I love this crazy garden viddy. Combining nature with sound and a touch of insanity. Thanks to my friend Elspeth http://elspeth.tumblr.com/

The impossible city

The loss of inspiration is a sad demise that many artists must face at some point in their life. There is however, for the lucky few, a quick fix solution - the luxury of a traveling holiday.
There is no better way of expanding the landscape of the mind than traveling to far flung countries, experiencing different cultures and new vistas. It injects new ideas, stimulates the mind and body and often provides that objective insightful view into one's life and (bad) habits back home.

Sunset amidst the red dunes, far far away from oxford..

This was certainly the case when I traveled to the Middle East last week and saw for the first time a Muslim culture thriving amidst desert, sea and oil wealth.
One of the first things to hit me as I stepped out of the airport into the night air was a wave of heat and humidity. For someone with a Mediterranean temperament,  who hates cold wet weather, dark days, and views the pending winter with doom and gloom, this initial sensation was like being wrapped in a warm comforting blanket.

The second thing to hit me was the amount of giant four wheel drives, luxury cars, blacked out windows, and twin to quadruple exhausts there were. The roads here, in a desert land, are more akin the Kings road in London with it's showy cars and demonstrations of wealth on wheels. As we drove from the airport I contemplated a petrol station, with long lines of 4-by-4s, ready to plug into pumps direct to underlying oil reserves. Like pernicious veins sucking and draining these ancient reserves of fossilized and liquefied organisms,  to fuel the beating heart of modern day excess and self indulgence.

I had the pleasure of staying in the Hilton, before traveling to Dubai for the weekend. Abu Dhabi is predominantly a business city, with an interesting skyline and a few very ambitious development sites. There are a few tourist destinations, though these mainly involve shopping, and certainly very little to see culturally other than the grand mosque and a museum or two.  Arab culture has evolved from a nomadic past when the Bedouin traveled and traded, the only true settlement evolving around ports and fishing creeks. History was recorded in writing and not in ancient architecture. The oldest buildings were washed away by the sands, though a few mud forts and tombs still exists preserved by the desert. The city of Dubai and Abu Dhabi were two such fishing creeks, only recently expanded and developed in the last 50 years as a direct result of new oil wealth and trade.

So as a typical tourist I headed for the only place I knew for sure a lone western woman would not attract too much attention - the shopping mall. With over 200 shops and restaurants as well as a huge cinema and indoor skiing arena, it is safe to say I was a little overwhelmed. I soon realized just how much the Arabs like to shop and spend money. If it's not on designer clothes and jewelry it's on designer cars and high rises. For a deeply religious people this is quite a contradiction to Koranic preaching and spirituality. During my whole trip this was a trait I grappled with the most, how could they marry such superficiality with extreme conservativeness and devoutness?! Their women walk the streets like faceless black ghosts, alcohol is banned except in some hotels, the call to prayer a bitter-sweet, eerie echo through the modern glass buildings at dawn and dusk. And yet their need to actively demonstrate their wealth to themselves and world, seems to be all consuming. A psychologist observing such a trait in an individual would say it was an expression of insecurity.. However can such simplistic psycology this be scaled up and applied to a nation? Probably not and so I wish I understood..

Insecurity...

My trip to Dubai was merely a confirmation of these initial musings. It is a crazy city. One can only marvel and laugh. Dubai is the impossible city, build on sand, where everything is the biggest, the tallest, the first, the only etc etc. It boasts the tallest man made structure in the world, the largest indoor skiing arena including a complete village of chalets, a collection of islands in the shape of the world, and of course, the Dubai shopping mall, no doubt another world record there, but by then I wasn't checking.

Burge Dubai, tallest building, incredible view from our balcony

Dubai is the Mecca for architects. There is no red tape here, and planning law is in the hands of one man, the Shaikh Mohamed. If he says yes then any scheme, no matter how insane is possible. Here design is unleashed o it's full potential,  and taken to extremes - such as the rotating towers, or the Dubai towers. The high-rise has replaced the minaret, impossible fingers of power and beauty reaching for the heavens.

Dubai Towers. Dancing flames of glass symbolizing multiculturalism

Rotating towers. construction has begun..

