More ...

... catch-up - lol!!
Friday was probably the last day I was able to get all 3 of the babies together as it was the day they started to defect! Have to say it's extremely quiet, mostly, around here now but they are still around occasionally and have given us a few amusing moments, to say the least.

Here's where we realised they'd managed to fly more than a couple of feet - it's our non-attached neighbours next door and next to them! ....

... and this is probably the last time we've seen them all together-ish! This was taken from our dormer window. They're on our extension roof and our attached neighbour's sunroof.

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Well ...

... where to start! It's been such a busy few days I've not found time to update properly since last Wednesday so guess Thursday would be a good place to start - lol!!

It was a really enjoyable day as I spent most of it with Greta, whom I met via the imag-e-nation forum. It involved me making a round trip of just over 100 miles but it was worth it! Last September the journey to Greta's took me just an hour, leaving home at 6am. This time it took me an hour and 20 minutes having got caught behind the obligatory tractor for a few miles - lol!

We spent an hour or so just playing. I Cuttlebugged some card using Greta's new Cuttlebug folders. I did find a few problems, particularly with the Lace Christmas tree and it resulted in a bit of wasted card. If you don't want creased or ruffled card/paper, or the white core of your card to show after embossing, then be careful what media you use. The card that I found worked best was the kids metallic card from Tesco - 99p for a pack of 12 A5 sheets!! Better quality card tended to be ruined. Greta punched a few shapes from my Woodware Flower & Leaf punches and had a play with my nestabilities (another convert made - lol!).

After lunch we thought we should actually make a card - or at least go through the motions - lol!. Nothing planned other than we thought we'd have a go at a pleat card that some of the forum members had seen demo'd at one of the recent Northern meets and - grateful thanks to Marjie for supplying the instructions using the M&F board. We had no idea how we were going to decorate them so they were made up as we went along and, I have to say, I was very happy with the end result. We learnt several things that would be worth bearing in mind in the future, while making this card and I'll post about that in the near future.

Anyway, here are pictures of our finished cards. Visit Greta's blog - Greta's Spot - to see some cards she's made using the punched shapes and nestabilities that she gathered that day - :0))

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Pssst: Greta reckons she'll be getting a Christmas card now I've got all these pieces of embossed card - ho, ho, ho!! Don't think she's actually cottoned on to the fact that I'm really a collector so not sure which Christmas she's expecting a card for ......... LOLOL!

The Angel & the Devil ...

... well, that's what their Dad has named them. Guess who's who - lol!! Don't think it'll take an Einstein to work it out :o)) This was taken yesterday and the eldest was all dressed up for her first visit to a 'grown-up's restaurant'.

I've a lot of 'catch-up' to do on this blog. Editing photo's takes it's toll but here's a bit of tease ...

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Oooops, got waylaid ...

I was going to update my blog this evening following my crafty day with Greta yesterday but I've been waylaid playing in Google! OK, it was blog-related and I'm pleased with what I've done but I need to find out how to get it on my blog! I've also got, possibly the last photo's of all 3 of our babies together - lol! Haven't even emptied my camera yet and .............. I'm excited!

I've got a WHOLE day of crafting at the Glitterpot tomorrow. A whole day doing FPC with Jane Gill - yummy! Without checking I think we'll be making azalea's and camellia's. I feel spoilt this week with so much crafting.

Oh well, will just have to do some catch-up in a day or so......

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Doolally??

Well, I thought he was! Dad, that is, when he told me he was at Doolally! Where? says I. Doolally, says he! No such place, says I. Yes there is, says he! Right, OK, says I and left it at that thinking he'd finally, totally 'gone doolally' but also thinking - t'internet will sort it out ........... and it did and he hadn't nor wasn't, not really - LOL! This was how the story I referred to here started that day - after I'd told him about his Dad's WWI war medals.

