Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo Thanks to Eiryl … A happy lizard in the Botanical Gardens

"Madeira, the Portuguese island known as the floating island of flowers that lies offshore in the Atlantic just like the Spanish Canaries, provides an unusual sliver of Portuguese tradition but with a flavour of independence. The island no longer depends on its mainland parent for anything and unless you knew its history you could easily leave without having any clue about its mainland links". WHERE DO PEOPLE GET THEIR INFORMATION FROM ?

"Well, I am sure there is a whole lot of other exciting stuff, but Madeira pretty much trumps everything since there are only 10 missionaries there, it is pretty coveted. Irmã Draper has been looking at me about every 10 minutes for the past two days and saying something along the lines of…. you realize you are going to Madeira!" YOU WORK IT OUT AS I COULDN’T

Sue kindly sent in these news stories, many thanks :

Conductor of the Classical Orchestra of Madeira – Rui Massena in Dukes. The conductor of the Classical Orchestra of Madeira (OCM), Rui Massena, runs on Saturday, the Dukes, in Guimarães, the Orchestra of the North. The concerts will be interpreted works by Shostakovich (the opening party, op.96), Tchaikovsky (the Overture Romeo and Juliet) and the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov (Rhapsody on a theme of Panini, op.43 for piano and orchestra minor), which will feature the pianist Antonio Oliveira.  Rui Massena is considered one of the youngest conductors Portuguese, is 36 years old, was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, began learning piano at six years old and runs the CMO since 2000. Graduated in conducting at the National Academy Orchestra under the guidance of Jean-Marc Burfin and continued his studies in Italy, with Gianluigi Gelmetti, and France, with Cristhian Manem. He was conductor of several concerts in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, cases of Dvorak Hall (Prague), Tonhale (Zurich), La Fenice (Venice), Carnegie Hall (New York) and New England Symphonic Ensemble. Directed José Carreras, Jose Cura, Mark Zeltser, Eva Maria Zuk, among many others, and orchestras in Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Canada and the Czech Republic. Was the guest conductor for the Presidency of the Republic, for the concert commemorating the Day of Portugal – 10 June. Since 2005, Rui Massena is also the educational director of the Conservatory – Schools of the Arts of Wood and artistic director of the International Competition Wood Music

In the Region, under the Safe Summer Program – PSP oversaw 260 homes this summer.
During the summer of 2009, the PSP has overseen 260 homes in the region, under the Safe Summer program. This is a program in which the police carried out surveillance of homes during the holiday period of the owners, by their request. PSP-M emphasizes the effectiveness of the police action, since "there was a single residence associated with any anomaly, any theft or any other disturbance."

Municipality of San Vicente launches program to support basic needs – Board is helping the county’s elderly. The Board of St. Vincent will do a survey of people over 65 years living in the county and determine the conditions under which they live. The "Program 65 +", and called the initiative will, for example, building ramps to homes to provide easy access and guarantee the purchase of medicines or food, going to get them at pharmacies or markets.  The Mayor of St. Vincent will promote a survey of the number of seniors over sixty-five years and their living conditions.  The initiative comes under the Program 65 +, a project that will be led by the northern municipality as early as next January.  Jorge Romeira, speaking to the JOURNAL OF MADEIRA, that it has already contacted a local association (the Association of Development of North Madeira), with the task of putting the project on the ground.  The mayor notes that the project includes the removal of all persons over 65 years living in the municipality of San Vicente.  "We know how they live, where living conditions if they are alone or accompanied and what their main needs," he explains. Our party, for example, will assess the person’s access between the road and the house in order to facilitate their mobility. "The project could include a cementing  footpaths, placing of ramps instead of stairs, etc.." He said.  But the initiative will also serve to assess other needs of the elderly. "People often do not have anybody to go buy drugs or foods. The project will include this service, "he added.  He says that the support would be individualized and considered on a case by case. Socially, the Mayor of St. Vincent also announced that "promoting the improvement of municipal services for staff and users’ and recalls the construction of an old people’s home (Dona Hilaria Davis) and a public garden.

