A bientôt EU

[Amarillo]

Hi Tom. I notice that you have changed your nationality to Greek! Will this help your school application??

Ha ha!

We think the school issue is finally resolved. It was such an absurd and obviously wrong situation with Greenwich and Lewisham disowning Ben and stating the other was his home local authority.

I sent an email to our Greenwich councillors and the two heads of children's services. The result has been this email:

==========
Thank you for taking the time to contact Royal Greenwich. I am now writing in response to your complaint of 20 February 2018. As the Admissions Manager, your complaint has been passed to me in order to respond at stage 1 of Royal Borough of Greenwich’s complaints procedure. I have now looked into your application and propose the following solution.

We understand that Lewisham Council is now prepared to accept your application for Lewisham schools from a Royal Greenwich address. We have been able to re-instate your application into the primary admission 2018 process. The address that will be used is [our home address]. We have also advised the London Borough of Bromley of this as you have expressed a preference for a school in their local authority area.

We will provide you with an outcome of your application on National Offer Day, however you will be expected to provide evidence that you have returned to the [our road] address before arrangements for your child’s admission to the given school for September are confirmed. As you return to [our road] address on 16 June 2018, please provide this evidence by Friday 29 June 2018. We are able to accept written confirmation that you have resumed liability for Council Tax. If you have not returned to Royal Greenwich, please provide confirmation of the return journey booked and evidence that your tenants have/will be vacating the Royal Greenwich property.
============

No apology, and no acknowledgement that this was the direction I was pushing them towards on 10 January - six weeks earlier.

============
You appear to have no lawful authority to reject an application purely on the basis that a child is out of the country at the time that an application is made. What matters is where the child normally lives and where the child is living when they start school. Benjamin normally lives at [our address], and Benjamin will be living there when he is due to start school. If Benjamin is not living in Greenwich when he starts school, you can then lawfully reject our application for a school place.
============


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[GillianC]

Ha ha!

We think the school issue is finally resolved. It was such an absurd and obviously wrong situation with Greenwich and Lewisham disowning Ben and stating the other was his home local authority.

I sent an email to our Greenwich councillors and the two heads of children's services. The result has been this email:

==========
Thank you for taking the time to contact Royal Greenwich. I am now writing in response to your complaint of 20 February 2018. As the Admissions Manager, your complaint has been passed to me in order to respond at stage 1 of Royal Borough of Greenwich’s complaints procedure. I have now looked into your application and propose the following solution.

We understand that Lewisham Council is now prepared to accept your application for Lewisham schools from a Royal Greenwich address. We have been able to re-instate your application into the primary admission 2018 process. The address that will be used is [our home address]. We have also advised the London Borough of Bromley of this as you have expressed a preference for a school in their local authority area.

We will provide you with an outcome of your application on National Offer Day, however you will be expected to provide evidence that you have returned to the [our road] address before arrangements for your child’s admission to the given school for September are confirmed. As you return to [our road] address on 16 June 2018, please provide this evidence by Friday 29 June 2018. We are able to accept written confirmation that you have resumed liability for Council Tax. If you have not returned to Royal Greenwich, please provide confirmation of the return journey booked and evidence that your tenants have/will be vacating the Royal Greenwich property.
============

No apology, and no acknowledgement that this was the direction I was pushing them towards on 10 January - six weeks earlier.

============
You appear to have no lawful authority to reject an application purely on the basis that a child is out of the country at the time that an application is made. What matters is where the child normally lives and where the child is living when they start school. Benjamin normally lives at [our address], and Benjamin will be living there when he is due to start school. If Benjamin is not living in Greenwich when he starts school, you can then lawfully reject our application for a school place.
==========

Great that common sense at last seems to be prevailing!

 

[El Greco]

Ha ha!

We think the school issue is finally resolved. It was such an absurd and obviously wrong situation with Greenwich and Lewisham disowning Ben and stating the other was his home local authority.

