Does anyone know more about the failures in the construction of the new Yacht marina? See the pictures at http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1081775&page=160

I understand that next year the oridginal company who instal and design the Christmas lights will be be back. This year was more political and they made a realy bad choice and they know it. There was a joke which translated into English goes "which of the Christmas lights did you like best the traffic lights"

Some questions concerning our stay in Madeira this December:
Since 2003 my wife and I have spent one week in the middle of December in Madeira to prepare Christmas by watching the beautiful street decorations, the wonderful angels in front of Sé in the center of Funchal, the funny Christmas hostages by the stalls in front of Jardim Municipal, the snow men in Avenida Arriaga and the colourful curtains hanging on the brigde over the canyon beneath the Hospital area.
This year most of these attractions were gone!
Why?
Our friends here in Norway ask us why we every year spend the pre-Christmas time in Madeira, and we tell them about the joy it gives us to stroll through the street, finding new themes in the decorations: folklore, agricultural symbols and stylistic forms. Baskets from the wine growing area – made by colorful lights. We loved walking from the Lido-area down to the city center – always observing new colour decoration – and sometimes finding some of the “old” decorations used in different places. We used to be greeted by “Happy New Year” and “Merry Christmas” in different languages along the Jardim Municipal or along the seaside where the cruise ships lay.
This year we can’t recommend this experience to our friends. We won’t be able to convince them that Madeira is the place to visit in December to get in the right mood for Christmas. The Christmas preparations in Madeira were disappointing for us this year.
We think that Madeira will lose tourists if you continue to get rid of the traditional things that attract them. We spent around 3000 € during the two weeks we stayed this year.
We know that you open the Christmas celebrations in Funchal between the 8th and 12th of December. Therefore we always book our stay at Duas Torres around these dates. Last year you were very late with the last decorations… and this year they never appeared!
I hope you will go back to the former tradition with illustrative decorations in every street, in every small alley in the center of Funchal (even Machico was more decorated than Funchal this year). A Christmas without your beautiful angels in front of Sé is more destroying the atmosphere than creating one.
We are looking forward to getting an answer from you, telling us why the Christmas preparations were so different this year. We love your island, and we will be sad if we can’t look forward to visit Madeira to experience the right Christmas mood next year.
Yours sincerely
Øyvind Sirevaag
Njordkroken 24
N-4028 STAVANGER
Norway
(oyvind.sirevaag@uis.no

It would appear TAP will not be flying Gatwick to Funchal this Summer
i have tickets booked for May 2015, hering rumours i today have contacted TAP, they advise they are currently NOT selling tickets anymore for the gatwick funchal route.
i asked for a refund so i could rebook with easyjet (meaning i will have to change guernsey to gatwick flights at great expense) to be fefused as the flight had not offically been cancelled yet, although they believe it will be.
All that was offered is vouchers or a flight via Lisbon
I booked this trip in Sept so not happy.

It would be good if the regulars on here came over to the sister site Madeira Active where you'll find more news and comments about Madeira.

Hello everyone,
It seems that has been a lot of progress at the Avenido do Mar and the roadworks near the market (see the Skyscraper site). Early December we will go to Funchal for our two weeks holiday and will give an update as well. Cheers!

Christine Callaghan. Hello everyone, sorry not been in touch before now but could never get on the computer - some people seem to come to Madeira just to read every English newspaper every day on the internet.. Unfortunately we have had the most atrocious weather with storms and torrential rain or heavy showers every day. Only been to the centre of Funchal once at the start of our holiday and things seemed to be progressing well but cannot see that the expected finishing time for December will be reached. The two rivers have been joined together now but still a great deal of rubble on the beach and it is impossible to see how the rest of the changes will take shape even from the plans on show. The sun is shining at the moment so we may go down into Funchal just now. Must go before it rains again.

Dear All
Ciming to the Island in the next couple of months to do up our house a bit with the intention of putting it on the market, can anyone recommend a good estate agent

Hello everyone, We are goingo to Madeira on Monday (1st Sept.) for 3 weeks and it looks as though we are going to see much improvment on the harbour front area. I saw the comment Maurice made on the Skyscraper site of how good it is looking up to now. I will report anything of interest either whilst we are there or when we retirn home.