 

One has to marvel at such human feats, these naked apes are really quite ingenious! But at what cost do we keep pushing the boundaries of possibility. Dubai is a city running just to keep still, as the desert and sea is permanently trying to reclaim this land. The temperatures in this country soar easily into the 50's in summer, even I who loved the heat found it hard to operate outside the artificial AC environment. The streets are deserted and ghostly during daylight hours. All the buildings and high rises are merely giant refrigerators in which people live, only stepping out to walk to their air conditioned cars. Giant fountains and the many leafy parks are filled and irrigated with desalinated water - one of the most expensive and least ecological processes. Any drinking water is imported and bottled.

This has to be one of the wonders of the world, the most beautiful dancing fountain to the rhythm of music and light.

Even the beaches are coated in white sand imported from Algeria, because the sand in the desert is too red! Half the population of these places are poor migrants from India and Pakistan - cheap labour and the only people desperate or poor enough to live in squalid conditions, (hidden from the public eye) to build, in torrid heat, pioneering structures and playgrounds for the extremely wealthy.

I would however be a hypocrite if I used this blog to criticizes a people and their way of life. I am merely an observer and recording my experience of this desert culture. I too like to indulge in luxury,  pampering and superficial things, turning a blind eye to their ecological implications.
I did experience some of the most wonderful few days I've had the pleasure of indulging in for a long long time.  Hotel breakfasts and crisp white sheets. Cocktails by the swimming pool, lulled by relaxing music drifting out of speakers attached to palm trees, caressed by silky hot air. Sucking on sweet pulpy juices squeezed from fresh fruit, dates, dipping into warm seas. The intoxicating smell of spicy shishas oozing out of cafes, the magical call to prayer, exotic women of incredible beauty and grace, wrapped up and mysterious with merely a flash a dark eye or a peek of an expensive shoe. A wonderful, luxurious thought-provoking trip, which I would love to repeat.

Interview with Alan Titchmarch

Show Garden. The END

My black steel water troughs

My sexy, curvy, zen garden

The reflective qualities through out the garden were brilliant. The more you looked the more there was to see

A wildflower turf escapee.. Several people asked if it was my intention to have weeds in the lawn. Certainly was!

The different aggregates represented the strata layers and bed rocks from the Lake District

My favourite photo of all. Cenelophium denudatum , framed by a curve and it's reflection

I just realised I've been putting off writing this summary of the last month, as I'm still assimilating the experience and adjusting to the void the end of the project has left.

After 6 months of planning and project managing, and effectively doing two jobs, one month on site near Manchester, and several thousand miles in all manner of vehicle, I am finally HOME!!! and enjoying this rare and wonderful thing called spare time...Catching up with friends, sleeping more than 5 hours a night, realising I haven't played my piano in two years and reacquainting my self with my music.

For those who have not been informed, I've just built a show garden and was a finalists for the RHS Young Designer of the Year. Unfortunately I lost the competition but came joint second with an RHS Silver Gilt medal. I'm not too sure what silver gilt is, but I believe it's a silver medal someone has bothered to buff up and give a little extra shine to before handing it over to the recipient. What ever it is, it's as close to gold as you can get, so pretty groovy after just one year in business. However, I cant deny that when the title of young designer of the year is up for grabs, a shiny medal is poor compensation; a little like running the marathon and tripping up just in sight of the finish line (I'm not bitter, honest )

The experience I gained was however priceless, and enriching on so many levels. Awards aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the build and breakdown aspect, speaking to the thousands of people and hearing their incredible feedback and comments, and seeing my design built and come to life. I was also fortunate to meet and be helped by some of the finest people I've ever met, and whom I hope to call friends for life.

I'm not sure what the next stage of my career will be, I don't think I can do much more in terms of marketing, having been on TV, radio, news, and various magazines and papers, also handing out 4000 fliers at the show.  I have no leads nor projects in sight as yet,... So, I'll not think about it too much - que sera sera, a lot can happen in a month.. I'll worry about it after my imminent holiday and a couple of weeks in Europe rock and mountain climbing, visiting family and general shenanigans. It's a hard life!

For more images click here

Last days!!!

Team Tatton doing an ace job treating the birch ply

Having a laid back break with a much needed coffee.....

