title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The British believed that the arrival of Force Y indicated that the French were aware of Operation Menace, but de Gaulle decided to proceed with the attack regardless. While Force Y steamed south, two of the three cruisers were intercepted by British cruisers and forced to fall back to Dakar, arriving there again on 20 September, by which time the destroyers had arrived. On 22 September, the liner was due to arrive with a load of 380 mm shells, and as a result, French search aircraft were arrayed to the north to cover the liner's approach; they were completely surprised by the arrival of the Anglo-Free French force on the morning of 23 September. A small party of Free French troops sent to rally the port to de Gaulle was repulsed with machine-gun fire and "Richelieu"s 100 mm guns fired warning shots toward the Free French aviso shortly after 07:00. On the approach of the sloops and at 08:10, "Richelieu" again fired warning shots from her 100 mm guns. The British warships approached the port and came under fire from the coastal batteries, leading the Anglo-Free French commanders, de Gaulle and Vice Admiral John Cunningham to conclude that they would have to directly attack the port if the operation was to succeed.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: "Barham" and "Resolution" opened fire on "Richelieu" at 11:05, but poor visibility hampered the British shooting and they checked fire after twenty minutes, having inflicted only splinter damage to the cruiser and the destroyer . The French coastal batteries hit several of the cruisers and destroyers, but "Richelieu" was moored facing north, which prevented her from taking part in the initial duel. After the British withdrew, Marzin used tugboats to turn the ship far enough to enable her to bring her main battery to bear. The defenses of Dakar were now alerted. The Free French then attempted to land further east at Rufisque, but were repulsed. The British and Free French withdrew to regroup for another attack the next day. Between 06:25 and 08:00 on 24 September, the British launched three strikes with Swordfish and Blackburn Skua bombers. They scored no hits on "Richelieu" because of poor visibility, and near-misses caused no damage. In return, "Richelieu"s gunners claimed three of the six aircraft that were shot down, and damaged another. Ninety minutes later, the British battleships and two heavy cruisers approached and fired their 380 mm main batteries at "Richelieu".


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: "Richelieu" returned fire at 09:40, but her No. 7 gun was destroyed by a shell that detonated in the barrel and the No. 8 gun was also badly damaged. This was first traced to the use of the remanufactured propellant from "Strasbourg", but a later inquiry in 1941 found the explosions were caused by a flaw in the design of the shell base. Guns 5 and 6 remained in action but failed to score any hits. At 09:57, one of "Richelieu"s secondary guns hit "Barham". In return, the British ships inflicted only minor splinter damage before breaking off at 10:07. The French had counted some 160 shells landing near the ship. The French laid smoke screens to obscure "Richelieu" before the British returned to the action at 12:53, initially targeting a destroyer before bombarding the port for the next 30 minutes. "Richelieu" was not hit and, from 12:56, she fired guns 5 and 6 at the British cruisers, quickly straddling one of them and convincing them to disengage. She fired four 380 mm shells at "Barham" at 13:11–13:12 but failed to score a hit, though both British battleships were hit several times by coastal batteries. After disengaging for the day, de Gaulle decided to abandon the operation, but Cunningham convinced him to allow a final attempt the next morning. In the meantime, Marzin decided to transfer the crews from turret 2 to turret 1, which also required moving the shells and propellant between magazines.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: As the British approached on the morning of 25 September, Marzin decided to engage "Barham" with his main battery and "Resolution" with his 152 mm guns. While the British were approaching their bombardment positions, "Richelieu" shot down a reconnaissance plane shortly before 07:00. She opened fire at 09:04 with her main battery, firing two shots that fell short, and the coastal guns and Force Y cruisers followed suit shortly thereafter. While the British battleships were turning to unmask their rear guns, the submarine torpedoed and badly damaged "Resolution". "Barham" avoided the torpedoes and opened fire, quickly straddling "Richelieu" and at 09:15, she scored a hit amidships that penetrated above the side armor, causing no casualties. In return, "Richelieu" hit "Barham" in the bow, causing minor damage. At 09:25, the British disengaged to cover "Resolution"s withdrawal. After the British left, the gun crew attempted to clear the shells that had been loaded in guns 5 and 6 and the shell in No. 5 also exploded, leaving No. 6 the only operable gun in the turret. In total, French warships in the harbor lost 100 dead and 182 wounded, with another 84 killed and 197 wounded among the civilian population.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: From 29 September, the battlecruiser and escorting destroyers were detached from Force H to patrol off Dakar, as the British believed "Richelieu" would be transferred to metropolitan France for repairs. The British ships remained in the area until 1 October when it became clear the ship would not be moved.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Repair work resumed immediately. The hit from "Barham" did little serious damage to the ship, but it nevertheless caused extensive deformation of interior bulkheads, the armor deck was forced down where the shell hit it, and the uptakes from the boilers were damaged. Wiring in the area was also cut by fragments and needed to be replaced. On 10 October, the workers attempted to attach the patch that had been manufactured, but it did not work; it did not create a watertight seal, which meant the compartments could not be pumped out. The patch was abandoned in the hopes that the cofferdam, then nearing completion, would work. The cofferdam was modeled to conform to the hull and was built with an interior void that could be used as a ballast tank so it could be floated in position and sunk in place. The cofferdam was ready by late December, which allowed the hull to be pumped dry and then sealed with welded plates and cement; the hull was finally sealed by 28 February 1941. Further repairs were hampered by the German Armistice Commission, which attempted to slow progress to prevent the ship from returning to full operational status. They blocked the shipment of new guns or a new propeller shaft, and severely constrained the transfer of other equipment. During this period, on 27 February, "CV" Deramond replaced Marzin as the ship's commander.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: As repairs were carried out, the ship saw little activity through late 1942 apart from engaging unidentified aircraft on 28 July and 29 September 1941 and 26 February and 12 May 1942. During this period, in April 1941, the ship received the first radar set installed on a French battleship. And in July, her Loire seaplanes finally arrived; tests with the catapults were conducted in October. On 10 April 1942, the ship conducted a test firing with gun No. 6 to demonstrate that the shell design problem had been corrected; all six shells were fired without incident. On 8 November, American and British forces landed in French North Africa (code-named Operation Torch), which prompted the Germans to invade the rest of Vichy France, which in turn led Darlan to defect to the Allies with the rest of the fleet.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The United States Navy sent a group to evaluate the ships under Darlan's control to determine which should be modernized in the United States. The only French battleship still in service, "Richelieu" was an obvious candidate. The US Navy had not initially been interested in repairing "Richelieu"; while the Germans and Italians retained a number of powerful battleships, the United States had recently commissioned or would soon complete eight fast battleships, more than sufficient to cover US requirements for the Pacific War and to send to Europe to reinforce the Royal Navy. In addition, repairing and modernizing a ship the size of "Richelieu" would require significant resources that could be used for other purposes. But pressure from Britain and the Free French convinced the Navy to agree to the project. For France, she was the only surviving modern battleship and thus a major symbol of national prestige, while the British had long sought to acquire the vessel to stiffen the Mediterranean Fleet, which at that time had just two new battleships to oppose their three Italian counterparts.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: She ran sea trials from 25 to 29 January 1943 to evaluate the state of her engines, which had not been used since July 1940. Her aircraft facilities and anti-aircraft armament were removed during the evaluation period, as they would be replaced by US equipment. On 30 January, she departed Dakar with "Montcalm", bound for New York City, where both vessels would be modernized. "Richelieu" steamed at a speed of and her rudder had to be held to seven degrees to account for the hull deformation. The ships arrived on 11 February and on the 18th, "Richelieu" was taken into Dock No. 5 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to begin the modernization.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Political tensions between the United States and France played a major role in determining how much "Richelieu" would be modernized. The US Navy refused to transfer the latest radar equipment on the basis that it was too sensitive to be released. As a result, much of the improvement was limited to the installation of a new anti-aircraft battery of the latest US weapons and auxiliary equipment in addition to a thorough overhaul and permanent repairs to the torpedo damage. Three shifts of workers, totaling some 2,000 men, worked on the ship twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for five months to rush the ship back into service. The modifications to the ship increased her displacement by about . While the ship was being modernized, "CV" Lambert replaced Deramont as the ship's commander on 29 April.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The ship's armament required extensive repairs and modifications to bring "Richelieu" up to modern standards. First, three of the eight main battery guns had to be replaced, which required removing the turret roof. Since the gun cradles were undamaged, the guns were simply replaced by barrels taken from "Jean Bart", which had been recovered at Casablanca during Operation Torch. The shell handling equipment of both the primary and secondary guns was thoroughly overhauled, with wiring being replaced and the shell and propellant lifts being rebuilt—the latter had never been made to function correctly while the ship was in Dakar. Ammunition for the primary and secondary guns was now a problem, as the source, factories in France, was occupied by German forces. Drawings of the plans for the 380 mm shells were prepared in Dakar and forwarded to the United States, where a contract to produce 930 shells was ordered from Crucible Steel. American 6-inch/47 Mk 16 shells were used as a starting point to supply the 152 mm guns, as they were the same caliber and required relatively minor modifications for use in the French weapons.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Her 100 mm guns were retained, but her light anti-aircraft battery now consisted of fifty-six Bofors guns in quadruple mounts, all placed with their own Mk 51 gun director. These were arranged with two abreast the superfiring turret, two on either side of the forward tower, another two per side of the aft tower, and the remaining four on the quarterdeck, where the aircraft catapults had been. These guns were supplemented with fifty Oerlikon cannons, all in individual or twin mounts. Nine were placed on the forecastle aft of the breakwater, four were mounted on the superfiring turret, nine were placed on the former aircraft hangar, with the rest dispersed around the superstructure, including on the towers and the shelter deck.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: "Richelieu"s tower foremast was heavily reconfigured; the upper main battery director, which had never been operational and had been removed to allow the ship to clear the Brooklyn Bridge, was left off. In its place, the radome for the SF surface search radar was installed, along with the mattress antenna for the SA-2 air search radar; these were short-range sets that had been designed for small craft, the SA-2 intended for PT boats. Most of the command spaces in the tower were converted for other uses. The fire control systems for the main battery had to be replaced and those for the secondary guns were repaired with new wiring and telephones. The ship's original Anschütz gyrocompasses were replaced with Sperry models. The ship's propulsion system was thoroughly overhauled: the turbines were thoroughly repaired and the boilers were re-tubed. Much of the wiring throughout the ship was replaced, and a degaussing cable was installed.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: To repair the hull, the concrete was broken up and removed, the sections that had been most badly damaged by the torpedo were stripped of all fittings, and deformed bulkheads and plating were cut out. After more than two and a half years without being dry-docked in a tropical port, the hull needed maintenance beyond simply repairing the torpedo damage, though given the conditions to which it had been subjected, it was in fairly good condition. It was sandblasted and those sections of plating that exhibited pitting had new plates welded over the top. The starboard propeller shafts also required repairs: the mounting brackets were straightened, but the inboard shaft was too badly damaged and had to be replaced. Bethlehem Steel fabricated a replacement that was installed in June. The bottom row of portholes were closed off, as the increase in displacement pushed them closer to the waterline.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Beginning in late August and continuing into mid-September, "Richelieu" began firing trials in the Chesapeake Bay; firing the main battery forward on 29 August revealed the need for a blast screen to protect the forecastle 20 mm guns, as the test accidentally destroyed two of the guns and their ammunition lockers. With her normal displacement now at and her hull slightly bowed (possibly caused by the torpedo hit), "Richelieu" began machinery trials in late September. On 25 September, the ship reached her new top speed of , cruising at that speed for thirty minutes, despite the deformation of her hull and the significant increase in displacement. The following day, she steamed for six hours at , for two hours at , and finally for fifty minutes at .


