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I fully agree with you there , I think that Showmasters should somehow be able to make some kind of deal with the people running to Car Park for some kind of reduced rate for Parking

 

GavParf

 

I hardly think that is a practical option as the Car park is run as a business and has to take advantage of events at Earls Ct. I doubt it is as busy as car parks in city centres at weekends when there is no event.

The rates are available on the net, two tube stations in easy reach, busses going through every 10-15 mins and there are other places to park I parked all day for £6.00 although i did have to move my car twice.

 

I would much rather SM concentrate on getting good guests to the event than cost of car parking. A job that they do very well.

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I've noticed that often the crew members who are passing items forward won't take posters, they want you to unroll them yourselves, etc. Though obviously it's not something that always happens, the crew guy who was sorting out Nathan on Sunday morning took my Slither poster and handed it for me. Which, to be honest, I prefer, because I always end up without enough hands to unroll it!

 

Hi there,

 

Was it your poster Nathan wrote "I'm Bill Parady" or something similar and said it was an in-joke that would come clear when DVD comes out? Posters are tricky, I prefer to help the attendee with them, as you need about 20 pairs of hands just to carry things at events.

 

Yep, that was me :D

 

I deliberately went to see Nathan before anyone else on Sunday so that I could get the poster done and then go leave it in the cloakroom!

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I fully agree with you there , I think that Showmasters should somehow be able to make some kind of deal with the people running to Car Park for some kind of reduced rate for Parking

 

GavParf

 

I hardly think that is a practical option as the Car park is run as a business and has to take advantage of events at Earls Ct. I doubt it is as busy as car parks in city centres at weekends when there is no event.

The rates are available on the net, two tube stations in easy reach, busses going through every 10-15 mins and there are other places to park I parked all day for £6.00 although i did have to move my car twice.

 

I would much rather SM concentrate on getting good guests to the event than cost of car parking. A job that they do very well.

 

this is true but i go to other unmentionables and the hotel where its held has a "con rate" for the car park, its slightly reduced :) so its not completely out of the realm of possibility personally i find it easier to get the train LOL

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LFCC was my first convention and on the whole I have to say that I enjoyed the day. I can see why people got annoyed about the queues as the signs were badly worded. As someone has already pointed out though, we don't read the signs anyway!! I simply asked someone where I should go. Nothing to complain about really.

 

I was in the Carrie Fisher line when her assistant / security guy came and so no pics whatsoever! How disappointing that I had travelled so far specifically for her and I couldn't even take a picture from the line. Then I get home and see that in fact she had posed for pics that day and Sunday. I am sure that anyone would understand why I would be a little annoyed at this.

 

With Elijah Wood's autograph line and photoshoot I did feel a bit peeved. The photoshoot was like a conveyor belt and I do understand that there were a lot of pics to be taken but for £20 I was expecting some kind of posed photo instead he sat in seat staring forward. When it came to getting his autograph he had signed my photo before I even got to him!! Talk about rushed.

 

Don't get me wrong, I did have a good day but it would have been nice if these guests, who were expensive, had given each person a little of their time.

 

It looks like, you've been "Shatnered".

 

I had a posed pic with Carrie and was happy with my Elijah experiences also, but I know what its like to be rushed through a queue and not so much as say hello and have the item signed before I even get to the guest. It feels like as long as you spend the money then thats all that matters and I must admit there have been a couple of occassions at SM events where Ive found this.

 

To be "Shatnered" is something I hope will not happen again. People will say that in order to get everyone through then it is necessary to rush but I would add if there are a structured amount of VT's available then it is possible to take into consideration that for the price of an auto people expect to at least say hello or get a handshake. If this means reduce the amount of people by 100 to give everyone who does attend a better experience then so be it. However this would mean sacrificing 100 people paying £15-£25 so its up to the organisers whether they would sacrifice this amount to give others a better experience or cash in on it and rush people through like you and have a poor memory.

 

I know what I would prefer but in a money driven world.............money talks. :D

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LFCC was my first convention and on the whole I have to say that I enjoyed the day. I can see why people got annoyed about the queues as the signs were badly worded. As someone has already pointed out though, we don't read the signs anyway!! I simply asked someone where I should go. Nothing to complain about really.