The program of the Regional Government and CMSV are also covered in the construction of the Bonaventure community centre, support for social housing, the creation of the Office for the farmer, by encouraging the construction of small "barns" on agricultural land and building partnerships with institutions such as Social Solidarity. There will be the implementation of activities of leisure, the creation of youth cards, social support to schools, jobs and sports, incentives for private companies to create jobs and promote employment Industrial Park of cherries for the promotion of employment.

Man tried to rob the bank but ended up surrendering to police. A man tried to rob today a bank branch in Covington using a weapon, but ended up surrendering to police, told Lusa the PSP. The individual, aged between 35 and 40, entered the branch of the BPI Europa Avenue, near the main shopping centre of the city at about 11:35 am, where he threatened staff with a knife. According to police sources, have asked for money, but then ended up surrendering voluntarily to the PSP still in place, and without having in possession of any amount of money. This case was submitted to the Judicial Police and the individual waits for the first interrogation in the Court of Covilhã .

Elaine very kindly provided yesterday’s top news headlines again :

Airport screening against Influenza A. There will soon be created at the airport a Line of Screening against Influenza A (Gripe A / swine flu). An announcement was made yesterday morning by the  President of IASAÚDE at the seminar ‘Risk Assessment – New Risks: The Influenza A’. He took the opportunity to express concern about the fact that many people are not complying with measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the region. The airport has acquired sensors to detect temperature changes in passengers. Alongside this, there has been training for health professions. Mauricio Melim was keen to stress that the guidelines given by entities of Public Health "should be followed" as "We have a civic duty to prevent the spread of flu."

Christmas Events Program 2009.  Major points of the program. Friday 27th November starts the first phase of lighting in downtown Funchal, 4 December the second phase. On December 11th the music and performances in the city centre begin. On that day, there will be the official opening of the decorations in the city centre; an ethnographic village in the streets, a decoration in the Largo do Chafariz, in front of the Sé a Christmas Crib and other displays by the SRTT and in the Municipal Gardens. From December 11 to January 6, performances by brass bands, folk groups and groups from the Coordinating Office of Arts Education and puppet shows in the Avenida Arriaga. In front of the Municipal Park, there will be several animation projects for children. 2,500 people will be involved. New Years Eve will be celebrated by eight minutes of fireworks, consisting of 21 separate displays representing flora and fauna of Madeira. The Government will invest €5.2 million into Christmas and New Year and lighting will take over 50% and the fireworks most of the remainder. At present, the hotels are 50% occupancy for Christmas and probably more at New Year than last year. These will not make up for a poor year for tourism. —- Just checked the Tourism site, the full program is only in Portuguese so far.

Weather is part of the tourism attraction of the region. The regular mild climate is one of the main attractions of Madeira as a tourist destination. The Secretary of Tourism and Transport ensured that the region is doing its share to protect the environment and nature, focusing more on ecological projects. "Madeira is an island of ‘Spring’ and I hope that does not change." This is the debut year for the prize for the most environmentally friendly establishment. There are 14 entries from hotels, restaurants and companies involved in animation. The aim is to act as an incentive for companies to participate in more environmentally protection activities.

Volunteer Fair Thursday 24th to Sunday 29th November. In the Municipal Garden in Funchal. The Casa do Voluntário called on the institutions in the region to present work done over the years by the public, as well as sharing experiences and exchanging information, thus encouraging volunteering as an expression of active citizenship.

Christmas Parade. Parade dressed as Father Christmas to help support the two institutions that help children and win valuable prizes, is the challenge that Madeira Shopping throws to Madeira for next Saturday November 28. The Christmas Parade is scheduled for 15.00, leaving the churchyard of the Church of Santo Amaro and finishing at the House of Father Christmas at Madeira Shopping Centre. For each entrant (free) the Centre will donate 5 Euros to the Hat of Hope. Money will be divided between the two institutions; O Abrigo Nossa Senhora do Conceição and Lar São Filipe. The winning prizes are a playstation 3 from FNAC and a 100 Euros voucher for Modelo. At the end of the parade, there will be a concert by the students of the School of Arts and Music.

