Glass Floored Cable Car

In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

(available from Amazon)

The Funchal Cable Car, operated by Madeira Cable Car, will reopen on the 2nd of April, with more capacity and a new tourist attraction.

After a three-month break for modernisation, expansion, and refurbishment, the cable car now has 44 cabins, up from 39, and can carry 900 people per hour, compared to 700 before the upgrades.

The biggest innovation comes from the new ‘Glass Floor Experience,’ which is available in the five new cabins.

While talking to the press, Madeira Cable Car Director, João-José de Freitas, said: “It is something unique not only in Portugal, but also in Europe. The ‘Glass Floor Experience’, which, especially over the urban fabric of Funchal, provides a 360-degree panoramic view even more interesting than that of the normal cabins. It is a product aimed at a different segment of the tourism market. We have witnessed, in recent years, a change in the profile of tourism in Madeira. Previously, German and English visitors predominated in an older age group; today, we have more adventurous tourists, which was not so common. The cable car follows this evolution by introducing a product that we hope will become iconic in Madeira.”

Tickets for the ‘Glass Floor Experience’ will cost between 26 (one-way) and 32 euros (round trip). Tickets for normal cabins cost 16 (one-way) and 22 euros (round trip).

In addition to the expansion and refurbishment, the equipment was modernised, cables and motors replaced, and the telecommunications cable of the control system was replaced. Changes that make the infrastructure more sustainable and able to respond to increased capacity.

The modernisation also includes the installation of two new towers, one at the beginning of the route, in the lower part of the city, and another at the end of the route towards Monte.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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