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: As completed, the ship's displacement had grown to normally and fully loaded; draft correspondingly increased to and , respectively. Compared to her original wartime crew of 1,569 officers and men, "Richelieu" was now to be manned by a total of 1,930, amounting to 86 officers, 287 petty officers, and 1,557 men. The major increase in complement was largely the result of the additional anti-aircraft guns and radar systems. The ship conducted further trials into October, and on the 14th the ship was finally ready to get underway for European waters.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Escorted by the destroyers and , "Richelieu" departed the US on 14 October, nominally bound for Gibraltar. The destroyers departed while underway, allowing "Richelieu" to keep up a speed of in heavy seas. The ship stopped in the Azores, Portugal, where she met the French destroyers and and the British destroyer , which was limited to a speed of ; "Active" quickly left the group, which proceeded not to Gibraltar, but to Mers El Kébir. There, she replenished supplies; it had been intended to deploy the ship with the Mediterranean Fleet, but Italy had surrendered in September, removing the threat posed by the Italian "Littorio"-class battleships. "Richelieu" was instead sent north to join the Home Fleet, which included the four surviving s. When "Richelieu" departed the Mediterranean, Cunningham, now the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, recommended to the Admiralty that she be fitted with gunnery radars. The ship was escorted by the destroyers and , and on arrival in Scapa Flow, Admiral Bruce Fraser, the Home Fleet commander, inspected the battleship on 24 November. Work began immediately on installing a Type 284 gunnery radar while the ship began an intensive period of training to acclimate the ship's crew to operating with British units.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The ship saw little activity over the winter of 1943–1944 until February 1944, when she took part in Operation Posthorn. "Richelieu", the battleship , and the carrier departed Scapa Flow on 10 February for a raid on German shipping off occupied Norway. The objective was to lure the German heavy cruisers in the area so that the two battleships could destroy them. The carrier aircraft achieved little, sinking a single freighter of 3,000 tons and damaging a repair ship while trading one of the Supermarine Seafire fighters for a German Bf 109 fighter. The fleet returned to port on the 12th, and "Richelieu" thereafter went to Rosyth for ten days to rest the crew. A repeat sweep was to have taken place at the end of the month, but two of the escorting destroyers collided while leaving Scapa Flow, leading to a postponement that became permanent as a result of bad weather. In March, the Allies determined that five battleships to counter the battleship (which had been damaged in September 1943) was excessive. As a result, "Richelieu" was detached for other operations. The Allied command initially considered employing her to support the invasion of Normandy, but as she was only supplied with armor-piercing shells, she was instead sent to reinforce the British Eastern Fleet, along with a group of escort aircraft carriers.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The ship accordingly steamed to Greenock to take on fuel and ammunition, before cruising south to the Mediterranean with an escort of three British destroyers. She stopped in Algiers on 26 March to take on additional supplies; there, she was visited by General Henri Giraud and Admiral André Lemonnier. "Richelieu" thereafter departed for the Suez Canal, steaming at a speed of ; while underway, she began to experience significant boiler problems. The boiler blowers were not providing sufficient oxygen, so the boilers were not fully burning the fuel. As a result, the boiler tubes quickly became fouled and caused overheating. "Richelieu" stopped in Aden for repairs to the boiler tubes, but the problem was not corrected.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: On entering the Indian Ocean, "Richelieu" picked up an escort consisting of the destroyers , , and . The four ships arrived in Trincomalee, Ceylon on 10 April, where they joined an Allied fleet that included the carriers and , the battleships and , and numerous cruisers and destroyers, commanded by Admiral James Somerville. On 16 April, the Eastern Fleet got underway for Operation Cockpit, a diversionary raid to distract the Japanese while American forces landed at Hollandia in New Guinea. Somerville divided his fleet into two squadrons; "Richelieu" served in Force 69, the main element, with "Queen Elizabeth" and "Valiant", while "Renown" operated with the two carriers. The plan for Operation Cockpit called for carrier strikes on the port of Sabang, Netherlands East Indies. The fleet arrived in position early on 19 April, and after the carrier aircraft struck the port, Japanese bombers counter-attacked and "Richelieu" engaged the aircraft with her 100 mm and 40 mm batteries.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The next major operation conducted by the Eastern Fleet, Operation Transom, was timed to coincide with American operations in the Central Pacific to keep the attention of the Japanese fleet based in Singapore focused away from the American fleet. For this operation, the target was the major base at Surabaya, which also had significant oil refinery facilities. The Eastern Fleet got underway on 7 May and stopped to refuel on 15 May before arriving two days later. The strike proceeded uneventfully for "Richelieu" and on 18 May the American contingent detached to rejoin the main American fleet in the Pacific while the Eastern Fleet returned to Trincomalee, arriving on 27 May. Two days later, "Richelieu", "Queen Elizabeth", and six destroyers steamed to Colombo to rest their crews. While there, "Richelieu" was visited by Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of the South-East Asia Theatre. On 31 May, "CV" Merveilleux du Vignaux replaced Marzin as the ship's commander.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Somerville planned another raid for mid-June: Operation Pedal, a carrier attack on the harbor of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. The purpose of the attack was to again distract the Japanese fleet units in Singapore while American forces embarked on Operation Forager, the invasion of the Marianas Islands. For the Anglo-French operation, Somerville took only the fast ships, including "Richelieu", "Renown", and "Illustrious" with their accompanying cruiser and destroyer screens. These ships, designated Force 60, sortied on 19 June and two days later, "Illustrious" aircraft struck Japanese targets in the port. The ships arrived back in Trincomalee on 23 June. Operation Crimson followed in July, and given the lack of a response from the Japanese fleet to the earlier raids, Somerville decided to use his battleships and battlecruiser to bombard Sabang and Sumatra. "Richelieu" and the other ships conducted shooting practice on 7, 14–15, and 17 July in preparation for the raid. The plan called for "Richelieu", "Valiant", "Queen Elizabeth", and "Renown", supported by cruisers, to shell the port at longer range while the Dutch cruiser led a group of destroyers in a close-range attack. "Illustrious", joined by the carrier , which had recently arrived, provided air cover to the fleet.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The Eastern Fleet departed on 22 July and reached the target on the morning of 25 July; the carriers launched their combat air patrols and the surface combatants steamed to approach their targets. "Richelieu" was the last vessel in the line, astern of "Renown". "Queen Elizabeth", the leading battleship, opened fire at 06:54 at a range of . The other ships quickly followed suit and F4U Corsair fighters circled overhead to spot for the ships' guns. "Richelieu" fired four-gun salvos, with two guns per turret, and she scored hits with the second salvo, demolishing several buildings and damaging the power station. Her secondary turrets neutralized a Japanese coastal artillery battery that had been engaging "Tromp". At 07:15, the ships ceased firing, and in the brief bombardment, "Richelieu" had fired 81 main battery APC shells—this amounted to a rate of fire of a salvo every 50 seconds, nearly twice as fast as the British ships. Japanese aircraft attacked the fleet as it withdrew, but they were kept at bay by the carriers' fighters and heavy anti-aircraft fire from the ships. The fleet arrived back in Trincomalee on 27 July.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: By this time, "Richelieu" was beginning to suffer from reduced speed, the result of continued boiler trouble and biofouling of her hull. Admiral Laurence E. Power, who had replaced Somerville as the fleet commander, detached "Richelieu" for a refit. The British had initially offered the floating dry-dock "AFD-23", but Merveilleux du Vignaux believed that the dry-dock would not be able to accommodate a vessel the size of his ship (he proved to be correct when on 8 August, "AFD-23" capsized with "Valiant" aboard). "Richelieu" left on 6 September, bound for Algiers with three escorting destroyers. "Le Terrible" and "Le Fantasque" took over escort duties after "Richelieu" passed through the Suez Canal, and on 23 September the three ships arrived in Algiers. "Richelieu" then steamed north to Toulon on 1 October where she was visited again by Lemonnier, but the shipyard there was in ruins, so she moved to Casablanca on 10 October to be refitted. In addition to the hull cleaning and boiler repairs, she had new fire control and search radars installed, including a US SG-1 search radar, British Type-281B air search radar, and Type-285P fire control radars, in addition to other equipment, including an FV1 jammer and high-frequency direction finding gear.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: On 23 January 1945, "Richelieu" left Casablanca for Gibraltar, arriving there two days later to have her hull cleaned and repainted. The French sought to deploy an independent task force consisting of "Richelieu", the four light cruisers still in service, and four destroyers, with a view toward reestablishing French control in Indochina. But the United States opposed the move and refused to allocate the aircraft carriers and support ships that would have been necessary for another independent fleet, and so "Richelieu" could only be sent, alone, back to the Eastern Fleet. The ship conducted trials in February that revealed the problem with her boilers had finally been corrected and she thereafter got underway for Trincomalee, arriving on 20 March. By this time, the modern elements of the Eastern Fleet had been detached to form the British Pacific Fleet, with the Eastern Fleet being renamed the East Indies Fleet. This unit, still under Power's command, consisted of "Queen Elizabeth" and "Renown", nine cruisers, ten escort carriers, and twenty destroyers. Japanese naval strength at Singapore had also significantly decreased to just four heavy cruisers and several destroyers.