The aggregates arrived and here is an almost finished look minus planting and final touches

Tonight is infused with a special feeling of anticipation, as tomorrow morning the plants finally arrive from Orchard Dene, and we have our last day of real work. The whole project has gone so well we've had several day's of virtually no work except a little watering here, dodging rainstorms there, titivating and idly pushing small stones from one area to an other, all my workers are leaving Friday, and one even went home earlier this week. If this weren't such an important project to me, I might even venture to say I've been a little bored and aching for some activity and excitement... However tomorrow should prove fun, as I think the plants will really bring this design to life, and then for the evening I've booked us into the local posh restaurant for our last supper together...

I also had a quick chat today with the RHS Uber Big Boss Bob Sweet who came to make sure the young designers weren't up to mischief or building unsightly gardens. He dropped a small bombshell, and told me my judgement day wasn't next Tuesday like the rest of the show, but that our medals, and results for the Young Designer Comp would be announced in a great fanfare, on the Wednesday in front of a gaggle of national media coming in the bus load from London. In fact our accolade would be bestowed upon us by the eminent president of the RHS Elizabeth Banks!! Though I appreciate all the attention, I do feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights, it all seems a bit undeserved and all about showmanship and marketing. I also feel awful for the two of us that will be standing like lemons in the spotlight and not getting the award. The media love a bit of high emotion and suspense, but I just hope my nerves hold out...

If there is anything I have learnt from this experience it is
a) People are predominantly incredibly friendly and warm up here, always smiling and ready for a little chin wag or happy to help.The north prides it's self on it's laid back friendliness and quit rightly too!
b) Don't underestimate local knowledge and never be afraid to ask for it. Had I known this at the start of the project I would have found so many sources of ready help, advice and materials. It would all have been much easier than trying to source everything from scratch.

Finally I want to say a big Hi!! to all the Buildbase boys, who I've heard are following my blog, and who wish I'd come to them for my materials.. Maybe next time aye ;)

The Boundary wall is up and most of the wildflower turf, after a mammoth 24 hours driving the largest van available to humanity down south to collect a couple of tons of materials

I hope posting images of progress won't spoil the surprise for people coming to see it, it's all happening so fast that really one can see the end result without having to come to the show! I don't know how it's possible or if it's wrong, but it seems I've over planned this -the boundary took less than 3 hours to erect and the stone wall only 2 days. I had allowed 3 to 4 days for each! It's going so well it's been an absolute pleasure so far, and I've discovered how much I love project managing and being on site making all the important decision and getting stuck in too.We are so far ahead of schedule that in order to have jobs to keep us busy over the next few days until the aggregates and plants are delivered, I've ordered a couple of lie-ins at the bed and Breakfast...Admittedly a much needed lie in, as even if this has gone quickly it has been the result of long hours and days of very hard intense work...

Et voila!!! Result after 5 days grafting

The build so far...

The empty site before mayhem

Ground protection and edging first

The steel tanks arrive causing some general curiosity on site

End of second day clearing up..

Third day, we are now 5 in total, good work force, stone has arrived from Lake District and being graded

Hard to know where to start.. The last four days have been so intense.. So much happening in a very short amount of time, the anticipation, the excitement. Each delivery to site is an event, long awaited, months in the planning but minutes/hours in the execution. My workers are all astounding in their enthusiasm and effort to make this come good. It's as much their project and pride on the line as mine. I could not have hoped for more. My two competitors have plots on either side and both have had some very serious problems, slowing them down. Their designs are heavy in construction and cost, and so any set backs due to the sloping nature of the site or the poor weather and high winds seems hinder them badly. However they are both resourceful and I hope they pull through, as we are all in it together, but it does seem to make my build, and all the fun  and laughter our team are having, cause a little tension.

Oxfam contacted me today, they have a huge worldwide campaign for awareness of water usage, drought, and floods. It comes in time with the hose pipe ban over the whole of the north-west after the worst drought in a decade. They want me to support their cause through my show garden and its marketing potential, as water is an important feature. I'm not sure what this will involve yet, but possibly a photo shoot on the garden.

Tomorrow I am leaving for 24 hours, driving the biggest van I legally can, (huge) to come back to Oxford to collect my boundary wall and wild flower turf. An other intense experience and I'm quite afraid of driving such a large vehicle, with no previous experience, over a few hundred miles. I'm sure it will be fine and a great adventure like the rest of it, but just an other cause for nerves and adrenaline. I must sleep now, the days are long and hard, and I have only just begun.