Dad joined the Territorials before war broke out, at the age of 17.
When War was declared he was in Dover digging trenches for coastal defence and he spent some time on coastal defence, including shooting at doodlebugs as they came over - can you imagine shooting at doodlebugs with a little rifle?? He actually spent all of his time on defence, mainly guarding airfields while the bomber crews were out on raids then he was sent to Scapa Flow. He says he loved it there because it was so quiet. Not what you'd expect to hear from someone who spent around 18 months defending the place - lol! He was billeted near the Old Man of Hoy so he spent off-duty times walking to the Old Man and watching the seals. He was allowed to wear the Naval anchor badge, despite being Army, because he spent so long there guarding the base.

He was sent to India approx 1943 where he remained until the War was over. He missed the draft to the Khyber Pass due to fever and, once recovered, he was transferred to the Royal Infantry where he spent the rest of his time on guard duty’s and schemes (guess these are what we'd now call manoeuvres) preparing to go to Japan as part of the Army of Occupation. Before he could be transferred to Japan the Japanese surrendered and he received his demob. He spent quite a long time in India after the end of the war as he had to wait for transport home. He and his mates celebrated the end of the war by going to the pics (movies)!! Although offered the possibility of a flight home he chose, with the majority, to wait for a ship and that is when he went (to) ................ Doolally!!

Doolally is a place but not really called Doolally. It is actually called Deolali (where there was a British Army Camp) about 100 miles north-east of Bombay (Mumbai as it's now known). It was, from the 19th century, a transit camp where military personnel were sent to await transport home when they came to the end of their tour of duty. That wait could be long and boring and some servicemen suffered 'camp fever' - apparent madness caused by the long wait with nothing to do. The Brits - as ever, but why :o{{ - found Deolali hard to pronounce and it became known as Doolally and the slang term for going mad - Doolally Tap - was born (tap being the urdu for fever). Eventually it was shortened to 'doolally' meaning mad or eccentric. Here's a bit of trivia - Deolali was also the camp that was used for the location on the early series of the sitcom 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' which was set in 1945. So ..... he hadn't gone 'doolally' but was sent to Doolally - LOL!!

That's a really brief version of Dad's wartime story, which never involved combat, else he may not still be here!

I knew he'd spent time in India because of the photo that I'd seen, as it was of him sitting in front of the Taj Mahal. I was soooooooooo looking forward to seeing that photo again and being able to use it, only to find that it no longer exists - :o((. When I mentioned the photo to Dad he remembered having it taken. I asked about the Taj Mahal - one building I'd love to visit - and I was really surprised to find that he couldn't tell me anything about it! He'd never seen it - LOL! Seems, even in those days, people were out to make money. You found a native taking photographs in the street, sat on a stool and you chose the backdrop curtain that you wanted and your choice was just pulled across behind you. There's me, with all these romantic images of Dad exploring the Taj Mahal and the nearest he got to it was about 300 miles away - lol! He did get to see a bit of India while he was there though, just not the Taj Mahal.

Although the photo of Dad in front of the Taj Mahal - not! - is no longer with us, I found this one of him. Taken in August 1943, it must have been taken just before he was sent to India (he may have been on embarkation leave) and it's the oldest photo there is of him .....

My Dad, August 1943, aged 21½

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Our babies ...

... are not so little any more and can each fly about 4 to 6 feet! Difficult to get them together now as they've started taking steps towards leaving home - lol!! I found all 3 of them surrounding our neighbour's chimney this afternoon and then 2 of them ventured down onto their sunroom roof at the rear of the property......

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Why??

Well, I'll never know now but to say I'm upset, disappointed and yes, angry with my Mum, wouldn't be an understatement. No matter how well you think you know somebody there's always something that is a mystery and makes you realise that perhaps you never really knew them at all.

