Spartan Gold: national monument and more

pg 251

"Still, it would probably be best if we didn't get caught sneaking about a French national monument in the dead of night."

A National monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of national importance such as a war or the country's founding. The term may also refer to a specific monument status, such as a National Heritage Site, which most national monuments are by reason of their cultural importance rather than age. The National monument aims to represent the nation, and serve as a focus for national identity.
A series of structures or areas deemed to be of national importance and therefore afforded protection by the state are part of a country's cultural heritage. These national heritage sites are often called something different per country and are listed by national conservation societies.

Remi pointed her LED microlight at the latch

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Appearing as practical electronic components in 1962,^[4] early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.

When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in area (less than 1 mm²), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern. LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output.

Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive lighting, advertising, general lighting, and traffic signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also used in the remote control units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances.

 An hour later, freshly showered and enjoying their second room-service Bombay Sapphire Gibson, Sam and Remi sat on the balcony.

The Gibson is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with a pickled onion. The drink bears great similarity to another cocktail, the martini, with the onion garnish (as opposed to the martini's traditional olive garnish) being the only differentiating factor.

Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin distributed by Bacardi that was launched in 1987. Its name originates from the gin's popularity in India during the British Raj and the sapphire in question is the Star of Bombay on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Bombay Sapphire is marketed in a flat-sided, sapphire-coloured bottle that bears a picture of Queen Victoria on the label.


The flavouring of the drink comes from a recipe of ten ingredients (which the bottle's label boasts as "10 exotic botanicals"): almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise. The spirit is triple distilled using a carterhead still, and the alcohol vapours are passed through a mesh/basket containing the ten botanicals, in order to gain flavour and aroma. This gives a lighter, more floral gin rather than the more-common 'punchy' gins that are distilled using a copper pot still. Water from Lake Vyrnwy is added to bring the strength of Bombay Sapphire down to 40.0% (UK, Australia).
In 2011 it was announced that the company is planning to move the distillation process to a new facility in Laverstoke, Hampshire. The plans include the restoration of the former Portal's paper mill, and the construction of a visitor centre. In February 2012, they received planning permission for the site and the centre is scheduled to be opened by late 2013.


In September 2011, Bombay Sapphire East was launched in test markets in New York and Las Vegas, USA. This variety has another two botanicals, Lemongrass and Black Peppercorns in addition to the original ten. It is bottled at 42% and was designed to counteract the sweetness of American tonic water.
Production and bottling of the drink is contracted out by Bacardi to G&J Greenall