Despite the appalling weather, which has disappointingly seen the high quality York Food Festival declared as a non-runner this weekend The Charlbury Beer Festival will be exiting the starting stalls at midday tomorrow. Located at the Charlbury cricket ground – only two minutes from Charlbury station – this beer festival in 2011 raised over 15K for local and international charities. For the 2012 edition,  there are over 50 breweries including Exmoor, Robinsons, Derby and Abbeydale, plus a full range of ciders including Christine Elliott’s Charlbury dry and sweet ciders.  For the punters, who are not in love with hops or apples but do like the grape, The Wine Tipster has selected a fab range of wines from Oxford wine merchant Stevens Garnier including Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde 2011, Sogrape, Portugal; Les Cabotines Touraine Rosé 2010, Joel Delaunay; Misterio Malbec Finca Flichman 2011, Argentina.

Away from imbibing, this is a family day out with plenty of activities for children, good food, music and an opportunity to watch the second World Aunt Sally Championship. Get your wellies on and look forward to seeing you there. Cheers!

Photos by Tom Lindley

Big shame that The Taste of Edinburgh had to be cancelled on Saturday and Sunday. The Wine Tipster was presenting The S. Pellegrino Masterclasses, with very successive full Friday sessions, and a sell out crowd due on Saturday it was really disappointing that the show couldn’t go on. Despite the cancellation, punters had a chance on Saturday night to taste some of the delicious food from the show free of charge on a first come first served basis as Mark Greenaway and Angels with Bagpipes’ Paul Whitecross opened up a pop up restaurant in the Summerhall in the old Dick Veterinary School. Hundreds of foodies turned up to take advantage of this initiative which Lord Sugar would have been no doubt said that “you are hired”.

The previous weekend I had been in for my regular tasting and chat with Bill Buckley on BBC Radio Oxford (pictured left). Bill is a terrific presenter and most definitely a food and wine lover. Bill’s favourite was the Alfonso, Dry Oloroso, Sherry, Gonzalez Byass, Spain, £11.99, abv 18% Stockists: Tanners, Golden amber colour, nutty, walnuts on the nose, dry, tangy, nutty, with apricots on the palate and a beautiful fresh finish. An ideal aperitif which is lovely with nuts.

We then moved on to some very high class Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc from the Awatere, a sub region in Marlborough, Yealands Estate S1 Single Block Series Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Marlborough, New Zealand, £12.99, abv 13.5%. Stockist: M&S. This high class single vineyard wine is well priced with cut grass, asparagus and spice on the nose and sophisticated, full flavoured, creamy, spicy, and subtle flavours, with tremendous length on the finish. At The International Wine Challenge 2012 this wine won The Best Sauvignon in the World Trophy and was voted best white wine from Marlborough.
Our world then changed to pink with the good value La Grille Pinot Noir Rosé 2011, France, £6.99, abv 12% buy 2 bottles save £2 = £5.99 until 3rd September. Stockist: Majestic. This pale pink rosé has delicate red fruits, vanilla and is really crisp and zingy. The perfect pink to drink with Le Tour de France. Come on Bradley!

The Best In Taste Wine Awards 2012 sponsored by Baccarat was announced at the Taste of London preview night on 20th June at the VIP Secret Garden area of the festival in Regent’s Park.

The winners are as follows:

Aperitif Wine Award – Cantine del Taburno Falanghina del Sannio 2011, Campania, Italy

Innovation Wine Award – Cline Cellars Viognier 2010, North Coast, California, USA

White Table Cloth Award – Ager Taurasinus Greco di Tufo 2009, DOCG Campania, Italy

Best Restaurant Wine List –Kensington Place

A big thank you to all that took part and many congratulations to all the winners!

Pictured above: The Wine Tipster, Belinda Stone from Patriarche Wines and David Hesketh

Just had a great presenting weekend at the very busy Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival www.garden-events.com in the lovely Montpellier Gardens in the centre of Cheltenham. The Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival  which really does have a terrific selection of specialist food, drink and craft exhibitors.Despite the wet weather on Friday and Saturday, the punters still rocked up to this show; whilst on Sunday, the weather was almost summer like!