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: For the next few weeks, "Richelieu" was occupied with shooting drills with her primary and secondary batteries and tests for the anti-aircraft radars and command systems. Now assigned to Force 63 of the East Indies Fleet, "Richelieu" sortied on 8 April to take part in Operation Sunfish, another bombardment of Sabang while aircraft scouted possible landing beaches near the city of Padang on the coast of Sumatra. The ships allocated for the operation consisted of "Richelieu", "Queen Elizabeth", two heavy cruisers, two escort carriers, and five destroyers. Early on 11 April, the two battleships, one of the cruisers, and three destroyers bombarded the island while the other vessels conducted the reconnaissance operation. "Richelieu" fired seven salvos with her main battery and used her secondary guns to once again silence the coastal battery on the island. Japanese aircraft launched a poorly-coordinated attack on the battleships but they failed to score any hits. After further carrier operations around Padang, the fleet returned to port on 20 April.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The next major operation followed a week later. Operation Bishop, a strike against Japanese airfields in the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, was to cover British Army landings at Rangoon in Burma. The plan called for the East Indies Fleet to be divided into multiple groups, each with escorting cruisers and destroyers: four of the escort carriers were to directly support the landings, "Richelieu" and "Queen Elizabeth" each formed independent surface action groups, and another pair of escort carriers provided air protection for the surface groups. The fleet got underway on 27 April and reached Car Nicobar two days later. "Richelieu" bombarded the airfields at a range of , firing a total of 80 main and 45 secondary shells. She incurred minor damage to her bow 20 mm guns from the blast effects of firing the main battery nearly directly forward. The fleet then proceeded to the Andamans, and at 17:30, "Richelieu" opened fire at Port Blair; poor visibility hampered her shooting, and she ceased fire at 18:07, by now having expended the main battery ammunition that had been allotted for the bombardment. She nevertheless returned on 2 May to shell the harbor with her secondary guns, firing 120 rounds and inflicting significant damage to the harbor facilities. The fleet steamed north to Rangoon to support the landings, but it was discovered that the Japanese had already withdrawn, allowing the fleet to return to Trincomalee on 8 May.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: A decrypted Japanese radio signal revealed that the cruiser and the destroyer were to steam from Singapore to Port Blair to evacuate the garrison there on the night of 12–13 May while another transport vessel would pick up the troops at Car Nicobar. On 9 May, a pair of British submarines spotted "Haguro" as it passed through the Malacca Strait, so the East Indies Fleet launched Operation Dukedom to intercept the Japanese ships. "Richelieu" steamed with the heavy cruiser as Group 3 of Force 61. Aware that Allied ships were at sea, "Haguro" and "Kamikaze" turned back, though they were spotted by aircraft from the escort carriers and then sunk by destroyers of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla before "Richelieu" and "Cumberland" could arrive. Japanese aircraft attacked the fleet as it withdrew back to Trincomalee but were, once again, poorly coordinated and they failed to damage the ships. "Richelieu" arrived in port on 18 May.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: On arrival, the ship took on additional ammunition and fuel, and over the coming weeks, she underwent repairs to her boilers and took part in shooting practice. The bombardments carried out earlier in the year had revealed excessive dispersion of the main battery shells, particularly if both guns on one side of the turret were fired at the same time. The crew at that time was unable to determine the cause of the problem, though tests with the remanufactured "Strasbourg" charges reduced the problem. On 3 June, the destroyer arrived with spare equipment for "Richelieu", which was sent to Durban for another refit. Her hull again needed to be scraped and her boilers required a re-tubing. The ship had to stop in Diego Suarez on the way to disembark non-white crewmen at the request of the racist government of South Africa; though this caused resentment among the crew, the French nevertheless complied. "Richelieu" arrived on 18 July and work lasted from 31 July to 10 August. Thirteen of the ship's 20 mm guns were replaced with four 40 mm guns, as the lighter weapons had proved to be ineffective against kamikazes. The ship conducted training and trials of South Africa before departing for Diego Suarez, ultimately arriving back in Trincomalee on 18 August, by which time Japan had surrendered.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: Immediately after the surrender of Japan, French and British forces began their attempts to reassert control in their Japanese-occupied colonies. On 7 September, "Richelieu" got underway in company with the British battleship to take part in Operation Zipper, the amphibious landing on Sumatra. Two days later, "Richelieu" detonated a magnetic mine, though she suffered only minor damage; the force of the blast pushed in some hull plates by and inflicted minor shock damage to the lighting system, but the vessel remained with the fleet. After landing the troops with no opposition, "Richelieu" moved to Singapore on 11 September to participate in Operation Tiderace, the liberation of the city, the following day. She returned to Trincomalee on 16 September before getting underway again on 27 September, bound for Indochina. She steamed with "Le Triomphant" as escorts for the transport ships and , which carried French soldiers to restore colonial rule in Indochina. French rule was opposed by the Viet Minh, and on arrival "Richelieu" was used to support the forces ashore in a variety of capacities: she served as a staging area, hospital, artillery support, and troop transport. She also contributed a landing party to the forces fighting to reassert French control.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: "Richelieu", "Le Triomphant", and "Le Fantasque" took part in Operation Mapor at Nha Trang from 20 to 26 November, providing heavy fire support to soldiers fighting in the area. By this time, a French squadron consisting of the aircraft carrier and the cruisers , , and had arrived in mid-October, allowing "Richelieu" to be returned to France. Before leaving, "Richelieu" sent her four single 40 mm guns and most of her 20 mm guns ashore, along with a considerable stockpile of ammunition for the guns and 152 mm shells. She departed on 29 December and arrived in Toulon on 11 February 1946, thereafter taking part in the transport effort to send French soldiers back from France to North Africa. With that completed, she steamed north to Cherbourg, arriving to be dry-docked on 16 March. Repairs lasted until 20 July, and consisted of replacing the starboard propeller, correcting the hull damage from the mine in September 1945, and thoroughly overhauling her boilers.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: With the repairs completed, "Richelieu" sailed to Britain to carry the crew for the aircraft carrier , which was to be loaned to the French for five years, serving as "Arromanches". "Richelieu" thereafter began a training cruise that included stops in Casablanca, Mers-el-Kébir, and Dakar. Later that year, she visited Portugal in company with "Arromanches". She returned to Brest for modifications to the secondary battery from February to March 1947. The ship thereafter formed the core of a battle group that included three ex-German destroyers, based in Cherbourg. The group, along with a carrier group centered on "Arromanches" and cruiser group, both based in Toulon, were combined to form the "Force d'Intervention", with "Richelieu" as the flagship of "Vice Amiral" (Vice Admiral) Robert Jaujard. The unit embarked on a training cruise to Africa in May and June, beginning with the three groups assembling in Casablanca on 8 May. "Richelieu" arrived back in Cherbourg on 13 June and began a period of maintenance and training of new crew members. Another training cruise to North Africa followed late in 1947, and while there she conducted shooting practice to try to determine the cause of the excessive shell dispersion. The subsequent installation of 60-millisecond delays to the firing circuits of the outer guns in the turrets created enough space between the shells that they did not disrupt each other in flight, significantly improving the issue.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: The "Force d'Intervention" was reactivated for another cruise in early 1948; the three constituent groups rendezvoused at Toulon and then conducted training exercises off North Africa. While in Mers-el-Kébir, the ship was slightly damaged while being moored in the port. Following the conclusion of the maneuvers, the force was disbanded and "Richelieu" steamed north to Brest, arriving on 29 May. The ship was in need of a thorough refit, and she was dry-docked in Cherbourg from August to September to survey the work that would be needed to be done. Jaujard left the ship and her crew was reduced to 750 men. Since the French naval budget was in a very limited state owing to the wrecked French economy in the immediate postwar years, "Richelieu"s refit was postponed to allow the funds to be used to complete "Jean Bart" instead. "Richelieu" was accordingly placed in reserve on 1 April 1949. The refit eventually began on 1 January 1950 and lasted until 24 October 1951, and it included a thorough overhaul of her propulsion machinery, replacement of her worn main and secondary battery guns, and repairs to her anti-aircraft battery, along with other modifications.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: During the refit, it was decided that the ship's anti-aircraft battery was too dated to allow the ship to operate in the era of jet aircraft; coupled with the need to update the ship's radar and electronics and install more capable command spaces, the costs would have been prohibitively high for the French Navy. Instead of fully modernizing the vessel, the navy decided to employ "Richelieu" as a training ship in the gunnery school in February 1951. After completing the refit, the ship underwent trials in November that involved firing nine rounds per gun from the main battery; this would be the last time "Richelieu" fired the 380 mm guns. Beginning in May 1952, the ship was based in Toulon as the flagship of "CA" Champion, and she spent the next few years conducting shooting practice with the secondary and smaller weapons to train the fleet's gunners. Another refit followed from October 1953 to February 1954. This involved replacing the British gunnery radar with a French-built set.


