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See-also: http://www.wmc.care4free.net/diary/.
Sat 1st
Lie courtesy of M+J though M feeds E at night unbeknownst to me.
Sun. Sit out while M sleeps on. D plays at waterlogging where the plum was. Great fun for him.
Gliders. Ox. Walk slow, but concious of time.
Crowds. Cheers. D gets a bun. Up tree. Park by river: lovely: view across to meadow. Sun. D runs: happy.
Sun 3rd
Talking on the patio about varnish (the slow-dryingness of theirs), onto oils, and thus Danish (and hence Tung) oil, which the Shorter OED tells Mfd is also called Wood-oil, and he then finds a volume of "products of the empire" that tells us more about it; where cultivated; how much impexorted by Hong Kong in 1922; poor prospects for increased sources from China; being planted in Southern US; etc. All very interesting. Plus I learn that these various (inc linseed) harden by cross-linking of the double bonds.
Home.
Out front planting marigolds, M calls for help to get E's poo off l'room carpet.
Mon
Today, hurrah, was the Jubilee of our glorious Queen, and all citizens in a fit of patriotic fervour went out and weeded their lawn. Well I did: what did you do?
By which it will be apparent that I am not a monarchist. Does that make me a republican? The papers always say: "if not the queen, who would you elect as head of state?" to which I say: "why do we need a head of state? The queen does f*ck all, replace her with a teddy bear for all I care". Anyway, we went to the Coton Jubilee Jamboree in a fit of community enthusiasm, nothing wider.
Anyway. To the diary-type section:
Lie-in. Up 9. Sun. B'fast and stuff, try to catch up with the various papers accumulated while we were away, and fail. Go out and cut the lawn (it looks like, but isn't, rain, so this appears urgent). Then rake it, and cut gain, in a desperate effort to get rid of the evil clover which is taking over. Then clear up the path. all this takes to nearly 1. In: lunch.
Then preperations for Coton Jubilee Jamboree: make balloon hats, red white and blue, with a little yellow (=gold) for M and me; E doesn't get one and D has his "crown" made in pgp. I wear my hawiian shirt (thank you Henry) which by happy chance is red with white pineapples, with a blue guitar on the back. D dresses in red trousers, blue socks and which tee-shirt (with yellow "be happy" smile on it). All very Royalist, but with an ironical touch, I hope.
So we get there, just a little late, and pass 4 flags out as we walk there, which is probably Not Many.
Arrive a little after official start at 2:30. All stand (bar E) for nashinole-f*ck*ng anthem (as SM did say) & a poor job of singing we do. The difficult 2nd verse! No one knows the words.
Sophie does the popcorn cart. Nicola (& Penny, & Johnny) the books. Fill in the book quiz, mostly.
3:30 bowls club with D to hear harpist & avoid rain. Sadly D uninterested in H but watches bowls. Sam arrives. 4: to bouncy castle back of plough.
The weight of people I *don't* know.
All in all the event was fun, even if we didn't win the literary quiz, boo hiss rotters. And I only thre the welly 25m; the winner was 33-ish.
M takes E back 5:30 'cos E is out of milk, and having been really very good is finally starting to complain. I take D to bouncy castle by way of the pub but its being deflated, so while I drink my pint of Jubilee, D watches them fold it up like a big tent. Then we walk back together the back way, ie along the Granchester road, into the lane, along the footpath, into the field back of the big house (many buttercups, as D remarked, and picked some for M; the path of the stream could be found only from the 6 foot wide patch of what turned out to be watercress; very mustardy and strong); home.
Soir: play a bit more with yabep/denscoef but it still falls over in fast_tanh, boo hiss, so start yabid up in its place. Then read Guo-Bromwich-Cassano version 3, such fun, while M sleeps on the sofa.
Tues 4th
My review is 2 days late & I have 2 days to do cand exp forms.
In a fit of energy M determines to catch 9:45 to london to take D to sci mus & elsewhere. I drive them to station then take E to xxoctopus since it is there & get more cladding & 'quick' grass seed: there are all sorts you know: quick, shade, nice, tuff, etc.
To cb1 - E's 1st visit? She is initially ok but gets restive - leave. Then she falls asleep walking back :-(
Home: while E sleeps do bees.