The Best Laid Plans Of Mice and Men

My 4 water feature tanks. 3 meter is length and of varying height, minimum 100 kilos each seen here before they are powder coated/painted jet black.

No plan is fool-proof and no one can be completely prepared for the future, so the saying goes and quite right too. An other adrenaline charged day in the run up to 'Show Time'. I received photos from my supplier in Manchester who is making my steel water features. The finished product should be sleek black monoliths of water, slicing through what is essentially a pleasant enough, though completely wacky bucolic scene. However on closer inspection I noticed the steel tanks were not made entirely as I had envisaged, a small seemingly insignificant detail, but one that could be the first of many to cost me the elusive gold medal and title of Young Designer of the Year. 

In technical speak, the box section edges, that have been welded to provide support for the steel and prevent bowing under the weight of the water, were placed on the very rim of the tanks and stitch welded. This is something I had specified, however it was supposed to be a structural detail and not visible to the eye, placed somewhere mid way up the tank. In the end due to risks of warping the metal this was changed. The end result is a bulky rim, with discontinuous welding, creating a gap between the box section and the edge of the tank sides. This gap is a glaring fault visible to any discerning eye.

Here if you look (very ) closely you can see the (small)  damning detail and gap between the edges.. small details are so important in this type of exhibit and exactly what the judges pick up on... Precisely why it's such a nightmare for the designer...

Unfortunately with managing a project from so far away, it is impossible to inspect every feature before its completion, and it's too late to rectify this problem as the tanks have already been sent off to be powder coated black. However after a pleasant chat with the steel fabricator we concluded it my be possible to fill the gap with a black poly-filler and then use the touch up paint to merge the two shades of black. I'm sure this is the first of many such 'glitches' and the art is to deal with them as they happen and to 'wing it' on-site. 

A show garden can be planned to the very last detail, but in the end one is entirely reliant on exterior factors, such as unpredictable events, man, and the 4 elements. Only three days to go now, and the adrenaline is relentless in it's onslaught! Roll on Monday!!!

Boundary wall is built and looks increadible!!!

Today I had the most uplifting life affirming experience. I went to see my contractor who rented a barn from a local farmer and just completed building my boundary wall! It looks incredible. It is the most rewarding feeling to see months of designing, planning and refining an idea, and seeing that vision come to life. This wall is both beautiful and crazy, and I love it!! Who cares what medal I win, I know my show garden will be stunning, unique and more importantly,  my creation (with the kind help of some amazing people...)

         To give you a sense of scale my contractor tom standing by a couple of panels...

A view of the wave pattern head on

Last weekend and the BBC

So an other early rise today, as I've given up on the notion of long nights of unbroken sleep. My mind is constantly awake revising details of the show garden and remaining tasks. I've only a week left before the mayhem of building begins. Strangely I've been very calm and relaxed lately, probably just the quiet before the storm.. On Monday I'm doing a 45 minute radio interview for radio Oxford, I really cant imagine what I'll talk about for so long, and today the BBC are filming me as part of a piece which covers before during and after the competition. They want to see me working at my desk... which I must say is unfortunate. My desk is 2 meters from my bed, and as I only clean up my 'office' once I've completed a project it's a complete sty of papers wires pens and books. So very unprofessional and hardly the impression I want to give!! We are also going up to Orchard Dene where I work to film my show garden plants, in this at least I can be proud. I've spent hours and hours tending those plants, potting them up, watering etc, and they look fantastic!
This morning a huge pack came through the door with all my vehicle and delivery badges and passes, which I now have to post and send out to all my  major providers. Just goes to show how complex an organisation of an RHS show and show garden is. But how exciting! I cant wait to see my trees arrive on a giant lorry, or my crazy boundary wall once it's erected, will my giant steel water tanks look stunning or will the black powder coating make them look like cheep PVC. I feel this garden will look stunning, I have a vision in my head, and the task is to extrapolate that and make it a reality. Anything can happen in the interim and who knows what the end result will be - the important thing is to enjoy the process....

3 weeks till show garden time!