title: French battleship Richelieu

text: For the first and last time of either of their careers, "Richelieu" and "Jean Bart" cruised together on 30 January 1956. The ship's career as a sea-going gunnery ship ended in February, when she was laid up in Brest. To prepare "Richelieu" for reserve, dehumidifiers were installed in the secondary turrets to inhibit rust and the 100 mm and 40 mm quad mounts were covered. The single 40 mm guns and all of the 20 mm guns still aboard the vessel were removed. She was thereafter used as a stationary school ship for reserve officers and as a floating barracks until 30 September 1967, when she was struck from the naval register. Renamed "Q432", she was condemned on 16 January 1968 and sold to the Genoa-based ship breaker Cantieri Navali Santa Maria in September. Before she departed Brest, the four 380 mm guns of Turret I were removed and two were later preserved, one in Brest and the other in Ruelle. "Richelieu" was then towed to La Spezia, where she was broken up for scrap over the course of the following year.


title: Foodservice

text: The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats.


title: Foodservice

text: Suppliers to foodservice operators are foodservice distributors, who provide small wares (kitchen utensils) and foods. Some companies manufacture products in both consumer and food service versions. The consumer version usually comes in individual-sized packages with elaborate label design for retail sale. The foodservice version is packaged in a much larger industrial size and often lacks the colorful label designs of the consumer version.


title: Foodservice

text: The food system, including food service and food retailing supplied $1.24 trillion worth of food in 2010 in the US, $594 billion of which was supplied by food service facilities, defined by the USDA as any place which prepares food for immediate consumption on site, including locations that are not primarily engaged in dispensing meals such as recreational facilities and retail stores. Full-service and fast food restaurants account for 77% of all foodservice sales, with full-service restaurants accounting for just slightly more than fast food in 2010. The shifts in the market shares between fast food and full-service restaurants to market demand changes the offerings of both foods and services of both types of restaurants.


title: Foodservice

text: According to the National Restaurant Association a growing trend among US consumers for the foodservice industry is global cuisine with 66% of US consumers eating more widely in 2015 than in 2010, 80% of consumers eating 'ethnic' cuisines at least once a month, and 29% trying a new 'ethnic' cuisine within the last year.


title: Foodservice

text: The Foodservice distributor market size is as of 2015 $231 billion in the US; the national broadline market is controlled by US Foods and Sysco which combined have 60-70% share of the market and were blocked from merging by the FTC for reasons of market power.


title: Foodservice

text: Foodservice foods tends to be, on average, higher in calories and lower in key nutrients than foods prepared at home. Many restaurants, including fast food, have added more salads and fruit offerings and either by choice or in response to local legislation provided nutrition labeling.


title: Foodservice

text: In the US, the FDA is moving towards establishing uniform guidelines for fast food and restaurant labeling, proposed rules were published in 2011 and final regulations published on 1 December 2014 which supersede State and local menu-labeling provisions, going into effect 1 December 2015. Research has shown that the new labels may influence consumer choices, but primarily if it provides unexpected information and that health-conscious consumers are resistant to changing behaviors based on menu labeling Fast food restaurants are expected by the ERS to do better under the new menu labeling than full-service restaurants as full-service restaurants tend to offer much more calorie-dense foods, with 50% of fast food meals being between 400 and 800 calories and less than 20% above 1000 calories, in contrast, full-service restaurants 20% of meals are above 1,400 calories. When consumers are aware of the calorie counts at full-service restaurants 20% choose lower calorie options and consumers also reduce their calorie intake over the rest of the day.


title: Foodservice

text: Eating one meal away from home each week translates to 2 extra pounds each year or a daily increase of 134 calories and a decrease in diet quality by 2 points on the Healthy Eating Index.


title: Foodservice

text: In addition; the likelihood of contracting a food-borne illness (such as typhoid and hepatitis B, or diseases caused by E. coli, H. pylori, Listeria, Salmonella, and Norovirus) is greatly increased due to food not being kept below or cooked to a temperature of higher than , not washing hands for at least 20 seconds for food handlers or not washing contaminated cutting boards and other kitchen tools in hot water.


title: Foodservice

text: Counter service is food ordered by the customer at the counter and either picked up at the counter by the customer or delivered to the table by restaurant staff. It is common in fast food restaurants in the United States, and in pubs and bars in the United Kingdom (see: Table meal).


title: Foodservice

text: Table service is food ordered by the customer at the table and served to the customer's table by waiters and waitresses, also known as "servers". Table service is common in most restaurants. With table service, the customer generally pays at the end of meal. Various methods of table service can be provided, such as silver service.


title: Foodservice

text: The provision of safe food for foodservice specifies the requirements for the design, implementation, and maintenance of prerequisite programmes (PRPs) to assist in controlling food safety hazards in catering. A technical specification is provided as an international standard, ISO/TS 22002-2:2013 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 2: Catering. This technical specification is part of the ISO 22000 family of standards. The scope includes catering, air catering, railway catering, banquets, among others, in central and satellite units, school and industry dining rooms, hospitals and healthcare facilities, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, food services, and food stores.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: Valentín Mariano José Castellanos Giménez (born 3 October 1998), also known by his nickname Taty Castellanos, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Girona, on loan from Major League Soccer club New York City FC.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: Castellanos started his club career in the youth academy of Universidad de Chile. He made his senior team debut in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana against Corinthians playing 14 minutes. He then moved to Torque on a one-year loan in July 2017. While on loan, he scored two goals in 11 appearances and helped the club win the Segunda Division title and secure promotion to Uruguay's top flight. On 1 July 2018, his move from Universidad de Chile to Torque was made permanent.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: On 27 July 2018, he joined Major League Soccer side New York City FC on loan until the end of the 2018 season. In his first match with New York City FC, he started and scored a goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. New York City exercised their option to buy Castellanos on 29 November 2018, ahead of the 2019 season.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: In 2019, Castellanos played an integral role in New York City's attack, scoring 11 times and adding seven assists in 30 matches. This form helped NYCFC finish atop the Eastern Conference standings and qualify for their first CONCACAF Champions League.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: In 2020, Castellanos declined in his production, scoring six goals and adding three assists in 22 matches during a season shortened by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Castellanos suffered from an inability to finish chances as he had an xG/90 of 0.65, but ended the season with G/90 of only 0.40. NYCFC would finish fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. During the first round of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Castellanos had his initial penalty in a shootout vs. Orlando City saved, but VAR overturned the call due to goalkeeper Pedro Gallese leaving the goal line early. He scored his second penalty but NYCFC lost 6–5 in the shootout, eliminating them from the playoffs.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: Castellanos was able to finish much more consistently during the 2021 season, becoming only the fifth player in MLS history to score in each of their club's first four matches. Shortly after this milestone, on 13 May 2021, Castellanos signed a new deal with NYCFC through 2025. Castellanos again played an integral role in New York City's attack throughout the 2021 season. He significantly improved his G/90 to 0.62 and raised his xG/90 to 0.70 showing improvement in his movement, creation ability, and finishing. He was especially good near the season's conclusion, scoring 12 goals in NYCFC's last 14 matches. During this stretch, he was awarded MLS Player of the Month for August and the NYCFC Player of the Month for both August and September. He ended the season as the team's leading scorer with 19 goals and added eight assists, winning the MLS Golden Boot over DC United's Ola Kamara on the assist tiebreaker. Castellanos also led the league in shots and shots on target with 132 and 57, respectively. Castellanos scored in all three of his 2021 MLS Cup Playoff appearances, including the first goal of the 2021 MLS Cup, which NYCFC won on penalties, giving Castellanos the first domestic trophy of his career.


title: Valentín Castellanos

text: In October 2019, Castellanos was called up for the first time to the Argentina national under-23 football team by coach Fernando Batista for two friendly matches against Mexico.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Cristian Tello Herrera (; born 11 August 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.


title: Cristian Tello

text: He spent his youth at Espanyol and Barcelona, playing for both clubs' reserves before breaking through into the first team of the latter. He also spent one and a half seasons in Portugal with Porto and as many in Italy with Fiorentina. He returned Spain with Betis in 2017, where he made 172 total appearances and scored 24 goals, winning the Copa del Rey in 2022.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello represented Spain at the 2012 Olympics, and was part of the under-21 squad which won the European Championship in 2013. He won his only full cap in 2013.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia, Tello started playing at the age of eight with CFU Can Rull, moving to FC Barcelona shortly after and being loaned to another club in the region, CF Damm, for one year.


title: Cristian Tello

text: In 2008, his contract expired and RCD Espanyol signed him. He made his senior debut in the 2009–10 season, playing four games with the B team and being relegated from the Segunda División B.


title: Cristian Tello

text: In June 2010, Tello moved back to FC Barcelona Atlètic, who competed in the Segunda División. On 9 November 2011 he made his debut for "Barça"'s main squad, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against CE L'Hospitalet in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey; he scored a brace in the second leg, a 9–0 demolition.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello made his first La Liga appearance on 28 January 2012, coming on as a substitute for Adriano in the 75th minute of a 0–0 draw at Villarreal CF. The following weekend, in his first league start, he opened the score in the eighth minute of a 2–1 home victory over Real Sociedad after a through ball by Lionel Messi.