Pm: kitchen clean: scrub floor; move table to hoover; clear w/ledge (move D's paints to shelf; shelf-stuff upstairs to await loft); clear table.
6:20: to bas to find Philpott & Z (fail). To station for Md.
Soir: finish review. Mail it. Bottle 7lb (actually 2*1000g & 5*455g) honey & clean up.
Wed 5th
Drizzle. Lie in bed reading Rupert to D. E has fallen asleep again onto crow.
A little more honey-ing, dealing with residue & washing pots. D has some with yoghurt.
10: cycle off to Dentists via niab, arrive just-in-time, get done by 11. Now its raining. Town via Nasreen D. Arj/cb1. New crown feels a little stange.
Home through more rain :-(. M to work pm & Oliver visits: he is a good kid & they play happily. E sleeps till 3 then eats gingerbread messily.
Cook: veg curry from tin plus my leeks.
Soir: finish off election forms (bar 2, which are missing, but are null anyway). Tidy up last of honey (got 8lb) & cast 2 'pots' of wax - for floorboards in loft?
Read witchlord&weaponmaster till 10-to-midnight. Bad boy.
Thurs 6th
Elec office to deliver expense forms.
Train to kc running 10min late & crowded. Read viz, ignoring papers I've brought.
London: to D+A's, to see A & young William. All well. W cute & mostly asleep. They are moving in a week.
Doug, 12. Lunch at union (good) with D & Seymour L. Talk work. Back: talk with D & ?Rob? over coffee then D till 3:30. Miss 3:45 by 30 secs :-( get :15. Cambridge in drizzle: cb1. Pick up Vance totde in Brownes.
Fri 7th
8: vomit in sink. Rest of day in bed.
Sat 8th
Better. Today at last is sun. Tidy somewhat before Ma arrives 10:40. Label honey. Take that plus Toms plants to Strawberry Fair & 'do' gp stand 1-3. M, med arrive & we wander, then separately. I get 2 tee shirts (1 'official' £10, 1 'dont bomb iraq' £3) & a yoga belt (£6.50).
Now with D at the bouncy castles. He is in the 'jungle trail' which is free but more importantly has no q.
Sun 9th
Something of a null day. Grey & intermittently rainy. Pm take D to town. Market, briefly; get ginger cake. W/s: cafe, books: rain outside: cafe again, books. Walk back to bike via Borders... go in for a look. They have a kids bit too... quite good. Home, rain at end.
Mon 10th
Work. Yoga. Work. Home.
Tues 11th
To London today, to see Mickey. I go to allot till 10:30 (oh my, how it has (over)grown since I last did anything! weed the back patch quite thoroughly (onions reemerge, peas mostly don't, broad beans proudly above, pots coming along) a bit elsewhere. Then back and shower, ready to be ready to leave at 11 but M not quite so (err, all the timetabling is by M) so we cycle off at 11:20, then M realises that we won't make the 11:45, so go back and go by car, so we miss it anyway and are lucky to get a parking place :-(
Anyway, train goes OK, Med wander off to explore and tell a story about going to the moon on a playroom that changes from room to bus to train to rocket. KC; u/gnd to Golders Green; bus to (urgh) Harvester. We're rather late, since we got a later and slower train, but anyway all goes well. Lunch, then its mostly 4pm, so the RAF museum has to be abandoned (Mickey casually says, oh its about 3/4 of an hour away...) but the local park is a good exchange. Back to her place for tea (we are "not allowed" to look into the living room but do; in fact its not so bad); head back 5ish; miss 6:15 by a minute and get back about 8.
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Wed 12th
Take D to pgp. Louise asks if D can come to play with Billy... well, very well then, twist my arm... but I forget to tell M. Work. Home.
Lunch. At 2, to Billys, but D wants to stay and B wants him to, and its OK by Andy, so... OK. Back at 3.
Go back for 3. Meet N on the way who drops off N, who is very happy-smiley-glad-to-be-back-but-still-full-of-her-exciting-trip, to canada. So, go to B's, but D *still* doesn't want to come back, and B still wants to keep him, so... they all 3 stay there and I am to come back at 4:30. Sigh, its a hard life. Since 2, E has been asleep.
