Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTOS : Thanks to Selina … "This is a view of the Sea front Marina, just after the rains had finished at 1.30 pm on Sunday afternoon (4th October). The sun had just come out and everything was drying up. The area was mostly deserted, the entrance by the tunnel was closed again due to a small rockfall. We walked along the marina to view the huge amount of water cascading down in the waterfall, behind the marina buildings. The car parking at the far side was under water, resembling a very large swimming pool".

Lord of The Rocks is continued with today’s instalment – "Flip Rocks".

Read on dear reader if you dare……

The Saturday sun rose orange above the green lands – Flip and Robin looked North to the bad lands and, saddened by the gathering orange dust cloud of Percy’s bad men gathering to fight them (a little bit) looked a right angle to the West – to Percy’s seat. It was huge and worth many swiggles and had many places to sit in the great palaces that Percy had had built – some for him, his family and some (empty) just to get the swiggles from the European Union….

"Flip" said Flip and Robin (hood) winked……"we can’t fight them this way, for they are too many, I have a cunning plan……."

And so it was that Flip and Robin spent all the day travelling up and down the secret steps deep into the ground where the FlipFloppers stone lay, buried and hidden from Percy. They carried away many many precious stones (and rather nice pieces of precious metals as well) from the stone but their task was huge…..they needed help. And so it was that Flip secretly summoned his "Just Poor People" friends and they also secretly began carrying away many many good bits of the stone, soon they had nearly all the people from the green lands helping and some also from the land of the Whales boyyo.

Flip and Robin handed out the good bits of stone (worth many swiggles) to all their peoples and by the rise of the not so orange sun on Sunday, everyone had a plenty and a promise of no longer being "Jolly Poor People" but "Justly Proud Participants" of the rule of their lands – they had more squiggles than even Percy!

And it came to pass that Percy did hear of this and he and his bad, greedy family and friends all rushed into their tunnel towards the stone to grab what they could……but so big was the hole left by Flip and Robin and the JPP that Percy and ALL fell headlong into and down the hole never ever to be seen ever again (promise)!

This of course left Flip and Robin to rule fairly over the Land of the (one less) Rock with a fair hand and heart and ALL the people of the lands lived happily ever after.

Ah, I think I am seeing a bit of a picture here, and it sounds like today is an important day!

"We are also thinking of stopping at Porto Santo, when we leave Funchal.  Porto Santo is the other inhabited island of the Arquipelago Madeira.  The Arquipelago is made up of five islands but only two Madeira and Porto Santo are inhabited.  Porto Santo is known for its long white sandy beach.  Not counting tours, there are less than 3,000 people on the island". If you have been following the voyage of the Resolution, this is the next short episode of the captains (b)log. What happened to the other 2,000 people on Porto Santo though? RESOLUTION

The gym at Ribeira Brava has introduced two new classes, and as a promotion they are free to attend during October.

1. Kickboxing – Mondays 7.30 pm

2. Indoor Cycle ? – Tuesdays & Fridays 8 pm

I am off to do my duty very soon. The PS gets my vote today, as they gave me the most goodies (baseball cap, pen, pencil and notepad), although I really did want the oven mitts, I have managed to forgive that oversight now. The BE left block came a close second choice, having the catchiest campaign song, but I think that would be an even more wasted vote anyway. DD (democracy day) has come at last, or will Unc. Bertie have his henchmen out with big sticks. I will let you know if I see any.

Porto Santo is all out of petrol. A breakdown in the main filling station has meant that excess demand had drained all the petrol elsewhere. The Portugal Airforce has already started an operation to provide petrol to the island. The petrol station with the breakdown cannot be fixed until Monday. I can think of more disastrous scenarios I must admit, after all, apart from emergency situations, it wouldn’t do anyone any harm to to a bit of walking on a Sunday.

I received an email from someone who lives on Madeira on last night asking me to send them money to help them out of a ‘desperate situation’. It looked like a hoax, and it turned out to be just that. Apparently many hotmail accounts have been hacked, allowing crooks to use the email accounts of innocent people to try and con the contacts in their address book.

