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Frances reads letters written by the Machell Cox siblings where they discuss the first planes to fly in England as well as motor cars. The letters in this podcast are from 1907 up till WW2.
If you have forgotten which sibling is which, or you are new to this podcast, S3E4 Ten siblings - Who is who - will give you a recap.
Bernard (No.6) was a wealthy London stock broker and owned two cars in the 1930s, mainly to benefit his siblings; he never learned to drive and had a chauffeur. Vera the hockey player (No.10) had a car and drove it herself. Cuthbert, (No.8), HM of Berkhamsted School had a car; he didn't learn to drive and also had a chauffeur. Enid (sibling No.1) and Alfred also had a car. The other siblings couldn't afford to drive a car.
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads some letters written in April 1910 by the Machell Cox siblings.
Edmund is yet again a delinquent, he is late writing his letter and thinks he should resign from the Budget.
Avice is in Torquay with Bernard where he is recuperating after removal of his appendix and they tell their landlady all about booby traps.
Enid describes Vera playing in an exciting hockey match at Richmond, Scotland v. England on 16 March 1910, and she also describes the sectarian riots in Liverpool.
Bernard describes what it was like being ill at the Brooklyn nursing home and comments on everyone else's letters.
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in Feb and April of 1910.
Aldwyn drew a sketch map of the mission station at Kota Kota (now Nkhotakota), showing the church, school & hospital buildings. I found his sketch, including the many buildings. The kitchen is separate to the dining room building (due to the risk of fire), and Aldwyn even drew the mud huts where the teachers lived.
All Saints Cathedral is still there, running east-west, as in Aldwyn's sketch, with the vestry still on the south-eastern corner. St Anne's Mission hospital is also still sited on the former slave trading site, near the David Livingstone tree (which Aldwyn doesn't mention.)
Miss Thompson, one of the UMCA nurses, frets that Aldwyn may have another fever. Meanwhile Mr Manning tells stories of Winston Churchill at Ladysmith.
Aldwyn is off 'on ulendo' again, and if he doesn't take a tent the doctor tells him off, as he risks getting tick fever again.
And Katayeni is a small boy whose name means 'throw him away' (he was weak and sickly at birth). Katayeni is a word from the Chinyanja language, which Aldwyn could speak and write. It is now known as Nyanja or Chewa, and is one of the languages of the Bantu people of southern Africa
0:00 Intro
04:10 Aldwyn's letter, 20th February 1910
08:07 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
15:32 Aldwyn's letter, 24th April 1910
21:14 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads two letters, written by Aldwyn in Nyasaland in January 1910.
A village school is being built, with mud walls and a thatched roof, but it is only completed when Aldwyn uses his rifle to shoot game, so the villagers will get some dinner as payment.
The 'CJ' steamer does not arrive, so Aldwyn does a lot of walking between villages, in the mud.
300 come to church on Christmas morning, bringing offerings of live chickens, firewood, flour, bananas, eggs, rice and even a square of soap.
0:00 Intro
3:10 Aldwyn's letter, 5th January 1910
09:02 Kota Kota (Nkhotakota)
12:12 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
20:24 Aldwyn's letter, 29th January
22:56 Notes on Aldwyn's letter
28:38 Sibling comments
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads five letters, written by Bernard, Cuthbert, Arthur, Wilfred and Vera in February and March 1910.
There is a great deal of polite arguing about whether the siblings should discuss (argue about) politics in the Budget.
Bernard has appendicitis and is at the Brooklyn Nursing Home.
Avice and Cecil are engaged.
Cuthbert has been to a lecture and is fascinated with Shackleton and Scott, the Antarctic explorers.
Arthur describes a Boy Scout visit by Robert Baden Powell.
Wilfred is home from Canada unexpectedly, and no one recognises him.
Vera has also been in the Nursing Home but recovers enough to play international hockey at Richmond.
0:00 Intro
3:04 Bernard's letter, 20th February 1910
18:53 Cuthbert's letter, 27th February
29:41 Arthur's letter, 6th March
39:45 Wilfred's letter, 10th March
48:03 Vera's letter, 17th March
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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This episode is all about the funeral procession of Edward VII in May 1910, as winessed by the Machell Cox siblings, through handwritten family letters, read by Frances.
Vera again demonstrates how she is a great letter writer, and Bernard's annotations, on the funeral programme, after WW1, were unexpected.
