RCCGB Blackpool Bash 2016 Midi Report

Date: Friday 1 April to Sunday 3 April 2016
Venue: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Who Went: Me and a large number of other RCCGB members, including Andy and Christine Hine, Alan Chilvers, Alan Hunt, Big Stevie B, Chris Bell, Dan Ould, Death, Gareth Preece, Gary, Liberty and Ellis Williams, Happy Helen, Lorraine Downing, Lorraine White, Matt Walker, Peter, Laura and Aiden O'Brien, Planenut, Richard Conian, Ryan Hackett, Sophia Jones, Steven Worthington, Stuart Pope, Wendy Adams Evans, William Webb.

DISCLAIMER: The above is NOT intended to be an exhaustive list of everyone who attended. It's a small sample of attendees; mainly those who performed billed or Gong Show acts Saturday night, and/or who I spoke to / rode with over the weekend. I sincerely apologise to anyone else who was there and I've not listed. Not all attendees (whether or not listed above) attended the event in its entirety.

Introduction

The Club's annual UK mega-trip to start the new coaster season. Once again the Blackpool Bash was a great success, with two professional entertainers plus Wendy Adams Evans performing Friday evening, a day of riding Saturday daytime (including the morning ERS), a musicals themed fancy dress party with songs, games, the Gong Show and a disco Saturday evening, and another ERS Sunday morning. A great turnout too with around 400 members from all over the UK (my list above is just a handful of them). I was determined as ever to attend the Blackpool Bash, and to take part in the Gong Show Saturday evening.

To make the rest of this report easier to read, I've split it into sections. Click the applicable link below to jump to the section you want to read:

Thursday 31 March
Day One - Friday 1 April
Day Two - Saturday 2 April (daytime)
Day Two - Saturday 2 April (evening)
Day Three - Sunday 3 April
Outro

Enjoy my report at your leisure.

Thursday 31 March

Getting to Blackpool

I travelled to Blackpool by train Thursday 31 March. My journey from Bath Spa to Blackpool North began on the 12:25 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, followed by onward trains to Newport (Gwent), Stockport, and Blackpool North. Having finally reached Blackpool North at 18:54, I tried catching a bus from a nearby stop to somewhere near Withnell Road, but ended up catching a tram from North Pier to South Pier. After reaching South Pier, my hotel was a short walk away.

Thursday Evening

Having checked into my hotel I went to The Velvet Coaster (Wetherspoon) for an evening meal. This was my first ever time of going there. I had a Curry Club meal: large Chicken Jalfrezi for main course, a pint of John Smiths Extra Smooth to drink and, for a supplementary fee, apple crumble with custard for dessert. Having finished my meal I returned to my hotel and relaxed in my room the rest of the evening.

More about Thursday available here

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Day One - Friday 1 April

Daytime

For me Friday began with a delicious breakfast: cereal, a glass of orange juice, a full English breakfast, toast and coffee. I spent the day at Sandcastle Water Park, and was in the pool / slides area from approximately 11:20 until closing time of 18:00. A separate report about my day there is available here. After leaving I returned to my hotel room to relax for about half an hour, and get changed for the evening.

Early Evening

Just after 19:00 I went to Pablo's Fish and Chips for a Pablo's Special (fish, chips, mushy peas, bread and butter, plus fizzy drink) for main course, followed by a strawberry Sundae Special for dessert.

Friday Fun

The Blackpool Bash officially began when the Paradise Room doors opened around 19:30. I entered the Paradise Room around 19:45, found myself a seat and bought myself a half a pint of Heineken. The fun began when Andy Hine appeared at 20:13 and said his annual catchphrase "Everybody say Blackpool".

The first official act was comedy magician Mark James, who did various card tricks. He also did a "silent movie" trick, during which he held up captions whilst piano music was played. His final act was juggling with pairs of mouse traps attached to batons; one pair of traps went off early on and he had to reset them.

Next RCCGB member Wendy Adams Evans sang a series of songs. For the song "Living Next Door to Alice" (with "Alice" changed to "Alan") she asked Alan Chilvers and two others on stage - I was one of them. We had to sing "Who the heck is Alan" at the relevant parts of the song. Once Wendy had finished, the interval followed, during which I bought myself half a pint of Kingston Press Cider.