I sent an email to our Greenwich councillors and the two heads of children's services. The result has been this email:

==========
Thank you for taking the time to contact Royal Greenwich. I am now writing in response to your complaint of 20 February 2018. As the Admissions Manager, your complaint has been passed to me in order to respond at stage 1 of Royal Borough of Greenwich’s complaints procedure. I have now looked into your application and propose the following solution.

We understand that Lewisham Council is now prepared to accept your application for Lewisham schools from a Royal Greenwich address. We have been able to re-instate your application into the primary admission 2018 process. The address that will be used is [our home address]. We have also advised the London Borough of Bromley of this as you have expressed a preference for a school in their local authority area.

We will provide you with an outcome of your application on National Offer Day, however you will be expected to provide evidence that you have returned to the [our road] address before arrangements for your child’s admission to the given school for September are confirmed. As you return to [our road] address on 16 June 2018, please provide this evidence by Friday 29 June 2018. We are able to accept written confirmation that you have resumed liability for Council Tax. If you have not returned to Royal Greenwich, please provide confirmation of the return journey booked and evidence that your tenants have/will be vacating the Royal Greenwich property.
============

No apology, and no acknowledgement that this was the direction I was pushing them towards on 10 January - six weeks earlier.

============
You appear to have no lawful authority to reject an application purely on the basis that a child is out of the country at the time that an application is made. What matters is where the child normally lives and where the child is living when they start school. Benjamin normally lives at [our address], and Benjamin will be living there when he is due to start school. If Benjamin is not living in Greenwich when he starts school, you can then lawfully reject our application for a school place.
============


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Result!!!!

 

[Walrus]

Well done.

 

[Amarillo]

Day 238 & 239 - Koroni

Friday was glorious - cloudless and warm. We found an isolated beach on Google maps and went for it. The route there took us along 4 km of dirt track, some of it steep and some still wet, but what we found was idiillic.

We had the entire bay to ourselves, the entire afternoon. Unfortunately, on the steep descent we went over an olive branch, and this universal symbol of peace pierced a bit of trim under our van.

I don't think it is terribly important. I can patch it up with gaffer tape until we get home, and then make a fibreglass repair. But it did make me anxious for the drive back: going downhill is easy - powering back up on a steep and loose wet surface is harder.

I need not have worried. The van performed flawlessly.

Saturday was wet again, and we were out of Marmite at breakfast. Clare's back in England next week to see her father, and I tried to convince her to bring some back. The trouble is that it has to go in hold luggage, and Clare's just taking cabin bags.

I had a flurry of emails to councillors and the heads of Children's Services at Lewisham and Greenwich. An email arrived from the Admissions Manager at Greenwich. They have managed to reinstate our application for a school place for Ben, and will wait until after we return home for proof of address. This is exactly the position I had set out to them in an email SIX WEEKS EARLIER, on 10 January:

============

You appear to have no lawful authority to reject an application purely on the basis that a child is out of the country at the time that an application is made. What matters is where the child normally lives and where the child is living when they start school.

============

Of course, they are the school admissions specialists, and I am just a layman interpreting the regulations: no one likes a smart arse telling them their job. But this has been a farcical episode, highlighting the incompetence that exists in local government. It should not require councillors and senior managers to kick some sense into local bureaucrats. Anyway, here is the resolution offered.

============

Thank you for taking the time to contact Royal Greenwich. I am now writing in response to your complaint of 20 February 2018. As the Admissions Manager, your complaint has been passed to me in order to respond at stage 1 of Royal Borough of Greenwich’s complaints procedure. I have now looked into your application and propose the following solution.

We understand that Lewisham Council is now prepared to accept your application for Lewisham schools from a Royal Greenwich address. We have been able to re-instate your application into the primary admission 2018 process. The address that will be used is [our home address]. We have also advised the London Borough of Bromley of this as you have expressed a preference for a school in their local authority area.

