The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Steve Angus, thanks for a great blog. Hope all goes well over the coming months.

Don't book yourself up for opening week..I want first dibs!

A snowHead

Steve Angus, thanks so much for wonderful reports and photos. Have a Happy Easter, and all the best for the new arrival.

PS I bumped into Uncle Martin in the street this afternoon!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Steve Angus, loved reading your updates, and good luck with the babba when he or she arrives.

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Steve Angus.

Thanks as always for the great reports and photos.

Good luck to you, Clare & and the new arrival.

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WOW THANKS EVERYONE FOR SUCH KIND COMMENTS AND WELL WISHES

I shall make sure to keep everyone updated on developments.

But now here's back to the final instalment of the blog for the time being. And I appreciate it is now Monday morning and I last posted on Thursday night but a fair few things have happened.

Friday the weather was much better than anticipated..... it had clouded over but was not too bad. Joe was ready for the final of 'Strictly Come Skiing 2014' in the morning and skied ever so well... in fact I have now edited the video I took (some footage from earlier in the week and some from later in the week). The video is perhaps a little 'alternative' but I know Joe will really appreciate it. Hope you all enjoy it and watch Joe skiing very well!

http://youtube.com/v/2owa6mS925Q

In the afternoon the weather deteriorated significantly but I knew that little Henry would be as keen as mustard as always and so it proved so. Being his last day of the week it was all about a fun session for him.... next time I will be skiing with him will be New Years week so I knew that he will be have grown significantly by then so it was important to get mileage under his skis on the last day. We did both crocodile valley, the fun run and the large skier cross course on the Grand Pre.... he loved it!

As soon as I finished my last run with Henry it was action stations..... first up was an end of season meeting with a couple of colleagues to chat about plans for next season and debrief this one. Then it was a rush to get home, shower and change before getting back up into town to meet my old university friend whom I have not seen for about 7 years off the bus from Geneva. He has come for a long weekend.

It was rather drizzly, windy and grey in town by now and just starting to snow - even down in town which meant things were probably looking good up top.

We had a quick beer at home then headed to have a Moris burger, only to find out that the burger kitchen shut last Wednesday..... dooooh. Instead we had a lovely burger at the Alexandra before heading out to the Blue Note for a night of merriment.

Friday weather better than expected but deteriorated quickly as the afternoon and evening went on.

When I was coming back up into town on the bus earlier in the day I noticed this.... what the heck is that doing here in Val d'Isere..... a long distance business reeky trip perhaps..... would love to see how that journey was accounted for in expenses!

Saturday dawned with a round of heavy heads between Christian and I and when we looked out the window to snow and pretty miserable conditions we were tempted (well I was really but Christian was keen to make the most of this short trip) to go back to bed. Anyway we made the most of things and after getting him sorted with skis and lift passes we headed up the Bellevarde. I was pretty impressed with the amount of fresh snow (some 20cm in places) that had fallen and the pistes were in great shape..... in some places it was a little sticky but hey it is late April now so you can't really complain! I heard that the off piste was pretty darn good though although between rapidly rising temperatures, the snow not bonding with the sub layers (snow or the ground) and wind etc there were some large slides happening either naturally or human triggered. It was also the first time in about a month that we could here the pisteurs doing their thing with the Catex and Gasex.

Christian enjoying the snow and white out up the Bellevarde side.

Anyway we had a jolly fun blast around on the pistes just cruising really and then stopped for a hot chocolate and waffle at the best place in town for it... the Toviere restaurant.

I left Christian in Tignes Le Lac (he knew it was going to happen - I didn't just dump him there (and he has a jolly good sense of direction anyway)) and headed to the Terrachu as it was the TDC end of season meal and drinks do there.