Does anyone know any more about the King's little dog Caesar? How much of the procession did he walk in? Frances would love to know.If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you write Frances a review or give her a rating? Many thanks.
0:00 Intro
7:35 Kings and Queens
11:50 Vera's letter, 21st May 1910
26:02 Notes on Vera's letter
37:10 Other sibling accounts
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances has been in the northern hemisphere for a few months, visiting family and undertaking a great deal of Machell Cox research.
Coming up in the podcast will be more stories from 1910, more hockey and Vera and Great Comp and more crossed letters, as Frances continues to unpick the story of these ten interesting siblings, born from 1868 to 1884.
In May 2022 Frances gave a talk at The Hockey Museum, in Woking, about Vera, hockey and budget letters. If you visit Youtube and The Hockey Museum you will be able to watch.
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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This episode is all about hockey. Frances reads poems written about Vera and hockey in 1908, as well as letters written by Vera, describing hockey tournaments at Weston-Super-Mare in 1911 and at Great Comp, home of the Heron Maxwells, in 1912.
Vera is a great letter writer, and her vivid descriptions makes it very easy to imagine the events that occurred.
0:00 Intro
3:10 Vera, hockey and poems
6:34 Weston Hockey Tournament - January 1911
17:37 Great Comp Hockey Tournament - November 1912
26:26 The Joys of Hockey - 1909
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads a second letter, written by Matilda Machell a week later, on Thursday 27th April, 1826, from 22 Gloucester Place in London. Ten letters of Matilda's have survived, all were written in the 1820s to her favourite brother, Christopher, back home in Beverley, Yorkshire.
Minnie (Matilda's daughter) kept these letters; after her death they were transcribed by her husband (Dr Cox) in 1912, for the ten siblings to read - Matilda was their grandmother.
Matilda describes carriage rides in Hyde Park, more balls and parties, visiting Boston Manor House in Brentford, home of the Clitherows, as well as all the people she meets, and what she thinks of them.
Other episodes of 100 Years of Cox featuring Matilda Machell -
S1E6: Matilda and Minnie
S2E6: Send horses to Hull
S2E7: Ann, Matilda and vile Colonel Donnington
S3E15: Matilda, the Belle of East Riding
If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you please write a review or give a rating? Many thanks.
0:00 Intro
3:14 Matilda's letter, Thursday April 27th 1826
19:17 Notes on Matilda's letter
29:23 More notes on Matilda's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
All content is subject to copyright and belongs to Frances Thompson and the Bodleian Library. -
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Frances reads a letter written by Matilda Machell on Tuesday 18th April, 1826 from 22 Gloucester Place in London. Ten letters of Matilda's have survived, all were written to her favourite brother, Christopher, back home in Beverley, Yorkshire.
Minnie (Matilda's daughter) kept these letters; after her death they were transcribed by her husband (Dr Cox) in 1912, for the ten siblings to read - Matilda was their grandmother.
Matilda describes her piano teacher, the piano virtuoso and composer Ignaz Moscheles, as well as visits to the opera, and very many parties and Balls, during the London season.
Other episodes of 100 Years of Cox featuring Matilda Machell - S1E6 (Matilda and Minnie), S2E6 (Send horses to Hull), S2E7 (Ann, Matilda and vile Colonel Donnington)
It goes without saying - Matilda and her brother Christopher would be staggered that you are listening to their letters, almost 200 years after they were written. Enjoy.
If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you please write a review or give a rating? Many thanks.
0:00 Intro
5:58 Matilda's letter, Tuesday April 18th 1826
13:31 Notes on Matilda's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads four letters, written by Neville, Edmund, Avice and Enid in January and February of 1910.
Neville has had a fabulous holiday in England, and writes his last budget letter before sailing to Canada, including plenty about the politics of the day.
Edmund is angry with his siblings about politics being included in the Budget and doesn't write a letter, then feels regret and writes a short one.
Avice writes a long, chatty letter from Portal in Tarporley; she enjoys the political discussions.
Enid is not pleased about politics in the budget, and also writes about the sectarian riots in Liverpool.
If you have enjoyed this podcast, would you write a review or give a rating? Many thanks.
0:00 Intro
3:00 Neville's letter, Jan 31st
16:16 Notes on Neville's letter
21:24 Edmund's letter, Feb 3rd, and notes
24:22 Avice's letter, Feb 7th
33:22 Notes on Avice's letter
39:00 Enid's letter, Feb 14th
49:20 Notes on Enid's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads three letters, written by Cuthbert, Arthur and Vera in January 1910.