 

I was in the Carrie Fisher line when her assistant / security guy came and so no pics whatsoever! How disappointing that I had travelled so far specifically for her and I couldn't even take a picture from the line. Then I get home and see that in fact she had posed for pics that day and Sunday. I am sure that anyone would understand why I would be a little annoyed at this.

 

With Elijah Wood's autograph line and photoshoot I did feel a bit peeved. The photoshoot was like a conveyor belt and I do understand that there were a lot of pics to be taken but for £20 I was expecting some kind of posed photo instead he sat in seat staring forward. When it came to getting his autograph he had signed my photo before I even got to him!! Talk about rushed.

 

Don't get me wrong, I did have a good day but it would have been nice if these guests, who were expensive, had given each person a little of their time.

 

It looks like, you've been "Shatnered".

 

I had a posed pic with Carrie and was happy with my Elijah experiences also, but I know what its like to be rushed through a queue and not so much as say hello and have the item signed before I even get to the guest. It feels like as long as you spend the money then thats all that matters and I must admit there have been a couple of occassions at SM events where Ive found this.

 

To be "Shatnered" is something I hope will not happen again. People will say that in order to get everyone through then it is necessary to rush but I would add if there are a structured amount of VT's available then it is possible to take into consideration that for the price of an auto people expect to at least say hello or get a handshake. If this means reduce the amount of people by 100 to give everyone who does attend a better experience then so be it. However this would mean sacrificing 100 people paying £15-£25 so its up to the organisers whether they would sacrifice this amount to give others a better experience or cash in on it and rush people through like you and have a poor memory.

 

I know what I would prefer but in a money driven world.............money talks. :rolleyes:

 

 

but how would you feel if you were one of those 100 people?

 

its a really difficult balance to get.

 

=x=

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The only remark I have has been mentioned here already lots of times...and that were the signs at the entry. Luckily I was at the right que and was one of the first to enter on Saturday morning.

 

I had no problem with the Elijah photo op. The pic looks great and I'm very happy to have it. Strange to hear that people were said not to talk to him...coz' he started conversation at both photo op as autograph que.

 

I really can't wait to go to another SM event in the future...they're well worth travelling from Belgium for.

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LFCC was my first convention and on the whole I have to say that I enjoyed the day. I can see why people got annoyed about the queues as the signs were badly worded. As someone has already pointed out though, we don't read the signs anyway!! I simply asked someone where I should go. Nothing to complain about really.

 

I was in the Carrie Fisher line when her assistant / security guy came and so no pics whatsoever! How disappointing that I had travelled so far specifically for her and I couldn't even take a picture from the line. Then I get home and see that in fact she had posed for pics that day and Sunday. I am sure that anyone would understand why I would be a little annoyed at this.

 

With Elijah Wood's autograph line and photoshoot I did feel a bit peeved. The photoshoot was like a conveyor belt and I do understand that there were a lot of pics to be taken but for £20 I was expecting some kind of posed photo instead he sat in seat staring forward. When it came to getting his autograph he had signed my photo before I even got to him!! Talk about rushed.

 

Don't get me wrong, I did have a good day but it would have been nice if these guests, who were expensive, had given each person a little of their time.

 

It looks like, you've been "Shatnered".

 

I had a posed pic with Carrie and was happy with my Elijah experiences also, but I know what its like to be rushed through a queue and not so much as say hello and have the item signed before I even get to the guest. It feels like as long as you spend the money then thats all that matters and I must admit there have been a couple of occassions at SM events where Ive found this.

 

To be "Shatnered" is something I hope will not happen again. People will say that in order to get everyone through then it is necessary to rush but I would add if there are a structured amount of VT's available then it is possible to take into consideration that for the price of an auto people expect to at least say hello or get a handshake. If this means reduce the amount of people by 100 to give everyone who does attend a better experience then so be it. However this would mean sacrificing 100 people paying £15-£25 so its up to the organisers whether they would sacrifice this amount to give others a better experience or cash in on it and rush people through like you and have a poor memory.