4:45 (a bit late) this time I do succeed in getting D and N back (should I have invited B too? Possibly - not sure) and they play happily outside, with a hose from the waterbutt to the sandpit. Then a picnic outside - by now E is awake - then a go at Max and the Secret Formula (a rather limited game). A little past 6 M returns and I take N back, where Nick has been beginning to wonder where she has got to, since I'm late.
Soir: me out to pub with A+S and Clive (where was Dinan, eh?). Andrew exlains to me the mysteries of what-is-fujitsu-doing passing rubbish to the assembler.
Thurs 13th
E gives M and easy time, and so does D: he is downstairs playing OrlysDrawStory (I can hear it) and E sleeps till 8 after her 6am feed. I get up 8:40.
D to pgp. To... where? Meet Howard at the motorway bridge where he is cutting back brambles. By coincidence, I have my gardening gloves (I'm going to allot later) so I help. So now its later, so I go to cb1.
Pick up M's dry cleaning, then go to Arjuna (wrong order; have to take dc out again... it never fits well in a rucsac). Back via oxfam, another couple of books, oh dear.
Allot: have a good hour (1-2) weeding out the front patch, which comes satisfactorily clear, and looks OK now. Bring back a few pea-sized bb pods, and even find a few "real" peas too, though they are now one of the years successes.
Home. We have a bird nesting in the passionflower above the backdoor, which I only noticed because it flies off in a panic whenever you go in. So I'd better not do what I was going to, which was to cut back the p/flower. Also the robins are back in the "nest pocket" by the wall.
Paper. Coffee. Read.
3:45: up into the loft. Gosh it gets quite warm up there on even a moderate day - needs an openable window, methinks. Next project... Finish off panelling on N side. Hurrah! Now after a tidy, I'll be able to *use* it to put stuff away.
M rings: can I collect DE; do so; E happy-by-burbling, D happy. M'a shows off her new pergola-type-thing wot Colin has done. Back. D picks mint because he suddenly wants Taboulet, though he doesnt eat it :-( Take D into loft to show him. He settles down to Max (not in the loft!), I fix safe_convpp.pl (or rather pum-server.pl, which had -s twisted).
Soir: bonfire, a nice peaceful occupation. Clear path down to river, keeping an eye out for the bees. Inside: M has cooked, well, pasta and mushroom+broccoli sauce. On the CD: Police: Regatta de Blanc.
M does occaisional yoga.
Fri 14th
Put E in to sleep in D's room as an experiment, and because he does want it. But its a disaster: first she can't sleep, then he can't, etc etc. Finally they sleep 10ish.
Sat 15th
John and Marion are coming over. So after my lie in, since its a passable morning, go out and mow the grass and tidy up the patio and a bit further, and put out the hammock.
As is traditional, tidying up takes up most of the time before they arrive: 1:30. John has sportingly missed the Match, though he gets to hear the first half in the car: 3-0 to Us.
So: lunch; post-lunch sit around; show John the garden and we venture over the river (first time for me in a while; I did only finish clearing it last night) briefly. Then decide on walk to rec (back way via church); play a bit; pint in the pub; home. Dinner (pizza-by-me).
Soir: quietly.
Tonight sleep E in her carseat till 10, when she and D are firmly asleep; then put her into cot. All in all (as even D agrees) its too early for her in his room.
Sun 16th
Up with D and E. B'fast sans other adults. M+J first to appear (M has of course, as usual, had to get up early (today: 5:30!) to feed E then put her back to sleep). Sit for a bit... then we drag ourself up and into town (all in our car) to Parkside c'park for Parkers Piece for...
the try-a-bike event, a part of National Bike Week. We get there 11-ish, or a little later, and after initial uncertainty about registering, which bikes are available, etc, we get stuck in a play on a variety of bikes: silly ones (I try one with 2 bends; one with handlebars under the seat that look like an unicycle from some angles); recumbent and semi-r ones; and tandems; and various ways of carrying kids. Claire+A+B+G arrive with their trailer and we try that; D seems to like it. Perhaps we *should* get one (all the other varieties are fun but perhaps implausible, with the pissible exception of a bike-behind sort of thingm which D manages OK, and I can feel he peddling helping; would it last from Coton to town, though?
Lunchtime: Hobbs has, foolishly, not enough staff for its tables, so to Pizza Express and sit on the terrace up and behind. E sleeps; D looks around. The sun comes out: its painfully bright.
