Cruise English

Mail editor Paul Dacre obviously never got the memo that Thatcher didn?t want a state funeral, branding it a ?waste of money?. Her spokesman Lord Bell told press that were paying attention:

?She specifically did not want a state funeral and nor did her family?

?She particularly did not wish to lie in state as she thought that was not appropriate.

?And she didn?t want a fly-past as she thought that was a waste of money ? somewhat in character you might think.?

Those so inclined can nevertheless fill in this?electronic version of the coupon!

Stay tuned to Scrapbook for more media madness.

Source: http://politicalscrapbook.net/2013/04/daily-mail-print-coupon-for-readers-to-call-for-thatcher-state-funeral/

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The UFC wasted little time laying down the law on Matt Mitrione, suspending the heavyweight indefinitely for transphobic comments regarding Fallon Fox he made during an interview with Ariel Helwani Monday on “The MMA Hour.”

Fox was born a man and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2006 and has had two fights as a professional mixed martial artist, winning both.

Mitrione repeatedly referred to Fox as a he and called her as “a lying, sick, sociopathic disgusting freak.”

“Because she’s not a he. He’s a he,” he said. “He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.

“That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak,” Mitrione said. “And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman that’s fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because that’s disgusting and I’m appalled by that.”

The UFC, which announced a fighter code of conduct in January, moved swiftly to suspend Mitrione and denounce his comments.

“The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on ‘The MMA Hour.’ The organization finds Mr. Mitrione?s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC?s code of conduct ? Mr. Mitrione?s UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated. The UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect.”

The exact length of Mitrione’s suspension has yet to be released.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-suspends-matt-mitrione-transphobic-comments-regarding-fallon-230051067–mma.html

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This undated photo provided by the Saddleback Valley Community Church shows Matthew Warren, the son of Pastor Rick Warren. Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said in a statement Saturday, April 6, 2013, that Warren’s 27-year-old son, Matthew Warren, has committed suicide after struggling with mental illness and deep depression. (AP Photo/Saddleback Valley Community Church)

This undated photo provided by the Saddleback Valley Community Church shows Matthew Warren, the son of Pastor Rick Warren. Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said in a statement Saturday, April 6, 2013, that Warren’s 27-year-old son, Matthew Warren, has committed suicide after struggling with mental illness and deep depression. (AP Photo/Saddleback Valley Community Church)

This undated photo provided by the Saddleback Valley Community Church shows Matthew Warren, the son of Pastor Rick Warren. Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., said in a statement Saturday, April 6, 2013, that Warren’s 27-year-old son, Matthew Warren, has committed suicide after struggling with mental illness and deep depression. (AP Photo/Saddleback Valley Community Church)

FILE – In this Nov. 29, 2010, file photo, Pastor Rick Warren acknowledges audience members during the Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Service in Lake Forest, Calif. Saddleback Valley Community Church said in a statement Saturday, April 6, 2013, that Warren’s 27-year-old son, Matthew Warren, has committed suicide after struggling with mental illness and deep depression. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) ? Popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren asked members of his Southern California church for prayers as he and his family coped with the apparent suicide of his 27-year-old son.

The church said on Saturday that Matthew Warren took his own life at his Mission Viejo home.

Matthew Warren struggled with mental illness, deep depression and suicidal thoughts throughout his life, Saddleback Valley Community Church said in a statement, after his body was found Friday night.

“Despite the best health care available, this was an illness that was never fully controlled and the emotional pain resulted in his decision to take his life,” the church said.

Allison O’Neal, a supervising deputy coroner for Orange County, declined to release the cause and manner of death pending an autopsy of the young man.

Rick Warren, the author of the multimillion-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life,” said in an email to church staff that he and his wife had enjoyed a fun Friday evening with their son. But their son then returned home to take his life in “a momentary wave of despair.”

Over the years, Matthew Warren had been treated by America’s best doctors, had received counseling and medication and been the recipient of numerous prayers from others, his father said.

“I’ll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said ‘Dad, I know I’m going to heaven. Why can’t I just die and end this pain?’” Warren recalled.

Despite that, he said, his son lived for another decade, during which he often reached out to help others.

“You who watched Matthew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man,” Warren wrote. “He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room. He’d then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them.”

Another pastor will preach in Warren’s place on Sunday as part of a previously planned sermon series, church spokeswoman Kristin Cole said.

The elder Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980, according to his biography on the church website, and over the years watched it grow to 20,000 members. He and his wife, Kay, began by holding Bible studies for people who weren’t regular churchgoers.