We will provide you with an outcome of your application on National Offer Day, however you will be expected to provide evidence that you have returned to [our home] address before arrangements for your child’s admission to the given school for September are confirmed. As you return to [our home] address on 16 June 2018, please provide this evidence by Friday 29 June 2018. We are able to accept written confirmation that you have resumed liability for Council Tax. If you have not returned to Royal Greenwich, please provide confirmation of the return journey booked and evidence that your tenants have/will be vacating the Royal Greenwich property.

============

It seems that that is now sorted!

The more pressing issue of Marmite was sorted too. Clare found three small jars in a local supermarket and bought them all.

Relaxed we went to the local beach between rain showers and had a chilled final day in Koroni - an area of welcoming Greek people and malicious olive branches.

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[burnercan]

Good stuff! I can’t tell from your profile, is your yellow submarine a 4Mo?

 

[Amarillo]

Good stuff! I can’t tell from your profile, is your yellow submarine a 4Mo?

No - the 4 Motion Beach is not available in the UK.

After we had been to the beach I read some reviews. One said that a boat or 4WD is required to reach it.

Maráthi, Koroni 240 04, Greece
https://goo.gl/maps/ZYrYsKtSrKs


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[Amarillo]

Day 240 - Koroni to Monastiraki

We moved from one Airbnb house to another. The first we stayed in because of a poor weather forecast: it rained heavily for 5 days of 7; the second because Clare is returning home to see her parents, all planned and booked before her father fell and broke his hip.

Packing is easy when staying in a house. No wet awning to deflate and pack away, no topper to remove and roof to lock in place, and no bed to morph into a bench, just bags to pack away., so we were off in good time.

There had been more heavy rain overnight, and the hills ahead were all capped with snow. I think we only stopped once: to withdraw cash from a post office cash dispenser. The exchange rate being 1.13, I declined its offer to debit my account in pounds and give me 1.05 Euros to the pound. I withdrew 450 Euros on one card for which I've been debited £397.73 - a rate of 1.13 to the pound. Even with the separate 1.5% commission charge, and foreign withdrawal fee of £1.50, it is far cheaper than accepting the 1.05 rate offered by the Greek post office. Exchange rate costs are a major part of our expenses during our year away. Whenever possible we pay using credit cards, far cheaper and far safer than cash, but here in Greece, cash is king.

Our new house, where we will be for ten nights, is huge. Two bedrooms and three reception rooms. It was clearly a much loved family home at one time, now rented out to supplement retirement income. The owner has a small taverna in the village. Ben and I will rattle about in such a big house while Clare and Jack are away.


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[Amarillo]

Days 241 to 244 - Monastriaki

Spring has definitely arrived, after temperatures rarely exceeding the mid teens throughout February, we are now basking in daytime highs in the low to mid twenties. Snow is on the peaks around us and we even made the journey into the mountains for the boys to play in it. Snow was lying above 1200 metres, and we were lucky - the road went to 1222 metres.

On the way down from the mountain we passed an extraordinary looking church, so we paused for a closer look. I'm not often wowed by churches, but the Church of Agia Fotini Mantineias was truly unique.

Then is was back to our Airbnb house for a hot bath.

I don't suppose the boys would have minded, but Meg went in after them. And she has a nice new flea collar.

Tuesday was a lazy day, and Wednesday was a return trip to Athens to drop Clare and Jack off at the airport, and despite the Beast from the East, they arrived safely at Manchester Airport and are enjoying considerably more snow than we've seen here!

While Clare and Jack are freezing in Ashbourne, the weather here has improved considerably, and Ben and I enjoyed a walk through the olive and orange groves.

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[Amarillo]

Spring has definitely arrived, after temperatures rarely exceeding the mid teens throughout February, we are now basking in daytime highs in the low to mid twenties.

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[mccp]

Much nicer than the UK right now!

 

[Amarillo]

Much nicer than the UK right now!

Clare and Jack are in Ashbourne right now, visiting Clare"s dad. Ben and I are looking after Meg and Amarillo.

We will soon be moving north through Bulgaria and Romania, so we probably have not yet seen the last of winter.