Mum was always very 'proper' and houseproud with everything having it's place and the house was always really neat and tidy so the first thing that surprised me was with what she'd 'collected' (said very tongue in cheek). I always knew that she had an awful lot of clothes in various sizes (stored immaculately and a lot were under suit & dress covers) so that didn't come as a surprise at all but I've been trying to figure out, ever since I went through the house for Dad, why she would have wanted 23 rolls of bin bags (dustbin bags, pedal bin bags, swing bin bags, rubble bags, wheelie bin bags etc. etc.). Then there was the collection of freezer bags, sandwich bags, greaseproof bags, chewing gum, toothpaste (several opened tubes and squirreled away in odd places), toothbrushes (ditto), balls of string & twine (a dozen or more of them)...... breathe ..... telephones (every one they've ever owned by the look of it), washing up bowls, wooden spoons (more than anyone could ever need in a lifetime), hooks (screw-ins, stick-ons, suckers, big, small, indifferent) and so the list goes on. Puts a new slant on the 'My Favourite Things' song that was one of our choices at her funeral - lol!! but .........

........ all that makes it even harder to understand and, I guess, doesn't help my disappointment/upset/anger - whatever you want to call it - in finding that she'd destroyed most of the photographic family history! I've been waiting to tell Dad's story because I knew there was a photo of him in his Army tropical kit, taken from the time he served in India during WWII. I thought it would make a lovely illustration to go with his story and it would have done (especially as there's a little story about that photo as well), if it still existed but it doesn't! It's gone, disappeared, vanished ............ destroyed! It's not the only photo that no longer exists either. There are less than a dozen photo's left that were taken before 1950 and there is only one that was taken before 1940 (one of my great-grandparents). I've found only one photo of my paternal grandparents (looks as though it was kept as the token photo and taken in 1963). There are no photo's of me and my brother through our teenage years, with the exception of a few of me taken in my NTC* uniform- it's as though we didn't exist after the age of around 10. I know there were photo's of us 'cos I remember one that I loved of me at around the age of 14 - in my first 'grown-up' shoes and looking all 'mod' (well, I thought I did at the time). There's a few of my maternal grandmother and a couple of my uncle but my maternal grandfather has been cut out completely, other than in Mum & Dad's wedding photo's. Mum disowned Grandad a year after my Nan died and never made up with him before his death 4 years later so - he didn't exist! There are, however, loads of photo's from the birth of my eldest and onwards - most of which I've got already 'cos it was mainly me that supplied them - lol!

Why did she do it? I have no idea and, as said, will now never know although, I have my theories ....

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* NTC = Nautical Training Corps ... which I belonged to from the age of 8 to 19

3rd time lucky ...

I hope!! My balloon flight is now rebooked for the 19th August. Unlike a good few areas of the country we've had a few nice days and - balloons were flying yesterday 'cos I saw one! Not sure whether they would today or not. Although we've had wall to wall sunshine all day, it is pretty breezy. Anyway, the weather now has another month to sort itself out. Hopefully we will see more summer over the next few weeks and it will become more settled.

I've quite a busy week this week and it's one I'm looking forward to. I'm spending the day with a friend made via the imag-e-nation forum - Greta - on Thursday and on Saturday I've a day of classes at the Glitterpot. I've also been invited to dinner with youngest son and his eldest daughter (my middle grand-daughter). I should actually have really been babysitting her and her sister while son and dil went out for a meal but she's in the later stages of pregnancy and it's not been a good one. She feels ill more than she feels well so I've been invited out instead. It's a freebie as it's an R&R (reward & recognition) from son's firm 'cos they're really pleased with his work! Can't let a freebie go to waste now, can we ....... LOL!

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I've been awarded ...

... again - LOLOL!!. This time by Greta of Greta's Spot who's just bounced it back to me after I gave it to her .... hehe! As I've already awarded 14 people over the last couple of weeks I'm just going to say thank you very, very much Greta but I'm not passing it on at this precise moment however - who knows what I will do in the next few weeks!!

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County Champs ...