Arthur has been setting booby traps around the house.
Vera has thoughtfully provided three county hockey matches to entertain her siblings; they also go to watch the football and the rugby.
The siblings decide to have a fancy dress party at home, to celebrate Vera's 26th birthday.
They all go to the Duke of York's theatre to watch the play - Peter Pan, or The Boy who Wouldn't Grow Up,
Cuthbert alleges that both Winston Churchill and Herbert Asquith were alcoholics.
And the siblings write predictions, thinking it wil be interesting to re-read their letters in a year, to see what they wrote.
www.buymeacoffee.com/BudgetLetters
0:00 Intro
1:59 Cuthbert's letter, 3rd January 1910
13:20 Notes on Cuthbert's letter
26:38 Arthur's letter, 7th January
34:58 Notes on Arthur's letter
42:16 Vera's letter, 14th January
47:26 Notes on Vera's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances gives an update on where the siblings are in 1921, details confirmed by the 1921 Census. Seven siblings have been located on the census, an eighth, Aldwyn, is in London but has not yet been found. (Neville and Wilfred were abroad.)
Frances reads the final items from the 1909 Christmas Budget:
A Country Ramble, by a Perambulating Pedagogue - written by Cuthbert, based on Dr Cox's new book, Rambles in Surrey
Meals I Have Eaten by One Who has Suffered - a firsthand account describing terrible food and cooking in British Columbia - written by Wilfred
A penny for your thoughts - a poem describing the ten siblings, written by Bernard
Poker Patience - a competition devised by Neville
A double acrostic - written by Cuthbert
Please send an email if you can find the Hospital for Tropical Diseases on the 1921 census!
www.buymeacoffee.com/BudgetLetters
0:00 Intro
06:38 A Country Ramble by a Perambulating Pedagogue- by Cuthbert
11:40 Notes on Cuthbert's Country Ramble
16:23 Meals I Have Eaten by One Who Has Suffered - by Wilfred
27:10 Notes on Meals I Have Eaten
34:04 A penny for your thoughts - by Bernard
39:11 Notes on - A penny for your thoughts
45:32 Poker Patience (Neville) & Double Acrostic (Cuthbert)
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads some more from the 1909 Christmas Budget, one of the special holiday editions written annually by the ten siblings and their father, printed and bound by Bernard and read aloud in the drawing room in Longton Avenue, after tea, on Christmas Day.
Avice’s contribution was called - A Day in the Life of a Govvie at Portal, all about her work as a governess for the wealthy Brooks family at a grand house, called Portal, in the village of Tarporley in Cheshire.Arthur wrote about the boys of Mount House School - Chips from my Blockheads.
There are anecdotes called - Do you remember? – as the siblings reminisce about their childhood, growing up in large vicarages in villages in England in the late 1800s.
There is a piece about hockey, written by Vera, called The Joys of Hockey.
And Enid wrote a fiendishly difficult competition; a story that had blanks that needed filling in, and the blanks were the names of authors, their surnames telling the story. If filling in the blanks wasn’t hard enough, Enid says you were only allowed 20 minutes to complete her competition, without the help of any reference books.
0:00 Intro
03:10 A Day in Cockey's Life at Portal - by Avice
11:45 Chips from my blockheads - by Arthur
19:39 Do You Remember?
40:18 Notes on the reminiscences
56:08 The Joys of Hockey - by Vera
1:00:03 Story wanting Words - by Enid
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads from the 1909 Christmas Budget, one of the special holiday editions written by the ten siblings and their father, printed and bound by Bernard and read aloud in the drawing room, after tea, on Christmas Day.
Bernard, Vera, Neville, Cuthbert and Avice are at home in Sydenham on Christmas Day in 1909, with Father, and Arthur is coming to visit in a few days.Enid is with her family in Liverpool.
Edmund is with his family in Hallam Fields.
Wilfred is in Canada and Aldwyn is in Malawi.
"This third number of the Christmas Budget, in which our Mother took so real an interest, is dedicated to her dear memory, well knowing that she would have wished its continuance as a link between her children at home and abroad."
The first item in the Christmas Budget is a poem - In Memoriam - dedicated to dear Mother. I don't know the author.