After the interval former Britain's Got Talent finalist Paul Burling did numerous impressions, e.g. Rainbow, Wallace (from Wallace & Gromit), Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry. Towards the end he did an impression of Only Fools and Horses. Finally he sang his parodised version of "500 Miles", and, as an extra tribute, did an impression "Goodnight from me". Presumably that was in memory of Ronnie Corbett, who passed away the previous day (31 March 2016). When Paul finished there was still time to finish our drinks, but we had to be out by 23:00. I spoke to, and had my picture taken with some other members before heading back to my hotel for the night.

On the whole, a good selection of entertainment to start the RCCGB Blackpool Bash. Many liked my self-designed black RCCGB Fun Night T-shirt with fluorescent pink lettering and fluorescent pink sports shorts. They also noticed my fluorescent pink Hyperzone wristband from my daytime visit to Sandcastle Water Park; I deliberately kept that on my wrist for the evening, to go with my T-shirt and shorts.

More about Friday available here

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Day Two - Saturday 2 April (daytime)

First Thing

I awoke at 6:50, put on my RCCGB 20th anniversary T-shirt and had an early breakfast at 8:00 so I could be at the Paradise Room at 9:00 or soon after. After breakfast I took everything I needed for the evening to the Paradise Room, and placed it back stage. Shortly afterwards I queued to be issued with my ride wristband and drinks voucher. The new RCCGB AIRtime lanyards were also on sale, so I bought myself one. When the signal was given the Club entered the Pleasure Beach through the gate. It was raining at the time, but everyone was dressed for the rain; I was wearing my all-in-one splashsuit.

Morning ERS

The day began with a one-hour ERS on The Big One, Red Arrows Skyforce and Blue Flyer. During the ERS I enjoyed three goes on the Big One, but didn't go on Red Arrows Skyforce or Blue Flyer.

Morning Free Time

After the morning ERS ended, members dispersed around the Pleasure Beach and took over the rides. I began with one go on Red Arrows Skyforce; riding it wasn't as bad as I'd feared but I couldn't get my plane to flip over. Next I headed for Steeplechase. All three lanes were running, and I rode its red, green and yellow lanes once each. After that I enjoyed riding Avalanche once followed by Big Dipper twice. Big Dipper seemed rougher than usual, particularly its back row, presumably due to the wet track. Finally I had one go on River Caves before going to the Paradise Room for lunch.

Lunch at Paradise Room

Once inside I exchanged my drinks voucher for a Pepsi at the bar. Next I went to get my meal; I had beefburger in bun with onions, spicy chicken burger, chips and self-service salad. During lunch there were speeches from Nev and a member of Pleasure Beach staff. Club merchandise was available, including the new RCCGB T-shirts. I bought myself a red T-shirt and some badge holders for future use with my new RCCGB lanyard.

Afternoon Free Time

At 14:27, I returned to the Pleasure Beach, and began with one go on Flying Machines. Although the RCCGB wasn't going to have an afternoon ERS on Grand National for the second year running, I was nonetheless determined to ride it anyway. I rode Grand National twice; left lift hill followed by right lift hill. Grand National was rougher than when I rode it past years, presumably due to the wet track.

Next I went into Nickelodeon Land. There I enjoyed riding the wooden coasters Nickelodeon Streak once followed by Blue Flyer twice. Afterwards I rode SpongeBob's Splash Bash, Dora's World Voyage and Diego's Rainforest Rescue once each. Having left Diego's Rainforest Rescue, I saw the Nickelodeon Land characters Diego and Dora, and had my picture taken with them. My final Nickelodeon Land ride of the day was one go on the disko Avatar Airbender.

The rest of the afternoon I enjoyed riding Revolution, Infusion, Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, and Wild Mouse once each. My final ride of the day ended up being one go on The Big One. I tried to fit in a go on Avalanche just before the rides closed at 18:00, and was one of a few riders on the last train, but as the train was about to be despatched the power went off. Consequently the operators couldn't send the train, and had to release the bars manually. Momentarily I was concerned that the whole of Blackpool had no power, and therefore the RCCGB Coaster Crazy Show in the Paradise Room would have to be cancelled. Luckily there were still lights on at Grand National / Ice Blast end. The problem seemed confined to the south end of the park.

