Grandad catches Big Blue Marlin´

June 27th, 2008


78 years old `Grandad´,and son Peter Wadsworth 49 years old, from England,searched the Internet to fullfill a life long dream of catching a Big Blue ,and chose the `Savage´ built in 1955 and now operating for 3 years from the new Marina in Calheta Madeira,and after 3 days of fishing caught 2 Big Blue Marlin!Grandad caught the first fish and after only 45minutes the fish was brought to the side of the boat, estimated at 950lbs `it was the fish of a lifetime´ for Grandad and fulfilled a life long dream.
With Helmsman and first mate Matthew Waddell at the wheel,and Captain and linesman Charlie Smith handling the fish, it was safely released to fight another day.
On the 3rd day at 2.00pm an enormous Blue Marlin was spotted just a few meters behind the Savage (estimate 1200\1400lbs) it then dropped back an took the short right lure unfortunately it grabbed the leader before it took the lure and cut the line like a piece of cotton,and took a 150 euro lure with it.
At 6.00pm and with only 30 minutes of fishing left to go, the Savage headed for Calheta and on the last turn toward the Marina another Blue Marlin was spotted, and with a quick turn to Starboard the fish attacked and took the lure,then proceeded to jump toward the sunset! the fish put up a great fight with many spectacular jumps,exhausting Peter the fisherman after a 2 hour fight.
Unfortunately after the Marlin (estimate 750lbs) was brought to the boat it had the line rapped around its tail,and sadly drowned.The fish was later towed into Calheta Marina and donated to the old peoples home near Calheta.

Queens Birthday celebrations

June 24th, 2008

Funchal Jazz Festival - July 3,4 & 5th

June 23rd, 2008

ANGELINA
ANGELINA - Vocals
JOÃO MAURÍLIO - Piano
ARTUR FREITAS – Saxophone, Flute
PEDRO PINTO – Double Bass
JORGE MONIZ - Drums

Angelina Vieira Santos was born in Funchal, in a family with musical roots and she listened to Jazz since a very young age, influenced by her father and brothers, also musicians. At age 18 she left her home town to discover Porto – the city that watched her fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor. She is one of the brand new talents in Portuguese Jazz scene and her work has been receiving both excellent critic from Portuguese specialist and wide broadcasting by the national media.
“Jazz Feelings” (2005), Angelina first recording, has the collaboration of excellent musicians: Cícero Lee (bass), João Maurílio (piano), Jorge Lee (drums) e Artur “Jumbo” Freitas (saxophone and flute)
When she steps on stage, Angelina releases herself to her passion and immediately reaches the audience with her enthusiasm and her unique interpretation of some classics from the golden age of Jazz.

DIDIER LOCKWOOD NEW GENERATION
DIDIER LOCKWOOD - Violin
THOMAS ENHCO - Piano and Violin
DAVID ENHCO - Trumpet
ZACHARIE ABRAHAM – Double Bass
NICOLAS CHARLIER - Drums

Didier Lockwood, both as a composer and an improvisator, has distinguished himself on the international jazz scene with is own very personal and unique sound.
Born in Calais, France, his father, a violinist, transmitted his own passion for the instrument to his son. Towards the end of his classical studies at the Academy of Music, he discovered the freedom of improvisation. At the age of 17, he moved on to the progressive rock scene with the mythical group Magma. Then at 21 he turned to jazz where he was discovered by Stephane Grapelli, with whom he made several tours.
His many awards include awards from SACEM, The Victoire de la Musique, The Charles Cross Prize, among many others and he was also honoured with the title of Officer of Arts and Letters.
Inspired by a wide range of sounds, Lockwood remains true to jazz, incorporating in it the millions of multi ethnic musical colours he compiles while exploring new environments and sounds.

PHIL WOODS & FRIENDS

PHIL WOODS - Saxophone
BEN ARONOV - Piano
JESPER LUNDGAARD - Bass
JESSE DAVIS - Saxophone
DOUGLAS SIDES - Drums

Philip Wells Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on November the 2nd, 1931.
He devoted himself to the saxophone when he was only 12, studying with Harvey LaRose, in Springfield.
In the 50’s Phil Woods began leading his own bands and recording for Prestige. In March 1968, he roamed to Europe and, in Paris, formed the European Rhythm Machine with whom he explored the world until he decide it was time to go back home, in 1973. After a brief stay in Los Angeles, Phil Woods settled in New York and with the “Phil Woods Quartet” (later to become Quintet) he established a reputation as one of the greater saxophonist of our days. He won 4 Grammys.
In the present decade Woods has been concentrating, on top of his regular quintet work, on leading a Big Band project, featuring his own compositions and arrangements and on the “Bird with wings… and more!” project.
Phil Woods is one of the all time great jazzmen.