Then - Some early reminiscences - written By Rev Dr J.C. Cox about the first 18 years of his life . Stories and anecdotes from Luccombe and Bath, as well as the various schools he attended.
0:00 Intro
03:38 Poem: In Memoriam
5:32 Some early reminiscences, Dr Cox, Dec 1909
36:28 Notes on Dr Cox's memoir
55:32 More notes on Dr Cox's memoir
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads three letters; Wilfred's letter was written in August 1909, Enid's was written in October and Bernard writes his on Chrstmas Day
Wilfred writes from Montana in the USA, where he is working as a miner.Enid and Cyril have had loads of people to stay, and they have been making lantern slides from their Swiss holiday photographs.
Then there is a tragedy – the whole of Budget No.23 is lost in the post.
The Budget letters jump straight from October 1909 to Christmas; Bernard starts Budget No.24 on Christmas morning at the family home in Longton Avenue in Sydenham; he has already been to church; Lizzie the cook is busy in the kitchen, and he can smell the turkey cooking as he writes. Bernard is recording his predictions in the Budget, so he can later find out if they came true or not.
Just realised I failed to notice something, about manure - Bernard says this -"Why should the 'stink of this man -Ure' pervade the Budget?"
Mr Ure was a politican, this quote - 'stink of this man-Ure' was taken, by Bernard, from one of the "gentlemanly newspapers."
0:00 Intro
03:06 Wilfred's letter, August 1909
06:36 Notes on Wilfred's letter
10:42 Enid's letter, 26th October
17:42 Notes on Enid's letter
23:22 Bernard's letter, Christmas Day 1909
32:42 Notes on Bernard's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads six letters, written in September and October of 1909, by Neville, Cuthbert, Arthur, Vera, Edmund and Avice
Neville is back home from Africa; he writes about the journey and the cricket matches which were played between the first class and the second-class passengers. Cricket on a steamship. Quite bizarre. He also mentions the SS Waratah, which remains a mystery, as the ship simply disappeared in 1909.Cuthbert has seen cousins Ka and Hester, and he tells a story about Ka bicycling at Cambridge, without a hat. How shocking. He has been spending his school holidays staying with the families of his Berkhamsted schoolboys, and there are anecdotes.
Arthur writes a fabulous letter about the chaos of opening a new school with 80 barbarians, two new teachers and many new domestic staff.
Vera and Miss Thompson (the nurse from Kota Kota) are on holiday in a pretty cottage in Surrey. They are managing without any servants and like the independence, but lock themselves out of the house, at night, whilst looking at the stars.
Edmund is very impressed with Vera, who plays golf for the very first time, proving to be an excellent player. And baby Leslie is a dear little chap - Edmund lights his pipe, puffs smoke in the baby’s face, and the baby loves it.
And Avice has been to visit her brothers at Plymouth and Hallam Fields and provides all the latest news from Tarporley.
0:00 Intro
3:05 Neville's letter, 6th Sept 1909
13:45 Notes on Neville's letter
23:09 Cuthbert's letter, 16th Sept
30:37 Notes on Cuthbert's letter
40:02 More notes on Cutbert's letter
44:22 Arthur's letter, 24th Sept
48:29 Notes on Arthur's letter
53:26 Vera's letter, 3rd October
59:26 Notes on Vera's letter
1:03:02 Edmund's letter, 13th October
1:08:24 Notes on Edmunds's letter
1:10:58 Avice's letter, 21st October
1:19:08 Notes on Avice's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads five letters, written in July, Aug and Sept of 1909, by Vera, Avice, Edmund, Enid and Bernard.
Vera writes the fascinating sentence - for two days I have been alone in my glory. She also describes the Girls Friendly Society Festival - tea and games in the garden of one of the big houses in Sydenham. But it pours with rain, so 70 people have tea in the cellars.Dr Cox and four of the siblings are on holiday at the Red Lion in Thursley, Surrey; the pub is on the London to Portsmouth Road. There are motor cars and dust, and Dr Cox is writing his next book – Rambles in Surrey.
Edmund has been to the Church Lads' Brigade camp; at Weston-Super-Mare, and writes all about it.
Enid, Cyril and Bernard have been to France and Switzerland, staying in Chamonix, Finhaut, Arolla and Chandolin. They see the Mer de Glace, the glacier up on Mont Blanc, which in 1909 was staggeringly larger than it is today.
Bernard, still sunburnt from Switzerland, tells a story about a noisy chicken and Mr Morgan, the innkeeper of the Red Lion.