Matthew Warren was the youngest of their three children.

As Saddleback grew over the years, it spread out from its Lake Forest headquarters, 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles, adding several other campuses and ministries around Southern California.

The church says it now offers more than 200 community ministries and support groups for parents, families, children, couples, prisoners, addicts, and people living with HIV, depression and other illnesses.

In 2008, the church sponsored a presidential forum with Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney were invited to a similar forum last fall, but Warren canceled it several days beforehand, saying the campaign had become too uncivil.

Warren was named the top newsmaker of the year for 2009 by the Religion Newswriters Association. He gained attention that year with his invocation at Obama’s inauguration, as well as with comments he made in the aftermath of California’s Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-07-US-Rick-Warren’s-Son/id-5efea665acf04fc99b6475b8449d3378

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Remarks by a South Korean official led some Seoul-based journalists to write that another nuclear test by North Korea might be imminent. But there’s been some backtracking since then.

By Peter Grier,?Staff writer / April 8, 2013

North Korean officials attend a national meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-il’s election as chairman of North Korea’s National Defense Commission at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang April 8, 2013, in this picture taken and released by the North’s official KCNA news agency on Monday.

REUTERS/KCNA

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What?s going on at North Korea?s nuclear test site? The question arises because there?s been some confusion in reports Monday from the Korean Peninsula as to whether Pyongyang is on the verge of a fourth nuclear explosion.

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It started during a Monday South Korean parliamentary session when a lawmaker asked Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae whether intelligence officials have noted more personnel and vehicle traffic at North Korea?s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility.

?There is such an indication,? Mr. Ryoo said, according to an Associated Press account.

This led some Seoul-based journalists to write that another nuclear test might be imminent. Bloomberg News reported, for instance, that the detonation of a North Korean nuclear device and a missile test could occur as early as this week.

But Ryoo later said he was ?startled? by the way his remarks had been interpreted, and other South Korean officials moved quickly to tamp down the test speculation. A Defense Ministry spokesman said that the North does not appear to be preparing for a detonation in the near future.

?We found there had been no unusual movements that indicated it wanted to carry out a nuclear test,? the ministry spokesperson said.

Timing is the issue under discussion here. The possibility of a fourth test at Punggye-ri has been open for some time.

North Korea prepared two tunnels for nuclear tests prior to its latest such detonation on Feb. 12, US-based experts say. But only one was used. And in the days following the February test, satellite imagery showed unusually heavy foot and vehicle traffic at the test facility, where North Korea also conducted its 2006 and 2009 explosions.

?It remains unclear whether renewed activity at the site is normal for the days after a nuclear detonation or if it is an indication of Pyongyang?s intention to conduct another test in the near future. It is also unclear whether Pyongyang will be in a position to conduct another nuclear test in the near future,? wrote nuclear experts Jack Liu and Nick Hansen in late February on 38 North, a blog about North Korea produced by Johns Hopkins University.

However, given that North Korea appears intent on developing a small nuclear warhead that can fit on the top of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), another test may be only a matter of time.

The ?sheer duration? of North Korea?s nuclear weapons programs means that by now, it probably has perfected a nuclear device that’s miniature enough to be carried by its short-range Nodong missile, according to an analysis by David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security.

It?s important to note that not all US experts necessarily agree with this conclusion. But following the Feb. 12 test, North Korea announced it had detonated a ?miniaturized and lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously.? So it?s certainly possible that Pyongyang has taken a big step down the road to more easily deliverable nuclear weapons.

Where will that road end?

?North Korea probably cannot deploy a warhead on an ICBM. However, with additional effort and time, North Korea will likely succeed in developing such a warhead too,? Mr. Albright writes. ?More broadly, additional underground nuclear tests are bound to help North Korea produce a more sophisticated nuclear weapons arsenal that is both more deliverable and more deadly.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/U1QOEWwMZhw/Is-North-Korea-on-the-verge-of-another-nuclear-test-or-not

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New study confirms government misled public on Environmental Assessment ?delays?

By: Sierra Club Canada |?Press Release:?

OTTAWA ? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences found environmental assessments triggered by the Fisheries Act prior to the 2012 omnibus bill were NOT taking too long to conclude. In fact, most were completed in less time than the new Act requires, proving the government misled Parliament and Canadians.

?Government and industry representatives misled Parliament and lied to Canadians,? said John Bennett Executive Director. ?We now have clear evidence there were NO excessive delays and absolutely no need to gut Canada?s environmental protection laws, which took us 35 years to build.?