Court case after fire in the building Elias Garcia. On March 14 2004, a fire of unknown origin broke out in the garage of the building Elias Garcia III and forced the evacuation of the building. A 59 year old woman required treatment for carbon monoxide inhalation. The fire started in the basement car park and affected five cars, destroying three. It was fought by 10 fire engines and 40 fire fighters. The person whose car the fire originated in, is in the dock and there are questions as to whether it was due to either a short circuit or overheating, which he rejects. In the wake of the fire, the Municipal Service of Civil Protection carried out a technical audit that found security flaws and the absence of fire doors in the basement garage.

Regional Plan Against Domestic Violence 2009 – 2011. Since its formation in 2002 until last year, the Support of Victims of Domestic Violence Team has seen 619 people. Last year they saw 100 people and the number of people reporting violence is increasing each year. The most problematic ages are 30 – 34 and 40 – 44, followed by 25 – 39. The plan includes several lines of intervention; who to tell, raise awareness, educate, protect victims, prevent secondary victimization and qualify the professionals.

SANAS training course. Training 20 new lifeboat crew, selected from 60 candidates. There are more crew needed because of the opening of the Lifeguard Station at Santa Cruz and also needed for Funchal. The training lasts 120 hours, of which 70 are of a practical nature. Training in the following areas: help at sea, communications, meteorology, navigation, techniques for rescue at sea, organization of lifeboats, first aid, survival at sea, public relations and support for sports.

Irregularities in Areal Dourado. The Municipality of Porto Santo have delivered a complaint to the Court against some of the management of the municipal company Areal Dourado, which manages sports, social and cultural events. Some of the board of Directors are thought to use financial resources to their advantage.

Model Boat Championship. Organized by the Nautical Association of Madeira and held last Sunday at the Centro Nautico da Ribeira do Natal in Caniçal. The trophy ‘Liquid PC’ for radio-controlled boats winner was Goncalo Sousa. The wind was weak and variable, the participants experienced some difficulties because the small boats were unruly, forcing the organizers to postpone most races until the afternoon. With rising wind and tide, the races went ahead. The big surprise was Omar Vieira who won five of eight races with ‘Bleu’. 32 boats were entered in the races. —– I never knew there were model boat enthusiasts in Madeira. There will be train spotters in a couple of years too! Der.

Region has not secured 29.3% of the revenue. Never has the Government proposed a budget that the extra revenues represent 29.3%. This is the conclusion to be drawn from the fact that Ventura Garces admits that he would seek authorization from the State to borrow 230 million Euros, 15% of revenue, with  ‘other revenues’, 219.5 million Euros which represents another 14.3% of revenue. In the proposal he assumes a sale of assets worth €140 million and shares worth €18 million. The State should transfer 15% of the revenue and the EU 5.7%. The budget depends on the State specially permitting the debt limit to be raised. Revenue is expected to decrease, 29% less IRC and 11% VAT receipts. The Municipalities will receive €34.5 million from the Regional budget, and €69.3 million transferred from the State. The Government wants to raise the debt limit by more than €180 million to reduce the time taken to repay suppliers, to repay public debt formed during the year and the existing loans.

Sue is back again with yet more, so it looks like I won’t be needed any more today … many thanks ladies. Der

Urban Plan of the Ribeira de S. John goes today for approval at the meeting of the CMF – Index construction will increase in Cabouqueira. The Municipality of Funchal will adopt today, the Urban Plan of the Ribeira de Sao Joao This is the third and final plan that involves the three main streams of the city over an area of 43 hectares. Among many other things, the document will provide a higher rate of construction in the area of Cabouqueira (behind Funchal Centrum) and also defines a set of rules for the area where the warehouse of the Sa. The Minas Gerais, only goes with the presentation of a project that meets the new rules, i.e., the decrease of some floors of the building….