Hans, 17 of these pontoons are being constructed near Canical and towed to Funchal to create the new Quay for cruise ships. This new quay will enable passengers to walk straight from their ship to the centre of Funchal instead of the long walk along the mole.

Hello all,
I have just checked the latest pages on the skyscraper site for Funchal. Please, can anyone tell me about the pontoons in the harbour of Funchal?
Ealry December we will go to Madeira for our holidays. Then I will try to find out the progress of the improvement works.

Hello all, we now live in madeira and wondered if there is anywhere that we can swap english books, crime fiction also josephine cox or similar.
we were told that some hotels swap does anyone know which ones.
thank you all, dave.

Hello Glenys and everyone, So sorry to hear your husband was ill whilst on holiday. I hope he is well now. We were wondering how bad an impression new visitors to Madeira were getting especially the ones from the cruise ships. Some of them have very little time to see much more than the harbour seafront so they must be put off. I think the Tourist Board will have to do a great deal to convince the thousands of visitors who have seen Funchal in its present state, in order to entice them back again!

Hi Christine and everyone, the weather in the last week of April was the best ever for us too. We took, with real trepidation, 2 young grandchildren who loved every moment & who were treated so wonderfully by all we met. Now Madeira has two more admirers who can't wait to return (hopefully when older & can pay for themselves!) Unfortunately my husband was taken ill whilst there so I was unable to get the time to complete any details re the state of the continuing works. The situation is changing slowly but there are still road detours,large hoardings and an ugly harbour front. New visitors to Funchal must be so dismayed. I heard a comment of 'downmarket' so lets hope the beauty of Funchal is soon restored.

Hello everyone, We had 3 weeks of the most glorious weather. It is difficult to tell as yet what the final outcome will be on the seafront as there is so much work going on. HANS, sorry but we did not go that far this time as it is so noisy and dusty. In fact we spent very little time in the centre of Funchal because of this. We go back again in September (prior to your visit) so hopefully the situation will have improved by then.

Hello Christine,
We hope you have good days overthere. We are planning our holidays at Madeira at the end of November. We are wondering about the pebble beach before the hotel Porto Santa Maria. Do you know the status about that one?
Cheers!

We are enjoying the supurb weather here at the moment - the best we have had at this time of year for a long time. There is still lots to be done before all the work is finished.

Hello everyone, Packing tomorrow for our flight to Madeira early Monday morning. I will report on the progess of the major works taking place during or after our holiday. Unfortunately we have missed meeting up again with Maurice by one day. It would have been really good to see them.

Events.
Reid's 3rd Classic car show 10th to 11th of May is one event I shall have to miss. I have tried to be on the Island every time now and due to NHS treatment muddles keep missing it.
This is a poor substitute for the Volta a Madeira in June for classic cars but as visitors find it difficult to enter their cars, as there in no ferry, only locals participate and it must have become stale.
As soon as there is a ferry one of our MGs will be entered.

Hello again, We're lucky enough to be going back to Funchal this month and can't wait.The weather forecast isn't the best but hey! who knows? and no worries!

Sorry you guys aren't joining us over on Madeira Active but it is a good place to see what is happening and also somewhere to air your views too.

Hello all,
I do not join the Madeira Active site either and hope this site will be the medium for our Madeira friends. So far, we have planned our Madeira trip end November/December (we are not sure yet), but we will still regularely look at this site and post messages when have some news or something else to tell. Hope the works at Funchal will finish asap, so the local people and the touriists have their peace and quiet again. Cheers!

Hello Maurice and everyone, We are counting down to our next visit to Madeira. I signed up for Madeira Active but then realised it was similar to Facebook, which I do not do, so I clicked the unsubscribe. I know there hasn't been much activity on here for quite a while but perhaps that is because no-one is going to Madeira at the moment. It would be a shame if we have to lose this as I am sure I am not the only one who has enjoyed reading the comments of other Madeira lovers.

Hi everyone, come and join us on the Dark Side (only joking) at:-

http://madeira-active.network-maker.com/

Today's news now available on Madeira Active....sign up today - it's free!