The Wine Tipster was acting as the MC for the masterclasses and also presented Waitrose’s English Wine Selection and Wines from Rioja, with Chapel Down Bacchus, Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 2007,  Navajas Graciano 2008 and Vina Albina’s Semi Dulce 2010 amongst the wines that had a big thumbs up.  The other masterclasses featured Helen Kelly from Chateâu de Claribes presenting Chateâu Life in Bordeaux, Judith Burns from Pacta Connect featuring a range of complex, high quality wines from Croatia featuring indigenous red varietals like teran and refošk; Concha y Toro wines from both Argentina and Chile, proving once again what a consistent and quality producer they are; Ken Sheather with a fine selection from Portugal including Sandeman’s Callabriga Douro 2008 and Mel Jones from Birds with Bottle  finding some new sherry lovers (including my sister), who, like me, loved the Manzanilla Gitana Bodegas Hildalgo and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Dry Oloroso from Lustau.

Thank you to all the speakers and the audiences who filled every season and were prepared to queue in the rain. See you there in 2013!

Tapas, meats, cheeses, sherry, Rioja, Tempranillo, Xavi, Iniesta, Torres, Nadal, the flamenco, the fandango, afternoon siestas, Almodóvar, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gaudi, Picasso, Kahlo, Dali, heat, and passion; think of Spain and there are a number of wonderful champions that innately spring to mind.

Following The Wine Tipster’s recent trip to Spain to discover a number of fine wines, which he kindly shared on our blog I thought it would be wholly apposite to share a few thoughts about Spanish cuisine, Spanish wine, Spanish music and Spanish football, yet all contained within the geographic boundaries of the M25; or, to put it another way, a brief look at some of the best Spanish bars and restaurants I’m currently enjoying in London.

Spanish Bars

Camino in King’s Cross is a voluminous, modern, industrial space filled with colour and Latin-tinged music. This is a lovely spot for reflecting on your working day whilst sharing a jug of sangria. The patronage at Camino is often reassuringly Spanish speaking, which may have something to do with the 100% sustainable menu of Spanish tapas, covering all corners of Spain, even the Canary Islands (such as the salted potatoes with spicy sauce).

Plus, come the start of the Euro 2012 Football Championship, this will be THE best bar in London to watch Spain win this summer. Many Spanish football fans will make a new home of the lively Victorian courtyard (pictured above), on the opposite side of which is Camino’s tiny sister and erstwhile winner of the Time Out Best Bar of the Year title, Bar Pepito, an Andalusian bodega offering celebratory sherry flights.

If, like me, you are a nightowl hell bent on staying one step ahead of the dawn, in true Spanish style, I advise you to also check out the basement bar in Fitzrovia known simply as Bradley’s Spanish Bar (pictured below) where you should listen to a few tunes on the jukebox before taking your bottle of Spanish beer out on the street, as is customary, when dusk begins to settle.

To burn away the last remnants of the midnight oil, finish your evening in the West End bar, Salvador & Amanda, just off Leicester Square. I once took a date here and had a fun-filled night of Spanish beers, dancing, and flirting (before she decided I wasn’t the man for her; boo!). This is one of the best late night drinking dens in London, and a favoured hang out for bar and restaurant workers in the West End, plus a few stars from the local West End theatres. Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself.

Tapas London

Spanish tapas is social. It is meant to be shared, talked over, and enjoyed together. Soon after successfully launching his casual, sociable sherry and tapas bar, Jose Tapas & Sherry Bar in Bermondsey, celebrity chef José Pizarro decided to utilise his surname for his second venture, Pizarro (pictured below left), but in a much more formal, modern setting just down the road. Aside claims as London’s first Cava bar, this restaurant has a superb communal table in front of the bar, so it’s no use being shy.

The seasonal Spanish cuisine comes in larger formats than most tapas but still has sharing at its very core. Praise has already been heaped on the cheeses, the jamon Iberico and the salt cod bacalao, but also keep an eye out for the quail. You’ll thank me afterwards. As is the trend these days, there is a no booking policy, but waiting allows plenty of time for making new friends at the bar.