UPDATES :

You can probably guess the big front page story today, especially if you followed the football yesterday. Cristiano Ronaldo promised a goal, and went off injured instead, but the team went on to win despite an inconsistent performance. Portugal 3 Hungary 0. They need to win against Malta on Wednesday to stay in 2nd place in the group and reach the play-off games for next years World Cup.

Also in football, Mitchell Van der Gaag has been confirmed as coach for Marítimo and his duties with Marítimo B have been given to Nélson Caldeira.

The main political story is of course the elections today : Madeira Elects 772 Councillors – They are in play in the organs of local power regarding the 11 regions of Madeira and the 54 freguesias (parishes), the president of the republic appealed for the vote. Cavaco Silva made a national broadcast on TV yesterday evening to try and get people out to vote today.

And finally from me : News in Black and White. The Diário newspaper completes 133 years in service today, and the Sunday magazine with today’s printed edition travels back to look at the newspaper in 1876. These days we are accustomed to around 50 pages a day, filled with photographs and information graphics, signed texts, interviews, letters from readers, cases of the day, colourful advertising media and then of course there is the online edition. Back in the old days it was a huge buzz caused by four-page black and white offering with no pictures or authors, produced without much graphical care or  design rules. No pictures it says, but just browsing through the news stories from 133 years ago one caught my eye about a lady in Santa Luzia who had just given birth to a very very  noisy stroppy baby, who threw all his toys out of his wooden wheel-less pram at the slightest little thing, and could insult all and sundry within range within just a few hours of being born. It’s not easy to read such old text, but let me see … yes I think his name was Alberto João Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim. Anyone ever noticed that Santa is an anagram of another rather scary word?

Yesterday’s news stories, courtesy of Elaine in Garajau :

MADEIRA NOT READY TO HAVE A EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE. The Secretary of Education and Culture admits that Madeira is not yet ready to enter an application for the award.

DENUNCIATION OF CHEATING IN ALBUQUERQUE. The Communist candidate for Funchal stated that the council had announced eleven times the redevelopment of Pico dos Barcelos, and promised four green spaces/parks in Santo Antonio, but none created. "If Dr. Miguel Albuquerque participated in a film of Pinoccio, his nose would have grown so much that it would not fit on the screen."

‘FUGITIVO’ CASE WHICH ACCUSES 2 PSP OFFICERS OF ACCEPTING BRIBES POSTPONED UNTIL 9 DECEMBER. 12 defendants from a raid on a nightclub in 2006. Found ‘waitresses’ and ‘dancers’ appearing to be acting as prostitutes. The 2 PSP officers are accused of accepting VIP treatment at the nightclub for passing on information about raids. The 72 year old Brazilian ringleader, his 58 year old brother and other workers at the club are charged with various illegal activities including arranged marriages to Portuguese women. The women involved at the nightclub were Brazilian, some illegally immigrated.  

TWO ACCIDENTS YESTERDAY (FRIDAY) CAUSED LONG QUEUES ON HIGHWAY. Two accidents on the Santa Cruz/Funchal road. In the first one, a 33 year old woman had to be cut free from her Ford, which is to be scrapped, but she was released from hospital in the afternoon. She changed lanes without warning and a Ferrari driver from behind could not take avoiding action. His car will cost a few thousand to repair. –The commentators in the newspaper are not sympathetic to the Ferrari driver – excess speed? 

STUDENTS GIVEN TIPS FOR FLIGHTS PRICES. Students flying between Madeira and Lisbon can save money by booking in advance, booking directly via the websites of SATA, TAP and Easyjet rather than through travel agents, and a small change in date/time can make a difference. So instead of 400 Euros, the cheapest prices were for SATA 73 Euros, TAP 95 Euros and Easyjet 121 Euros, between 14-17 December and return 7-10 January.