 

I know what I would prefer but in a money driven world.............money talks. :firedevil:

 

 

but how would you feel if you were one of those 100 people?

 

its a really difficult balance to get.

 

=x=

 

It is a difficult balance but one that needs to be right. At the end of the day first come first served is the fairer option regardless of the number of VT's. If there is a big guest then get there early and you should be ok, this applies anyway. I just think people are right to feel disappointed with an experience if their item is signed before they even get to the guest and are moved on before they have even been acknowledged. Shatnered. I had a posed piccy with carrie and personalised auto but others didnt have such experiences. My experience was great but you cant blame people for getting the other kind of treatment and being disappointed. Although I got a posed pic and a personalised auto I was still only there for 15 seconds max. To be honest £25.00 for 15 seconds is not too much to ask.

 

The balance does not seem right in the rush to push through as many people as possible.

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i agree with you, people certainly have a reason to be dissappointed. for me its the experience of meeting the guest that counts, not so much the autograph.

 

but again.. its difficult because some people just want the autograph to sell on, or are getting it for someone else. they dont mind that they are through in a few seconds.

 

its something that is impossible to get right for everyone.

 

=x=

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It's a no win situation. You're always going to have dealers going to these shows and holding up queues. There's no way of SM knowing who the true fans are.

You are allowed a max of 5 autos. This stops the dealers. It doesnt matter if the dealers are there providing they stick to just 5 autos. Its not asking for half an hour with a guest, just a few more seconds to get a handshake or at least say hello. I cannot justify or see any reason for someone to not even be acknowledged by a guest due to time constraints. Its not right. It may make more money and indeed feed more people through the queue but we are now at the point where the thinking seems to be rushing everyone through to get as many people through as possible and sacrificing the quality of the experiences. There has to be a happy medium here and I can only see this happening if there is a stricter cap on the VT's and then if theres time left give more out later.

 

My Shatner experience was what some people got for Carrie........not an experience worth remembering at all. A handshake and a smile takes 5 seconds and I hate having my things signed when im not actually next in the queue. I dont care how many people go through or not but people who turn up, pay their money, turn up early to get VT's deserve at least that much. (not asking for much here just 5 seconds or so)

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Sorry for the long reply.

 

I dit not have a good time with Elijah. We came all the way from Denmark just to meet him and Carrie.

 

We came at 8:30 sunday morning at got in line. When they opened the doors we rush in to get tickets to Leia and Frodo. When we came to his ticketholder, my girlfriend got number 300 and the ticketblock ran out and the ticketholder got a new block. But the number i got was 351. I first saw that when i got out of the crowd. That means i could not get in with the numbers etc 250 - 300. Luckely my girldfriend was only there to get pictures taking of me, so i asked the ticketlady if i could come in with my number 351. Luckely it was fine.

 

When it was Carries turn it was a no posed photo :D But i saw some people in front getting posed photos of her, and so did i get. I was verry happy.

 

Then... We were told that EW was having lunch and was back at 14. 14:10 we were let in the line. I think it was 14:20 when he came and started his thang. Again there was a No Posed Photo sign. When i was 5-6 people away to meet him, they removed that sign and put No Photos up. A minutes later, some ******* photographer with and very ugly shirt on came and pushed him in the line standing just front of me, and another ***** guy came next to Elijah and got some posed photos, although No Photos sign were up. And he did not only took one photo. It was 9-10 just to make sure it was perfect. Took some time. And there was people waiting. Then it was finally my time. Paid my £20 and took a picture to get signed. Then they took it out of my hands, and placed it correct so they could hurry it through. Now i stood infront of Frodo, Elijah Wood himself. He read my name on the pink slip and wrote it down. When he came to the very last letter in my name (L = DanieL) he rushed up again to take posed photos with the same ******* photographer with the ugly shirt, with the same ***** guy. I had to wait 1-2 minutes just to shake hands with Elijah, and first then he even looked at me.