The Opera Tavern (pictured below right), as the name might suggest, is situated in an erstwhile pub in the West End’s Theatreland district. It is a Spanish/Italian charcoal grill restaurant cut from same cloth as Fitzrovia’s Salt Yard and Soho’s Dehesa. Take a seat at the bar on the ground floor where’s there’s only enough room for brass lanterns and a cloud of chatter, order the sweet pull-apart ox-cheek with pickled walnuts, thyme, and roast parsnips, and enjoy the downtime until your show starts at the Drury Lane Theatre across the road.

The minimalist Jamon Jamon in Soho is also a pre-theatre destination. Although not exactly cheap if you have a sizable hunger, you can find a top notch house rioja that will stop the bill from running away from you. Booking is advisable if you intend visiting during the 7-9pm sweet spot, and be aware that special offers only apply to a small set menu so the choice may not be as varied as you’d hope; meaning, you might not get to sample the mixed grill meat or, from the tapas options, the cod with aioli and garlic, or patatas roquefort.

Brand Spanish New

Going back to this essence of sharing, there have been a healthy number of new openings in recent months across London that show encouraging signs for large scale community interaction.

Although I have not yet visited myself, I’ve heard enough glowing comments (in particular about the black rice squid paella) concerning the new Spanish tapas bar & restaurant on Acre Lane in south west London, Boqueria, which is named after Barcelona’s famous El Mercat de San Josep de la Boqueria street market, synonymous with food and wine.

Following the good fortune of Fitzrovia’s Barrica, its bosses have now set up shop in Soho too with Copita (pictured below) which is very much on trend in that it is centrally located, possesses a rough n’ ready interior, a no bookings policy (there it is again), and a menu that is as brief as it is laced with quality. The wine and sherry pairings are decent, and the tender, mini venison with Jerusalem artichoke, spinach and ceps is a must.

One of our journalists, Laura Collins, recently returned from a holiday in Spain, sad that she had left so much behind. Upon her return I sent her straight back out onto the streets of London to check out the new Iberica in Canary Wharf. She came with this comment: “It was like a neater, cleaner version of the places I frequented during my holiday and it seemed to rid me of any Spanish withdrawal symptoms.”

There’s another one for your To-Do list. As are the two imminent openings scheduled for this month: Donostia in Portman Village, where the former head chef of Barrafina will be serving Basque country tapas and pintxos alongside a wine list that boasts Basque specialities like the sparkling, dry txakoli; plus, Vinoteca’s new wine bar on Soho’s Beak Street where, true to form, there will be 300 wines to choose from, 25 of which will be by the glass, including the 2009 Penedes ‘Electio’, Parés Baltà organic white wine.

Spanish With A View

Two great Spanish restaurants, both is Soho, that I’m happy to share with you purely because they both have roof terraces and I know how delicious a piece of rooftop real estate can be during the spring and summer months: Aqua Nueva, (pictured below) high above Regent Street, is outstanding and one of the best restaurants in London I’ve ever reviewed (thanks, in part, to the Extremadura style lamb, poached egg with porcini cream and black truffle starter, and the woody 2007 Tempranillo Blend Rioja Reserva); and El Cantara, a Spanish-Moroccan hybrid with a cosy roof terrace for canoodling couples, and Albondigas that are anything but ordinary meatballs.

Further reading

If you’d like to discover more great Spanish restaurants in London, click here. Likewise, we’ve also complied a Top 10 of the Best Spanish bars in London, which you can view by clicking here.

Christian Rose-Day is Deputy Editor of  Fluid London, an independent guide to eating and drinking in London. He has been known to get it wrong very occasionally so please contact him if you’d like to enlighten him about Spanish bars and restaurants in London.

 Images courtesy of Flickr users Tehbus, Ewan-M and Odoardo Mendoza.

The oenophilic Wine Tipster asked me the other day which areas of London I thought currently offer excitement and promise in the realms of eating and drinking. I must’ve come up with a short list of about 12; yeh, it is that lip-smackingly enticing out there at the moment. Recession? What recession?! After much strokey-beard action and a couple of brief discussions (arguments) with my colleagues, I reduced the list to the best 5; the 5 suburbs that are, at the moment, hotter than an Olympic 100m Final ticket.

SW1X

This affluent address is bursting with Michelin stars. Amaya, Apsleys Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus, and Zafferano all have one each.  Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley has got two!