I've gone over to the new Madeira Active site. Hope the regulars on here come over too.

Hello Friends, I am looking for testers for the next 2 weeks to try out our new sister social website. Join up and have a play and let me know your ideas and how you get on with it. Go to http://madeira-active.network-maker.com/

Dave, you could tray asking on the blog at http://madeiraislanddirect.com/blog/ as there are a few regular residents on there.

hello all and a happy new year, can anyone recommend an english speaking plummer, I need some work done on old pipe work in our house, near Funchal. Perhaps someone can recommend a plumber with good prices and not rip me off.
Thank you Dave

Happy New Year, to all on this site.
It's good to hear from you as you all take your holidays, although sounds as if the weather could have been better. At least you were in our beautiful Madeira. 11 weeks before I go, almost counting the days, I just love it over there so much. Look forward to hearing from any of you again.

We had a great 12 days in Funchal over Xmas and New Year. Obviously not much work taking place on the Frente do Mar but it looks like there is still a lot to be done. I guess it will be at least a year before it looks close to finishing. Spectacular fireworks for the new year, only 8 mins but from more locations. Brilliant for such a small place.

Hi all on this forum, we had 14 days in Funchal. First week was 2 days with bad weather and red alert conditions. But since last thursday and untill today its fine Funchal weather again.We`ll fly back to the cold Denmark again on 23 th. dec. For all of you we wish Feliz Natal
Flemming

Hi all, we will be in Funchal from Dec 22nd until Jan 2nd. We can often be found in Bar O Avo on Rua da Praia. I won't be able to post on here while we are in Madeira as this comment box needs Flash which doesn't work on Android tablets. Merry Xmas to you all

Hi again from Madeira
Status on the damages after the stormy weather tuesday and early wedensday. The marinas in Machio and Santa Cruz several boats complety destroyed. Even the Beatles boat " the Vagrant " is no more floating.
But that`s only material damage. One man died in the habour of Machico,a huge wave had thrown him over board from a boat. Read more details on site from " Jornal Madeira"
http://translate.google.dk/translate?hl=da&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fimpresso.jornaldamadeira.pt%2Fnoticia.php%3FSeccao%3D2%26id%3D261507%26sdata%3D2013-12-12&sandbox=1
Copy the link to your browser.
Flemming

Hi all Madeira fellows.
We are also in Funchal right now. A storm with rain, wind and huge waves just passed the island. It was red alert tuesday evening until morning wedensday. I will report later on.
Flemming

Hi Maurice,
~I am currently at Funchal for our holidays- The weather is not that bad. Last week one day it rained a lot, but Friday and Saturday were very good days. The other days someitmes a shower, but otday it was dry and sunny.THe forecast for coming Wednesday is bad, rainy, showers. So, the weather is not improving! The forecasts are sometimes completely wrong, so do not trust them! Anyway, we hope we have still some nice days and wish those who will go as well- Cheers!

I see the weather in Madeira has been pretty bad recently. Glad to see it's starting to improve. Roll on Dec 22nd, we fly out then.

Hi all,
Tomorrow we will fly to Madeira for our two weeks hoiliday. After that I will give an uodate about the works in Funchal.
Cheers, Hans

Hello Admin, Thank you for your comments and I look forward seeing other additions in the pipeline. Sorry, but the fact that the scroll bar will not work work on this chat column is still annoying but thank you for this facility..

Hi admin, I would be vary happy to get more involved in the site now that I am retired. ps I am a former IT Manger and a regular visitor to Funchal. E-mail me if you'dlike some help.