After: punting. After comedy of moving car, go to Granta pool and get punt nad I punt us down through town, skillfully avoiding obstacles and winning the admiration of all. Then we turn around and Marion punts us back, doing the same into the wind. Ha. E wiggles a bit but is OK; D is fine, except he has to be reminded to pull his fingers in sometimes.
Walk back via Lammas Land, with D demonstrating the various bits of kit. The "giant" rope net is not as big as I remember - no taller than at Coton.
Back. About 6. Xfer a few photos to floppy for them, and they are off. They are surprisingly unchanged from whenever-we-saw-them-last: perhaps 2 years ago?
Mon 17th
Wake to a bright day, and it stays so. Indeed, the first real June day of the year, blue-sky and very hot: too hot.
D to pgp, somewhat late as usual. Work. Yoga (light, but still sweaty). Work. Home, a little early, 6:30. Go for a look at the garden and bees; put some washing out.
Shower, with E, who enjoys it. Meanwhile D plays with the doodle pad on Orly, which eating his dinner. M puts E to bed and is off to yoga; D has a bath then bed.
Name or delete all the weekends photos, plant 6 more artichokes in temporary places for the year. A 1/2 moon; I don't think I've seen the moon for a month, its been cloudy so much.
Tues 18th
Woken 4 by huge massive enormous thunderstorm with lightning. De sleep through it.
Cloudy. M up with E then swap 7ish, with De playing on the bed. Take D to pgp (he rides, I walk). Back: M & I are swapping am/pm: so off she goes, I sit down 1/2 sleep while E ramps. 11:15: put her down to sleep, she does, instantly. Read Cosmonaut Keep which proves unexpectedly good.
Quiet. At 12, go get D leaving E, slightly naughty but she is gone. Its now sunny. Bring back D & Billy. They instantly go to sandpit so I sit quietly inside. M back a bit early just after 1, just as I've started laying out lunch outside on blanket for DB, they have already picked rasp- & strawberries for 'pudding'. E awakes, adding to noise.
DB have now gone to tree house so I follow with gloves & secatares & shovel (M points out 2 open waterlilies; pond is o'grown); remove ants from flags near pond, then go on to new-oak-passage & clear there & all the way back to around 2 hazelnuts; 1 1/2 h work.
Its a really lovely pm; bright sun, hot but moderated. Med off to town (buy pressies then swim) & I plant marigolds, tomatoes, peas: poor things, they have waited too long.
5: off to town. Look into pool: M makes E wave; go in & say hello to D. Then arj; cb1. Read jck et al penin paper. Re-find GoldenW but then David Ward comes in; we have 50mins of game but have to stop mid. 7:30: to cgp meeting to hear Adrian Ramsay, but get 1h of business. But after that AR gives a great talk.
Cycle back 10:30 through the cool night, accompanied by the moon.
Wed 19th
Work. Home. M off. D to N's 3, I pick up with E 6:10. D needs Persuading to come back: his mischievousness is sometimes barely under control. Unusually, N is unruly too.
Soir: to A+S. E causes Trubble by not sleeping on cue, & M is v sleepy, but a good evening. A few boats on the still river. They have started a digital photo gallery. Hmm: wish I had time.
Thurs 20th
Take off again. Help H again, & do some where c/path into town kinks at bottom. Meet cheery walker-chap doing wimpole way who looks as sunburnt as a tramp but carries a mobile. He enthuses over m/way kilo-posts.
Cb1/arj. Check out 802.11b at mapling: £80 ish. Hmm.
Allot: an hours weeding at from. Strawbs/rasp/broad b/a few peas.
Start passageway/w'room tidy.
Soir: look at specs for new computer. M vetoes Tiny etc, but woc look ok: £750 (xp 2100; 80G; 512M; dvd etc).
Fri 21st
E up all hours :-(
Work. Foolishly attend Grand Opening of new reception.
Home: M tired, strangely. After a while, M takes D to w/rose, E sleeps, & after planting out last viable toms by gravel, I hack around behind pond on Dots side. Plus some shed tidying.
M+J 6:30.
8:10: cycle off to Michels for Our Anniversary. 15 today! Good meal. Discuss Childrearing: am I too scary/harsh?
Before bed: slug patrol.