It, therefore, didn’t take long for people to realise that there might be something in this postcode, and in January 2011 the inventive Heston Blumenthal opened his  restaurant Dinner By Heston in Knightsbridge. Within a year, he too had snaffled a Michelin star.

The most recent celebrity chef to take up residence in the area is Mark Hix, who has just launched at the Belgraves Hotel, on the borders of Belgravia.  It’s Mark’s Bar on the mezzanine of the hotel  that I’m going to recommend; and not just because it boasts a cigar garden. Much like the sister bar in Soho, Mark’s Bar has Nick Strangeway’s name all over the cocktail menu, so expect plenty of experimentation. The bar food menu is also worth discovering. Chef Hix has sprinkled it with delights such as the Moyallon Shorthorn sirloin steak sandwich and the decadent scrambled Braddock white duck’s egg with osetra caviar.

There are two other recent additions to SW1X that I think you should try. Firstly, the refurbished  Rib Room Bar & Restaurant at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel (pictured above), where you’ll find seasonal British cuisine (really, though; there’s a clue in the name: order the roast rib of beef) and over 500 wines and Champagnes. Plus, the menus are futuristically presented on interactive iPads. Neat.

Not to be outshone on the technological front is chic, new Azerbaijani restaurant, Baku (no, not the only Azerbaijani restaurant in London), which also offer iPad menus, each displaying a variety of traditional dishes. These dishes utilise fresh herbs, veggies, fruits and grilled meat (although, that said, the Caspian Sea sturgeon is about as authentic as one can get without purchasing a plane ticket to Baku; the capital city, not the restaurant, obviously). A decent choice of Georgian wines too.

Great Portland Street & Beyond

Flute Champagne Bar (pictured left) took up residence in Fitzrovia late last year and has been gathering pace ever since. A definite destination bar, especially for romantic lovers (look out for the private niches). It’s a numbers game at this basement hideaway thanks to the 100 bottled sparkling wines and Champagnes on offer; 25 by the bottle; plus 20 varieties of Vietnamese bar snacks.

Continuing the subterranean theme with an air of dangerous liaison is new bar The Lucky Pig which also opened up at the end of 2011. Again, the curtained booths are a must for amorous adventures. Only this time, cocktails are the chosen libation.

If you prefer something a little more sociable, the all-day The Riding House Cafe the most recent offering from the team who plonked  The Garrison and  Village East  in the backstreets of Bermondsey to the brim almost constantly. Popular with the fashion trade close by, this brasserie restaurant (which you can book) and bar (which you cant) is itself de rigueur thanks to the on-trend menu of small plates (you’ll need at least four) and funky decor (squirrel light fittings, anyone?).

St John’s Hill

Yes, you’ll need to get your Oyster card out for this one. The Boris bikes don’t go this deep into Zone 2 territory. You’ll thank us though. You could spend all day on this one patch of tarmac and never feel the need to leave.  Start with a delicious brunch at the popular Ben’s Canteen, before heading to the new The Plough bar-cum-restaurant for a luncheon of small plates (there’s those two words again), including the now famous black pudding scotch egg (with a pint of ale, naturally). Your evening will then slowly drift through the sands of time to a Victorian age when bar-restaurants such as the new Powder Keg Diplomacy  (pictured above) were lauded for their national pride. Exquisitely-made pungent cocktails, bizarre-bordering-on-circus-like decor, and a hearty menu that can simply do no wrong. Almost everything sold at this place is British. Finally a place in south London where I can find Chapel Down Bacchus 2010! Huzzah!

Soho (of course)

Soho’s Dean Street is one of London’s best streets for eating: Dean Street Townhouse, Duck Soup, Cay Tre and Polpetto, have all appeared in the last 18 months to make sure of that.

As has Bistro Du Vin (pictured above), the new sister restaurant to the Bistro Du Vin in Clerkenwell. The menu is resplendent with meaty goodness and you can tuck into all manner of sweetbreads, calf livers, and bone marrow. Two points to note: the enomatic wine system and wine list of 200+ wines; plus, a Cave au Fromage (Cheese Heaven) of over 70 cheeses. Careful, though, this unusually large restaurant (for Soho) is not open on Sundays, sadly.