General Luís Araújo says F-16 will come when "necessary and appropriate". Chief-of-Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Luis de Araujo, said yesterday on the island of Porto Santo that the F-16 aircraft will come to Madeira "when necessary and appropriate." "It’s in our plans when necessary and appropriate, deployment of F-16, one or two teams, to do surveillance and airspace control this part of the country when the radar is ready," said Gen. Luís de Ali on the sidelines of the ceremony of founding of the Aerodrome of Maderia / 3, based on the island of Porto Santo. The deployment of the Portuguese Air Force in Porto Santo, created 25 years ago, has from now on be called the Unit AM3: "This unit has been in the Air Force for a long time but was not named, this was a simple ceremony giving a name to one of our "children," stressed Luis de Araujo. The general said that is also in future projects to install a military parade, accommodation for officers, sergeants etc. in that unit which currently has 15 military and a score of officials . Luis Araujo also said that if his mandate is extended (ends December 18) next year "in principle" the Day of the Air Force will be held in Madeira. The unit commander, Col. Joaquim Ferreira, reiterated the "need" to be made "minor adjustments in the modules as staff will be implemented at a local set of tasks of logistical and administrative framework that are, to date, done by other units of the Air Force. He also called for a solution "with housing, healthcare, food and transportation to and from the continent, the personnel deployed in AM3. The ceremony brought together several prominent branches of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Police and members of the Regional Government also noted the Unity Day of Maneuvering Aerodrome No. 3 and appointment of Colonel Joaquim Ferreira as commander of AM3. It looks like we now know what that radar is for on top of the mountain!

Cravo e Canela collection shows the "open air". On 7th December the store Clove and Cinnamon, now situated in Rua Vale da Ajuda, will display their collection of evening gowns and ceremonial clothing. The event is being produced by Eduardo Pinto and will have the support of the City Hall since it will use the promenade to the achievement of the parade. The idea, explained the head of the Journal da Madeira, "is to make not only our customers but also people who are in the street able to watch the parade." In a "showroom", the parade will start in-store, and the bridging will go through an entire corridor leading to the street, and run up to the parking spaces that are on the front of the store. According to Eduardo Pinto, this year’s event will again be attended by the British model Fiona (which, it should be noted, took the last two shows of the store) as well as Alexandra Vieira, Eva Lara, Yorain, Macedo and Licínia Roberta Laza. In enriching its collection, the Clove and Cinnamon decided to partner with AM Jewelry, a shop that will also show pieces of their jewelry made by prestigious international brands. Also of interest regarding the collection being presented on this day is that  Clove and Cinnamon have chosen to display evening gowns and ceremonial clothing. "It will be a glamorous collection, very colorful, where flowing silks and fabrics are featured", said Eduardo Pinto.

and yet more from Sue with entertainment news …

‘Mega Park’ under the airport runway opens on 11 – Sponsor wants to revive Water Pena, the fun of Almirante Reis. Madeirans can count this year with a lively Christmas season, which will have several areas or appeal from 11 December. The fun is in charge of the ‘Mega Park’ and the Circus Brazil, which will repeat their presence of last year. The main novelty is the installation of ‘Mega Park Madeira’, in Water Pena, under the runway of the Madeira International Airport. For the first time in the region as responsible for ‘Mega Park’, Fernando Tavares promises, that the park will provide, "the rekindling the Almirante Reis”. We will have some of Madeira’s best attractions in Europe and worldwide. This park will have several new entertainment and cars already having met the new security laws. The controller of ‘Mega Park’ highlights the fun ‘New crazy kangaroo’, which in his opinion "skips, walks in circles and makes waves" and "Megadance ‘, a radical fun machine where people rise higher and will be suspended upside down (not the the faint hearted methinks!). This year also highlights the trail bumper that Fernando Tavares said is to be the best in Europe with its level of security. "The track is 50 feet long and all the bumper cars are already equipped with shock absorbers, seat belts for drivers and two ‘bags’ in fly ash (think this is probably “air bags”). All as required by law." Day 11 entry is free. The "Mega Park" invites the islanders to attend the official opening day, December 11, where all the attractions can be experienced for free. "We want to make a toast to the population. We believe that, thanks to the place where the ‘Park’ will be mounted and entertainment that we bring, we will cause a revolution in entertainment Madeira. The fair officially opens to the public on 12 December and will close down on 17 January. Fernando Tavares highlights Wednesday as the cheapest days to experience all the park, where each attraction costs one euro.