Sat 22nd
Today is the great Salsa Evening in aid of pre-school, a splendid thing no doubt, but...
Anyway. I end up getting up with D and E, after M spends some of the night up with E, who is going through a Bad Phase. In fact, up with E, and only later does D come down. And even later, Mfd in search of coffee.
am: go off to town once M is up. Various s/hand b/shops for 'babel tower' for M; fail; w/s. Cb1/arj. Rs: look at wireless, again.
Back rather late, somewhat after lunch. Now it gets a bit rushed. We have to help setup 3:30-4:30, which we do; me stringing lights. I drag M away from her can't-pstop-helping-because-i-feel-guilty-about-leaving-while-others-work so we can do the other thing we're supposed to, ie cut Sophies lettuces on the allotment to make salad. And while M does this, and after, I cut the grass and do a little more.
Thence home. This and that (err, this is getting written on monday night).
I get to school 7:20, because I'm supposed ot be helpful at the bar. I wear my pineapple party-shirt as my concession. M arrives somewhat later, once E is in bed. And so the event: I spend first half happily behind the bar, and the second half less-happily dancing, err.
Finishes at 12 (argh) and we get home somewhat after one, solaced by the nearly-full moon.
Sun 23rd
I get a lie in today, in exchange for yesterday... complex. Anyway, laze upstairs and hear the others out on the terrace - its a sunny morn. Though cool in the shade, as we later prove at the pub.
So once I'm up we all laze around, D in the sandpit mostly. M goes back up to sleep. Around us the passionflower vine falls deep-greenly (not cut back as it would be because (a) I'm behind and (b) the blackbird is nesting in it) and the vine sproings up bright-greenly. A verdant summer.
Drag ourselves out to the pub for lunch, even M. Walk there (D gets as far as the church on his bike and then walks, so we leave the bike behind the wall: it is something to live in a village safe enough to confidently do this). I have a rather nice vegetable Wellington: and the pub is full inside for food: so its seems they are doing well: good. While we eat and wait, D plays in a low-spreading tree and "finds" various useful bits of wood, which he insists on bringing back to me, to M's amusement.
After: walk back "the 1/2 back way": ie down Grantchester Road, over the stream, footpath to the back of the church. A bit tricky for the pushcair, in places.
M and J off 4-ish, and now its quiet. M retreats again (poor her!), D plays outside while I try to keep E amused/controlled inside.
Later, I plant out a few marigolds, and look with sadness on my now-doomed tomato seedlings, that should have been planted out a month or more before.
Bonfire: burn most of the stuff cleared from around the bee hives and near the pond.
To bed early, ie 10ish, since we're both exhausted. Slug patrol just before: few about. Its been dry for a few days: summer at last, perhaps.
Mon 24th
M gets up to sort out E at 1:30 and 4:30: argh, for her. E stirs at 6 but then sleeps again, happily for me. I get up 8:15 (D already downstairs, eating chessy biscuits, as I discover) and E wakes as I look in. She's happy, and I take her downstairs. D wants no b'fast but C bikkys, hey ho. Beautiful blue day.
D to pgp, then onto work, via the grand new entrance, ta ra! At first can't work out how to use the passes, so slip in as someone comes out; later realise you have to just wave it nearby, within 1-2 inches.
Yoga - for first time, take change of kit, and this is a good idea, because it means I can work hard enough to sweat and not worry.
Comparing coupled models all pm.
Soir: home; MED out at midsummer fair, ie funfair. It turns out they met Charlie and H on the Big Wheel; indeed, D says they went up high in the sky (like a pie, when prompted) and apparently met Gaya there.
The earache I've had for about 2 weeks has now faded to nearly nothing: it wasn't serious, mostly that if I pressed the ear it hurt.
E late to bed, via various poo's. D hides under the table eating rice cakes but is evenutally persuaded up, and I read him "Postman Pats Sore Bottom" at his request.
Tues 25th
M up; last day of disrupted regime. She takes D to pgp en route to town. I am left with E in good mood as I finish b'fast. Some tidying; put out washing.
Pick up D; N is in a hurry to watch Germ vs SK in cup. Take De to Orchard for lunch; get rather manky baked pot which we share; D has iced bun for pud. E sleeps.
pm: M back. Me to town. Relax in cb1. Arj. Head back. At 4:30 meet med on Parkers P & walk with them across: they are in for lib & D's swim. Maplin: buy wireless: its about time.