Wardour Street in Soho is also well known for its culinary night life and Carom – the Indian restaurant that has risen from the ashes of Meza – is making its mark as more than a mere pop up with its casual, sharing style dishes.

Further west, at the Carnaby Street end of Soho, Pitt Cue Co. is the first permanent restaurant – if you can call it that; it’s tiny – from the providers of last summer’s popular BBQ Shack on the South Bank. Allegedly, the “best example of Texas barbecue in London”, this eatery offers pulled pork and chicken wing tray food, whilst drinks-wise, you’re looking at the ultimate BBQ accompaniment: beer or bourbon-based cocktails.

Meat Mad Mayfair

Vegetarians, cease reading immediately. This year, Mayfair is mainly doing meat, glorious meat. Yes, indeed, meat is back in fashion (thankfully). Hence London W1 has recently been blessed with Wolfgang Puck’s first European restaurant CUT at 45 Park Lane, as well as the free-range organic grass-fed beef-specialising 34 restaurant, and the Goodman steakhouse-backed Burger & Lobster, which might not win any prizes for coolest name of the year but when you consider that’s all they offer, you realise they got it dead right.

Christian Rose-Day is a volatile being whose job – as Deputy Editor of www.fluidlondon.co.uk  Fluid London – is to unearth and visit the best bars and restaurants in London. Feel free to hate him just a little bit.

Welcome to the New Year, which promises to be a very exciting year for racing, vino and foodie fans. Let’s start off 2012 with racing, following the brilliance of Kauto Star on Boxing Day who out jumped Long Run to become the first (and probably last horse) to win the King George VI chase five times we are all looking ahead to The Gold Cup. In 2011, King Kauto was more of an each way bet at 7-1, for the year ahead, he is now 4-1, because of his King George VI and Betfair Chase performances to achieve an incredible third Gold Cup win at Cheltenham in March. Initially, my post King George reaction was that Long Run deserves the favourite’s spot and will out stay Kauto up the Cheltenham hill, however now on further consideration, I feel that the mighty equine cocktail of winning the King George and Gold Cup as a 6 year old has taken something out of Long Run, which is hampering him versus a rejuvenated Kauto. It was also clear in the King George pre-race interview on Channel 4 that Long Run’s trainer Nicky Henderson thought he had his horse spot on, whilst

Nick Luck from RUKTV thought post-race that Henderson’s horse had run up to his mark. Long Run may not win on 16th March but he will finish in the first three with Kauto. Who will join these two championship horses in the first three? Despite the major thumbs down from Channel 4’s Morning Line team that Grands Crus should avoid the Gold Cup and be directed at the Royal Sun Alliance Chase – for which he is 5-2 favourite – I think he has a tremendous chance in the Gold Cup. I don’t normally approve of horses being aimed at championship races without the experience, however Grands Crus jumps smoothly, clearly travels well in his races, has some dash, likes Cheltenham and recorded a time three seconds faster than Kauto over the same distance at Kempton on Boxing Day. If the ground isn’t on the fast side then Grands Crus has a tremendous chance of joining Kauto and Long Run on the podium. As a final point, The Wine Tipster has not selected Grands Crus because of the name!The Wine Tipster took Cheltenham Gold Cup Kauto Star 4-1 win, Grands Crus each way 10-1 before Christmas with Grands Crus now at 7-1. Long Run remains 9-4 favourite and I have had a small wager on these three horses taking the first three places in any order.