Anyway with the time now past 18:00, the rides at the north end of the Pleasure Beach (e.g. Grand National) were now closed. A decision was made earlier in the day to close the rides at 18:00, due to inclement weather, instead of 20:00 as originally billed. Ironic because the rain had now stopped and the sun had just poked out! If only the rain had stopped and the sun had appeared by around midday instead.

Summary of my day in order of activity

Morning ERS: The Big One 3

Red Arrows Skyforce 1
Steeplechase red track 1
Steeplechase green track 1
Steeplechase yellow track 1
Avalanche 1
Big Dipper 2
River Caves 1

Lunch at Paradise Room

Flying Machines 1
Grand National left lift hill 1
Grand National right lift hill 1
Nickelodeon Streak 1
Blue Flyer 2
SpongeBob's Splash Bash 1
Dora's World Voyage 1
Diego's Rainforest Rescue 1
Avatar Airbender 1
Revolution 1
Infusion 1
Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic 1
Wild Mouse 1
The Big One 1

Cumulative Summary of My Rides (ERSs and Free Time Combined)

Ride	Total
Avalanche	1
Avatar Airbender	1
Big Dipper	2
Blue Flyer	2
Diego's Rainforest Rescue	1
Dora's World Voyage	1
Flying Machines	1
Grand National left lift hill	1
Grand National right lift hill	1
Infusion	1
Nickelodeon Streak	1
Red Arrows Skyforce	1
Revolution	1
River Caves	1
SpongeBob's Splash Bash	1
Steeplechase green track	1
Steeplechase red track	1
Steeplechase yellow track	1
The Big One	4
Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic	1
Wild Mouse	1
TOTAL	26

Altogether a fun day of riding. It's a pity it rained all morning and most of the afternoon, but the rain didn't deter me from riding as I wore my all-in-one splashsuit most of the day. At least the Pleasure Beach was fairly quiet, and hence most rides were either walk-on or had very short queues as a result.

More about Saturday daytime available here

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Day Two - Saturday 2 April (evening)

Having left the Pleasure Beach I walked straight to the ground floor of the Casino Tower. I showed my Back Stage Pass, and was escorted up to the Paradise Room. The lights and sound system were on there, so evidently that wasn't affected by the power failure in the southern half of the Pleasure Beach. I chose my seat, set up my camcorder, rehearsed my Gong Show act and put on my evening outfit. I also bought myself a drink and a meal. Around 19:30 the doors opened to members not taking part. This year's theme was musicals, and many dressed in something connected with musicals. I wore a cream shirt, black trousers and my Hallowe'en cape (which I originally bought for the 2014 horror-themed Blackpool Bash) to resemble Phantom from Phantom of the Opera. The only extra I bought for this year was a Phantom of the Opera mask, however I only put that on briefly a couple of times to have photos taken of me.

The First Half

At 20:09 the show began with a brief history of the RCCGB. Afterwards Alan Chilvers and Wendy Adams Evans sang a coaster themed version of "Radio Ga Ga"! Their version went "All we hear is Coaster Crazy". When they finished, Nev gave his opening speech, including some jokes. Next Lorraine Downing, who was one of last year's Gong Show winners, sang "No Business Like Show Business". This was followed by Nev's card trick involving three people in the audience. Afterwards Gary Williams sang the lead song from the Madness Musical "Our House". It was now time for the Kids' Gopher game, in which ten children took part. When called, they ran into the audience to fetch the item specified by Nev, e.g. watch, hotel key, camera, only to find one less chair on their return, thereby forcing the child unable to find a seat out each time. Exceptionally on one round, one boy who was seated was found to have cheated; he was disqualified and a girl who would have been eliminated for having no seat was allowed to continue instead. The winner was Oscar. The final act before the Gong Show was Betty, Ella & Alfie-May (BEAM), performing a sequence of gymnastics, including cartwheels, forward and backward flips, and split leg stretches.