Home 5: play with wireless in M's. Fail. Eventually: remember bios pcic/cardbus & change to auto. Then it is 'seeking'.
Wed 26th
Work. Take in wireless but JT disapproves. Revenge? Meeting: feedback on q4 planning: wurble.
Frustrating pm: N arrives & she & D play happily unsupervised: on comp; then outside (taking b beans to eat in D's tree) eventually joining up with G+E (I chat with K as they play at the back), & nakenness ensues (except G). E sleeps 2:30-5ish. & I struggle with pcmcia & eventually break it completely, so even the cf fails :-(.
M a little late. D/N coincidentally back; take N home in D's shorts.
8:45: oouf... sit down back of Castle with Regatta & await someone. & have not long to wait. A investigates my portege & finds ide_cs in /var/log/messages so I learn something new. He is contemptuous of xconfig for the kernel, of course. Then onto general talk.
Thurs 27th
My Day With Kids, as m/a on hol-at-home this week. M takes D to pgp. I relax with E, & pack: we are off to thh sea-side. Pick up D at 12 & off (by car). E sleeps there, D quiet but alert. He talks of our main summer hol. Takes 1 1/2 h, arrive before 2. Pay £2 park, gather, & to beach cafe first.
E ramps on floor; D & I have drink & cake. D says 'the wind is reading the books'. To beach: sandunes first says D. Find a flat sheltered bit & he is happy. We dig & build. E ramps: we decide she is a dragon assaulting our castle. D says a baby dragon, whose parents are dead, & we will take her in. When I forget & call her miranda he reminds me.
Rain: retreat to a beach-hut veranda. Very quiet. Eat, feed E. Rain stops: hut next door is getting buried: play digging it out.
Down to beach. Sunnier now, wind mild. Play in big shallow pool - now E problem arises. Remove her kit but its a bit too cold. Turm my back: D dumps her in pool. She cries. Oh dear. Re-dress, removing sand as poss. Now I can't put her down!
To sea: a long way over the flat sand. Follow l'boat-tractor tracks, then braided river. D notices the standing ripples. Sea: D afraid of it: why? Persuade him in a little. Buid s'castle soon erased: tide is incoming, then.
Late now: 5:30: head back over endless sands. Beautiful view, & sense of space, off to W & sunglints. Cafe shut: to car, wash, repack, off pre-6. E sleeps. Home post-7.
Fri 28th
Work. Fjp.
Pm: H+C over 3. DC play; H off to Orchard to buy Pot. E sleeps. I rebuild kernel.
I cook: arj pasta + tin.
E requires re-settling as we go to bed.
Sat 29th
My lie-in. Up 9:10. All well downstairs & E smiles to see me.
Town. Arj/sa/cb1. Back via w/s: get o'r: 802.11b & atn. & joy of work. Allot: still looking good. Pick more bb.
Pm: sandpit with D. Build many bridges. His sand still damp: poss a bit smelly? Not much. Hot sun on my back.
Soir: wireless again & 'admin tcpip net' on M's lap.
Sun 30th
Up 8 with E: D is in bed with M. Grey, but sun later. M ramps, I b'fast & do grauniad puzzles. D comes down for c'flakes & then plays 'putt-putt' & pyjama sam. Meanwhile I sweep patio. After M up lie in hammock with coffee & 'joy of work'.
12: pool (by car). All into mid-pool. E's 2nd swim & better than 1st. Put her into baby-float & she does: a little nervous, confused: lots of noise & people. D loves towing her around. I go off & do 10 (in shameful 29) while M takes charge. Then she goes off for 'about 8 lengths' which she enjoyed. I do another 10 (in 30 :-() & we all play together. I do handstands. Lunch at pool: D actually asks for more quiche.
Lammas land. E sleeps, & I am torpid.
Home. E still sieeps. D plays comp games; I sit with coffee & dlink. Then tidy up grape vine & garden somewhat.
Meal. De to bed, but poor D voms (over his face!) after complaining of sad tummy. Cleaning him up takes a while.
Midnight: get cards working, hurrah! Using wlan-ng, ad-hoc, no wep. Last barrier: finding a service in common: use http.
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