germany, France and Italy, each with seven journalists from various sectors on the themes of spa tourism and good health (well being). The first French initiative is also being supported by Portugal Tourism based in France, and TAP airline in France, and those journalists arrive on Sunday.

From yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ‘SORT-MAC Project Starts In October – The aim is to restore pathways and place signs in the Ilhas Desertas and Ponta de São Lourenço’. The project has support from the European Union, and on Madeira will be organised by the Directorate for the Environment, jointly with the National Park Service. Information boards will also be put in place, once a survey has been carried out to determine the best locations.

(6th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Cattle In Extinction – Of the number of cows that existed on Madeira 20 years ago, only 20% remain’. The article refers to cattle of regional origin, and in 2007 the livestock count was just 2,500. The regional livestock sector is in danger of disappearing due to declining interest in raising livestock, and the new rules imposed by the government and the European Union. Today we can even say that the regional cattle stock moves towards extinction. Proof of this is the drastic reduction of livestock that occurred in the last two decades, which has further worsened in recent years. In 1986 Madeira had over 11,500 cattle, and that has reduced by around 80% since then. According to a managing partner of the largest importer of live cattle in the region, the reduction is mainly linked to the "lack of interest among farmers" and "lack of information" and "bureaucracy surrounding the raising of animals." A situation he stresses that "is getting worse, and the way this is going, in 10 years there will be no cows left. Less significant, but no less disturbing was the reduction in the import of animals for fattening and slaughter. In this particular case, says Manuel Gaston, "there was a drop between 30 to 35% compared to two years ago". The reasons are mostly related to the national and international crisis. "This is more about the economic situation. The civil construction has slowed, there is less work, wages are low and, obviously people opt for other meats like chicken and pork, which have been very cheap", he said. The situation does not just affect cattle, with livestock declining also for pigs, down from 26,500 in 1986 to 13,300 now. The number of sheep has also reduced in that period from 12,996, to 2,699 at the end of 2007, but that statistic is closely linked to the decision by the regional government to remove sheep from the mountains and countryside, which led to many farmers abandoning this activity.

‘More Support – The crisis obliges the Social Security to expand its budgets for the institutes of solidarity’. The Social Security Centre Madeira (CSSM) gave €6.1 million to Private Institutions of Social Solidarity (IPSS) and other non-profit institutions of social support during the first half of 2009. Compared to the same period last year that was €300,000 more, with the number of support organisations increasing from 57 to 58. The biggest beneficiary was the Centro Social e Paroquial de São Bento, which received over €947,000, followed by the Centro Social Paroquial de Santo António with nearly €700,000, the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Calheta with €512,000, and the Centro Social e Paroquial da Santíssima Trindade da Tabua with €437,000. The president of the Board of CSSM, Bernadette Vieira, said that this increase is a reflection "of investments that have been made in the areas that benefit senior citizens and children", and  stresses, that needs tends to increase, not only due to the emergence of new institutions of support and social solidarity, but also due to some serious social problems arising from the economic crisis.

Most of today’s front page is taken up with a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo with that agonising look he specialises in when he misses a scoring chance : ‘The Cursed Lack Of Aim – Liedson makes his debut with a goal but Portugal didn’t go beyond the draw (1 – 1) in Denmark. Faced with the triumph of Sweden in Hungary, our team fell to 4th place in the group and now has to rely on the others to enable it’s arrival at the World Cup’. It was just one of those games, when Denmark had just one shot on goal and scored, and Portugal had 15 at the last count and scored once. The referee was taking a bit of stick on the TV news this morning too, for not giving a pretty obvious penalty. With 3 games left against Hungary (x 2) and Malta, Portugal now need Sweden to slip up to have any hope of a play-off position.

‘Paul Loses Fishermen – The land of ‘sea captains’ awaits the construction of a fish market and for a civic centre’. Another headline : "Some Work The Land, Others Work The Sea" – Paul do Mar marked by emigration’. With 20 years Carlos Ferreira swapped Paul do Mar for Panama four years ago. Since then he has travelled around several Latin American countries on board tuna fishing vessels. The story of Carlos is no different from most of the inhabitants of Paul do Mar, a neighbourhood marked by emigration where "some work the land, others work the sea", explains Maria Fernandes, who at 64 years has also been an emigrant in South Africa. Australia, Panama, Samoa, Venezuela and England are other destinations for ‘pauleiros’. It is in the sea that the majority seek a living and better conditions in life. "It is very worthwhile," says Carlos Ferreira, who has no regrets having spent so much of his life at sea. "You earn a lot of money," he stresses. But in this "corner of heaven" not everything runs to form. There is still much to be done. The population welcomes the progress in the work on the Civic Centre, but complains about the lack of employment, and the health centre, for failing to offer a permanent service. It looks like the Diário series ‘Through Madeira’ is back. Marked by emigration it may be, but also marked by strewn concrete blocks like much of our coastline I see from the photo.