The Gong Show

The Gong Show featured nine acts, starting with Dan Ould's "Sandwhich" in which he tried making a cheese sandwich. After much booing, the horn went. Alice & Charlotte, under the stage name The Panthers, did cheerleading. Despite cheering and applause early on, the horn went. Peter, Laura and Aiden O'Brien, as The Nutty Professors, performed "Alphabet Aerobics" by Blackalicious. Laura and Aiden sang the song, whilst Peter displayed and dropped a series of cards. Despite "off" calls when they first appeared, they reached the end with much cheering and applause. Next Ryan Hackett appeared wearing a red leotard, and holding a giant Flake, to perform the Cadbury's Flake advert. The horn went when he reached the end. After that, Lorraine White mimed actions for parts of the Queen song "Don't Stop Me Now", but the horn went part way through the song. Death was sixth in the line-up. He sang "Life is a Roller Coaster", but following much booing from the start, the horn went after the first chorus. Next Alfie Jacks, who was entering the Gong Show for the first time, danced along to "Gangnam Style". At the end he attracted much cheering and applause. My performance of "I am the Music Man" was the penultimate act. Alan Chilvers joined in with the actions on stage, and many members in the audience joined in with the actions. There was much cheering and applause when I reached the end of the song. Finally first-timer Chris Bell sang "Dentist!" (Little Shop of Horrors), with Death in a chair as his patient. The horn went during this act.

Top two: Alfie Jacks, Nemesis Nick; Winner: Alfie Jacks
Bottom two: Nemesis Nick, Chris Bell; Ultimate worst: Chris Bell

Rest of Coaster Crazy Show

Back to the billed acts. Liberty Williams sang "Does Your Mother Know?" from the musical "Mamma Mia". The final game of the night "Don't Show …" had five adults trying to win a night in the Big Blue Hotel. Each had to name a ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, but would be eliminated for showing their teeth, pausing, and other specified reasons. Every time a contestant was out, the question for the remaining contestants changed. Dan won. Afterwards Alan Chilvers sang the closing song "All You Need is Wood", in connection with The Beatles musical "Let It Be". As he sang, members who had performed earlier, including me, appeared on the stage to wave their arms in the air in time to the music. When the song finished, Nev gave his closing message and thanked all who had performed and the staff.

After Show Party

During Nev's closing speech the stage went down to form the dance floor for the after-show disco, which lasted just over an hour. Many including me danced along. Song snippets included "Happy Days", "YMCA" (Village People), "My Old Silver Lining", "Glad All Over", "Can-Can", "The Locomotion", etc. Towards the end the following four songs were played in full:

Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ryan and co appeared on stage just in front of the curtains doing the actions)
Amarillo
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
New York

The Warner Brothers cartoon "That's all folks" marked the end of the disco. Finally those who had dressed up assembled for a group photo. Afterwards members were asked to pack up and leave as quickly as possible. Around 23:10 I finally left the Paradise Room via the spiral stairs and was back at my hotel a few minutes later.

Summary of Evening

Show Opener: Alan Chilvers & Co.
Introduction: Andy Hine
Act 1: Lorraine Downing - "No Business Like Show Business"
Andy Hine - Tossed!
Act 2: Gary Williams - "Our House"
Game 1: Kids' Gopher
Act 3: BEAM - Gymnastics

The Gong Show
1: Dan Ould - Sandwhich
2: Alice & Charlotte - Cheerleaders
3: The Nutty Professors - Alphabet Aerobics
4: Ryan Hackett - Cadbury's Flake advert
5: Lorraine White - "Don't Stop Me Now"
6: Death - "Life is a Roller Coaster"
7: Alfie Jacks - "Gangnam Style"
8: Nemesis Nick - "I am the Music Man"
9: Chris Bell - "Dentist!"

Top two: Alfie Jacks, Nemesis Nick; Winner: Alfie Jacks
Bottom two: Nemesis Nick, Chris Bell; Ultimate worst: Chris Bell

Act 4: Liberty Williams - "Does Your Mother Know?"
Game 2: Don't Show …
Finale: Alan Chilvers - "All You Need is Wood"
Andy Hine: Thank Yous

After Show Party (Disco)

Group photo

Altogether an excellent evening of entertainment. For me it was great to perform "I am the Music Man" in the Gong Show. The after show disco provided a lively end to the evening.