After changing into my shoes that I had been carrying in my rucksack (agh that is better) I settled down for a rather fun afternoon. Needless to say there was plenty of drinks to be had and we ate like kings. Sarah Musson and her boyfriend (congratulations Sarah as you are now nearly 20 weeks pregnant too) run that place year round. Sarah also does teach for TDC but has been so busy with running the Terrachu this Winter she hardly had time. She is looking forward to the second Summer of running the place too after they had a very successful first Summer last year.

We effectively had a 5 course feast with coffee and all sorts of champagne toasts.... it was quite the way to finish the season. Having arrived at about 1.30 we were all well and truly stuffed (in more than one way!!!!) by about 7pm when we finally left.... thanks Ben for being nominated driver!

There was a large 50th birthday party going on for a long term seasonnaire (Dom as in Maxine and Dom) in the Pacific Bar but I really did not feel up for anything when I rolled in at the ungodly hour of about 8pm!!!!!!!! Instead it was a rock and roll evening of Match of the Day and then a LONG sleep!

I woke for the second morning in a row feeling rather fuzzy...... I made a beeline for a full english at the Petit Danois only to find out that they have changed their serving time from 10am to 11am........ grrrrrrrr. I had to have a far inferior one at the Billabong cafe.

I then spent most of yesterday vegging on the sofa watching the Grand Prix, football and then cricket. I did go up to our chalet to turn the heating off and collect both the dirty laundry and then the clean stuff from the launders.

The weather was much better yesterday although once again closed in in the evening and led to more snow at altitude but no where near as much as the other day!

At 5pm it was time for one more social engagement to finish up a rather socialable weekend.... HIP Hideouts organised a BBQ and drinks reception at one of their really plush chalets (not too far from me here). Anyway I arrived stylishly late (5.15 when it was advertised as a 5pm start). Anyway cutting a long story short no one else arrived until about 6pm. So it was just me and the chalet staff and company owner for about an hour. It was time for another beer as I felt like I could not let the side down. About 6pm various other 'resort partners' of HIP Hideouts arrived such as nanny company owners and various ski school secretaries, instructors and people from Snowberry etc etc etc. The food was awesome and it was nice to have a couple of social beers in wonderful surroundings before heading back home for an early night. I got a text late on from Christian.... he was only staying with me on the Friday night before his friend arrived on the Saturday, and they are both taking an apartment for a few days on their own. Anyway did I want to head out for some drinks..................... ARGHHHH no more partying! So I declined.

And finally that brings me up to date..... I woke up refreshed this morning and have been starting to get into the long list of jobs that need doing over the next 10 days or so before heading back home.

So that really is the end of the regular blogging for now.

For those coming out skiing this week or next then expect some great piste conditions (and some great off piste - although you will need to stay high and keep your wits about you). We should get regular top ups of snow although the weather overall should be pretty hit and miss and certainly not wall to wall sunshine. Temperatures will be high but some snow and rain and cloud will mix it all up. ENJOY

Over and out.

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Thanks for a brilliant blog again, Steve. We love the vid and Joe absolutely loved his lessons!

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Thanks for all your time and dedication throughout the season to give us your updates. Looking forward to next seasons already

After all it is free

Thanks Steve for your great blogs and all the best to you and Claire with your pending arrival! Good to see you earlier in the season and Mr C was on good form when I saw him on Saturday after his ACL op ! Cheers, Tony

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Not long to wait for the baby now! Wishing you both all the very best.

Can't wait to see the first pics of mini-Angus!

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I'M A DAD

Well what a month or so it has been...

The week or so after I made my last post I was frantically trying to get my accounts finalised and all that. Immediately after that I was due to pack up, move house to our 2 bedroom flat that will be our new home then pack the car and leave town to get back the best part of 2 weeks before the due date.

Well I got through the boring accounting bit and was about to start on the packing up and move house bit when all hell broke lose!