Hello to all users of this chat box. My apologies if I haven't replied to all your emails yet or in particular over the issue of the Film On Ad I have recently added to this website. Firstly may I say thanks to those who of you who have contacted me with your comments (both for and against).....I have carried out several browser tests and found that google Chrome, works best all round for this site. This website has not been optimised to HTML5 yet (I am working on it) so it is not ideal to use with tablets or phone for the time being. I have no problems with Film On interferring with this chat box and have asked freinds to test who have no complaints either. This is a temporary situation for two reasons and will remain until I launch my new project (which will be revealed very soon). It is also an advert for the service (which is legally allowed on this website btw) due to the fact that this is a free website which is payed for personally (out of my own pocket) and not supported by paid advertising AND we will be losing Satalite TV in Madeira early next year....so this is a helpful plug for those who don't know about it yet and how one can keep up with their Corrie every week once our UK sat dissapears!!!!!
If it helps for the interim I can create a new page and area for those who would like to continue chatting with each other and then swap it back when I move the TV from here when the new product is launched. In the mean time I have no option on the auto play on it folks, so my humble apologies for that....just turn off your speakers whilst chatting and that will solve the problemo for now!

We are lucky that we get the English TV programmes and some other good channels (especially for films) on the TV's in our apartments for if and when required. All I am asking is that we are given the option for it to play or not to play on this site and not just automatically start with no facility to stop it. Also I would like the problem with the scrolling to be put right. I love this column and would hate to lose it. Best wishes to everyone.

I am pleased to have found the filmon site. This is our 4th winter here as we are renting we cant set things up as we would like. This site is a real assett. However having read Film ons terms and conditions it looks to me that you are breaching them by putting them in the Times. I'd hate to see either site closed because of this.

Mind you, useful finding out about filmon.tv, we can watch Corrie over Christmas when we are in Funchal LOL.

I can scroll BACK ok but not scroll FORWARDS now on my PC. On my Android tablet I can't scroll at all through the messages.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE TV SCREEN NOW BEING WORSE AND COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE TO EXCLUDE IT OR EVEN HALT ITS TRANSMISSION, I HAVE SENT A COMPLAINT TO THE ADMIN DEPARTMENT ASKING THEM TO ATTEND URGENTLY TO THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE TO SAY IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONCENTRATE ON AMKING AN ENTRY WHILST ALSO LISTENING TO MRS BUCKET WHITTERING ON IN THE BACKGROUND!

TO ADMIN: PLEASE MAKE THIS TV SCREEN AN OPTIONAL CHOICE TO WATCH (AND NOT AUTOMATIC AS IT IS NOW) OR REMOVE IT COMPLETELY. IT IS SO ANNOYING. AND I DOUBT ANYONE WHO USES THIS SITE HAS A USE FOR IT TO START AUTOMATICALLY. I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO WOULD WELCOME THE REMOVAL OF THIS. I HAVE REDUCED MY VISITS TO THIS SITE SUBSTANTIALLY BECAUSE OF IT. PLEASE RESPOND.

Hi everybody, been back nearly 2 weeks now, Had a wonderful 10 days, weather was fantastic. I really love Madeira. We've been about 16 times now, I don't really want to go anywhere else. You're right, what on earth are they doing with this tv thing on here. It's spoiling our chats. Look forward to other news from you all. Anne

Hello everyone, Yes, Hans - I want rid of it too and I agree with you also Maurice - it is impossible to use the scroll button on this section now. I have sent a query to admin but had no response as yet.

Hi Hans, not sure that you van remove the TV content. I have noticed that it has made scrolling through this chat-box almost impossible.

Hello,
Can anyone tell me how I can remove the TV from this site?

At the following link you can see a lot of pictures of the works in Funchal: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1081775
At the last pages you will find the latest situation.

last page where? can you be more precise?

Hello all,
Thanks for the updates. I have seen the pictures at skyscrapercity (last page) and these show that the works will still take a long time.
We are going for two to Madeira early December (and stay in the Old Town) and we will try to give an update of the works as well.
Regards, Hans

welcome home Christine glad you had a good holiday. We are going out for Christmas & New Year. Lots of good photos on the thread at skyscrapercity.com