STUDY:

The length of environmental review in Canada under the Fisheries Act

By Derrick Tupper de Kerckhove, Charles Kenneth Minns & Brian John Shuter
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
Published: March 11, 2013
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjfas-2012-0411For information about the study contact Derrick Tupper de Kerckhove (dak.dekerckhove@utoronto.ca).

ABSTRACT

There is a common misconception among government officials that environmental regulations are bad for economic growth. Citing economic reasons, the Canadian federal government passed legislation in 2012 restricting the length of environmental reviews of new developments, even though review times were not empirically known. Using annual reports to Parliament from 2001 to 2010, we estimated using time-series analyses that review times under the Fisheries Act conformed to the new government mandated review times prior to major legislative changes to federal environmental oversight. The majority of submissions were processed within 1 year for mitigated impacts and within 2 years for authorized impacts. While it is possible that a minority of projects take longer, there is no evidence of large backlogs in the review process, and Canadian review times appear quicker than those in the United States. We highlight the need for empirical estimates of the costs of environmental regulations before governments enact substantial legislative changes that reduce environmental oversight and offer alternate recommendations for expediting environmental review times.

Related:??New research questions need for streamlining enviro assessments

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Source: http://www.canadianprogressiveworld.com/2013/04/06/harper-government-misled-canadians-on-environmental-assessment/

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BEIRUT (AP) ? A British-educated lawmaker from a prominent political family was named Lebanon‘s new prime minister Saturday, and vowed to work toward ending divisions in the nation and preventing the civil war in neighboring Syria from spilling over into the country.

Tammam Salam, a 68-year-old lawmaker and a former culture minister, was asked by President Michel Suleiman to head a new government. Lebanon’s parliament strongly endorsed Salam, who is widely seen as a consensus figure, with 124 lawmakers in the 128-seat legislature voting in favor of his nomination.

A difficult job in the best of times, Salam faces an even more daunting list of challenges than usual for a Lebanese prime minister.

The country faces rising sectarian tensions linked to Syria’s civil war, with Lebanon’s two largest political blocs supporting opposite sides in the fight between Syrian President Bashar Assad‘s forces and rebel fighters trying to oust him. The conflict also has forced some 400,000 Syrians to seek refuge in Lebanon, putting a severe straining on the country of 4 million to cope with the influx.

“I start from the necessity of taking Lebanon out of divisions and political tensions that were reflected in the security situation,” Salam said in his first public statement after being chosen.

He added that he also wants to mitigate threats from the “catastrophic situation next door,” remarks aimed at trying to allay fears in Lebanon that Syria’s 2-year-old civil war, which has killed more than 70,000 people, will spread to Lebanon.

Salam said he would do his best to form a “national interest government,” a process that could take time because of the sharp divisions among Lebanese politicians as a result of the Syrian crisis.

Once he cobbles together a Cabinet, his new government must win a vote of confidence in parliament to be approved. Many here will be keeping close tabs on how Salam will deal with the militant Hezbollah group and its arsenal, which is one of the biggest dividing issues among Lebanese.

Hezbollah’s armed wing is the strongest military force in the country, outstripping even the national army, and many Lebanese are wary of the Shiite militant group’s power and refusal to set aside their arms.

Hezbollah and many other Lebanese, however, counter that the weapons are necessary to defend Lebanon against any Israeli attack.

Salam went straight home from the presidential palace where he was seen kissing the hand of his Syrian mother, Tamima Mardam Beik. “I took my mother’s blessing,” he told reporters while sitting between her and his wife, Lama Badreddine.

The Syrian conflict has fueled a sharp spike in tensions between Sunnis and Shiites across the Middle East. Most of the rebels fighting to topple Assad are from the country’s Sunni majority, while the president belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Sectarian clashes in Lebanon tied to the Syrian conflict have killed and wounded scores of people over the past months. Most of the fighting had been taking place in the northern port city of Tripoli.

Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati abruptly resigned last month over a political deadlock between Lebanon’s two main political camps and infighting in his government. Mikati, who had served as prime minister since June 2011, headed a government that was dominated by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group and its allies.

Mikati stepped down to protest the parliament’s inability to agree on a law to govern elections set for later this year, as well as the refusal by Hezbollah and its allies in the Cabinet to extend the tenure of the country’s police chief.

“I start from the point of uniting national visions and to quickly reach an agreement on a new elections law that gives justice of representation,” Salam said.

Salam is the son of the late former Prime Minister Saeb Salam, and politically leans toward the Western-backed anti-Hezbollah coalition. He studied in Britain and has degrees in economics and business administration.