... this weekend - Archery, that is. Eldest son was competing and I went along to support him ....... and catch up with a few friends. Still not shooting myself at the moment otherwise I'd have been competing as well - lol! Weather was reasonable, although a bit breezy yesterday as, this year, he was shooting both days. The actual Championship day was today though. He had a bit of a disaster a little way into the shoot yesterday and he ended up having to shoot in a totally alien way to what he's used to. Despite that he came 2nd, missing 1st place by just 12 points. Today he had to continue to shoot the way he ended up yesterday, having had no time to put his equipment back as he's used to. We think, because he's not used to shooting 2 days on a trot, that he suffered from tiredness - lack of stamina - today and he wasn't comfortable or happy with his score. He wasn't in the first 3 places and we won't know for sure, until the official results come out, what position he ended up in for the Championship but, we think it may be 4th. All told, considering the problems he encountered, not a bad result but he's not happy with it - lol!

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Looking good ...

... already - our back garden that is. Mind you anything that's done to it can't fail to improve it as it couldn't be any worse than it started out. I forgot to get a proper 'before' photo but I've taken a couple after the ground had been more-or-less cleared of the wild garden - lol!! Weather has been quite good today so the landscapers have progressed really well, although I was amazed at just how much they did in the the constant, and very heavy, rain yesterday.

Here's a photo of the 'nearly' before. OK, so it's one of my stitched photo's - or rather 2 of my photo's stitched to make it panoramic - lol! Most of the undergrowth had been cleared when I took this but reckon you can get the idea.

Here's another taken from a slightly different angle from the top decking.

Thoughts are now turning towards what to plant the one bed with when it's finished. I want evergreen shrubs that will look after themselves and grow to a nice mature bed. I know I'd like a Photinia (Red Robin) but it's a case of doing some research to find interesting evergreens that will suit chalk soil. Any gardeners or plantsmen that may read this blog - any advice would be gratefully received - lol!! I'd also like some bamboo as a screen between us and our back neighbours. I don't like windows overlooking and I miss the trees that we used to have at the bottom of the garden which gave us some privacy. I would also like some large containers planted up with plants that will take care of themselves - lol! (You can tell I'm no gardener can't you?)

I have a half barrel water feature to be installed but need the electrics to be put in place for that so it will have to wait for a little while and I've also got bird feeders and bird bath to find a home for. These last items I've had for a few years now, in storage, ready for the project completion. Yes, I did say a few years ........ lol!!

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Well, what a surprise ...

... NOT!! I'm not "flying tonight" as I suspected I wouldn't be - lol! - and here's why ...............

The orange blob in the bottom photo is one of our landscapers who have both been mad enough to work in this weather today. They became like drowned rats very quickly - bless!!

Still, forecast for tomorrow is better :o))

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Spellbinder's Nestabilities (Wizard)

It never hurts to post links to sites/blogs that can help people who have questions that need answering before making a substantial investment in crafting equipment. Nestabilities seem to generate a lot of these questions and there is one blog that has the answers to most, if not all, questions that crafter's raise regarding these amazingly useful dies. It's Nicole Heady's Capture the Moment blog so, to have any questions you may have about Nestabilities answered, just pop along to Nicole's blog, read, digest and then enjoy your purchase - 'cos you know you just have to have them ..... lol!!

Click to be taken straight there ....... Capture the Moment.

Enjoy!!

Wet, wet, wet ...

... and no, it's got nothing to do with Marti Pellow!! We had the guys come to start the bottom of our back garden yesterday and they dodged the rain well but there's no dodging it today as it's constant. Waiting for delivery of the hardcore, gravel and other stuff for the hard landscaping so there's not much can be done until it arrives. Everything is prepared as far as can be though. Can't wait for this to all be done as we'll have a garden back - which we've not had for years - but a very, very low maintenance one, which suits me fine! There will be a flower bed. Well, shrub bed really 'cos that's what I'll be planting it up with. Things that will look after themselves mainly as I'm no gardener. I'll scatter a few containers around to soften the area and I'm looking forward to having some sort of bird feeding station. We might get more than seagulls, starlings and squabbling magpies to look at - lol!