title: Cristian Tello

text: On 7 March 2012, Tello replaced Andrés Iniesta early into the second half of a match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Camp Nou, taking his bow in the UEFA Champions League: he scored his first goal within two minutes, after Cesc Fàbregas played him through over the top and he ran from the halfway line to net from just inside the penalty area for the 4–0; six minutes later, from a similar position, he made it 6–0 for the hosts in an eventual 7–1 win (10–2 on aggregate).


title: Cristian Tello

text: Even though his future initially seemed uncertain, Tello managed to convince new manager Tito Vilanova and stayed in roster for the 2012–13 campaign, inclusively going on to start in several games. On 19 September 2012 he scored the opener and assisted Messi in the second goal, in a 3–2 home defeat of FC Spartak Moscow in the Champions League group stage, where he was also chosen as "Player of the match".


title: Cristian Tello

text: On 13 December 2012, Tello signed a new contract with Barcelona, keeping him with the "Blaugrana" until June 2016. Nine days later, he scored after only 30 seconds on the pitch in the last play of the 3–1 away win over Real Valladolid.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello fell further down the offensive pecking order in 2013–14, following the arrival of Neymar. He scored his first goal of the season on 11 December in a 6–1 home rout of Celtic in the Champions League group phase, and six days later he also found the net, in a 3–0 victory against FC Cartagena in the domestic cup (7–1 on aggregate). In the quarter-finals of the latter competition, away to Levante UD, he profited from three Messi assists to score his first hat-trick as a professional as his team won 4–1.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello was loaned to FC Porto of the Primeira Liga on 16 July 2014, in a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club on 25 November, entering as a substitute for Ricardo Quaresma and concluding a 3–0 win at FC BATE Borisov in the group stage of the Champions League. Five days later, he netted his first league goal, the opener in a 5–0 home win over Rio Ave FC. On 1 March 2015, he scored all of his side's goals as they beat Sporting CP 3–0.


title: Cristian Tello

text: On 22 January 2016, Barcelona and ACF Fiorentina reached an agreement for the loan of Tello until 30 June 2016. He made his Serie A debut on 3 February, starting a 2–1 defeat of Carpi F.C. 1909 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and scored his first goal 18 days later in a 3–2 victory at Atalanta BC.


title: Cristian Tello

text: On 30 June 2017, Tello joined Real Betis on a five-year deal for €4 million. He made his debut from the bench on 25 August in a 2–1 home win over RC Celta de Vigo, and scored his first goal on 15 October as a consolation in a 6–3 loss to Valencia CF also at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. On 30 November, he netted twice in a 5–3 defeat (6–5 aggregate) to fellow Andalusians Cádiz CF in the last 32 of the domestic cup.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello scored four league goals in each of his first two seasons. In 2019–20 he rarely started under manager Rubi and was linked to January moves to Espanyol or Celta; he stayed and scored the late winner against Real Madrid on 8 March.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello scored five goals in 2020–21. On 22 May 2021, as the campaign ended with qualification for the UEFA Europa League via a 3–2 comeback win at Celta, he came on as a half-time substitute and received the first sending-off of his career for two yellow cards in as many minutes.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello contributed six appearances and one goal as his side won the 2021–22 Spanish Cup. This included nine minutes of the final against Valencia CF.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello signed a three-year deal with Los Angeles FC on 26 August 2022, with his $1.78 million salary being one of the highest in Major League Soccer. He made his debut on 13 September as a substitute in a 1–1 draw at Minnesota United FC, as his team ended the season with the Supporters' Shield. In the championship game, he came on in extra time as LAFC defeated the Philadelphia Union in a penalty shootout for their first MLS Cup; he took and missed the first attempt.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello was a member of the Spanish squad that participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, playing all three games in an eventual group stage exit. He made his only appearance with the full side on 14 August 2013, starting in a 2–0 friendly win in Ecuador.


title: Cristian Tello

text: Tello also represented the unofficial Catalonia team, making his debut on 2 January 2013 in a 1–1 draw with Nigeria.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Cycas revoluta (Sotetsu [Japanese ソテツ], sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm) is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago, as well as an ornamental plant. The sago cycad can be distinguished by a thick coat of fibers on its trunk. The sago cycad is sometimes mistakenly thought to be a palm, although the only similarity between the two is that they look similar and both produce seeds. The leaves grow from the trunk and start out as small leaves near the centre of the plant.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Cycads' only relations to the true palms (Arecaceae) is that both are vascular plants and seed plants. The Latin specific epithet "revoluta" means "curled back", in reference to the leaves. This is also called kungi (comb) palm in Urdu speaking areas.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk that is typically about in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very low to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age. It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch several times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: The leaves are a deep semiglossy green and about long when the plants are of a reproductive age. They grow out into a feather-like rosette to in diameter. The crowded, stiff, narrow leaflets are long and have strongly recurved or revolute edges. The basal leaflets become more like spines. The petiole or stems of the sago cycad are long and have small protective barbs.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Roots are called "coralloid" with an "Anabaena" symbiosis allowing nitrogen fixation. Tannins-rich cells are found on either side of the algal layer to resist the algal invasion.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: As with other cycads, it is dioecious, with the males bearing pollen cones (strobilus) and the females bearing groups of megasporophylls. Pollination can be done naturally by insects or artificially.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Propagation of "Cycas revoluta" is either by seed or clonally by removal of basal offsets. It is one of the most widely cultivated cycads, grown outdoors in warm temperate and subtropical regions, or under glass in colder areas. It grows best in sandy, well-drained soil, preferably with some organic matter. It needs good drainage or it will rot. It is fairly drought-tolerant and grows well in full sun or outdoor shade, but needs bright light when grown indoors. The leaves can bleach somewhat if moved from indoors to full sun outdoors.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Of all the cycads, "C. revoluta" is the most popular in cultivation. It is seen in almost all botanical gardens, in both temperate and tropical locations. In many areas of the world, it is heavily promoted commercially as a landscape plant. It is also quite popular as a bonsai plant. First described in the late 18th century, it is tolerant of mild to somewhat cold temperatures, provided the ground is dry. Frost damage can occur at temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F). "C. revoluta" usually defoliates in winter in this temperate climate, but will usually flush (grow) several new leaves by spring.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: The pith contains edible starch, and is used for making sago. Before use, the starch must be carefully washed to leach out toxins contained in the pith. Extracting edible starch from the sago cycad requires special care due to the poisonous nature of cycads. Cycad sago is used for many of the same purposes as palm sago. Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse flour and then washing it carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins. The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a starch similar to palm sago/sabudana. The cycad seed contains cycasin toxin and should not be eaten as it is possible for cycasin toxin to survive the most vigorous of repeated washings. Cycasin toxin can cause ALS, Parkinson's, prostate cancer and fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: "Aulacaspis yasumatsui" is a scale insect feeding on "C. revoluta", and unchecked is able to destroy the plant.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: The hydro-alcoholic extract of leaves of "C. revoluta" shows the presence of alkaloids, steroids and tannins while the chloroform extract shows the presence of saponins, tannins and sugars. Leaflets also contain biflavonoids. Estragole is the primary volatile compound emitted from the male and female cones of "C. revoluta".


title: Cycas revoluta

text: Cycad sago is extremely poisonous to animals (including humans) if ingested. Pets are at particular risk, since they seem to find the plant very palatable. Clinical symptoms of ingestion will develop within 12 hours, and may include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, seizures, and liver failure or hepatotoxicity characterized by icterus, cirrhosis, and ascites. The pet may appear bruised, have nose bleeds (epistaxis), melena (blood in the stool), hematochezia (bloody straining), and hemarthrosis (blood in the joints). The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center estimates a fatality rate of 50 to 75% when ingestion of the sago palm is involved. If any quantity of the plant is ingested, a poison control center or doctor should be contacted immediately. Effects of ingestion can include permanent internal damage and death.


title: Cycas revoluta

text: All parts of the plant are toxic; however, the seeds contain the highest level of the toxin cycasin. Cycasin causes gastrointestinal irritation, and in high enough doses, leads to liver failure. Other toxins include Beta-methylamino L-alanine, a neurotoxic amino acid, and an unidentified toxin which has been observed to cause hindlimb paralysis in cattle.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. In a standard 52-card pack these are the (knave or jack), the (lady or queen), and the (king). In addition, in Tarot packs, there is a (cavalier) ranking between the queen and the knave. Aside from these aspects, decks can include a wide variety of regional and national patterns, which often have different deck sizes. In comparison to Spanish, Italian, German, and Swiss playing cards, French cards are the most widespread due to the geopolitical, commercial, and cultural influence of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other reasons for their popularity were the simplicity of the suit insignia, which simplifies mass production, and the popularity of whist and contract bridge. The English pattern of French-suited cards is so widespread that it is also known as the International or Anglo-American pattern.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Playing cards arrived in Europe from Mamluk Egypt around 1370 and were already reported in France in 1377. The French suit insignia was derived from German suits around 1480. Between the transition from the suit of bells to tiles there was a suit of crescents.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: One of the most distinguishing features of the French cards is the queen. Mamluk cards and their derivatives, the Latin-suited and German-suited cards, all have three male face cards. Queens began appearing in Italian tarot decks in the mid-15th century and some German decks replaced two kings with queens. While other decks abandoned the queen in non-tarot decks, the French kept them and dropped the knight as the middle face card. Face card design was heavily influenced by Spanish cards that used to circulate in France. One of the most obvious traits inherited from Spain are the standing kings; kings from Italian, Portuguese, or Germanic cards are seated. Spanish-suited cards are still used in France, mostly in Northern Catalonia, and Brittany and the Vendée with the latter two using the archaic Aluette cards.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: In the 19th century, corner indices and rounded corners were added and cards became reversible, relieving players from having to flip face cards right-side up. The index for aces and face cards usually follow the local language but many decks of the Paris pattern use the numeral "1" for aces.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The French suited pack has spawned many regional variations known as standard patterns based on their artwork and deck size. The Paris pattern was heavily exported throughout continental Europe which is why most French-suited patterns share a similar appearance. The English pattern, based on the extinct Rouennais pattern, is the most well known pattern in the world. It is also called the International or Anglo-American pattern.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Note that patterns do not factor in Jokers as they are a very recent addition which leads to every manufacturer making their own trademarked depiction of this card. Almost all 52-card packs produced in the present will contain at least two jokers unless otherwise noted. In Germany, packs produced for the game of Zwicker even have six jokers.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Paris pattern came to dominate in France around 1780 and became known as the . From the 19th century to 1945, the appearance of the cards used for domestic consumption was regulated by the French government. All cards were produced on watermarked paper made by the state to show payment of the stamp tax. The most common deck sold in France is the 32-card deck with the 2 to 6 removed and 1s as the index for aces. 52-card packs are also popular. The French have a unique habit of associating their face cards with historical or mythical personages which survives only in the "portrait officiel".