He will be holding the top post in the country that a Sunni Muslim can hold.

Lebanon’s politics are always fractious, in part because of the sectarian makeup of the country’s government. According to Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim. Each faith makes up about a third of Lebanon’s population.

Salam was first elected to parliament for four years in 1996. He became minister of culture in 2008 under then prime minister Fuad Saniora. He was elected to parliament for the second time in 2009 when he ran for a seat in Beirut and joined a Western-backed coalition led by former prime minister, Saad Hariri.

Salam headed the Makassed Philanthropic Islamic Association of Beirut, a non-profit organization that runs schools, cultural centers and a hospital, between 1982 and 2000. He is currently the honorary president of the association that was headed by several members of his family.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lebanon-names-uk-educated-lawmaker-prime-minister-162507693.html

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Students from De Aston School spent a day washing and valeting their teachers? cars as part of their fundraising scheme for their ?World Challenge? expedition to Uganda and Rwanda in July. Whilst teachers were in school for a training day last Thursday, the students worked hard to wash and valet approximately 30 cars at a charge of ?5 for an exterior clean, and ?10 for an interior and exterior clean. Over ?200 was raised during the event.

Yesterday the students raised over ?400 by bag packing in Cleethorpes? Tesco store. The group have got plans for more bag packing in local Tesco, Asda and Morrisons stores in the coming weeks and they also plan to organise a ball for Year 9 students. If you or your business would like to make a donation to the students? World Challenge fund then please contact the school on 01673 843415.

1. WET WASH: Market Rasen De Aston year 12 World Challenge students Nancy Bibby, Alex Stamp, Oliver Kuhl, Thomas Williams, Charlie Barrett, William De?Ath and Emma Jakins.

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By Deepa Seetharaman

DETROIT (Reuters) – Fisker Automotive, the struggling government-backed hybrid sports car maker, on Friday terminated most of its rank-and-file employees in what sources said was a last-ditch effort to conserve cash and stave off a potential bankruptcy filing.

Fisker, which raised $1.2 billion from investors and tapped nearly $200 million in government loans, has “at least” $30 million in cash on hand, according to a source familiar with the company’s finances.

About 160 workers were fired at a Friday morning meeting at Fisker’s Anaheim, California, headquarters, according to a source who attended the meeting. They were told that the company could not afford to give them severance payments.

Fisker confirmed in a statement that it let go about 75 percent of its workforce but did not specify the number of workers affected. It called the move “a necessary strategic step in our efforts to maximize the value of Fisker’s core assets.”

“Unfortunately we have reached a point where a significant reduction in our workforce has become necessary,” Fisker said, adding that it was still searching for a strategic partner.

The mass termination triggered a lawsuit seeking class-action status from angry former employees. A lawyer for the fired employees said he expects the company to file for bankruptcy “sooner rather than later.”

A Fisker representative could not immediately answer questions on the company’s financial position. In the past, the automaker has declined to comment on the possibility of a bankruptcy restructuring.

The layoffs, which hit departments including engineering, public relations and marketing, are the latest symptom of Fisker’s cash crunch. In late March, Fisker put its entire U.S. workforce on furlough. It also hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing.

Fisker asked 53 senior managers and executives to stay on board, primarily to pursue buyers for the company’s assets, according to the source who attended Friday’s meeting in Anaheim. The remaining Fisker executives also are continuing negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy.

CHALLENGES

Friday’s class action is one of several challenges Fisker has faced over the past month. In March, company founder Henrik Fisker abruptly resigned, citing “several major disagreements” with top management.

The lawsuit accuses the automaker of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification or WARN Act, which requires 60 days’ notice for mass layoffs. The lawsuit seeks 60 days’ worth of unpaid wages and other benefits, as well as interest.

Jack Raisner, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Reuters that the termination is a “harbinger” of likely bankruptcy.

Raisner, who represented employees of Solyndra, the government-backed solar panel maker that terminated its employees shortly before filing for bankruptcy in 2011, said Fisker’s current situation is similar to Solyndra’s final days.

“It feels like almost deja vu,” he said.

The Energy Department’s loan program has been under scrutiny ever since Solyndra’s bankruptcy. Since then, other U.S.-backed companies have gone bankrupt, notably Fisker’s battery supplier formerly known as A123 Systems and now called B456 Systems Inc.

APRIL 22 PAYMENT LOOMS

Fisker, which was founded in 2007, hopes to renegotiate a DOE loan payment due on April 22, which the source familiar with Fisker’s finances said was around $10 million.