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[Amarillo]

Ben and I have been alone here for four days and we find the village community open and welcoming. We are being provided with a constant supply of local produce - oranges by the dozen, eggs, wild rocket foraged from around the olive groves and home fermented wine. Last night neighbours brought over two and a half portions of moussaka which we both enjoyed. We still have a portion left to share for lunch today.

And I suppose that is the great thing about the trip we are doing: we have the time to immerse ourselves in the communities we pass through, even more so staying in Airbnb accommodation than in our van on a campsite. Ben is a brilliant ice breaker with the locals, he has the confidence to run up to people and start chatting to them.

The village where we are staying is about 8km north of Argos, on a hillside with a view of the entire Argolis Plain to the sea.

The plain is seemingly endless orange groves, while the hillsides are olives.

It is a wonder that the locals are so warm and welcoming. I don't think we have felt so welcome anywhere since we left the Baltic States. With their refugee problems from neighbouring Turkey and their financial crisis, it is amazing that they are all so generous to passing travellers.


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[Amarillo]

Days 249 & 250 - Monastiraki

Two full days of summer sunshine. The mercury has jumped up from the high teens to mid 20s, and there is a haze of Saharan dust hanging over the Argolis Plain.

On Tuesday Ben, Meg and I had a long walk in the Olive groves above our village. We were nearly back at our house when Meg started barking at a peculiarly coloured rock - funny thing she is, I'm sure she must be long sighted. She was just dancing about this rock barking at it, lunging towards it then jumping back. Stupid dog! But then the rock moved, so Ben and I went into the olive grove to look.

Perhaps not such a stupid dog. She had just found a really handsome tortoise. Ben was thrilled.

Late afternoon we set off for Athens Airport to collect Clare and Jack. There are five toll booths on the route, and of course being in an English car I was on the wrong side to pay. I can undo my seatbelt and lean across, but it is far more fun to overshoot the booth, give the money to Ben and let him open the sliding window to pay. It amuses the toll booth staff also, instead of dealing with a fat Romanian lorry driver, they have an enthusiastic four year old English boy. The only problem is that I still have to undo my seat belt and lean across to close the sliding window - although even that might now be resolved, I think Ben might have learned how to snap the last bit closed with his foot.

A joyful reunion at Athens Airport and a late night to bed. Clare and Jack slept until 10.30 the following morning. I slipped off to Argos to buy some fresh bread without anyone knowing I had gone.

A fairly lazy final day in our house for 11 nights. On our walk through the lower orange groves Ben and Jack rode their bikes and found a tree to climb.

Two men walking along the road were charmed by the sight of them and stopped to look. We chatted them, there are Pakistani migrants from Lahore, and have lived in Greece for three years picking fruit and other odd jobs. We walked with them back to the village.

This being out last night in Monastiraki we went out for dinner. Jack learned to spread tzatiki onto toast by himself, in many ways he is better with a knife and fork than his older brother. He is certainly more adventurous with food.

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[Amarillo]

Day 251 - Monastiraki to Kato Gatzia

We left our house soon after 10am for our long and winding road north - direct distance 180 Km, road distance 470 Km. Most of the road was two or three lane motorway, empty except us. Tolls came to about 20 Euros.

The campsite here is marvellous, there's only one other campervan on site, a German couple on an around world adventure in a T4 transporter.

The bathroom block is closed for refurbishment, so we have been given an entire private hotel room and bathroom for our washing and toilet needs. Perfect!


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[Amarillo]

Day 252 to 254 - Kato Gatzea

We are really blown away by Greece. Georgeous country, friendly people, superb weather, cheap restaurants and empty motorways.

After much Airbnbing we are back in the campervan, right on the shore of Pagasetic Gulf. Locals tell us that at this time of year the water temperature is as cool as it gets - 13 degrees compared to 27 degrees at the end of the summer. The boys and Meg love it, but it is too cold for delicate me.

The village is charming. We took a walk along to there on Friday and walked out to sea on a precarious pontoon.

After a coffee we returned and our only neighbours on the campsite, a German couple, taught Ben how to fish.

