TODAY'S PHOTO : Thanks to Wil ... The wonderfully colourful fruit market in Funchal

Source : Diário de Notícias 11/5/2008

Main story of the day is about the newfound ability of people to seek bargain flights if they know where to look on the internet, particularly since the liberalization of the market previously within the TAP airline monopoly. Recognising that there are many last minute bargains as well as many late booking price hikes, they recommend various websites for those who wish to test out the possibilities, which is fairly new territory for Madeirans.

The websites listed to find the travel bargains are .www.tap.pt,www.sata.pt,

.www.terminala.pt,www.logitravel.pt,www.netviagens.pt

Us English speakers of course have enjoyed this luxury for years, through a growing number of search websites that scour the airlines own websites for bargains ... in fact it's probably the only thing that us foreigners living on Madeira actually pay less for than the Madeirans themselves, but with the advice and tips given in this article that is probably about to come to an end! If anyone finds any of the recommended websites to be any good, please let me know.

The other main story is about the 'heavy metal' contamination of land at Praia Formosa in some old works which were once part of the Shell complex. It does not seem that there is any danger to the public whilst the land lies dormant, but Shell retain the responsibility for the 'clean up', and that will probably be done through a landfill project. The article suggests that that landfill site will be outside Madeira, so lets hope that's the case. 'Heavy metal' flavoured drinking water is something I have no desire to taste.

There appears to be a shortage of nurses in our health service. The union representing nurses reckons there are places for between 700 and 1,000 staff, and in part blames the conflict between the private and public sectors for the situation.

An interesting little story about a man involved in a car accident in 2004, who was found to be just above the top level of alcohol in his system, and as a result received a hefty fine and driving ban. He has been fighting ever since then to clear his name, claiming that the manufacturers published margin of error of the breathilizer used for the reading, if applied to his own reading would take him below the top alcohol limit of 1.2g/l and result in a much reduced punishment. After 4 year of fighting, he has now lost his case in the appeal court, and is probably well out of pocket in terms of legal costs and expenses.

The big story this last week in the UK about the Irish couple on holiday in Portugal who got absolutely plastered and practically unconsious (through drinking strong beer) in front of their kids, who then had to be taken into care by the Portuguese authorities. The kids were reunited with their parents the next day, who then took an earlier flight home to avoid the court appearance. They now claim their drinks were spiked. I think the Portuguese people will understandably have a fairly jaded opinion about the parenting skills and responsibilities of some of its visitors.

Only 78 blog readers yesterday, the by far lowest number for months. Did you all go off to the Lemon Festival instead?

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