PRAZERES GALLERY HAS FIRST ANNIVERSARY. The gallery in front of the Quinta Pedagogia has had 20,552 visitors to 11 exhibitions.

MSC ‘FANTASIA’ OFFERS CRUISES FROM FUNCHAL. November 23 and 4 December a 11 night cruise costs from 1380 Euros and a port fee of 130 Euros. A 6 day cruise on the 15 December costs from 878 Euros. An offer for an accompanying passenger.

MADEIRA TOURISM CHARM 170 FRENCH ON MONDAY. To coincide with the arrival of the low-cost carrier, the Tourism Office will host a two day tour of the island for French tour operators, tourism representatives, travel agents and media. They will have a welcome cocktail, dinner, trips to the Famers’ Market, wine lodges, Monte, walks, rides, jeep safaris and dolphin watching trips.

MILLENNIUM BCP WILL OPEN SATURDAYS. This bank will open on Saturdays from today. Anadia branch 9.30 to 13.30.

… and today’s too … thanks Elaine :

Quinta do Lorde resort promoted in England and France. 99 apartments and 23 single houses for sale. Already promoted in Madeira, promotion in England to begin in November through Savilles Estate Agency in London, then Glasgow in February and Manchester in September. They are betting on selling to the UK market as there is a strong English tourism base. They are using Savilles which have an exclusive clientele. Also promoted on the web sites of the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and Financial Times. It will then be promoted in December at the Cannes International Luxury Travel Market fair, which is only open to ‘VIP buyers’, who have to be able to prove that they have a certain income and lifestyle to visit it. Later promotions in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They still do not know when the resort will be finished and  realise that now is a difficult time to sell. —Another half-sold development?

Eco Line occupancy rate has tripled. To reduce mobility needs, traffic congestion and accidents in Funchal, energy consumption and pollution, the Eco Line buses have been made free since the 1 September and their usage has tripled. There already is one Green Line bus (no 1) running between Piornais and the city centre and the Funchal Bus Company is buying more buses (hybrid technology or electrical) to run one every seven minutes. This is part of the CIVITAS project, involving the council, Technology and Science Park and Energy and Environment Agency. They are still surveying the usage of  buses in order to plan a better service.

Fraudulent PSP e-mails. These e-mails, purporting to come from the police, are still being issued and the police are getting about 50 enquiries a week. These notify the recipient that they are required to attend a court hearing but the attached file contains a ‘phishing’ message.

Condominium Management Companies more competent. The Bureau of the ACIF Business Condo has eight members which represent 50 – 60% of the sector. There is a draft law to be debated, which has been designed over the last three years, to regulate the industry. The management firms often have problems with 20 – 30% of the owners and recovering debt by litigation is expensive and lengthy, so a last resort.

Young people want more time with parents. Lack of love, values and dialogue, summarises more than 3,500 people aged between 12 and 21, enrolled in the Youth Service at Bom Jesus Health Centre, Funchal. These are from dysfunctional families which now occur in all sectors of society. The parents do not have time for them, no family meals and no joint activities. This service is run by a 24-strong multidisciplinary team, including 4 doctors, 8 nurses, 3 psychologists and a nutritionist, who promote healthy lifestyle and less risky behaviour. Last year they started three new projects, for pregnant teenagers, eating disorders and sexually-transmitted diseases. They next want to be able to monitor health of pre-adolescent 10 to 13 year olds. —Unfortunately, sign of the times.

SPAD requests the inclusion of  animals in the declaration of IRS. At yesterday’s  Blessing of the Animals ceremony in Funchal Municipal Park, there was much barking, with a few dogs but no cats. The SPAD (equivalent of the PDSA) representative wants the cost of pets to be deductable in tax returns.

Best way to book travel? It has been thought that Travel Agents might disappear because of increased use of internet booking, but the cheapest deal might not always be the best, mainly due to the conditions and limitations of the cheaper tickets. Travel agents often have agreements with airlines so they can offer good rates not seen on websites, and the service charge pays for them and security as the agents do not receive commission. It is easier to book a holiday package through a travel agent, and they build up knowledge over time so can advise. WTTC-affiliated agents are more secure.