(Oxford times photo)

This week has been yet again very eventful.. Not only has the realisation hit that I only have 3 weeks left until I move up to Manchester for a month and begin the build of my show garden, but the Oxford media have caught on to my story. This week headlines in 2 of the main papers and in on-line news pages blasted titles of 'Ex-BMW TEST DRIVER GRABS GARDEN PRIZE' and more variations on the theme. Clearly my past as a factory working test driver come garden designer has inspired them...

My very expensive of birch plywood destined to become the boundary wall of the show garden was finally delivered! I'd sourced this incredible material over the internet, they had the boards made up to my specification, including the different grain directions I wanted and to FSC standard. A huge articulated lorry came to the little village lane where my contractor who is prefabricating my boundary lives. This humongous jumbo lorry then proceeded to reverse 1 mile down the lane to drop off it's load at the farmers barn which we are hiring to build the boundary. I then gave my contractor the giant template I had printed for him to cut the shapes from. Very exciting indeed, especially when you finally have some solid evidence of all the hard work you're doing. There is about 1 ton of ply, and it looks lovely, though may have to be stained to make the grain stand out a little more...

So 3 weeks left. Only 6 of which are free working days for show garden planning, not taken up by the nursery I work in, and still I have so much to do! Tick tick tick tock!!!

Alan Titchmarsh and I

Interview with Alan Titchmarsh last friday in Andy Sturgeon's 'Best in Show' Chelsea garden.

RHS Young Designer of the Year

Thank god it's official! Finally I can talk about that which has permeated my life completely! I am one of the Finalists for the young designer competition, have won a £12000 grant and building a show garden at Tatton Park! I've been under a media embargo since February, but finally that is over and I can talk about it...
The last two weeks have been a roller-coaster of incredible events, starting with the media launch and public announcement of the three finalist for the RHS Young Designer of the Year award. This consisted of a meeting with representatives of the media and Laurent Perrier MD ( who support the competition) and an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Chelsea as a construction site with Tom Stuart Smith no less!
The following week I was back at Chelsea, by which time it was open the the public. Here I was interviewed by Alan Titchmarch inside Andy Sturgeons garden which won best in show! If I had an opportunity to see into the future 3 years ago, I would have been in utter disbelief! This turn of events is beyond my wildest dreams..
I now have one month left before I move up to Tatton Park for 3 - 4 weeks to build my show garden. I hope the months of preparation and planning pay off and I end up producing a beautiful show garden worthy of a gold medal.

Top UK garden designers taking them selves a bit to seriously.. And tomorrow it's my turn with an exclusive guided tour with Tom Stuart-Smith and meeting the media!

This viddy is worth a watch, full of the best advice for life

I like some of the fundamentals of this video: a couple meeting like two ships passing in the night. Though a little cringe worthy at times I find this video emulates the power of the energy, magic and attraction you occasionally experience in life..

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

April Flowers of note

Brunnera (Silver Wings, Betty Bowling, Jack Frost etc) ; Lunaria annua; Euphorbia polychroma ('Purpura', 'Humpty Dumpty' etc) ; Lamium orvala; Dicentra 'Burning Hearts'; Epimedium niveum etc; Seslaria caerulea, Tiarella cordifolia (excluded favourites are Aqualegia canadensis, Polymonium 'Lambroke Mauve'; Carex elata aurea; Primula veris; Phlox 'Blue Perfume'; Melica altissima alba; Athamantha turbith; Anthriscus 'Ravenswings'; Pimpinella rosea and many more)

Luciano Giubbilei for Laurent-Perrier at the Chelsea Flower Show

Last night I met Luciano Giubbilei. And it was an extraordinary evening. To me Luciano has always been the mythical figure, the designer one only glimpses in magazines and publications. I loved his Chelsea garden last year, wished I could sit in it and speak to him. Never in my life did I think I would be squeezed into a car with him, dashing through poring rain to the train station and chatting about random things joking and laughing. What struck me at his talk for the OCGD was how very natural and easy he was. His naturally ebullient Italian nature really came through and he was able to explain clearly his designs and philosophies.