Seems we do still have our foxes as well, although I've not seen any this year. The landscaper disturbed one the other evening. It was sunning itself but out of sight of our windows. He says it was a 3/4 grown one so would have been born this year but it was, unfortunately, a bit mangy. Couldn't have rid them of it last year as I'd hoped! Whilst on the wildlife topic - our baby seagulls are now pretty big and they've been wing exercising regularly. Don't think it'll be long before they start 'fledging'. I'm hoping that the weather will improve enough to get another photo of the 3 of them before they depart.

My rescheduled balloon flight should be happening today but can't see it going ahead as, although not as windy as last time it was cancelled, the breeze is getting up and I don't think they'd fly in the rain either ....... will find out for sure this afternoon!

At least I'm feeling somewhat better - in myself anyway, although I'm now left with a hacking cough which is, fortunately, getting better by the day!

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Uuurgghhhh!.....

Well, I now feel awful! Woke up this morning and have barely no voice - not a bad thing some peeps would say - lol!! Very headachey and no energy. I've decided that it doesn't pay me to have time off to relax as it's become the norm for me to pick something up when I chill out! My body obviously drops all defences, even those I don't want it to. Anyway, will see how I am on Monday morning and if not showing signs of improvement I'll be talking to the balloon company, methinks. I most definitely don't want to do the balloon flight feeling lousy - it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and a pressie and I want to really enjoy it ....

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Not now ...

...please!!

I had a sore throat start Tuesday evening and then started a 'heady' feeling with it on Wednesday. Since then it's got no better but it hasn't got any worse, until late today. The throat has got worse and I now have a rasping cough. I don't feel ill but neither do I feel 100% - :o((

Hubby has just gone to get me some hot honey & lemon and then I'm off to roost. I do not want this to develop into anything bad as I've my balloon flight booked for this coming Wednesday and, sod's law, it will go ahead if I'm not feeling well. I've got everything crossed that I'm feeling well or, if I'm not, the wind and rain come beating down - LOL!

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Sports day ...

... or perhaps that's more of 'have a go at different things' day - lol!! Weather was glorious Tuesday afternoon but a little cloud cover would have been welcome. There were a few competitive races although nobody was declared a winner. The main thing was that the little ones enjoyed it. Not sure of the full age range but there were a good few around 6 years old and at least one of nearly 33 - LOLOL! There were about 12 different activities and they got to do them all. Here's a few of them ....

Trike race ..........

.......... Sack race (I love this photo!)




Egg & spoon race..........
Well, that's what it should have been but by the time my little grand-daughter got to that rotation they'd run out of eggs so, it became a bean-bag on the head race instead - lol!!








.......... Obstacle course.


I decided to try a bit of video recording on my camera - having only just remembered that I could use it for video snatches as well as stills and, here's the result. The 33 year old child (well, he will be in 3 weeks time and is my youngest) is in the green and young grand-daughter is facing camera with hat on. The voice is the organiser of this particular game and is the school caretaker, who gets involved with every event the school holds - bless him!

I spent the afternoon, when there was nothing much going on, playing 'hunt the shade' as was very hot in the full sun - lol!! Now here's the anoraky bit - I know, it's getting boring now but it's my diary/ramblings and I like it and ... it's relevant to this post - lol!!

This is the view from the school field - looking west towards Brighton. Only 2 photo's stitched this time.

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Saddo here! ....

...... another photo stitched project. This time it's only 3 photo's stitched together. It's the view from my Dad's front garden in Woodingdean (check out where he's based from the map in the sidebar). Note the horses at the top of the field to both the left and right. Horses are kept in this huge field but are not always visible as there's still loads of it out of view to the left and right. Sometimes cows join them!! Photo's were taken on Tuesday when a lot of the country were suffering heavy rain and thunderstorms. It was forecast for us as well but never arrived. Same today .................. lol!

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I just luuurrrve ...

... this photo stitching software. OK, the panorama's aren't perfect as there is some 'ghosting' but then I'm taking the photo's standing in one spot and turning my body. Not the best way to try to take a series. Need to sort out a tripod to get it as near perfect as possible. Probably need a better camera as well but I like my little Casio point and shoot - lol!