UPDATES :

‘Five Thousand In Grape Harvest Festival’. An estimated 5,000 people, including many tourists, went to Estreito de Câmara de Lobos yesterday morning to see the 32nd Festa das Vindimas. The Diário observed that the festival goers snubbed the risks of Gripe A swine flu, passing around drinking classes from person to person, a high-risk behaviour. One visitor was dazzled by the party and with the island, saying "It’s very beautiful. I’m really enjoying it. Madeira is beautiful". Herminia Lopez, a Luso-Venezuelan visiting Madeira for the first time praised the festival, "I loved it. It is very interesting". The regional secretary for tourism said that the wine festivals are well consolidated as tourism events, a fact proved by the 75% hotel occupancy, but she still aiming to improve on that. Grape production this year is expected to fall short of that achieved last year, and the harvest is also delayed as a result of weather conditions.
The photo is from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos yesterday.

‘Families should make contingency plans – The Director-General of Health states that each one must have their own procedures’. "We are informing all the Portuguese that the principal contingency plans are those of families", he said, referring of course to Gripe A swine flu. He also said that the obese, asthmatics, diabetics and those who have chronic problems, should consult their doctors beforehand to prepare protocols and procedures, to work to in the event of contracting Gripe A. "We are not at great risk, but it may be in the Autumn or Winter that this will happen" he added, stressing that at that time, "everyone should know what to do". The President of the Board of Health and Social Affairs, Maurício Melim, also present at the awareness initiative, said that the regional authorities will continue to invest in a plan of prevention, with particular attention for children, pregnant women, and the chronically ill.

‘Dog Show With More Breeds – The Lido Gardens filled yesterday afternoon and the appeal of the organisation was heard’. 65 dogs were entered and judged in several categories. The organiser took the opportunity to appeal to people not to abandon dogs, and to ensure that they were sterilised. There is a slideshow HERE with more photographs.

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London came to distinguish one wine made in Madeira as being the best in its category. The award for the best dessert(?) wine in the world was given to Verdelho 10 Old Reserve produced by Vinhos Barbeito. The election of a Madeira wine as the best liqueur(?) in the world is of great importance, since Madeira will increase its exports when the quality of its wine is recognized in such a way. Two other Madeira wines were also awarded at the event last week. Henriques & Henriques won a medal with a Malmsey of 2001, and also a Bual Colheita 1993 was among the winners. (It’s a bit tricky translating wine terminology, so a bit of guesswork was involved … just in case anyone was thinking of going out to buy a bottle of one of those mentioned).

The last of the front page stories today : ‘Parties Repetitive – There are places and entities, almost always the same, that are tempting for the parties in campaign times’. Bit of a pointless article really, but here goes. The political parties always target the same institutions when on the election campaign trail. Some institutions refuse to get involved. Favourites are Funchal Central Hospital and the regions health centres, to highlight a lack of conditions, Madeira Education Centre, the Farmers Market in Funchal, to get nice colourful pictures, and Madeira Free Zone. Visits to the regional command centre of the police, to highlight security issues, and the employment office of course, are also popular. The PSD social democrats particularly like to associate themselves with the church, and charities are also popular. In terms of a good backdrop for TV interviews, Pico dos Barcelos is popular, being a good spot with a panoramic view over Funchal.

"Absolute Majorites Always Abuse" – To inaugurate in election times is a sign of a lack of democratic maturity’. Those were some of the messages from Paulo Portas, national leader of the CDS Christian Democrats, on Madeira yesterday for the party political rally in Prazeres. The party has a slight chance of a seat in the Assembly of the Republic, if all goes really well. Portas referred to two politicians in his criticism, José Sócrates and Alberto João Jardim, saying that in absolute majorities "they transform the power into abuse". We all know that inaugurations at election time are a speciality of president Jardim, to win votes, but this year prime minister Sócrates is being accused of copying Jardim by doing much the same thing. Not quite on the same scale, as Jardim does two a day, and Sócrates just one.