J.J. MILTEAU Sextet

JEAN-JACQUES MILTEAU – Harmonica
MICHAEL ROBINSON – Vocals
RON SMITH – Vocals
MANU GALVIN – Guitar
GILLES MICHEL – Bass
ERIC LAFONT – Drums

European harmonica virtuoso J.J. Milteau is a matchless player, and his breathtaking technique fills with envy his peers who admire his impeccable taste and praise his seemless playing.
Always attentive to the world around him, J.J. is a gifted storyteller whose music echoes impressions and dreams brought home from his travels.
Born in 1950 in a Parisian working-class family, Milteau spent the “rocking sixties” roaming across the planet, armed with the tiny harmonica and sailed through the seventies sprinkling warm blue notes on dozens of recordings by the cream of French singers (Charles Aznavour, Eddy Mitchell, Yves Montand, Barbara…) before launching a series of personal explorations on record and on the stage.
Relentlessly inquisitive, the European harp master has much more to offer than sheer technique. Behind his instrumental know-how, J.J. has both feeling and spirit.

ROSA PASSOS

ROSA PASSOS – Vocals, Guitar (acoustic)
FÁBIO TORRES – Piano
PAULO PAULELLI – Acoustic Bass
CELSO de ALMEIDA – Drums

Rosa Passos grew up surrounded by music in the city of Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Inspired by João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim - the godfathers of bossa nova - she switched from piano to guitar and began writing her own material as a teenager. Passos’s songs (written with her long-time lyricist Fernando de Oliveira) appeared on her first recording in 1979.
Especially since her American debut in 1996 (at the invitation of Oscar Castro Neves) with a sensational performance in a “Jazz at the Bowl” concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Rosa Passos has developed an ever-growing international following.
More than a singer, Passos is a prolific songwriter and a superb rhythm guitarist and she has done what so many vocalists have attempted, but failed to do: she reinvented Bossa Nova.

CHUCHO VALDÉS Quintet

CHUCHO VALDÉS – Piano
MAYRA CARIDADE VALDÉS – Vocals
LÁZARO RIVERO ALARCÓN – Double Bass
YAROLDI ABREU – Percussion
JUAN CARLOS CASTRO ROJAS – Drums

Born in October 1941, in Quvican, Cuba, this pianist, organist and composer is considered one of the best pianists in the world and the most important musician of our days, concerning Cuban Jazz. He started playing piano at age 3, guided by his father, the also famous composer and pianist Bebo Valdés.
Chucho was also part of the “Ikarere” project, founded in 1973, mentoring this group, the first of it’s nationality to win a Grammy. The group steered a meaningful revolution in Cuban Jazz by rescuing elements from the very roots of their traditional music.
Nowadays, Chucho Valdés remains an innovator and is still playing throughout the world; also still remains his fundamental role in the development of Cuban music and Latin-American Jazz.

Paragliding - the thrill of Madeira!

June 6th, 2008

As the island had been battered with high winds and its annual hurricane style storm descended in early April it seemed doubtful that a paragliding flight would happen in the week that my children visited. They were lucky to have landed on the island anyway, and were fortunate that their flight managed to slip in before others, which were redirected to the Canaries after shutting down the airport for a few days.

On their last visit and a promise of taking a passenger flight, they were unlucky again, in that in February the week they were here, it rained and the winds were too strong to fly. However, they did manage to take a couple of lessons from Tom high up on the plateaux of Paul de Serra, on a small strip of flat grass where he instructed them both on how to get the glider off the ground and into the air without leaving the ground themselves. That in itself was enough to keep the kids happy that visit, but made them more eager to try it for real when they arrived earlier this month!

For the first four days we were all confined to the house as the relenting winds and rain whipped and lashed its way across the island. The seas were high and rough and as a result floods and weather damage was inflicted on much of the island. Nearing the end of the week, on a nice and bright Saturday morning the weather had cleared and the worst was over, and with a quick call to Hartmut Peters from ‘Aerogene Madeira’ we hopped in the car and made our way to the take-off in Arco da Calheta.

The site where the local pilots take off, was buzzing with activity, all converging on the strip desperate to get into the air and get their regular adrenaline fix having been grounded for over a week. The sky was a blaze of colour with around eight pilots surfing the good thermals gaining heights of around 800 metres above sea level. It was too much for Tom to sit and wait with us whilst we waited for Hartmut to land with his passenger and so Tom was off, getting his adrenaline fix along with everyone else, whilst trepidation was knotting my stomach at the thought of my two babies being flown over the mountainous landscape at high altitude with only a strip of material keeping them up there!