Hello everyone, We had a lovely holiday with good weather. Everything is progressing well with the changes to the river outlets. There is lots of dust as I found to my disadvantage when we went to see the how the work was going on one Sunday. It was quite breezy and there was a sudden strong gust and because of insect repellant spray and sun lotion all the dust stuck to my legs and instantly became sludge. SO BEWARE if it is breezy - I was in a real mess and had to go to the nearest hotel to wash my legs! Anyway, it would seem it is going to look really good when it is all finished but we were told by a "local workman" that it would be at least another 18 months - depending on the weather - which could be longer if this is bad. The new road system past the Lido area is ongoing and the lower (incoming eventually) road is almost completed and they are now working on the upper (outgoing eventually) road (in front of the "Alto Lido Hotel). A very interesting project at the right hand side (going out of Funchal) of this road which used to be a large banana plantation, is the constructiuon of council owned allotments which many of the locals have already taken ownership of. It seems to be extremely popular and no doubt every plot, when finished, will be taken. We could not believe how quickly the vegetables and plants grew whilst we were there. The two remaining houses on the site have been made into storage areas for the tenants of the allotments. The council men were still working hard to level the remaining plots for the second phase of this project. Part of the Lido has been re-opened but the swimming pools have not been rebuilt as yet so it is just sunbathing areas with a new refreshments stand and access to the sea. It was proving to be extremely popular with the local people again and very, very busy, in fact there was hardly room for another person either on a sunbed or to lay down their own towel. There are some pontoons to swim to close by also. We actually saw (we think for the first time ever) some "youngsters" climbing to the top of the large rock and jumping off into the sea. Are they brave (or mad) or what? We are always amazed to see the way young ones dive into the sea from various heights without any fear whatsoever. I suppose this comes with the culture of growing up on an island paradise. That's all for now. I will add anything else I remember of interest later.

HI, I'm trying to find someone who would be able to assist my 88 yr old father in law on a holiday to Madeira. He is a super fit and very interesting man but has partial sight and keeps saying that he wants to go there just one more time before he dies. He wants to travel alone but it would be great if I could 'hire' a local for the week to pick him up and take him places during the day and maybe a restaurant a couple of evenings. If anyone is able to help pls can you email me - lynne_bucinikas@yahoo.co.uk. Many thanks.

Hi Christine
Hope you had a lovely holiday. We are looking forward to your comments regarding the progress along the promenade. We will be there in November for two weeks.
Regards
Terry

Hello Christine, hope your holiday is as good as always. We travel out soon & will wave in passing......Glenys

Hi Christine
We hope you will have a splendid time and we are looking forward for your update about the works.
Regards, Hans

Hello everyone, We are going to Madeira on Monday for 3 weeks so I will give a report of the harbour/promenade works when we return and anything else of interest. Best wishes to all.

Im in Cape Town and have just heard from a friend in Madeira that they are doing major renovations to the promenade where the Beatles boat was. Anyone know what the proposed plans are or what it is going to look like some time soon??

Tx
Michele

Hello,

On the skyscraper site you see the improvement works, http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1081775&page=26 (page 26). I am not sure where these pictures were taken. Is it close to the Fishmarket in the Old town or is it close to the Marina shopping centre?

Regards.

Just a reminder: this coming Friday (30 Aug) the cricket match between Madeira XI (The Duke of Clarence XI) versus Dutch FFOP C.C. Kick off at 11:00 a.m. at CS Maritimo. Free admitance.

Fires all out now. Looks like arson yet again!

Hi

It seems Madeira is going through a tough time with these fires

Hi again. Webcams back to normal!

Hi everyone. Oh dear the webcams are still on nightime. They seem to have a continuing problem with them.

Plenty of news coverage when the fire broke out but no mention of any fires in the last 24 hours - I presume the fire service has done a great job but why can't they get lots of credit?

Oh my goodness, after having just written on here I looked at the Madeira blog and there are fires again, it looks awful. Possibly arson they think, how very sad for our beautiful island.

Hi Derek, I too have had trouble trying to find this site but now I'm back. I really missed reading all the notes on here. It's good to hear how Funchal is doing when someone has just returned home, with snippets of news. For me Madeira is the most beautiful place & I can't wait to get back there, only 6 weeks to go.
Anne

Hi everyone. Yes your right about the webcams. They seem to stick regularly now. Let's see how long it takes them to get back to the correct date.

It seems the webcams stuck about 12.00 am today.