Voting complaints. In Sao Roque do Faial, a complaint about PS propaganda leaflets near the ballot box (illegal). Also several complaints about the politically-known arranging transport to polling stations (influence?).

—–I noted that last night at the Santana Theme Park OCM concert, they also erected screens for those wanting to watch the football match.

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(more…)

(30th July). ‘CDU Repeats Artur In Funchal Council – The Unitary Coalition wants to move to two councillors and take Dírio Ramos to number 2 behind Artur Andrade’. I am clearly suffering with election boredom already, but it was on the front page, and I really cannot be bothered to read and translate an article involving a party of no-hopers … sorry.

‘Four Flags Take The Place Of Direct Political Speech’. The law does not allow political speeches when the elections are scheduled, and yesterday, at an inauguration in Câmara de Lobos, the President of our Government explained these rules to the people who joined him in the sun for the celebration and speeches. President Jardim still spoke of autonomy and freedom, but the people didn’t need to stretch themselves too much to know what he had in mind. Indeed, on the wall of the new road being inaugurated, there were placed 4 flags of the social democrats (PSD).

‘Regional Government Should Notify Brussels About Assistance To The Jornal da Madeira – Competition authority recommends “adopting principles that avoid distortion in competition”. The government here should inform the European Commission about the financial support being given from public funds, and urges the adoption of practices that will not conflict with the principles of competition with any future funding. The competition authority concluded that the use of public funds constitutes state aid for the newspaper. If in Brussels the funding is judged to be illegal, the money injected may have to be repaid. The amount given until the end of 2007 is assessed at €23.4 million. The regulator warned that future aid given to the media, would have to conform with several principles to avoid distortion of free competition.  This would mean an objective justification based on the likelihood and impact of failure of the recipient of the aid, ensuring that the financial support was proportional to the risk, and not discriminatory.

‘Lack Of Employment Hitting All Sectors Of Activity – USAM presented yesterday an overview of the labour-political situation on Madeira’. “There is no sector of activity that is not affected by lack of employment.” This is a review of the conclusions of the labour-political situation in the region in the first half of the year, presented yesterday morning in a press conference, by the Regional Council of Trade Unions of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (USAM). Worst hit are the hotel sector, and construction and trade. Concerns in the hotel sector are  particularly worrying, because the hotel bosses are getting rid of staff for any number of reasons, and in some cases expecting remaining staff to maintain the same level of productivity after colleagues have been dismissed, singling out the Savoy Hotel “which fired dozens of workers without good reason”. I would have said that demolishing the Savoy Hotel, with government backing, was a reasonable excuse for cutting back on staff.

Madeira’s richest man lost 30% of his fortune, falling from fourth to ninth place in the rich list of Portugal. Madeiran Joe Berardo, according to the magazine ‘Exame’, will now have to manage with just €618 million.

The cruise liners ‘Queen Victoria’, ‘Oriana’, ‘Boudicca’ and ‘Saga Ruby’, have already booked their places in Funchal for the next two New Year celebrations.

(29th/30th July). A late story yesterday : ‘Travel Agents Fear Alarmist Messages About Gripe A – Luciano Jardim says that concerns led to cancellations of trips in the last few weeks’. APVAT wants to reassure the travellers. “The Gripe A virus is present the world over, and it is not necessary to leave Madeira to catch H1N1″, that’s the message being given out by travel agents to counter negative messages passing amongst the public (it just about makes sense, but I suspect it got a bit mangled in the translation). It is younger couples with children who seem to be reacting more. I don’t think this has much to do with swine flu, more like concerns about travel agents losing money. How can you morally justify persuading someone it is just as safe to go abroad when the virus presence there might be much more prolific than here on Madeira? Good for our economy too if people spend their dosh here rather than abroad.