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Belgian-Genoese pattern is very similar to its Parisian parent and is basically an export version not subject to France's domestic stamp tax. Hence they lack the usual French court card names such as Alexander, Judith and Lancelot. Other differences from the "portrait officiel" are that: the jack of clubs has a triangular shield bearing the coat of arms of the former Spanish Netherlands (this is the main distinguishing feature); blue is usually replaced with green in the portraits and the diagonal dividing line lacks the beads. When the Ottoman Empire relaxed the ban against playing cards, Belgian type cards flooded their territory and are now found throughout the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East. They are also commonly found in France's former colonies. Within Belgium, the Francophone Walloons are the primary users of this pattern, while the Flemish prefer the Dutch pattern. This is the second most common pattern in the world after the English pattern. Belgian packs come in either 32 or 52 cards as they do in France. It was named the Belgian-Genoese pattern because of its popularity in both places and is the national pattern of Belgium.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Genoese type cards are identical to Belgian ones and often lack corner indices. They come in 36 (lacking 2s to 5s), 40 (lacking 8s to 10s) or 52-card packs.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Piedmontese pattern is similar to the Genoese packs but its face cards have a horizontal instead of diagonal dividing line and the aces are found in a decorative garland. They also come in the same number of cards as Genoese ones. The Piedmontese pattern was once used in neighboring Savoy as both were previously united until France annexed the latter in 1860. A 78-card tarot version of the Piedmontese pattern, complete with knights, the fool, a suit of trumps depicting flowers, and corner indices, was printed in 1902 for Savoyard players. It was discontinued some time after 1910 but reproductions have been in print since 1984. The Chambéry rules that come with the deck are similar to Piedmontese tarot games but the ace ranked between the jack and the 10 like in Triomphe. It should not be confused with the Italian-suited Piedmontese tarot.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: A Parisian variant appeared in Bavaria in the mid-18th century where the king of diamonds wore a turban. This originates from the German-suited Old Bavarian pattern. The king of spades, who used to represent David, no longer holds a harp. This group is closely associated with animal tarots.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Russian pattern created during the early 19th-century is based on a Baltic version of a Bavarian derivative. The current appearance was finalized by Adolf Charlemagne. It usually contains 52 or 36 cards, the latter lacking ranks 2 to 5. The stripped deck is used to play Durak. They can be found in many countries that were once part of the Russian Empire or Soviet Union.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Adler-Cego is the last remaining animal tarot and is used in Germany's Black Forest to play Cego. The courts are based on a Frankfurt version of a Bavarian derivative. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 to 10 of the red suits and the 1 to 6 of the black suits are removed. Real and fictional animals are displayed on the trump suit but despite its name, eagles do not appear. Trumps have a pink panel in each end with an Arabic numeral to show its rank.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Industrie und Glück ("Diligence and Fortune") tarock deck of Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is organized in the same manner as the Adler-Cego decks. Its trumps abandoned the traditional allegorical motifs found in Italian tarocchi decks in favor of new, more whimsical scenes like depictions of rural life. The turban wearing king is now in the suit of spades.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: French-suited cards are popular in Central Europe and compete very well against local German playing cards. Hamburg was once a major card-producing hub where makers began revising the Paris pattern to create the Hamburg pattern. Early examples were made by Suhr (1814–28) in Hamburg itself, while other manufacturers of the pattern were based elsewhere in the German Empire, in Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland. The Hamburg cards generated a family of similar patterns, all of which have the King of Spades holding David's harp (the other hand holding a sceptre).


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The North-German pattern was created in Stralsund from a Hamburg derivative. It is familiarly known as the Berlin pattern, although this name arose from a misunderstanding about the origin of the cards which were formerly labelled as "Berliner Spielkarten" based on a finishing process used by that company. The crownless queens' hairstyles reflect the Biedermeier fashions of the day. They are usually in decks of 32 cards with the twos to sixes missing since skat, Germany's most popular card game, does not require a full deck. Decks of 36 cards (with the sixes) are for jass and tapp, a game played in Baden-Württemberg. Decks of 52 cards usually include three jokers but Zwickern decks have six jokers.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The French-Swiss pattern shares the same descent from the North-German pattern's Hamburg parent but their most distinguishing characteristic is that instead of having corner indices, white Arabic numerals are found within the pips closest to the corner. French-Swiss cards comes only in decks of 36 with no ranks from two to five.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Modern Portuguese pattern is a Parisian derivative from Germany. When it arrived in Portugal, the kings and jacks in hearts and diamonds swapped suits. The composition consists of 52 cards or until recently 40 cards. The latter had an unusual ranking (ace, king, jack, queen, eight, six–two). The jack ranking higher than the queen comes from the older Portuguese games where a female knave was outranked by the knight. They also use French-language indices.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Dutch pattern originates from Germany and shares the same parent as the Modern Portuguese pattern but with different queens. It was not produced in the Netherlands until the 1970s. Their most distinguishing feature are scenic aces. Also found in Flanders, they come in decks of 32 (no twos to sixes) or 52 cards.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Trente et Quarante pattern is named after the game it is associated with. Unlike other patterns, it is usually found only in casinos. Although of German origin, this pattern is now produced only in Italy. They consist of 52 cards and no indices.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Around 1870, Dondorf of Frankfurt produced the Rhineland pattern. The kings have very thick beards. They have fallen out of popularity in Germany but are very common in Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Baltic states. They come in decks of 24 (no 2s to 8s), 32 (no 2s to 6s), or 52 cards, the latter of which may have up to three jokers in some countries.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Tarot Nouveau or Bourgeois Tarot was designed by C.L. Wüst of Frankfurt in the mid-19th century. It is popular in Francophone Europe and Quebec and is also used in Denmark to play tarot games that require the full 78-card deck. Like the Industrie und Glück, the trumps depict genre scenes but modern editions use Arabic numerals instead of Roman ones.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Swedes used to use Bavarian derived patterns. In the early 20th-century, the firm Öberg & Son invented a new pattern unrelated to the old ones. This pattern has spread to neighboring Finland. The clothing for the figures in the court cards are color coordinated; green for spades, red for hearts, purple for clubs, and blue for diamonds. They are used in the standard 52-card format.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Card makers from Rouen began exporting to England around 1480. According to David Parlett, Latin-suited cards must have already been circulating in England since there is evidence of playing cards there from at least the 1450s and French suits were not invented until after 1470. This would then explain why the English renamed French suits to the Latin ones with which they were familiar. Hence the clovers were called clubs and pikes were named after the swords ("spade"). The English did not start producing their own cards until a century later. In 1628, the importation of foreign playing cards was banned to protect local manufacturers. English cardmakers produced lower-quality cards than their continental counterparts leading to the loss of detail from the Rouennais pattern. Today's pattern is the result of Charles Goodall and Son's reworking of the old Rouen pattern during the 19th century. The majority of decks sold in this pattern is the 52-card deck. One deck invented in the United States but more commonly found in Australia and New Zealand contains 11s, 12s, and red 13s to play the six-handed version of the Euchre variant 500. In the late nineteenth century, they were also used for variants of draw poker and royal cassino. Decks marketed for Canasta often have card point values printed on the cards.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Lyon was a major card exporter to German-speaking countries from the late 16th through the 18th centuries. While the Lyonnais pattern died out in most places, it survived in Austria and the Czech Republic and its modern incarnation is the Vienna pattern. Five types are recorded by the International Playing Card Society, all of them double-headed. Type A, also called the 'Large Crown' version of the pattern, emerged in the early 1800s and was based on the double-headed, Lyons export pattern, but with the crowns of the kings truncated by the frames of the cards and no discernible dividing line. The court figures are highly ornamented. Today's version by Piatnik is based on an 1885 Type A design by Neumayer.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Type C was the earliest of three Vienna pattern types that were around at the turn of the 19th century. It originated in Sopron and Saxony and went on to become the standard pattern in Bohemia before giving way in the mid-19th century to Type D, also called the 'Small Crown' version of the Vienna pattern, since the crowns of the kings are visible in their entirety within the card frame.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Type E appeared in the 1860s and, again, the crowns are partially cut off by the frames of the cards. It appears to have died out in the 1960s.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Today the Vienna pattern in Austria comes in pack of 24 (lacking the 2s to 8s), 32 (lacking 2s to 6s), or 52 cards, the last with corner indices and three jokers.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Lombard or Milanese pattern come in 40-card decks that is missing the 8s, 9s, and 10s and lack corner indices. The Lombard decks exported to Swiss Italian regions contain corner indices and also labels the ranks of the face cards. It is probably derived from the Lyonnais pattern and its offshoot, the extinct Provence pattern.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: The Tuscan or Florentine pattern, dating from the mid-19th century, is the only French-suited deck that is not reversible in the present. Cards measure 58 × 88 mm but the "Toscane Grandi" by Modiano are 67 × 101 mm large. It has the same composition of cards as the Lombard pattern. There was another pattern called "Tuscan" but it has ceased printing since the 1980s.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Dondorf of Frankfurt produced this pattern around 1900 and, today, it is used in Patience decks by many companies worldwide. The court cards are dressed in rococo period costumes and wear powdered wigs. The Kings are crowned and carry state regalia or, in the case of the King of Hearts, a pair of spectacles. The Queens, also crowned, sport jewellery; the Queen of Spades coquettishly brandishes a folding fan and the Queen of Diamonds a peacock feather fan. The Jacks are young gentlemen with tricorn hats. The Jack of Hearts carries a sword and the Jack of Spades a cane. The backs usually have ornate, often floral, designs. They were made by ASS (as "Baronesse"), by VEB Altenburger (as "Rokoko") and Coeur in the past. The earliest examples had no corner indices; they appeared from about 1906 onwards.