 

I was very frustrated. Howcome can some take pictures and some not?? Dont know today who that guy was or the photographer with the ugly shirt.

I understand that posed pics takes time. But no pics at all??? Come on.. The flash was off anyway because of the lousy light in the hall.

 

The only good things that day was Carrie :wub: , The trooper comedy on the parking lot cheking cars, and the £2 sandwich.

 

 

Daniel

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Sorry for the long reply.

 

I dit not have a good time with Elijah. We came all the way from Denmark just to meet him and Carrie.

 

We came at 8:30 sunday morning at got in line. When they opened the doors we rush in to get tickets to Leia and Frodo. When we came to his ticketholder, my girlfriend got number 300 and the ticketblock ran out and the ticketholder got a new block. But the number i got was 351. I first saw that when i got out of the crowd. That means i could not get in with the numbers etc 250 - 300. Luckely my girldfriend was only there to get pictures taking of me, so i asked the ticketlady if i could come in with my number 351. Luckely it was fine.

 

When it was Carries turn it was a no posed photo :D But i saw some people in front getting posed photos of her, and so did i get. I was verry happy.

 

Then... We were told that EW was having lunch and was back at 14. 14:10 we were let in the line. I think it was 14:20 when he came and started his thang. Again there was a No Posed Photo sign. When i was 5-6 people away to meet him, they removed that sign and put No Photos up. A minutes later, some ******* photographer with and very ugly shirt on came and pushed him in the line standing just front of me, and another ***** guy came next to Elijah and got some posed photos, although No Photos sign were up. And he did not only took one photo. It was 9-10 just to make sure it was perfect. Took some time. And there was people waiting. Then it was finally my time. Paid my £20 and took a picture to get signed. Then they took it out of my hands, and placed it correct so they could hurry it through. Now i stood infront of Frodo, Elijah Wood himself. He read my name on the pink slip and wrote it down. When he came to the very last letter in my name (L = DanieL) he rushed up again to take posed photos with the same ******* photographer with the ugly shirt, with the same ***** guy. I had to wait 1-2 minutes just to shake hands with Elijah, and first then he even looked at me.

 

I was very frustrated. Howcome can some take pictures and some not?? Dont know today who that guy was or the photographer with the ugly shirt.

I understand that posed pics takes time. But no pics at all??? Come on.. The flash was off anyway because of the lousy light in the hall.

 

The only good things that day was Carrie :wub: , The trooper comedy on the parking lot cheking cars, and the £2 sandwich.

 

 

Daniel

 

I can see your frustration here. The photographer who did the photo session with the ugly shirt was a hideous man. Rude, arrogant and dare I say it a complete tool. This was the opinion of quite a few people at the event at the time he pretty much told us to sod off and come back at 3 to collect the photos. I wouldnt mind but it was almost like he was calling us stupid for turning up at 2 when we were told to earlier.

 

As far as the difference between what some people experienced with those 2 guests, read my thread earlier where I suggest a better balance of VT's given out. People like you have come a long way and what for....? To be rushed through a queue without any attention from the guest. By putting a stricter cap on VT's it would ensure all who have them a better experience as the need to rush so much would be gone. This would sacrifice some finances but its the decent thing to do. You can buy an autograph from a dealer in Denmark so the difference for you was to come to the event and actually meet the guest. If you are rushed through the process without so much as a hand shake you might aswell have stayed at home and ordered the auto from MSPG. Unfortunately this is becoming a problem, people turning up, paying there money and not even being acknowledged by a guest because they are rushed through to quickly.

 

I would also add I am from the Midlands and have attended another event here where even if there are queues within reason you can ask at least a question. This way you can take something with you from the experience. Granted some of SM's guests are a lot bigger names and more popular but a handshake and a hello is not too much to ask under any circumstances. People spend a lot of money and come a long way.

Edited by rich5wolves
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  • 2 weeks later...

Posed/No Posed Photos.

 

 

As a crew member who's job it is to attempt to enforce this rule, I feel it only right that I chip in here.