More about Saturday evening available here

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Day Three - Sunday 3 April

First Thing

I awoke at 6:45, put on my new red RCCGB T-shirt (which I bought Saturday lunchtime), packed and had breakfast at 8:00. After breakfast I went to the Casino Tower. At the main desk I exchanged my voucher for a wristband and gate pass.

WOW ERS

When Nev was given the signal by the staff, the Club entered through the gates for the WOW ERS on Grand National, Big Dipper and Wild Mouse. Thankfully, unlike Saturday morning, it was dry and sunny outside. I began with two goes on Grand National. On my first go my train ascended the left lift hill; the opposing train won. On my second go I rode the train which went up the right lift hill. This time the finish was neck-and-neck. The rest of the ERS I enjoyed three goes on Big Dipper. Both Grand National and Big Dipper were considerably less rough than they were on Saturday; presumably their tracks had dried out overnight.

After ERS

The ERS finished at 10:30. No further Club activities were scheduled for Sunday. Members with Sunday wristbands stayed and continued riding. Those without Sunday wristbands left and went straight home or visited other Blackpool attractions. Since I had a Sunday wristband I continued riding until just after 16:00.

As soon as the ERS ended I had one go on Wild Mouse, as I missed it during the ERS. After speaking to Nev, Alan Chilvers and other RCCGB members near the fountains for a few minutes, I went into Nickelodeon Land to ride Nickelodeon Streak twice followed by Blue Flyer twice. The waiting times for those were minimal at the time. Thus I had now ridden all five wooden coasters, one after another, Sunday morning. Suddenly I met Diego, so I had my picture taken with him, before leaving Nickelodeon Land.

Next I enjoyed one go on Revolution, followed by one go on Steeplechase (red track). With the time now around midday, the park seemed to be getting busier. I went on The Big One; its waiting time was longer than I'd hoped for, but still not too long. However I limited myself to one go. Next I enjoyed one go on Avalanche. Nearby Crazy Daisy was still walk-on, I enjoyed one go. I quickly noticed the cups no longer swap between turntables, which I think has spoilt the ride considerably. Back in Nickelodeon Land, I rode Diego's Rainforest Rescue and Backyardigans Pirate Treasure once each. After having my picture taken beside SpongeBob, I considered going on Dora's World Voyage, but due to its queuing time, gave it a miss as there were other rides which I wanted to go on during my remaining time there.

Around 14:00 I went to T Café for a much-needed hot dog and coffee. Having finished my mid-afternoon snack I enjoyed riding Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, River Caves, Ice Blast and Flying Machines once each. Around 15:20 I started queuing for Infusion. Due to the long queue, it took me until just before 16:00 to get on Infusion, but it was worth the wait. Sadly that ended up being my final ride of the day. I considered going on Derby Racer before leaving, but it was in operation, and when it stopped a few minutes later I resisted the temptation to have a go as riding it might have delayed me leaving the Pleasure Beach by another ten to fifteen minutes. Without further ado I left the Pleasure Beach.

Summary of my day in order of activity

WOW ERS: Grand National left lift hill 1, Grand National right lift hill 1, Big Dipper 3

Wild Mouse 1
Nickelodeon Streak 2
Blue Flyer 2
Revolution 1
Steeplechase red track 1
The Big One 1
Avalanche 1
Crazy Daisy 1
Diego's Rainforest Rescue 1
Backyardigans Pirate Treasure 1

Hot dog and coffee at T Café

Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic 1
River Caves 1
Ice Blast 1
Flying Machines 1
Infusion 1

Cumulative Summary of My Rides (ERS and Free Time Combined)

Ride	Total
Avalanche	1
Backyardigans Pirate Treasure	1
Big Dipper	3
Blue Flyer	2
Crazy Daisy	1
Diego's Rainforest Rescue	1
Flying Machines	1
Grand National left lift hill	1
Grand National right lift hill	1
Ice Blast	1
Infusion	1
Nickelodeon Streak	2
Revolution	1
River Caves	1
Steeplechase red track	1
The Big One	1
Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic	1
Wild Mouse	1
TOTAL	22

Altogether a coaster crazy final day of the RCCGB Blackpool Bash 2016. Best of all it was dry all day, and mostly sunny up until around 16:00; a vast improvement on Saturday's weather. The only snag was, after midday, queues for several rides were longer than on Saturday. Nonetheless I still achieved a good ride count considering I faced about 40 minutes' wait for Infusion and I left around 16:10.