title: French-suited playing cards

text: Since 1914, Piatnik have produced a derivative pattern for several of their patience packs that are referred to as Rococo playing cards.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 billion in the fiscal 2019 operating year. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, a Canadian business conglomerate.


title: Sobeys

text: It is a participant in the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code managed by the Retail Council of Canada.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys was founded in Stellarton, Nova Scotia by John W. Sobey in 1907 as a meat delivery business. In 1924, his son Frank H. Sobey convinced him to expand into a full grocery business, serving the industrial Pictou County region. From that point until his death, Frank was the driving force behind the business. Sobeys opened its first self-serve supermarket in 1949.


title: Sobeys

text: The chain eventually expanded throughout Atlantic Canada. During most of the second half of the 20th century, it was the region's dominant grocer. In the 1980s, Sobeys expanded into southern Ontario, challenging Loblaws on its "home turf", thereby igniting what came to be a nationwide battle for market supremacy.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys had significant stakes in New England grocer Hannaford, Quebec grocer Provigo (which owned California grocer Petrini’s), and US wholesaler Nash Finch Company until the 1990s. In 1998, Sobeys became the second-largest grocer in the country after purchasing the Oshawa Group, owners of the IGA franchise across Canada, along with several regional chains in Ontario, in addition to various food service and wholesale companies.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2002, Sobeys undertook major changes in its store design and customer service policies with the introduction of "Ready to serve". This initiative was reportedly an attempt to emulate the successful moves of the Publix supermarket chain in the southern United States.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2005, Sobeys lost a bidding war with Quebec-based Metro to acquire A&P Canada, operator of several Ontario supermarket chains. The all-cash offer made by Sobeys was reportedly the highest bid for the chain, but the U.S. parent, The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, ultimately accepted Metro's $1.7 billion cash-and-stock offer. It is also suggested that the Sobey family was unwilling to cede any control to the Tengelmann Group, the ultimate parent company of A&P at the time. Though Sobeys remained the second largest grocery chain in Canada, it was the third place chain in most of the provinces outside the Atlantic region, and the successful purchase of A&P Canada would have helped to bolster its position in Ontario.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2007, Sobeys announced a $253 million takeover offer for the Thrifty Foods chain in British Columbia.


title: Sobeys

text: In September 2011, Sobeys' wholesale division signed a long-term distribution agreement with American retailer Target for the supply of select food and grocery products to its Canadian stores. In March 2012, Sobeys acquired 236 Shell gas station locations in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.


title: Sobeys

text: In June 2013, Sobeys announced the purchase of Safeway's Canadian operations for $5.8 billion, subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition added Safeway's 214 locations, primarily located in Western Canada, to its portfolio. As a condition of the deal imposed by the Competition Bureau in October 2013, Sobeys was required to sell 23 of its retail locations to other companies. Sobeys sold 29 of its locations, which included 18 Safeway stores. Fifteen were sold to Overwaitea Food Group (particularly in British Columbia and Alberta), and fourteen were sold to affiliates of Federated Co-operatives (particularly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) for $430 million in total. In June 2014, Sobeys announced that it would, in the wake of the Safeway purchase, close 50 of its "underperforming" locations. The stores affected were primarily in Western Canada, although some in Ontario and the Atlantic region were also affected. In 2015, Sobeys acquired certain assets and select liabilities of Co-op Atlantic.


title: Sobeys

text: In July 2016, Empire Company CEO Marc Poulin abruptly left the company after Sobeys reported a $942.6 million loss, which was credited to difficulties in integrating the Safeway chain into Sobeys overall operations. The "Financial Post" also reported that changes made by Sobeys, including the discontinuation of its popular loyalty program, the replacement of Safeway's house brands with Sobeys' brands, reports of poorly stocked inventories at Safeway locations, had impacted the chain's customer loyalty.


title: Sobeys

text: In January 2018, Sobeys announced an agreement with Ocado to open an e-commerce grocery fulfilment centre in Toronto during late 2020. In contrast, Sobeys-owned Thrifty Foods and IGA use their stores as fulfilment centres for online orders.


title: Sobeys

text: In late January 2018, Sobeys announced that it would, in the wake of the Safeway purchase, close an additional 10 of its "underperforming" locations. The stores affected were in the Fraser Valley Area of British Columbia in Western Canada, and were closed on May 5 with the exception of one of the ten stores that were closed on July 28. Some of the stores affected would reopen as FreshCo. As part of the FreshCo expansion in Western Canada, 22 locations have been confirmed, including the first two Chalo! FreshCo stores out West in Surrey, B.C.


title: Sobeys

text: In July 2019, Sobeys announced it will be switching from plastic to paper grocery bags in all its stores by the end of 2020.


title: Sobeys

text: The Sobeys private label lineup has had several names. They were introduced under the "Sobeys" name, and were renamed "Our Best" in the mid-1990s. After its purchase of Oshawa Group, Sobeys dropped "Our Best" in favour of Oshawa's "Our Compliments" brand.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2005, Sobeys shortened the name to "Compliments". At the same time, it expanded the brand's lineup to compete with labels such as Loblaw's President's Choice brand. From 2007–2010, they offered "Compliments Junior", aimed at children and co-branded with The Walt Disney Company.


title: Sobeys

text: In late 2009, lower-price store-brand products were transitioned from "Compliments Value" to the "Signal" brand, which Sobeys used in the 1990s for a range of similar products. After the Oshawa Group merger, Sobeys dropped that name for Oshawa's "Smart Choice" label, and later for "Compliments Value".


title: Sobeys

text: Private-label soft drinks are branded "Big 8" in Atlantic Canada. Elsewhere, soft drinks bear the Compliments brand.


title: Sobeys

text: In addition to the flagship Sobeys banner, the company operates supermarkets under a number of other banners:


title: Sobeys

text: IGA and IGA Extra are the main banners in the province of Quebec. There are also 35 Sobeys-owned IGA stores in Western Canada. An IGA store is also in mainly French-speaking Edmundston, New Brunswick, and an IGA Extra (a rebranded Sobeys location) is in Caraquet and Campbellton, New Brunswick. MarketPlace IGA stores in British Columbia are independently owned by H.Y. Louie, parent company of London Drugs. These stores also carry Compliments products. Sobeys has reportedly made unsuccessful attempts to purchase the MarketPlace chain.


title: Sobeys

text: At the time of the Sobeys takeover of the Oshawa Group, all IGA locations in Atlantic Canada were purchased separately by Loblaws for competition reasons. Loblaws converted these IGA locations to their own banners.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys operates the smaller grocery store Foodland chain, mainly in rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. Other smaller grocery stores are operated under the Tradition Markets banner in Quebec and the Food Town banner in Western Canada.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys operates Thrifty Foods, a chain of 26 grocery stores with an online grocery service based in Victoria, British Columbia.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2010, Sobeys launched FreshCo, a discount banner. The pilot stores are rebranded Price Chopper outlets in Southern Ontario. FreshCo uses a franchise model and the stores are independently owned.


title: Sobeys

text: In April 2019, FreshCo launched in Western Canada, opening three stores in British Columbia and two in Winnipeg, as well as two Chalo! FreshCo stores in British Columbia. They have since announced additional locations as part of its expansion into Western Canada. The Western Canadian stores are branded with the distinctive new FreshCo 2.0 look and feel, and an updated merchandising program that is also being used with FreshCo stores in Ontario. There are 7 locations that have been rebranded as Chalo FreshCo in areas with large South Asian Canadian communities.


title: Sobeys

text: In 2008, a uniquely designed urban-format Sobeys was opened in downtown Edmonton. It was closed in the summer of 2014; a Sobeys representative said, "It just wasn't financially viable for us to operate." Other Edmonton locations have been proposed, including College Heights and Cloverdale; as well as locations in Calgary and Vancouver.


title: Sobeys

text: In November 2013, Sobeys unveiled its first "Sobeys Extra" store in Burlington, Ontario. The newly refurbished 58,000-sq.-ft. store is the first launched under the Sobeys Extra banner in Canada.


title: Sobeys

text: The company owns the Needs, Sobeys Express, and BoniChoix convenience store chains, and the Lawtons drug store chain in Atlantic Canada. They also own the wholesale food distribution company TRA Atlantic. The company delivers products to retail outlets, such as convenience stores and gas stations, throughout Atlantic Canada. TRA also operates the Kwik-Way and Clover Farm convenience store chains.