 

No matter how much people believe otherwise, no-one has any idea of how many customers will come to see a guest on any one day. It may or may not be fairly obvious that some guests *will* be more popular than others, but as for approximate estimates on how many will arrive to meet the more popular guests - there's *no* way of knowing, untill the day itself.

 

Let's say that 500 tickets are given out for a guest, that's not a huge number, and can generally be handled by mid afternoon, at which point the queue would open.

 

Let's say that 800 tickets are given out for a guest - things start to get worse.

 

By the time the initial rush for tickets has subsided, decisions have to be made on whether or not there is time to allow posed photos or not - and no matter what you may think, my own experiences have shown that for every six people who get a photo, 3 or 4 will not have time to meet the guest, depending on how busy they are.

 

This puts one (or often more) unfortunate crew member in the position of having to tell people that they can't have that photo - and that's certainly not an enjoyable job.

 

Most people will understand fully the reasons for this, and appreciate that if the guest's queue opens later on in the day, there may be an opportunity to return for a photo.

 

On the other end of the scale, there are people who will ignore the crew member and believe that it's their god given right to get that photo - even going as far as being rude to the guest when *they* have to decline. (Yes, I've seen this happen)

 

Imagine if you will, that the guest of your dreams is attending a convention, and you manage to get ticket number 1000 - would you be happy for everyone else to get a posed photo, and maybe only the first 600 will have chance to meet the guest, or would you prefer the crew to attempt to ask for everyone's understanding on the matter, in order that as many fans as possible are given the chance to meet the guest?

 

If you had ticket 1000, there is *no* way on this earth or the next that you would meet the guest if posed photos were allowed - this isn't a guess, it's a simple fact, as photos unfortunately don't just take a second for a quick click - there's framing and focussing, fussing over waiting for the camera to process the image, viewing it and deciding that it's fine or not.... you get the idea.

 

As I said, most people here understand the position that we're placed in - that we have a responsibility as fans ourselves to help as many people as possible meet their heroes, and that isn't always possible if everyone takes a stand up posed photo.

 

As well as all that, please consider the guests themselves - would you be able to stand up and sit down all weekend long, having had no sleep for 48 hours because of the travelling involved? There are some things that are just not humanly possible.

 

 

Troy.

Big Beardy Bloke who was Queue Manager for Elijah on Saturday, and Jorge/Maggie on Sunday.

 

 

Posed/No Posed Photos.

 

 

As a crew member who's job it is to attempt to enforce this rule, I feel it only right that I chip in here.

 

No matter how much people believe otherwise, no-one has any idea of how many customers will come to see a guest on any one day. It may or may not be fairly obvious that some guests *will* be more popular than others, but as for approximate estimates on how many will arrive to meet the more popular guests - there's *no* way of knowing, untill the day itself.

 

Let's say that 500 tickets are given out for a guest, that's not a huge number, and can generally be handled by mid afternoon, at which point the queue would open.

 

Let's say that 800 tickets are given out for a guest - things start to get worse.

 

By the time the initial rush for tickets has subsided, decisions have to be made on whether or not there is time to allow posed photos or not - and no matter what you may think, my own experiences have shown that for every six people who get a photo, 3 or 4 will not have time to meet the guest, depending on how busy they are.

 

This puts one (or often more) unfortunate crew member in the position of having to tell people that they can't have that photo - and that's certainly not an enjoyable job.

 

Most people will understand fully the reasons for this, and appreciate that if the guest's queue opens later on in the day, there may be an opportunity to return for a photo.

 

On the other end of the scale, there are people who will ignore the crew member and believe that it's their god given right to get that photo - even going as far as being rude to the guest when *they* have to decline. (Yes, I've seen this happen)

 

Imagine if you will, that the guest of your dreams is attending a convention, and you manage to get ticket number 1000 - would you be happy for everyone else to get a posed photo, and maybe only the first 600 will have chance to meet the guest, or would you prefer the crew to attempt to ask for everyone's understanding on the matter, in order that as many fans as possible are given the chance to meet the guest?