The Dao region in Portugal is producing some top wines including Quinta do Corujao Reserva 2007, £14.99, Ince Wines, a powerful, meaty red, packed with fruit flavours and herbaceous character, whilst further south in the Alentejo, Susana Esteban, winemaker at Solar dos Lobos, continues to really impress, with the delicious, weighty, concentrated and elegant Solar dos Lobos Grande Escolha, 2008, £30.00, Ince Wines. In Mendoza, Argentina, Clos de los Siete’s 2009, £12.99, Majestic, who have the 2008, is a blend of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, a super-refined, complex red with intense blackberry fruit.The John X Merriman 2008, Rustenberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa, £12.49-£13.99,, Majestic, Waitrose is the wine I featured in Every Wine Tells A Story 2011, £8.99 www.lulu.com.This medium-full bodied Bordeaux blend offers great value for a well structured red from a high class producer. Look out for the 2009, which is in some stores now. In June this year, The Wine Tipster chaired the Best in Taste Wine Awards and will be doing so again in June 2012. The shortlisted Chambolle-Musigny Ier Cru Les Charmes, Domaine Roux 2008, France, £28.00, Bibendum, demonstrated the elegant qualities of a fine wine from this vintage. From Beaujolais you can still purchase 2009s crus from all the villages but be quick. Brouilly, Henry Fessy 2009, £10.99, Waitrose, is a terrific example of why there is rekindled interest in Beaujolais.The Imperial Reserva 2005, Cune, Rioja, Spain, £14.99, Slurp.co.uk, is a classic traditional Rioja from one of the top producers. Great stuff. For more regular drinking choices then Pasico Old Vine Monastrell Shiraz 2010, Jumilla, Spain, £5.99,Sainsbury’s, is lovely winter drinking, with damson fruit, chocolate and spice, whilst Tesco’s Finest Douro 2010, Portugal,on offer at £28.50 per case, Tesco Wines by the Case really delivers good fruit, weight and importantly soft tannins. Make sure you pour this wine into a glass jug a couple of hours beforehand. Happy New Year.

Kauto Star was brilliant on Boxing Day in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park, easily outjumping Long Run, who I felt had to show tremendous improvement from Haydock to win. However, for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, much as I would like to see King Kauto win, I don’t think he will be allowed to dictate the pace so comfortably as he did at Kempton and Long Run will probably outstay him up the Cheltenham hill. The biggest danger to Long Run could be Grands Crus, who is very smooth and quick over fences, likes Cheltenham and represents value at 10/1 if David Pipe decides to run him. It will be argued that Grands Crus lacks experience over fences and he shouldn’t run as a 7 year old, given that the Pipe’s young, precocious, inexperienced Gloria Victis was fatally injured when running as a 6 year old in the big race a few years ago. I didn’t support Gloria Victus running in the Gold Cup but the extra year for Grands Crus should make the difference. The Wine Tipster’s ante post bets for The Cheltenham Gold Cup 16th March:Grands Crus 10/1 each way.Kauto Star 4/1 win A small sentimental wager because we all want him to win.Make sure you are there.

Here are some of the whites that have won at the vino races for The Wine Tipster in 2011. The John Platter 5 Star rated Diemersfontein Chenin Blanc 2010, Wellington, South Africa,which is dry, beautifully balanced and exotic. Stockist: www.diemersfontein.co.za . Another Platter 5 Star winner was the super impressive Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Stellenbosch, South Africa, £16. Stockist: Tescos Wine by the Case www.tesco.com/wine . Kevin Judd’s Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010, New Zealand, £15.99, has great minerality, complexity and taut refinement. Stockist: www.slurp.co.uk with allocations selling out fast. From Tuscany, Fattoria Michi’s Montecarlo Bianco 2010, Italy, £15.75, made from Trebbiano, Rousanne, Sauvignon and Vermentino is a stunning dry, classy white. Stockists: Soho Wines, www.clubviniitaliani.co.uk . Chapel Down’s Bacchus Reserve 2010, Kent, England, stepping in at a friendly 12.5% abv, this wine delivered real depth and was a great match at Roast Restaurant with their pork belly. Stockist: Roast. Portugal could have several winners included here, however a real stand out is Nossa 2009, Vinhos Doidos, Filipa Pato, Beiras, Portugal, £20.00, with ripe lemon and orange fruit flavours, subtle oak influence and minerality. Stockist: www.clarkfoysterwines.co.uk. Burgundy has provided many real highlights this year including Rully 1er Cru La Pucelle 2009, Antonin Rodet, France, £15.99, lemony, spice, vanilla, buttery character, with development to come. Stockist: M&S.Whites under a tenner that continue to be real handicap certainties are Vinho Verde Quinta de Azevedo 2010, Portugal, £6.99-7.49, Majestic and Waitrose, with from Chile, Anakena’s Chardonnay/Viognier 2011, £6.49, Co-op.

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