Santo da Serra Market

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 CDU was in Santo da Serra today and marked the market in the itinerary of the “works of Santa Engrácia.” In this case, a work promoted by the City Council of Santa Cruz, governed by the JPP.

“It is not only the Regional Government that promotes Santa Engrácia’s works in the Region; the Santa Cruz City Council and its executive led by the JPP are also failing in the commitments made to the populations, namely in the deadlines for the execution of the works,” said the leader of the CDU, Ricardo Lume, quoted in a party statement.

Ricardo Lume recalls that “in Santo da Serra, vendors and customers got together and signed a petition demanding that the Municipality of Santa Cruz start the improvement works of the Santo da Serra Agricultural Market, as it is the owner of the building.”

According to the communist leader, “popular pressure and the urgent need for intervention in the enclosure led the municipal executive led by the JPP to present in May 2025, a project to improve the Santo da Serra Agricultural Market, for 630 thousand euros, providing for an execution of the work between 3 and 4 months.”

“The Municipality of Santa Cruz has also committed to guaranteeing an alternative space for merchants. However, almost 10 months after the start of the works, the market remains closed, and the municipality failed to promise to ensure an alternative space, having only guaranteed this solution until December 2026,” he stresses.

According to Ricardo Lume, “this situation is penalising not only the market vendors, but also the entire parish of Santo da Serra, since the market is one of the main attractions of the parish, especially on Sundays. We cannot allow the JPP, which criticises the Regional Government so much concerning the works, to use the same modus operandi as the PSD/CDS.”

The CDU, through the voice of Ricardo Lume, reaffirms that “it will continue to denounce these situations, stressing that the Region cannot continue to be hostage to a governance based on propaganda, postponement and lack of implementation.”

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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