title: Sobeys

text: At some Sobeys locations, tobacco products are sold in a separate Sobeys-owned store called Griffins. They are a part of the Sobeys store but only accessible from the outside, due to provincial laws prohibiting stores with pharmacies from selling tobacco products. A number of Sobeys and Needs stores in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have a gas bar branded Sobeys Fast Fuel.


title: Sobeys

text: Sobeys Express stores (called IGA Express in Quebec) feature produce and take-out meals alongside items commonly found in convenience stores. Some are operated as the convenience store for Sobeys-operated Shell stations.


title: Sobeys

text: On September 24, 2018, Empire Co. Ltd., Sobeys' parent, announced it had signed an agreement to purchase Farm Boy, an Ontario chain of 26 supermarkets, for $800-million. Farm Boy founder Jean-Louis Bellemare and his co-CEO Jeff York will continue in their roles, since the company will operate as a separate entity. The move allows Farm Boy to continue with aggressive expansion plans into Southwestern Ontario, particularly the Toronto region. The number of stores was expected to double over the next five years.


title: Sobeys

text: , in Quebec, Ontario and western Canada, Sobeys and its affiliated banners continue to offer the Air Miles loyalty rewards program. At various times prior to joining Air Miles, Sobeys-owned locations in many regions offered the in-house Club Sobeys/Club Thrifty Foods program. In current calculations and practices, 95 accrued reward miles (with each mile earned for every $20 spent) can be redeemed for $10 off of purchases.


title: Sobeys

text: When Sobeys became an Air Miles partner, its partnership was restricted to Quebec and Atlantic Canada—the same territory rights held by Oshawa Group prior to its acquisition by Sobeys in 1998. Air Miles had partnered with Safeway for all of its locations across western Canada and northwestern Ontario, while A&P Canada (later Metro) had the rights in the rest of Ontario. In June 2014, shortly after its acquisition of Safeway Canada (Air Miles' original grocery partner), Sobeys announced plans to expand its Air Miles participation to Sobeys, IGA, Foodland and Thrifty Foods stores in Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario on September 12, 2014, replacing Club Sobeys and Club Thrifty Foods in those areas.


title: Sobeys

text: Club Sobeys was a loyalty program at the chain's Atlantic Canada locations offered during the 1990s, prior to Sobeys securing the regional rights to Air Miles through the Oshawa Group merger. As the company expanded its operations in Ontario and Western Canada in the 2000s, Sobeys introduced the Club Sobeys program in those markets. It was known as Club Thrifty Foods in the British Columbia locations of that chain, after it was acquired.


title: Sobeys

text: In the Club Sobeys region, Sobeys introduced, in partnership with Citibank Canada, a Club Sobeys MasterCard credit card. These card accounts were later transferred to Bank of Montreal, which also introduced the BMO Sobeys Air Miles MasterCard in Atlantic Canada (and IGA Air Miles MasterCard in Quebec). Following the transition from Club Sobeys to Air Miles in 2014, all Club Sobeys credit cards were converted to BMO Sobeys Air Miles MasterCards, which were then replaced by standard BMO Air Miles Mastercards a few years later.


title: Sobeys

text: In early 2015, Sobeys announced that the Air Miles loyalty program would be extended into Ontario on March 27, 2015, replacing the Club Sobeys loyalty program. This was a result of a new agreement between Air Miles and Metro, which extended Metro's partnership but gave up its exclusivity in the grocery category in Ontario.


title: Sobeys

text: In June 2022, Empire Company announced that it will end its participation in Air Miles and switch to the Cineplex Entertainment and Scotiabank-owned Scene+ program at its grocery and pharmacy chains. Empire will also hold an ownership stake in the company. The transition began with Atlantic Canada on August 11, 2022, to be followed by a nationwide rollout to Quebec (IGA), Ontario and Western Canada through late 2022 to early 2023.


title: Sobeys

text: In January 2018, the company signed a deal with British company Ocado Group PLC to provide e-commerce solution for Sobeys using robots to assemble customer orders.


title: Sobeys

text: Michael Medline, CEO of Empire and Sobeys, said that the online grocery sales business would not be ready for approximately two years, and that he expected it to take another two years for the business to be profitable. A Bloomberg News reporter who viewed a video of a similar system described the process: "[The] similar Ocado facility in Andover, England, shows the facility spanning nearly 21,000 square metres (5¼ acres) with robots rolling over a grid to pick and pack customer orders in about five minutes." The publication Tech Insider, owned by Business Insider, posted a similar video to YouTube, stating: "Ocado's new warehouse has thousands of robots zooming around a grid system to pack groceries. [These] robots can process 65,000 orders every week. They communicate on a 4G network to avoid bumping into each other. Is this the future of retail?"


title: Sobeys

text: Its stores are located across Canada with 54 in Alberta, 1 in British Columbia, 17 in Manitoba, 23 in New Brunswick, 14 in Newfoundland and Labrador, 42 in Nova Scotia, 90 in Ontario, 5 in Prince Edward Island, and 10 in Saskatchewan.


title: Sobeys

text: The Sobeys conglomerate is owned by Empire Company Limited, which is controlled by the Sobey family. The Empire Company also owns the trademarks to their former Empire Theatres cinema chain, which was until October 2013 Canada's second-largest movie theatre chain, when its locations were split between Cineplex Entertainment (Atlantic locations) and Landmark Cinemas (Ontario and British Columbia). Empire also owns many commercial properties through its subsidiary Crombie REIT.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot (or "Five Scrolls") alongside the Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther although there is no set order. In the Christian Old Testament it follows the Book of Jeremiah, as the prophet Jeremiah is its traditional author. However, according to modern scholarship, while the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586/7 BCE forms the background to the poems, they were probably not written by Jeremiah. Most likely, each of the book's chapters was written by a different anonymous poet, and they were then joined to form the book.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: Some motifs of a traditional Mesopotamian "city lament" are evident in this book, such as mourning the desertion of the city by God, its destruction, and the ultimate return of the divinity; others "parallel the funeral dirge in which the bereaved bewails... and... addresses the [dead]". The tone is bleak: God does not speak, the degree of suffering is presented as overwhelming, and expectations of future redemption are minimal. Nonetheless, the author repeatedly makes clear that the city (and even the author himself) had profusely sinned against God, to which God had strongly responded. In doing so the author does not blame God but rather presents him as righteous, just and sometimes even as merciful.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: The book consists of five separate (and non-chronological) poems. In the first (chapter 1), the city sits as a desolate weeping widow overcome with miseries. In chapter 2, these miseries are described in connection with national sins and acts of God. Chapter 3 speaks of hope for the people of God: that the chastisement would only be for their good; a better day would dawn for them. Chapter 4 laments the ruin and desolation of the city and temple, but traces it to the people's sins. Chapter 5 is a prayer that Zion's reproach may be taken away in the repentance and recovery of the people.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: Lamentations combines elements of the , a funeral dirge for the loss of the city, and the "communal lament" pleading for the restoration of its people. It reflects the view, traceable to Sumerian literature of a thousand years earlier, that the destruction of the holy city was a punishment by God for the communal sin of its people. However, while Lamentations is generically similar to the Sumerian laments of the early 2nd millennium BCE (e.g., "Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur," "Lament for Sumer and Ur," "Nippur Lament"), the Sumerian laments (that we have) were recited on the occasion of the rebuilding of a temple, so their story has a happy ending, whereas the book of Lamentations was written before the return/rebuilding, and thus contains only lamentations and pleas to God with no response or resolution.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: Beginning with the reality of disaster, Lamentations concludes with the bitter possibility that God may have finally rejected Israel (chapter 5:22). Sufferers in the face of grief are not urged to a confidence in the goodness of God; in fact, God is accountable for the disaster. The poet acknowledges that this suffering is a just punishment, still God is held to have had choice over whether to act in this way and at this time. Hope arises from a recollection of God's past goodness, but although this justifies a cry to God to act in deliverance, there is no guarantee that he will. Repentance will not persuade God to be gracious, since he is free to give or withhold grace as he chooses. In the end, the possibility is that God has finally rejected his people and may not again deliver them. Nevertheless, it also affirms confidence that the mercies of Yahweh (the God of Israel) never end, but are new every morning (3:22–33).


title: Book of Lamentations

text: Lamentations consists of five distinct (and non-chronological) poems, corresponding to its five chapters. Two of its defining characteristic features are the alphabetic acrostic and its meter. However, few English translations capture either of these; even fewer attempt to capture both.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: The first four chapters are written as acrostics. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 each have 22 verses, corresponding to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the first lines beginning with the first letter of the alphabet, the second with the second letter, and so on. Chapter 3 has 66 verses, so that each letter begins three lines. Unlike standard alphabetical order, in the middle chapters of Lamentations, the letter (the 17th letter) comes before (the 16th). In the first chapter, the Masoretic text uses the standard/modern alphabetical order; however, in the dead sea scroll version of the text (4QLam/4Q111, ), even the first chapter uses the order found in chapters 2, 3, and 4.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: This order may be based on the pre-exilic Paleo-Hebrew alphabet/script in which did indeed come before (as is reflected in pre-exilic abecedaries and other texts). The before order (which is found in other ancient western Semitic alphabets as far back as the 13th century BCE) was likely adopted by the Judeans at some point in the exilic or post-exilic period. Given that they largely abandoned the Paleo-Hebrew script for the Aramaic script (which used ), it is not surprising that they also adopted the Aramaic letter order (around the same (exilic) time period). The fact that Lamentations follows the pre-exilic order is evidence for the position that they are not postexilic compositions but rather written shortly after the events described.


title: Book of Lamentations

text: Although some claim that purpose or function of the acrostic form is unknown, it is frequently thought that a complete alphabetical order expresses a principle of completeness, from (first letter) to (22nd letter); the English equivalent would be "from A to Z".