Hi Admin, cannot access this site in IE10 with Java 7 Update 25 anymore. I also can't see this blog on my Nexus 7 running Android OS.

Webcam seems back to normal now.

Hi everyone. Does anyone know how to get the webcams working again. They are currently stuck on the 30th July.

Greetings! Looking for a real estate agent to help me sell my land on Porto Santo. Any suggestions? Thank you!

It seems they have move the webcam with the view of The Forte de Sao Tiago. So, we do not see the massive rocks they are setting beside the boulevard?

Hi Derek, there's still a few of us posting here.

Hi everyone. Doesn't anyone put any messages on here now? I used to check regularly and enjoyed all the messages.

Anyone ever filled the questionnaire in above and got a response?

Come and watch the grand cricket match between the local Madeira team Dukes of Clarence XI v. Dutch based FFOP C.C. Friday August 30, at the Maritimo sports stadium. Free admittance.

The Vagrant (Beatle's boat) has now been moved to Canical to await its destiny.

Since the update to Java 7 update 25 I cannot see this site in Internet Explorer 10. Still ok in Firefox though.

Thanks Christine. I have sent an email about the Cathedral webcam because it has disappeared completely now!

The actual thread to view on skyscrapercity.com is:-

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1081775

It's now about 20 pages long but if you start at the end and work back you'll see the latest photos.

Hello everyone, There are some amazing photos on skyscrapercity.com of the work being carried out on the ribeiras out of town. Terry, pleased to hear you were not disturbed by all the building work and agree that you get a better perspective of it when you are there. Derek, it looks as though the cathedral is about to disappear from view again! Glenys, we go to Madeira on the 2nd September and return on the 23rd so we will not have the chance to meet.

Hello Everyone,
Just got back from Madeira. Stayed 3 nights at Porto Serra Golf and then 4 nights at Porto Santa Maria. Weather a bit on the cool side. You can now see progress on the Promanade taking shape. We had no problems at all from the building work. In fact it was very interesting to watch what was going on from our hotel room.
We will be back in November for two weeks.
Terry

Land for sale on Porto Santo...

http://www.fusedworld.com/?33885

Thank you...

Hi Christine, hope your holiday has all gone well & that now you are looking forward to September. We travel out again to the Palms about Sep 23rd, I think it is that this year.Glenys

Why does this comment page never change?

Hi everyone. At last the Madeira livewebcams are back to normal. Thanks whoever sorted it out. Once again I can see my beautiful Madeira.

Maurice,
I have faced the same with the Twitter logo. I have changed the settings and screen zoomlevel and I do not have this problem anymore.
Regards,
Hans

Hello Admin, any chance of re-positioning the Twitter button as in IE9 & IE10 it appears bang in the middle of this blog.

Hi Christine, glad to see you are still visiting the Bar O Avo. Won't be there until Christmas. looking to our daily Chinese com Maciera for breakfast each morning.

Hi everyone. Can someone sort out the live webcams of Madeira because for the last few days they have been constantly set at night. I have tried sending emails but have not had any replies. I would appreciate it so much because I look at them everyday and I miss my Madeira!

Hello everyone, Our holiday is almost over and the weather did improve for this week. We have had a great time and had some lovely lunchtimes at the Bar O Avo, Rua de Praia. Senhor Ricardo was his usual very jolly and friendly host which always gives added enjoyment to the holiday. We think that there will many changes to see in the construction by the time we return in September. The Beatles Boat is now being dug out (and propped up for safety) but we cannot work out how they will remove it.

Hi everyone. Has anyone noticed that all the live webcams from Madeira are constantly at night and have been for a couple of days. I have sent an email but nothing has changed.

Hello everyone again, Does anyone know why my iPod (new to me) will not update the recent messages which are showing here on the resort computer. The last one showing on my iPod is the one from Hans about what he carries in his backpack. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.

Hello everyone, Does anyone else find the twitter follow us logo showing on here as annoying as I do. It is impossible to move it in order to view the more recent comments easily. It is ok for those who wish to use it but not everyone does. I love this part of The Madeira Times which allows those of us who love Madeira to add our comments and messages so do not want it to be impaired in any way. Thank you MT for providing this service.