Got a call from Clare early in the morning on the 29th April basically saying that her waters had broken and it was a frantic dash to the hospital. Anyway without getting into the details I did not have time to get back home in time from Val so Clares mum became the birthing partner (she got it on video so I have been able to experience it after the event). Within a few short hours the news came through that we had a baby girl…. 5lb15oz in weight (12.54 lunchtime she was born) but perfectly healthy despite being nearly 3 weeks early. Never in a million years did I think that she would arrive quite so early…. well 99% of first born babies are late and even outside the ‘first born’ realm most come within the window of 2 weeks either side of the due date so it was a pretty solid bet that if I got home within the first few days in May that I would be OK.

Anyway we have named her Olivia Serena Rose.

Since then she has been a very well behaved little girl, eating and sleeping well… she had a touch of jaundice but we think it has now passed. She is growing quickly and has already gained 600g in weight.

Anyway it meant that from that Tuesday onwards I was running around as quick as I could to get the house packed up and move everything up to our other place then shut down our studio that we are going to let out for next season as we have not completed on a sale as of yet although there are several people interested!

I finally made it back to meet my little girl at 2 days old. We are living in a ‘granny’ flat attached to the farmhouse where Clares mother and step father live in Hungerford, West Berkshire.

Since then both Clare and I (and Olivia) have all been settling into our new roles and learning what being a parent / daughter, is all about. Generally it has all gone very smoothly and we have been getting plenty of rest (amazingly) so long may it continue!

We had the usual constant steam of visitors, family and friends and we have been overwhelmed with everyones kind words and presents etc for her / us!

In only the last week or so things have started to settle down but it did mean that Clare and I had three whole weeks - just the three of us, which was great. I have now started work on the cricket again and am on and off for the next week or two before it gets really busy in June and onwards for about 3 months. It has been a pity that the poor weather has rolled in so working outdoors on the cricket is not ideal but hey I really love the work so I can’t complain and besides we need to bring some money into the family now!

So a rather life changing few weeks it has been!

Proud dad!

Story time.

Play (or is that sleep) time!

Smile for the camera.

Her first bottle! (normally breast fed but this is expressed milk so I get to feed her!)

Sleeping on the job

A pretty dress for a pretty girl!

Back in Val d’Isere there has been the usual mix of weddings, births, deaths, some great weather and then in the last couple of days there has been a lot of snow - some 40cm all over the resort.

Until next month….

A very British wedding took place at the top of the Col du Iseran at couple of days before the lifts closed for the season

There was the obligatory crazy Folie Douce closing party which was as colourful as always (so Im told)

With the season officially over the outdoor lifestyle and cafe culture took over

Whilst the animals start coming out of their hidding places after the slopes become quiet once again

Beautiful colours start appearing once again…

…as the mandatory maintenance etc of the lifts etc started

Hard work on the road to allow the Col to open has started too

But heavy snow has arrived once again but it should melt pretty quickly.

You know it makes sense.

Congratulations. The photos made me smile. Let me know if you come to Chelmsford this year Very Happy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Big congratulations to all three of you! x

A snowHead

Steve Angus, congratulations! What a gorgeous little girl! Very Happy

A snowHead

Steve Angus, CONGRATULATIONS! Enjoy the moment!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Congratulations to you both! What a great life she has in front of her....so exciting for all of you. Good health and good fortune for the new family.

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HUGE congratulations Steve and Clare, she is an absolute stunner x

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Many, many congratulations to you all Very Happy

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Steve Angus, Very Happy

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What super news. Lovely photos of a gorgeous girl (does she have more hair than her dad?). snowHead

After all it is free

Congratulations to both of you

Congratulations to both of you. Shame you didn't make it back in time. She looks like a mini-Steve and she'll be on skis before you know it!!

Hope you are enjoying the sleepless nights and we look forward to meeting her next season.

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I've been checking in for ages to see the update!

MANY CONGRATULATIONS!!!

She is absolutely beautiful, love all the proud dad pics.

Soon be time for her first ski lesson Wink

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Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! Very Happy

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Congratulations - to all of you

well done.

You know it makes sense.