Circus Brazil back to Machico. Even the smallest will have the privileges this Christmas, with the return of the Circus Brazil, after a first appearance last year. The circus will be based on the same site last year, that is, near the football stadium UD Machico, a place where the leaders of the City Council say there is good accessibility and ease of parking. The debut of the circus is scheduled for December 11 and can be visited until 10 January.
This year, more people will have more attractions to watch at the circus, with the main novelty being a fantasy of Harry Potter, but could still see a show ring that is unique in the country. Also promoted still be some jugglers and a special show with clowns. The price of tickets remains the same as last year, and range from 12.50 Euros for adults and 7.50 Euros for children.

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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 photos / videos.

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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Vic … I believe that is the ‘Cisne Branco’ tall ship from Brazil here last month … that right Vic?

 
… and whilst at sea, another video from Tobi, this one shows the yachts getting ready for departure from Funchal in the TRANSAT :

"my camera was on full zoom as they were quite a way out, so its a bit shakey" said Tobi.

Tobi also has some great photos of the boats and movements FLICKR

And to finish the Transat theme today …

"At 14:02 exactly, the 83 competitors still registered in The Charente-Maritime / Bahia Transat 6.50 set off this Saturday, October the 3rd, in front of the city of Funchal (Madeira – Portugal) for the second and longest stage (3100 miles) heading for Salvador de Bahia (Brazil)". THE FULL STORY

Then another one of the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Airports’ web-pages, much like the others, with Madeira number 6 in this particular assessment. I recommend DONT BOTHER

I have had change the blog comments facility due to a huge spam attack yesterday, so it will not be possible to post any comments once an original post is more than 5 days old (it was previously 10 days). Shouldn’t affect anyone too much, but I had hundreds of spam postings yesterday, so it should help me a lot. Once the spammer has gone away I will reset the comments closing time back to 10 days. If this doesn’t work the blog may have to return to postings from registered users for a temporary period.

Nacional 2 – 0 Guimarães yesterday evening. 2 wins on the trot for our lads after an excellent referee gifted us with two penalties, and the photo of the goal scorer has the lions share of today’s Diário front page.

Today’s main news headline : ’7 Councils Defaulters – The ‘Black List’ of local authorities with payment time to suppliers averaging over 90 days includes Machico, Funchal, Santa Cruz, Porto Moniz, Câmara de Lobos, São Vicente and Ponta do Sol’. On average they were taking 5 months to pay their bills from suppliers during the second quarter of 2009. Machico takes 256 days to pay it’s suppliers, which is actually a vast improvement from the previous quarter (335 days). Next is Funchal at 213 days to pay its bills. Perhaps that’s one reason why suppliers, or more specifically contractors, charge the councils so much for repair and maintenance work, as we were talking about a couple of days ago. You can imagine that any contractor reading this will be working out how much to ‘uplift’ prices based on the council involved and the poor payment record they have, and to some extent you can hardly blame them.

The political story today : ‘PSD Strengthens Majority In Santa Cruz – Survey reveals that the PS runs the risk of losing a seat’. The entry of the independent JPP (Juntos Pelo Povo) into the local elections on Sunday, is looking to cost the PS socialists a place. The PSD social democrats are forecast to get 43.9% of the vote ( 4 – 5 seats), the PS socialists 24.2% (2 – 3 seats), and JPP 8.7% (0 – 1 seats). The JPP is led by an ex-socialist, so I suppose the shift is logical.

‘Rains Increase 300% In The Summer – The precipitation was abnormal when compared with the last 30 years. Also, because of this there were less forest fires’. The Summer was hotter and wetter, with rain "well above the normal levels", according to the Institute of Meteorology, who estimate an increase in the order of 300% compared to the averages from record of the years 1971 – 2000. June was the really different month this year. Temperatures over the comparison period mentioned, in Funchal, were also higher. The average maximum temperature was up 2ºC, and the average minimum temperature was up 1ºC.