His gardens are striped down to the bare minimal, creating a stage set for light and shadow to play and shimmer through leaves and gorgeous art work. Anish Kapoor features a lot in his gardens which shows what sort of budget he get to play with.. He also made me think about what sort of designer I was and what I have set out to achieve and why. I was struck the force with which he felt time slipping away and how important it was to dedicate precious time to real friends, people you love and cherish, and only do the best jobs. He echoes my belief that you meet people at the right time and the right place for a reason, and often you know someone is special and plays a part in your life before you've even spoken. He navigates through life with the same sort of sensitive intuition. Finally, it is rare to meet someone who understands you when you explain your building a show garden. It is such humongous time consuming emotional roller-coaster, finding time for friends and 'life'  is difficult. You find your self cleansing you life of all the superfluous, the pointless, turning down the bad jobs and bad friends. We have exchanged a couple of emails (in Italian!) on this subject and I am grateful for the advice he has bestowed. I can sum up the whole experience in three phrases. Tempus Fugit. Chiaroscuro. Do every thing to the best of your ability. Grazie Luciano!

When Alexander McQueen died I felt a huge surge of empathy and sadness. I've wanted to pay tribute to him for a long time now. Here is one of two video's I will post, which to me are works of beauty and creative genius. I believe all design is an art form and transcends the medium it's expressed in. But my insipid words cannot describe his incredible talent and breath taking 'mise en scene'. To A McQueen the artist.

What's hot and what's not this spring

Unfortunately I've been banned from talking about anything of any importance for a little while, so until the ban ends, I've decided to make myself useful and on a monthly basis sum up the best plant activity to be found at the plant nursery. These are all the plants that have brought me joy and brightened my day. They might also influence planting plans if you are looking for a plant to bring colour and interest during a particular month.
In this picture: Plumonaria 'Blue Enseign', Bergenia overture, Heleborus 'Spotted White', Pulsatilla vulgaris, Petasities hybridus, Epimedium warleyense, Dicentra spectabilis

Orchard Dene

I've just started work in a herbaceous perennial nursery, called Orchard Dene, so having spent the last year and a half focused on design, I am now honing my plant knowledge and planting design skills. Though the work there is incredibly hard, it will be invaluable experience for my future business. My first 2 weeks there, have left my body battered and bruised, despite only working part time! However after a year of office and desk oriented work, it's no wonder I've grown soft and weak, so this job will also clearly leave me looking like a gym bunny!
At orchard dean, work does not stop just because it's winter. We work 8 hours a day outside, pulling, lifting, sorting, collating, cleaning, checking plants in ALL weather. So far I've worked in snow, rain and also glorious sunshine. Dressed like a Michelin man now, I can't wait to shed the layers and watch as all the plants grow and blossom into spring and summer.
Also despite the time of year the nursery is already very busy. And as this place caters in particular to top designers, I had the pleasure of meeting with Anthony Paul (who is also using one of my pix in his webby), collating orders for Tom Stuart-Smith who I'll meet very soon, and also receiving the London College of Garden Design next week with Andrew Wilson.
So busy busy busy!!!

Discovery of the day, small shy woodland gem called Herb Paris, now just need to wait for May to find it growing!

Young Designer Of the Year

It's been a very long time since I wrote on here. I've been caught up in the maelstrom of Christmas and New Year, but more importantly the Young Designer Of the Year Competition.
I found out in mid December that my design had made it to the short list. Only six candidates remained after the nationwide competition, and I was astounded to find out I was one of them! What followed was a frenzy of work to try and impress the judges at the presentation on the 14th of January. This presentation was held at RHS head quarters, in their very grand oak panelled board room. I had never given such an important presentation in my life and had only configured Microsoft Power Point the day before. To say I was nervous is the massive understatement of the year ( the year only being 16 days long so far, I fell I can make such sweeping comments) . My heart was beating like an alarm clock on drugs - a feeling which only intensified - as the fatidic hour of judgement approached. This was quite certainly the most important day of my career so far, but I couldn't be more eager to get it over and done with. The presentation was to 8 top representatives of the RHS and Design world, as well as the media, lasted 10 min and followed by 10 minutes of questions.
On the whole I think I did well, managed to keep control despite my trembling limbs, and had quick reactions to the few questions which really cornered me. How ever I could not presume to know the outcome, results should be at the beginning of the week. To be honest I could really do with a week without results! I'm petrified to loose and terrified to win!! If I win I would be cutting my young designer teeth on a major project, built at Tatton park show, which would be receiving a lot of attention - any bad press could be disastrous at this point in my career... Anyway. My fate now lies in the hands of others, and my thoughts in the lonely wee hours of the night are really not worth divulging!

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