Congratulations. With that hair there's no denying your paternity!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Congrats. Enjoy your summer break, hopefully the sprog won't take up too much of your time next Winter and you will still have time to blog! Cool

A snowHead

ANOTHER MONTH PASSES AND TIME FOR AN UPDATE

Thank you everyone for your kind messages re Olivia and the family - much appreciated!

Well it has been a little longer than planned since I last updated on here - sorry about that. So the last 6 weeks or so have been a combination of 2 things - looking after Olivia and seeing her grow but also getting back to work for the Summer with the cricket and events set up.

So I am sitting here in my hotel room in Birmingham having just done another cricket match last night...... and today after writing this I shall be hitting the road towards Hoylake (near Liverpool) as I start a weeks set up for the British Golf Open there.... it is all systems go!

Lets start with the nice stuff - that of watching Olivia grow and all that comes with that!

Happy in her new chair.

She has loved spending time in her new chair watching (mainly Clare as I have not been around that much) the world go buy.

A BRILLIANT first fathers day!

It really was an amazing first Father Day..... Clare organised a wonderful bowl complete with Olivias footprints on.... we had a nice meal out and the sun shone.

Her first trip to the seaside (visiting the grandparents).

Even though she slept through the actual trip down to the waterfront and was a little grouchy around the grandparents we took her to see them in Bournemouth which was a nice day out.

Sleepy time for both of us!!!!

She continues to sleep well although she has her times when she is difficult to comfort and settle so we have resorted to her sleeping on us a couple of times so that we both get a little rest! I wasn't actually asleep in this photo - just resting my eyes - promise!

Loving her new bean bag..... great place for story time with her.

This will form the central part of her bedroom when we get back to Val - somewhere for her to sit / or us to sit when we are doing story time for her when she gets a little older.

Meeting new friends.

We took a trip up to Milton Keynes to see some Val d'Isere friends of ours with their daughter Mea and we had a lovely day and night there - Gav not only works with me on the cricket job in the Summer but he also works for TDC in the Winters whilst his wife runs Bonne Sante physio in Val!

Looking rather cute (as always)

She is turning into a really content and beautiful little girl!

Her first smiles.

Many people have said that she is a spitting image of me - this is her first of many smiles she produces when she wants to now. She loves her bath times and if you sing 'round and round the garden' nursery rhyme to her so tends to smile to that.... as long as you do the actions as well!

So it has been a magical 6 weeks in our family - she is now 10 weeks old - time flies! It has not all been plain sailing as she still has moderate signs of jaundice still and continues to get a little treatment but it is fading... so fingers crossed we are nearly done with that!

The other main thing that has been going on my end has been my return to work for the Summer. The main cricket season is upon us once again and in the end part of June it was about 4 days on typically and 3 days off typically but now it is getting towards 6 days on and 1 day off typically..... by the end of July things start to ease off once again!

So we get to a cricket ground (my team of 3 covers all the 20:20 and 1 day formats of the game that are televised).... set up the advertising boards around the outside of the pitch.... put the large 'matts' down that the bowlers run over with the advertisers message on before putting the boundary advertising 'toblerones' on and the press backdrops for the presentations at the end.... that covers about a day and a bit to do all that for one match.... we then watch the match and then take it all down and move on to the next venue the next day...... pretty full on but exciting if you like cricket as I do!

Setting up one of the many cricket matches...... here driving advertising boards around the Ageas Bowl in Southampton to their nominated positions for the match....

Then enjoying the matches afterwards.

About the only other thing to note this end was that we enjoyed a great weekend when we had all of Clares friends and their families come down for a BBQ a couple of weeks back and it was glorious. The outdoor swimming pool even got some usage which was great. However it went from that mass of people to a ghost time back on the farm where we are living this Summer as I was away and Clares mother and step father were also away. This meant that Clare had nearly 10 days all by herself at home with Olivia but luckily Olivia was very well behaved so it was not too stressful for her!