I took the photo's for the panorama below - 5 in total - from the top end of the path/roadway (called Old Parish Lane, Woodingdean for anyone who's into Google Maps as much as I am) leading to the school I attended at primary level (4 to 11 years of age) and which my youngest school-age grand-daughter now goes to. I was on my way to her sports day yesterday. It is also just over the road from where fellow imag-e-nationer, Joyce, lives. Unfortunately Old Parish Lane (which is 90% farm track and goes between Ovingdean and Woodingdean - and the bushes at top of this photo are bordering it) is also well known in the Brighton area as the lane in which band-leader Ken Lyon's son was murdered back in 1967. His killer/s has never been found. (Click here for an article from the local paper's archives or here for a more recent article in The Guardian)

To the left, in the dip between fields and housing, is the main road from Rottingdean to Falmer and the bypass. The houses make up the southern part of the village estates and I live right down near where the smoke is in middle of picture. The sea is obvious, in the distance, which is roughly 3 miles from where I live and you can see why we (that is the whole village) get lovely aroma's occasionally - being surrounded by farmland ...... lol!

From this vantage point you can see 3 other villages/towns. Saltdean, to the left and, in a larger view, a crane can be seen. This is where Butlins used to have an hotel - called The Ocean Hotel - but it closed down a few years ago and is now luxury flats. In the middle is Rottingdean, a quaint, old smuggling village - very olde worlde - (big white building is flats right on the sea) and is also famous for it's windmill which can be seen right on the brow of the hill. It overlooks the village and can be seen for some distance. To the right is Ovingdean and St Dunstan's, holiday home and rehab centre for blind ex-Service men and women. It's where I started Archery and where I met my hubby - and no, he's not blind but perhaps he should have been - LOL!! I used to be a voluntary escort for a while here. A few hundred yards along the coast road from St Dunstan's is Roedean School, the very famous private girls school (would probably be in view if it wasn't for the bushes on the right - lol!).

Here's a Google Map to show where I took photo's from and showing the places mentioned. OK, so I'm being an anorak now but I just love maps and I think I'm finding an interest in another 'craft' - lol!!

View Larger Map

If anyone, after clicking on the photo to enlarge, would like an even larger copy (if you're as sad as me you might do - lol!) just leave a comment and ask for one but I'll need some contact details....

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What a great ...

... weekend and over all too soon. Could easily have stayed a few more days - :o)). Brilliant views, good weather and totally chilled. It was soooo peaceful. Nephew, who works there, was given time off from when we arrived on the Friday until 10pm on the Saturday which meant he could spend a fair bit of time with us but we still got to see him performing, which was great. I had my full body massage and a facial and it was wonderful, especially as we did get a discount as well - BONUS!! Me & sister-in-law (who had a full body while I had my facial) have decided that we could definitely be ladies who do .... we just need the men who can - LOLOL! We did a couple of local trips .... to Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth, but nothing too strenuous and ..... s-i-l and me managed to empty 3 bottles of white grape juice between us on Friday night - lol!! It went down very nicely with the Chinese take-away ..... and I stuck to the J20's for the rest of the break with the exception of my last drink Sunday evening!

I took a good few photo's of the view from the caravan and I've been playing with a trial version of a photo stitching program to join some of the view photo's together.

This, above, is the result of one play (click on it to enlarge) ..... It looks very cloudy but it wasn't really. The clouds were moving so ended up in each frame! The front of the veranda looks curved because the view is taken from both sides of the van and the front so the prog has to curve what should be straight, to get the whole image in. May try playing with other formats though - lol!

Here's a piccie of (l to r) sis-in-law, eldest nephew (Naughty Ned), youngest nephew, Bradley Bear & me (urgh!) ...

... my 'little' bro (he wishes - lol!)

... and here's a couple of pics of eldest nephew performing (sorry, photo's are rubbish - too far from stage for my little camera's flash - lol!) He's far right in bottom photo and the middle in the top one.


Below he's Rory the Tiger with (l-r) Greedy, Naughty Ned, Anxious, Polly and Bradley - :o))








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