Titanic II to serve same beer, champagne as its predecessor
A Welsh beer served on the Titanic in 1912 may also be provided to passengers aboard the 300 million pounds replica of the doomed liner, due to be launched in two years time.
The new Titanic II, being built by Australian company Blue Star Line, will be an exact copy of the original ship which sank in the Atlantic on April 15, 1912. It will also serve the same Champagne, brandy and lager that were loaded onto the Titanic, it has emerged.
Makers of Wrexham Lager, the beer that was loaded onto the original Titanic, have unveiled plans to quench the thirst of passengers on Titanic II as well, ‘walesonline.co.uk’ reported. The brewery shut in 2000, but was re-opened in 2011.
“We’ve been in touch with the owners and they’ve been positive,” said Wrexham director Mark Roberts. “They have signed up the original brandy and champagne houses and we thought it was only right they should have the original lager suppliers too,” Roberts said.
Titanic II, which aims to make its maiden voyage in 2016, will have the same dimensions as its predecessor, with 840 rooms and nine decks. (PTI)
French minister in the soup over ‘disgusting’ food remark
France’s trade minister had to eat humble pie on Friday after she was caught on film saying that food served at a state dinner for China’s President Xi Jinping was “disgusting”.
President Francois Hollande and Xi were all smiles at the dinner on Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace. But Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq was unimpressed by the fare that included foie gras, roasted poultry with mushrooms, and a chocolate and caramel dessert.
Television cameras caught her telling Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that the food at the Elysee did not compare with that served at Matignon, the prime minister’s office, where she had attended a lunch for Xi.
“Frankly, at Matignon, there’s no comparison. It wasn’t that way at all at the Elysee. No, it was disgusting,” she could heard whispering.
Bricq called the Elysee’s head chef, Guillaume Gomez, to apologize on Friday, her spokeswoman said.
Guillaume Gomez downplayed the remarks.
“We’ll continue to do our work, with the same passion and dedication,” Gomez tweeted. (Reuters)
‘Love locks’ cause heartache for Paris residents
Is it a fix of love, or a showing of indifference?
Around 700,000 padlocks are smothering the iconic bridges of Paris, left by amorous couples who symbolically seal their feelings.
But too much love can be a drag, literally, as the metal locks are weighing down the bridges according to Lisa Taylor Huff, who launched the online ‘No love locks’ petition calling for a ban.
“The bridges are actually being physically damaged by the weight of the locks, by the rust that goes, passes from the locks onto the mesh and the grillage (fence), by the environmental damage to the river from the keys that are thrown in and rusting,” Lisa said.
The Pont des Arts is the most renowned bridge to suffer from the epidemic. It now holds 93 metric tons of metal, the equivalent of three large trucks parked permanently on the pedestrian-only bridge. (Reuters)