OK Val d'Isere news time!!!!

They had some fresh snow in Val - even late into May.... never right off snow in Val d'Isere at any time of the year!

The road workmen celebrate the Col d'Iserean opening for the Summer after the mammoth amount of snow clearance

Whilst Summer skiing commences on the Val glacier!

Beach volleyball - up a mountain!!!!!

The French paralympic skiers training hard too!

At this time of the year all the local school kids are all over the place with activity weeks and in this case a trip to the French Riviera!

Some roadworks to be done!

The cattle and sheep return to the high ground grazing after the last of the snow melted and nighttime temperatures are consistently above zero!

The ball goes a long way in the thin air

Val d'Isere in bloom!

But rockfalls onto the road remind us all of the constant dangers of living in the mountains!

There has also been the usual births, marriages and deaths but no point in reporting ALL of them unless one of note comes up!

And that folks brings you all up to date. More updates in a month or so from now!

A snowHead

A nice month - full of work, sun and watching Olivia grow

Well I can't believe another month has flown by. The month has generally been a tale of two halves.... mainly away working on the cricket (and some work at the British Golf Open) and that took up about 80% of the month. When not away working I have been enjoying spending time with Clare and Olivia.... watching her grow and all sorts..... taking her swimming etc. We also had some friends around for a couple of BBQ's etc on a couple of occasions which was nice.

In the Alps July and August mark the two month long school Summer holidays which has meant there has been a great deal of activity and events as well as tourists coming to Val d'Isere for a getaway too!

The Lac d'Ouilette is the mainstay for fishing over the Summer months (I really want to have a go at fishing in there next Summer sometime)

And rather than skiers many of the lifts have a new purpose - to take mountain bikers up (or down I suppose) the mountain.

Or why not head up to the Pisaillas (Val) glacier to have a ski or watch some of the French teams (Tessa Worley and Marian Rolland in this case) training.

As always France puts on a good 'show' to remember the fallen in previous conflicts / significant moments in its history!

....but there is always something going on to bring us right back to the present day.

And great opportunities for outdoor events like this kids party!

Mass clean ups of the slopes after all the snow has melted also turns up many surprises!

One of the many Summer carnivals the town put on was full of entertainment...

So it has been all systems go back in Val but closer to home I have certainly been enjoying the sun - it has been nice so far. However I have covered about 3000 miles on the road in July alone so have seen a lot of the UK motorways and been all over the country. Looking forwards August should be a little less intense I hope.

Getting ready for the start of the match..... Sky TV going out and the mascots about the welcome the teams onto the field.... as soon as the last non player leaves the field of play I just check to make sure all the boundary and advertising boards are in place and unobstructed!

When not working at the matches I went along to see one.... treated my Dad to a day out at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton as England went on to win!

Come on England!

Not just cricket work this Summer - I did a weeks set up for the British Golf Open in Hoylake near Liverpool - putting up signage and branding all over the place including things such as gable end branding like this - several people a full day to do this but quite fun!

Back on the farm..... over the course of a few weekends we had friends and family down for BBQ's etc and in this case the farm run around car (which the kids thought was so cool as it has no doors as you can see) was used to give the kids a fun ride out to see the fishes (Clares father in law Michael driving)

Olivia enjoys her new 'Jumperoo' bouncy chair!

Olivia shelters from the sun in her car seat!

Olivia is loving 'learning' to swim and I was around for one of her lessons last week - hopefully will be around for more over the next few weeks!

Olivia continues to put on weight and grow (in height) as well as maturity..... she now smiles consistently and is VERY alert. However the main thing to note (and we are extremely happy about both these two things) is that she is now sleeping through the night (more or less consistently) as well as looking like she has shaken off her jaundice!

I have also squeezed in a couple of cricket matches of my own for our village cricket team and took a couple of wickets and scored a few runs too!