Sunday Late Afternoon

Having left the Pleasure Beach I collected my luggage from my hotel and walked to South Pier tram stop, whereupon I caught a tram to North Pier. Next I went to The Frying Squad Fish & Chips to have fish, chips and mushy peas.

Journey Home

After finishing my meal I walked to Blackpool North station. On arrival I bought myself a small Americano from Pumpkin café, and drank it the fare paid side of the ticket barrier before catching the 17:44 train to Preston. From there my journey continued aboard onward trains to Crewe, Newport (Gwent), and Bristol Temple Meads. The final leg of my journey home was the 23:25 rail replacement bus to Bath Bus Station. I eventually reached Bath Bus Station at 23:57, and home about 15 minutes later.

More about Sunday available here

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Outro

Highlights

Meeting members I've met on previous Club trips again (including Andy and Christine Hine, Alan Chilvers, Death, Happy Helen, Sophia Jones, Matt Walker, Peter O'Brien, Planenut, Ryan Hackett).
Wearing my self-designed RCCGB Fun Night T-shirt and fluorescent pink sports shorts to the Friday Fun Night.
Saturday morning ERS on on The Big One, Red Arrows Skyforce and Blue Flyer.
Sunday morning WOW ERS on Grand National, Big Dipper and Wild Mouse.
Good overall ride count both Saturday and Sunday (during morning ERS and normal time).
Adding Red Arrows Skyforce to my ride count Saturday morning (just after the ERS ended).
Riding all the coasters and many other rides again.
Riding all five wooden coasters (including both lift hills of Grand National) in succession Sunday morning.
Two nights of entertainment, plus dancing in the disco Saturday evening.
Performing "I am the Music Man" in the Gong Show Saturday evening
Dry, sunny weather Sunday.

Lowlights

Rain most of Saturday (but thankfully it wasn't too windy to run Big One).
Long queues for several rides Sunday (particularly after midday).

Summing Up

Another mega excellent weekend away at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Granadaland, my ninth Blackpool Bash to-date. It was great adding Red Arrows Skyforce to my ride count, riding the Big One, Grand National, Big Dipper and other rides again, and catching up with other members. At the Blackpool Bash, the ERSs and other riding are only part of the fun. The other major chunk of the fun includes the Friday evening entertainment, Saturday lunch and Saturday evening Coaster Crazy Show and disco. It was great to be in the Gong Show for the seventh time to-date, but I'm still surprised how I could be voted second best and second worst act! No wonder Nev says in the Blackpool Bash invite "If you can only make one Club trip this year, make it this one". Many thanks to Andy Hine for all the effort involved in organising a trip of this nature, including Friday evening entertainment, all of Saturday's events in the Paradise Room, and the ERSs Saturday and Sunday morning. Thanks also to the ride staff required for operating the applicable rides for the Saturday and Sunday morning ERSs, the caterers for providing food Friday evening, Saturday lunchtime and Saturday evening, the sound technicians Friday and Saturday evening, and all members who performed billed or Gong Show acts Saturday evening. The only let-down was the rain on Saturday which caused ride closing time to be moved from 20:00 to 18:00, but the silver lining was that the queues for most rides were short most of the day. Although Sunday's weather was a vast improvement; dry all day and mostly sunny, from around midday the ride queues for several rides were considerably longer than on Saturday. From this there is a clear correlation between the weather and how busy the park gets (in terms of queuing times).

RCCGB Blackpool Bash 2016 can be likened to a three-course meal as follows:
Starter: Friday Fun (Friday evening entertainment)
Main course: Saturday daytime and evening activities
Dessert: Sunday morning ERS and free time thereafter

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