On Saturday we stayed mostly on the campsite, going out in the evening for dinner. Being a tourist area, it is more expensive than Argos where we were consistently eating for under 30 Euros, here it was a smidgen under 40 Euros - two adults, two children; Greek salad starter (shared), meat main and drinks.

Eating out is a big chunk of our budget, but it is an important part of our European experience. We rarely ate out on the first stage of our trip - three times over six weeks in Norway. But here it is more affordable so we can eat out more often.

Sunday was another warm sunny day - but I am now suffering back pain. The boys are getting heavier and too often I carry one of them on my shoulders or in my arms. It is not doing my back any favours. Walking helps, so leaving Clare alone with the boys I took Meg into the hills behind our campsite.

I soon found a path that wound its way up the hillside, which is studded with cottages and lonely chapels. Chickens pecking freely unharrassed by the dogs chained in the yards. Spring is well underway with poppies creating a red sheen above the lush grass below the olive trees.

Looking back was Kato Gatzea now far below, snow capped mountains the far side of the gulf.

We have downloaded a new film for the boys to watch, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The sound track I know well, I think my grandparents had the record, but the film I did not recall so well. The boys were transfixed.

At 2 1/2 hours, it is a long film.


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[Amarillo]

Day 255 to 257 – Kato Gatzea to Alexandroupoli via Kavala

We will remember Kato Gatzea for its amazing sunsets. On our last full day there we walked into the village, sat outside a restaurant on a platform built out into the gulf, ordered ice creams, and watched the sun go down behind the snow capped Mount Othrys. It was time to move on.

We packed what we could the night before, and packed the rest as soon as we got up and set off on the long drive to Alexandroupolis.

We were never very hopeful of making the journey in one go, and after a long stop to shop at Lidl and another to refuel and a third to walk Meg and the boys, it soon became clear that we'd have to find somewhere to stay overnight. I knew there was an all-year campsite in Kavala, so we headed there. It was not a discount Camping Card site, but is ACSI listed, and cost €18.60 for the night. As it turned out, it was rather nice. The manager greeted us when we arrived, and as we chatted it turned out that he lived in Greenwich for two years and has rather fond memories of our home town - he remembers all the pubs!

Once we managed to break away from him, we set up our overnight camp using the safari room for storage of tent and child car seats, and sat down to a simple dinner of frankfurters, pasta and pickles.

On the way we needed to stop to refuel, and I finally found a fire extinguisher. It is a legal requirement to carry one in Bulgaria. It came as part of a pack, including also a first aid kit (which we already have) and a warning triangle (which we also have). But at €16.50 I felt it worth buying just for the fire extinguisher to make us legal in Bulgaria. I now had time to examine my new purchase. The extinguisher's instructions are all in Greek, so I have no idea how to operate it. The warning triangle appears to be cheap but serviceable and I have stowed it with the other below the driver's seat. The first aid kit was clinically wrapped to keep the contents sterile, so I unwrapped it.

That's it! A packet of tissues, a single alcohol swab and a micro plaster. Feeling safe and secure, we went to bed and slept soundly.

The next morning, with not far to go, we went for a walk along the beach - which was a rather nice beach. Soft golden sand. We took off the boys clothes and they played naked in the cold water while Clare and I sat on a weather worn log. After drying and dressing the boys we continued along the beach until at last we knew we had reached its end.

The drive to Alexandroupolis was just 90 minutes, and we arrived in time for lunch. It is a municipal campsite in the town itself, about 100 Km south of the Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian border tripoint.


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[Billywizz]

Completely random question... you’ve obviously used and gave your beach the ultimate test over the last year, my question is how does it perform in terms of wear and tear, rattles, little things breaking, the roof up and down loads of times and the bed to seat seat to bed use? Does it handle all this well? Hope you don’t mind this question and sorry if you have been asked this before!

Safe travels and keep having fun.