So apart from all that not much has happened this month. I suspect that the next update will be more or less much like this one really as August is similar for me at home as well as back in Val d'Isere - watch this space!

TTFN

P.S. I have just previewed this post and it looks like there is a problem in displaying some of the pictures - weird not sure why that is - following the same posting method as always - so apologies if you cannot see all / some of the pics!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Steve Angus, wow, brilliant pictures and your little princess grows so fast Very Happy

many thanks for the enjoyable read!

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Sorry, something went wrong.

We're working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.

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Great updates, thanks Steve! The Ageas bowl is my neck of the woods, I thought it looked familiar.

Little Olivia is growing into a gorgeous girl for sure!

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Thanks for the updates and wonderful pictures of Olivia.

I always think of your summer photos when at Lac d'Ouilette in the winter. Do you know where they set up the golf driving range in the summer?

We collect a tiny amount of sand to put in a tube from the various places in the world we visit and we have some from the volleyball court in Val d'Isere.

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muppet - Manchet valley for the golf!

Well another month flies by and it is nearly Autumn now. The cricket work is starting to come to an end (although currently loving the work at a sunny Trent Bridge in Nottingham for a week). The last month has been split into lots more cricket work, celebrating our anniversary as well as playing some cricket but of course watching Olivia grow.

I actually made it (well we all did actually as a family) to The Snow Centre in Hemel as well for some skiing (and delivering a couple of lessons) which was nice - foot to meet Bertie Bassett there too! Snowheads get everywhere and come out the woodwork when you are least expecting it don't they!

As I mentioned last month this report is largely the same as last month so rather than babble on I will put some pictures in which sums my month up nicely I hope:

Taking Olivia to a pick your own so she can get new smells and sights in beautiful sun - a great day out.

Olivia enjoyed her first cold snow experience.

But Olivia's snow suit will take some growing into won't it........ hmmm!

At work we have had some awful weather (like here at Lords in London)....... but other times some GREAT weather.....

... like here at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Clare and I have taken the family dogs for a couple of walks and we have also....

...enjoyed our second anniversary.

So that was all the goings on this past month. Whereas over in Val it has been busy as always!

Excavation work above the funival top station.... ongoing maintenance to keep this vital lift in top working order for the Winter!

Its not just in the Lac d'Ouilette that amazing fish can be found..... this trout was caught from the Lac de Chevril!

A sprinkling of snow on the mountain tops.... even in the middle of Summer you can never escape the chance of the white stuff up high!

Matt and Emma France tie the knot..... wedding of the Summer! As former neighbours of theirs and as frequent visitors to the Blue Note where Matt and his sister Lou own, Clare, Olivia and I wish them all the best!

The Festival of Lac d'Ouilette.... just as busy in the Summer as Winter isn't it!

Summer sports are not without their dangers as this paraglider found out when he crash landed into trees in the Manchet Valley and broke his back!

Back to school for the kids in the Val d'Isere Primary school!

Breaking news from Val is that the Polo tournament in January has been axed due to budgetary costs next season which is sad to hear! No further news on that front but if I hear any more ill put it in the next update.

So just one more update to go this 'Summer' in early October before we head back to Val to get the house ready and then Winter starts once again!

TTFN

PPS Once again the photo links don't seem to be working to Facebook where I host the pictures - but I will post anyway as last time when I actually posted and did not 'preview' the pictures actually started appearing and since last month some of the links I think have 'fixed' themselves so ill post anyway and hope you can see some or hopefully all the pictures as it makes the update rather more interesting to view!

After all it is free

Steve Angus, we are definitely in val d'isere for opening week so I will be in touch with TDC for lessons with you for a couple of mornings early in the week.

Steve Angus, can't see your pictures, sadly. (PS I bumped into Clare's Uncle Martin in the street this morning. He said that he and Caroline were a bit sad 'cos they were having their 17yo dog put to sleep this afternoon. Sad

)

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Steve Angus, Good to see you back on your thread Very Happy

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The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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