 

If you had ticket 1000, there is *no* way on this earth or the next that you would meet the guest if posed photos were allowed - this isn't a guess, it's a simple fact, as photos unfortunately don't just take a second for a quick click - there's framing and focussing, fussing over waiting for the camera to process the image, viewing it and deciding that it's fine or not.... you get the idea.

 

As I said, most people here understand the position that we're placed in - that we have a responsibility as fans ourselves to help as many people as possible meet their heroes, and that isn't always possible if everyone takes a stand up posed photo.

 

As well as all that, please consider the guests themselves - would you be able to stand up and sit down all weekend long, having had no sleep for 48 hours because of the travelling involved? There are some things that are just not humanly possible.

 

 

Troy.

Big Beardy Bloke who was Queue Manager for Elijah on Saturday, and Jorge/Maggie on Sunday.

 

 

As a first time crew member at the event on Saturday, I fully support the above comments. It was a very busy day, as I understand most are and often circumstances can change during the course of the signings but every effort was made to ensure as many as possible got to meet the guests.

 

Duncan-The tattooed guy on Nathan's queue

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. A minutes later, some ******* photographer with and very ugly shirt on came and pushed him in the line standing just front of me, and another ***** guy came next to Elijah and got some posed photos, although No Photos sign were up. And he did not only took one photo. It was 9-10 just to make sure it was perfect. Took some time. he rushed up again to take posed photos with the same ******* photographer with the ugly shirt, with the same ***** guy. I had to wait 1-2 minutes just to shake hands with Elijah, and first then he even looked at me.

I remember that guy who had posed photos with Elijah as I was in the queue at the time. Who was he? Must have been someone involved with the event or something.

 

I was a bit gutted I couldnt take any photos of Elijah signing because of the No Photos rule by the time I got there. I was tempted to take some while I was queueing rather than when I was at the table with him but I didnt just in case I got told off and thrown out lol.

 

xxxxx

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Sorry for the long reply.

 

I dit not have a good time with Elijah. We came all the way from Denmark just to meet him and Carrie.

 

We came at 8:30 sunday morning at got in line. When they opened the doors we rush in to get tickets to Leia and Frodo. When we came to his ticketholder, my girlfriend got number 300 and the ticketblock ran out and the ticketholder got a new block. But the number i got was 351. I first saw that when i got out of the crowd. That means i could not get in with the numbers etc 250 - 300. Luckely my girldfriend was only there to get pictures taking of me, so i asked the ticketlady if i could come in with my number 351. Luckely it was fine.

 

When it was Carries turn it was a no posed photo :( But i saw some people in front getting posed photos of her, and so did i get. I was verry happy.

 

Then... We were told that EW was having lunch and was back at 14. 14:10 we were let in the line. I think it was 14:20 when he came and started his thang. Again there was a No Posed Photo sign. When i was 5-6 people away to meet him, they removed that sign and put No Photos up. A minutes later, some ******* photographer with and very ugly shirt on came and pushed him in the line standing just front of me, and another ***** guy came next to Elijah and got some posed photos, although No Photos sign were up. And he did not only took one photo. It was 9-10 just to make sure it was perfect. Took some time. And there was people waiting. Then it was finally my time. Paid my £20 and took a picture to get signed. Then they took it out of my hands, and placed it correct so they could hurry it through. Now i stood infront of Frodo, Elijah Wood himself. He read my name on the pink slip and wrote it down. When he came to the very last letter in my name (L = DanieL) he rushed up again to take posed photos with the same ******* photographer with the ugly shirt, with the same ***** guy. I had to wait 1-2 minutes just to shake hands with Elijah, and first then he even looked at me.

 

I was very frustrated. Howcome can some take pictures and some not?? Dont know today who that guy was or the photographer with the ugly shirt.

I understand that posed pics takes time. But no pics at all??? Come on.. The flash was off anyway because of the lousy light in the hall.

 

The only good things that day was Carrie :wub: , The trooper comedy on the parking lot cheking cars, and the £2 sandwich.

 

 

Daniel

 

He was re talikng photos from the photo shoot that where not any good I heard, I was the crew member sat next to Elijah on the Sunday, hubby couldn't even take pics of me next to Elijah either.

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