First to take the plunge was my 16 year old son and as quickly as he had climbed into the harness and Hartmut had attached it to himself, the wind was right and off they ran, over toward the edge of the cliff with their feet leaving the ground a few feet from the rim. Elliot and Hartmut disappeared off into the distance and headed toward the area of Loretto. Natalie, my 14 year old daughter excitedly snapped away with her camera, looking forward to the thrill of it being her turn next. Elliot’s landing was gentle and graceful; returning to the same spot that he was launched from and Natalie eagerly climbed into the harness and promptly took off with Hartmut for her flight. This time Hartmut took a different route as the conditions had changed and he could not maintain the heights that he managed with Elliot. Tom was chaperone in the sky and flew with them as they gently meandered their way down and across to a second landing site in Madelena do Mar along the beach.

As is customary after an afternoon of flying, all the pilots converge on Maria’s bar for a few beers to wind down and throw a few jokes. The gliders are packed away and the sun comes down for the evening. Everyone is exhausted but euphoric from an adrenaline pumped flight.

*My sincere thanks to Hartmut Peters for giving my children an experience of a lifetime and one they won’t forget. To book a tandem flight with Hartmut, tel 964133907

For accomodation for pilots please visit www.paragliding-madeira.com

ARE ROGUE DOGS BORN OR MADE?

June 6th, 2008

Photos and story
by Sheila Toney

Dr. Sofia Vasconcelos of SPAD (Sociedade Protectora dos Animais Domesticos) has two possible answers. She explains: “In Madeira, dog owners sometimes want to make their animals extra ‘fierce’ so that they will be better guard dogs. Also, people, who lead busy working lives, often leave their dogs chained up at home all day until they return from their jobs at night. Dogs are social animals and so they need love, attention and exercise in addition to food. It is a very bad idea to try to make them more aggressive so that they will frighten intruders away. Dogs are territorial animals and they will soon raise the alarm by barking at strangers; their very presence makes them good guardians of the home”.

Sofia tells the story of the so-called “killer dog” (pictured above) as an example of the disastrous results which can follow from the bad treatment of normal animals.

“Two women living in the Sao Martin area of Funchal kept three dogs in a small house where each dog had its own room. The women were terrified when one of the dogs became aggressive towards them and then killed one of the other animals. The women were afraid to leave the house so they telephoned SPAD for help. When our staff arrived, the women were at first afraid to open the door to let them in. One of our clinic assistants, Bruno Correia, eventually entered and was able to catch the problem dog without any trouble. The dog was aggressive only to its owners and not to our staff”, Sofia said.

The dog, which was taken to SPAD, shook with fear whenever anyone approached him. Despite patient efforts by SPAD staff, he was too traumatised by past ill-treatment to regain his trust in people and, sadly, he had to be put to sleep.

Lucas, aged seven, is a “gentle giant” now but earlier in his life, he was also branded a troublesome dog. He had been in the care of SPAD since 2006 when he was brought in with his mother by owners, who did not want them. He was adopted but his woman owner soon returned him to SPAD, saying that he was “very energetic and had run away after a cat”. He came back very thin and was diagnosed as having skin cancer. Lucas had a change of fortune when he was sponsored by the Vice President of SPAD, Doctora Michelle Quintal, who paid for his medical treatment and frequently visited him to give him attention and walks. Lucas recovered his health and was found a new owner in Germany (she previously adopted a Saint Bernard, so she is used to big dogs). Lucas needed an extra-large crate in which to travel to Germany and to make the journey easier for him, Dra. Quintal gave him one of her T-shirts to lie on. He was met off the plane by Barbara Linkis, the German grandmother, who has found a new home for him – just as she has found adoptive owners in Germany for more than 800 other SPAD dogs over the last 12 years.


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May 25th, 2008

Paragliding in Madeira website

May 24th, 2008

homepage

www.paragliding-madeira.com


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JustACRO Video filmed in Madeira

May 12th, 2008


PARAGLIDING MADEIRA - JUSTACRO TEAM 2008 from RUI MARTINS on Vimeo.


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April Update

May 2nd, 2008

Click on the image above to enter the site

Church News

April 9th, 2008

Spring Fair at Holy Trinity
3rd May 2008.

We will be holding a Spring Fair this year in the Church Grounds from 10.00 am – 2.00 pm.
If you would like to help either:
To run a stall
To help on a stall – Help on the day
To be involved in assisting with Refreshments Have any goods which you feel we could sell?

Please contact Val or Jim Thwaites 291 220 452
email: vandjthwaites@yahoo.co.uk

It is our aim to have the following stalls:

Cakes Preserves Plant Stalls Books The Church Stall Bottle Stall New Goods Bric-a –Brac
(no more needed Thank you!!)

Tombola

PLUS ANY OTHER BRIGHT IDEAS.

We would be happy for people to run their own stall, and give us a negotiated donation, and provide their own table.


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