Billy

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[Amarillo]

Three little injuries in the past year.
1. Broken seat belt clip trapped in bench seat. Repaired - I paid but should have made a warranty claim.
2. Sliding door handle came loose. Probably caused by boy swinging on it. Repaired under warranty.
3. Trim under the van pierced by olive branch. Gaffer tape fix.

41,000 Km one service, and the van's performance has been flawless.

Last brim to brim MPG stats:

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[Billywizz]

Three little injuries in the past year.
1. Broken seat belt clip trapped in bench seat. Repaired - I paid but should have made a warranty claim.
2. Sliding door handle came loose. Probably caused by boy swinging on it. Repaired under warranty.
3. Trim under the van pierced by olive branch. Gaffer tape fix.

41,000 Km one service, and the van's performance has been flawless.

Last brim to brim MPG stats:

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Thanks for the reply, you can’t fault that, just proves how well built these are!
The fuel figures are really impressive you must be real happy with that thanks again (really enjoying following you guys)

 

[Amarillo]

Thanks for the reply, you can’t fault that, just proves how well built these are!
The fuel figures are really impressive you must be real happy with that thanks again (really enjoying following you guys)

I've also had 1 puncture, repaired. Still on original factory fitted standard Beach tyres.

One front wheel arch small dent where I drove into a wooden post. Numerous stone chips, and both tail light lenses chipped where things got trapped in a closing boot. All the above help form the individual character of the van. I'm especially fond of the wheel arch dent as there is no paint damage.


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[burnercan]

That's it! A packet of tissues, a single alcohol swab and a micro plaster.

The swab and bandaid to repair the small wound one might receive removing the packaging, and the tissues to dry the tears if case you've bent your Cali..

 

[WelshGas]

Probably some " Tax " benefit of selling a " First Aid Kit + Extinguisher " compared with just an ' Extinguisher "?

 

[Amarillo]

The fuel figures are really impressive you must be real happy with that thanks again (really enjoying following you guys)

The fuel figures include use of the parking heater. The 40 mpg figure is almost exclusively on Greece's superb motorways, empty and new. All the other figures include some pretty serious mountain climbs, and most, including the 40 mpg are laden figures with four bikes on the back, the adult Bromptons folded to below roof height.

However, I do drive cautiously, rarely exceeding 110 kph, and usually at 90-100 kph even on empty and straight motorway. I make use of the coast function on downhill sections and when approaching toll booths. The cruise control is in Eco mode.


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[Amarillo]

Day 258 to 260 - Alexandroupolis

Not since San Marino at the end of last autumn have we parked up for four nights and managed with battery power, topped up during the day with solar charge. This is a municipal campsite, charging four Euros per night for electric hookup. Everything we use can be powered from the van's 12 volt circuits except for recharging the laptop and our electric toothbrushes.

The fridge and car WiFi are permanently on, drawing about 1 Amp between them on average over a 24 hour period. With sunset at about 6.30pm, lighting is used from then until about 10 pm; the awning lights draw 2 Amps, and the internal van lights probably a similar amount. Phones take 1 Amp for two hours to fully recharge, and our tablets take a massive 2.1 Amps for five and a half hours to fully recharge. Fully recharging both tablets overnight would use a third of the van's battery's capacity, so we only recharge tablets during the day when the sun is pumping up to 12 Amps back into the battery.

I'm pleased to say that we have survived the four nights without power cuts, saving us 16 Euros in hookup charges.

I'm sorry to say that both our electric toothbrushes, charging in the bathrooms from the shaver points, were stolen, costing us 60 Euros to replace. Net loss 44 Euros.

We have really enjoyed Greece, the people have been the friendliest and most welcoming of any country we have visited. It is sad that this has happened on our final full day in the country.

Alexandroupolis is a border city just 20 Km west of the Turkish border. The two countries share only two border crossings on the mainland. There seem to be plenty of Turkish shoppers in the city, but, we are told, many more Greek shoppers flock to Turkey for its cheap clothing. We won't be going east to Turkey, our car insurance cover is not valid in Turkey. Instead we go north to Bulgaria, the start of our three month journey home.


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