In 2009, the DOE awarded Fisker a $529 million loan as part of a U.S. program to finance advanced vehicle development. Fisker pledged its assets, including equipment and property, as collateral on the DOE loan, according to the loan agreement dated September 18, 2009.

The company’s flagship vehicle, the $100,000-plus Karma plug-in hybrid, quickly won accolades for its styling and cachet with celebrities, including pop star Justin Bieber and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who is also an investor in the company.

Fisker used $193 million of the DOE loan and earmarked the rest for a second plug-in hybrid, the Atlantic, but the DOE froze the credit line after delays in launching the Karma. The last payment from the DOE came in May 2011.

“The Department of Energy stopped payment on the federal loan in 2011 after Fisker stopped meeting their milestones, and is committed to the best outcome for taxpayers,” DOE spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy said in a statement.

“Despite Fisker’s difficulties, our overall loan portfolio of more than 30 projects continues to perform very well, and more than 90 percent of the $10 billion loan loss reserve that Congress set aside for these programs remains intact,” she said.

Fisker has not produced a car since July and has been seeking a financial backer to help finish the development of the Atlantic and produce it at a Delaware plant.

Chinese automakers Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group both considered buying a majority stake in Fisker, but they balked at the terms of Fisker’s loan agreement with the DOE. [ID:nL3N0CK7F8]

(Additional reporting by Nick Brown in New York and Paul Lienert in Detroit; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/green-car-maker-fisker-fires-75-percent-u-193738231–finance.html

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I was invited to be part of a very special dinner with Sergi Arola himself, at Arola and it promised to be phenomenal. I had read and heard enough about Arola to have formed a vague impression in my mind, but nothing could have prepared me for the man I met that evening.

What can one say about Sergi Arola that hasn?t already been said? He is a celebrity chef power backed with not one but two Michelin stars and is known for his rendition of the Catalan cuisine of Spain and flits between cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Paris on a weekly basis. But you probably already knew that, because since the restaurant Arola at the JW Marriott opened it?s doors in 2012, everyone has heard something other about the rock ?n? rolla chef.

On first impression you see a striking, handsome man with salt and pepper hair and a warm smile, but there is so much more to him that meets the eye. While settled down with our sangrias and dug into hot naan served with a light tomato salsa, garlic and olive oil, he immediately engaged us in conversation that showed us an insight into the workings of Sergi?s mind.

Contrary to what one might think, sometimes you fall into doing something rather than consciously choose a profession. Although that is what happened with him, that hasn?t been a deterrent from creating some gorgeous delicacies. I realised this as Sergi?s signature Patatas Bravas and the delicious steak tartare that just melted in my mouth leaving me with a warm fuzzy feeling that only good comfort food can give.

Spanish food is tapas driven and Michelin-star chef explained that the concept of a main course was alien in Spain. What is important to understand about Spanish food is that tapas is not a starter. It can be anything as long as it is served along with your drink and is small and in bite sized portions that can be eaten quickly and Arola had a delectable line up.

However, Sergi did kept Indian sensibilities in mind while designing the restaurant menu and soon enough platters of scallops and were brought out. They also serve the famous Spanish Paella though he will be quick to bust your myths about it. Through glasses of wine, eventually their famous Gin and Tonic (Negroni for the super star chef) and spoonfuls of scrumptious fare we learnt that Sergi plays the guitar and sings and has been offered many record deals which he has just shrugged off. He prefers to get on his bike and ride away into the sunset. Fitting i?d say for the rugged, nomad, rock and roll image he?s built up.

Patatas (V) ? ?Bravas de Arola?, deep fried filled with a spicy tomato sauce and topped with aioli.

Berenjenas (V) ? Eggplant charred over an open flame, served with balsamic reduction and pine nuts.

Ceps ? Porcini Mushrooms Confit, served as a Carpaccio with pine nut vinaigrette with slivers of Iberian ham.

Filet Mignon ? Knife cut Steak Tartare with soy sauce and wasabi infusion and crunchy onions.

Gamba Rora Mediterranea ? Prawns in a ?suquet?, costa brava style.

Muslitos de Pollo ? Chicken Lollipop

Tuna Salad

?Grilled Scallops with pasta

Arola?s famous goblet of Gin and Tonic

Assorted Dessert

Rockstar Sergi Arola.

?

Source: http://www.urbaneye.in/urbanperspectives/designlove-a-tryst-with-tapas-and-sergi-arola-by-shweta-kaushik

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