More of today’s news stories : Many thanks to Elaine in Garajau :

Lack of musicians threatens Fado in the region. Today is the  tenth anniversary of the death of the Fado singer Amália Rodrigues. There is a lack of musicians learning the Portuguese Guitar, which is made out of camphor wood, and the ten or more who can still play it are getting older, so Fado is at risk of  dying out. There is a Saturday afternoon course to learn the instrument, with several students but still vacancies. The main venues for hearing Fado singing are ‘Arsenio’s’ and ‘Marcelino, Pão e Vinho’.

Porto Santo has kennels again. The new veterinary area has been opened where there are 37 kennels and a cattery with 16 spaces. The poor state of the old one gave Porto Santo a bad image. Jardim used the opening ceremony to praise the mayor for the opening coinciding with World Animal Day, and gave his usual sermon on modern-day disrespect for life and that pets are important as more people become isolated and live alone.

Already arrests for illegal hunting on Porto Santo. The season has just started and already several arrests, one for a Madeiran businessman with 14 rabbits, more than twice the legal number (6). The police seized their guns and their permits.

Rockfall closes the Vereda do Ladeira. A rockfall Monday morning has temporarily closed this way to pedestrians, but it should be cleared soon. Between Paul do Mar and Prazeres.

"I do not understand the Portuguese of the Continent…." Jardim had another full house when speaking, (according to the Jornal da Madeira). He says he cannot understand how the Portuguese have criticized prime minister Sócrates over the past few years then re-elect him. Jardim says Sócrates has a "financial stranglehold" on the region, the Socialists have done harm to Madeira, and the opposition in Portugal are insufficient.

2000 will fly green flags tomorrow in Câmara de Lobos. Of the 88 Eco-schools, 22 are in this municipality. The students will meet in the Town Square at 10 am to receive awards for environmental education. It is an international project in 45 countries and most of the Portuguese schools involved are primary level.

Homage to fishermen. The Government will erect a monument in homage to the fishermen of Machico but no details yet. There will also be a new health centre, social security centre and residential home for the elderly at Porto da Cruz.

Mandolins reunion in Câmara de Lobos. For the 2009 City of Culture – Câmara de Lobos, a free-entrance meeting on the 24 and 25 October at the Casa da Cultura.  The XXIV Regional Meeting of the Tunas and Madeira Mandolin Orchestras.

Farewell to the ‘Black Prince’. Today is the last day the ‘Black Prince’ visits Funchal. She has been coming since 1967 and is under the Fred Olsen cruise lines. There will be a farewell ceremony from the Ports Authority, The Ships Enthusiast’s Club and usual water jets. She is to be a cruise ship under the Venezuelan ‘Hello Cruises’ line, starting in November and renamed ‘Hello Esmeralda’. There are two other Costa cruisers in port today.

Just imagine yourself doing gymnastics in your workplace? Need to burn calories, prevent repetitive strain injuries, relax, and increase productivity? Professor Brown says that gymnastics at work produces benefits and the craze has spread from Japan, USA, through Europe and now to Madeira. 10 minutes at least once a week, preferably twice, especially beneficial to prevent headaches, backache and RSI. He teaches 2.5 minutes of individual stretching, then in pairs, then a few minutes of ballroom dancing and aerobics. He also teaches how to give 10 min. massages to work colleagues.

Santa Cruz City Park. Finally decided, the venue will be Pedra Mole, on a riverbank. The model design will be exhibited in Caniço Shopping Centre for any comments. It will be partially ready in 2 years time but not fully functional for 3-4 years, and is a part public-private investment. In talks with the bus companies about putting it on the tourist route.

In another article, complaints that Santa Cruz council has only fulfilled 44% of planned projects in the last election program, most at the end of their mandate. 29 of the delayed projects are essential.

Cycleway to be extended. The mayor of Funchal, Miguel Albuqueque, says if re-elected, the cycleway on the Estrada Monumental will be extended by 1850 metres between the north of the Lido and Forum. Total investment 4 million Euros.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or 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. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos / videos, or if you can contribute regularly, I can give you a special account that allows you to create your own blog postings.
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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.

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(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’.