Bernard also talks about the North Pole having been found, but did Dr Cook or Mr Peary discover it first? And Louis Bleriot is the first person to fly the English Channel, the Duke of Abruzzi has climbed higher than anyone else in the Himalayas, Cody has flown further than anyone else in a heavier-than-air flying machine, Neville is home in England again and Cyril has been promoted to Divisional Inspector.
Everything was happening in England in the summer of 1909
0:00 Intro
3:00 Vera's letter, July 28th 1909
9:20 Notes on Vera's letter
12:51 Avice's letter, August 9th
20:36 Notes on Avice's letter
27:58 Edmund's letter, August 23rd
34:30 Notes on Edmund's letter
39:42 Enid's letter, August 25th
46:52 Notes on Enid's letter
51:10 Bernard's letter, Sept. 3rd
57:12 Notes on Ber's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads six letters, written in June and July of 1909 by Edmund, Enid, Avice, Bernard, Cuthbert and Avice.
Edmund puts Vera on the black list for not sealing up the Budget envelope properly; it was open when the post arrived, although Edmund thinks all contents are safe.Enid is surprised that diphtheria is spelled with 2 'h’s. And she thinks it odd that Arthur and Dorothy spell – negotiation - with a 'c' (negociation).
Avice has visited the Natural History Museum and been on the underground on her own. She is quite proud of herself for going on the tube on her own.
Cuthbert will soon be off to cadet camp with the boys, and, as usual, they will be marching to Aldershot. He also describes a singing mouse in one of the boarding houses.
Bernard starts Budget No.21 on its rounds. He is writing his letter just before he, Enid and Cyril set off for a holiday in Switzerland.
Arthur has recovered from diphtheria and is back at school for his last few weeks at Garfield House. He is moving to Mount House school shortly and has 50 boys booked already, and he thinks there will be another 20. He is looking forward to the summer holidays; he and Dorothy are going to Prince Hall on Dartmoor again.
0:00 Intro
08:05 Edmund's letter, 22nd June 1909
11:48 Notes on Edmund's letter
17:32 Enid's letter, 2nd July
22:52 Notes on Enid's letter
27:45 Avice's letter, 5th July
35:22 Notes on Avice's letter
40:12 Bernard's letter, 8th July
45:12 Notes on Ber's letter
50:32 Cuthbert's letter, 14th July
55:13 Notes on Cuthbert's letter
1:00:40 Arthur's letter, 25th July
1:08:20 Notes on Arthur's letter
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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Frances reads letters written by Bernard, Cuthbert, Arthur and Vera, and also a letter written by Evelyn the bridesmaid, in 1867. These letters all came from Budget series 1, number 20, from 1909.
Bernard says the Stock Exchange is busy with South African mining and rubber plantation shares;Cuthbert describes the Cup Tie final at Crystal Palace and the unsportsmanlike behaviour of the players. He then causes trouble at the Berkhamsted tennis club, and argues with the committee. Basil Fry, son of Dr Fry, Headmaster of Berkhamsted, is described in unflattering terms by Cuthbert.
Arthur has got diphtheria and has been very ill and is dictating his letter to his wife Dorothy.
Miss Tubbs’ school has an epidemic of measles; However Arthur is too ill to currently move to Mount House. He is recuperating at a house on Dartmoor. Their lawyer is on holiday with them, teaching Arthur how to fish.
Avice is in Sydenham whilst the Brooks family are at their London house. She catches a train every day to go and teach little Billy; Vera predicts that Avice will soon miss her train.
Vera is sick of Shackleton and the South Pole, as the newspapers talk of little else. There is a blue English Heritage plaque on the family home today and Vera would probably roll her eyes about that.
And Mother has died; not much is said, but reading between the lines there is much grief, but it is British stiff upper lip, restrained grief.
Several of the siblings say - we have to keep the Budget going.
0:00 Intro
04:47Bernard's letter, 18th March 1909
13:12 Notes on Ber's letter
20:44 Cuthbert's letter, 1st June
29:34 Notes on Cuthbert's letter
33:14 Arthur's letter, 10th June
40:26 Notes on Arthur's letter
51:58 Vera's letter, 20th June
56:48 Notes on Vera's letter
1:05:36 The bridesmaid's letter Weds 23rd Oct 1867
You can contact Frances by email - [email protected]
or Twitter - @CoxLetters
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