Is this the answer to our toilet prayers?

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Susana
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Is this the answer to our toilet prayers?

Post by Susana » Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:21 pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7260484.stm

£600 would go nicely towards paying someone to clean the toilets... If this came into place we would be entitled immediately to the remuneration as we are already offering this service to the community (Danny can provide fresh evidence...).

On a more sombre note, is it just my impression or is The Forest attracting more and more 'unhelpful' characters? And if that is the case could it be something to do with being the entrace to The Forest a sort of dump, with the free shop having grown so ever much? In my opinion the look of that front room was much more alluring and dignifying in the past, when it was very much a 'living' room. I know that somewhere else you talked about this in some recent past. I wonder if there are signs that we must put a stop to it now. The free shop is something simply fantastic but perhaps it needs rearranging, moving, etc.

I leave you to cogitate, if you please 8)
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chris
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Post by chris » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:01 pm

are you suggesting swapping the library with the free shop?

thus the libary would be in the front 'sitting room' and the freeshop in the back 'room of chaos'
Maybe it could work? But it will be a kaleidoscopic blend of mysterious shadows and rainbow hued-dreams seen through compassionate tears.

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Post by Jimmy Bastard » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:32 pm

Quote from the article
"My feeling is that this is a very watered-down attempt to encourage local authorities to act,"
(more toilet humour.)

Also I would like to see the two chairs be placed back in the front window as the weather gets better
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Susana
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Post by Susana » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:08 pm

Ah Chris, that hurts! The library is a piece of my heart, how can you play with it so flippantly? :wink: I really don't know where the free shop could go... I do love the idea of having the library in the front room but I fear that the books would disappear more quickly. I have seen some of my 'reference' books experiencing a permanent absence... (but don't cry for me Argentina, many of them would have gone to charity shops...)

I agree with Dai, bring back the chairs to the window. We need more bonhomie, watching the world pass by, while lounging on velvety chairs
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Susana
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Post by Susana » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:42 pm

I was thinking, would a sort of chinese screen help? or some other type of division like curtains or so? at least the eyesore in the front room would disappear. Also if we brought the free shop to where the library is we would like some division for the same purpose and we could put the books on those trolleys that they have in libraries to move them about... and place these dividing the spaces between units made of sofas and their coffee tables... :roll:
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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:04 pm

Sounds like Susana has an itch to take on front of house... (please do!)

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James
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Post by James » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:33 pm

Maybe the free shop could move to the new shop we are planning in the radio room? That would have the advantage of being shut late at night (presumably). And people who only wanted to indulge in free shopage and didn't want to engage with the cafe would just enter and leave through the church doors?

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Susana
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Post by Susana » Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:25 am

That would be ideal, actually! And what is that new shop for?
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bryony
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Post by bryony » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:55 pm

The free shop is great but makes it nearly impossible to keep the front room looking nice. Moving it to the (new shop?) could well be the solution.

The plants are lovely in the window, please don't move them.

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Post by Shannon » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:46 pm

I have a feeling that Nix would be very much against the idea of moving it in there. The room isn't that big, and it could be difficult to monitor bought goods and free goods in the same space. It might also not help the marketing of the for-sale goods...

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Post by bryony » Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:21 pm

Very true, maybe we should just try and keep it more contained? The screen could be cool.

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Post by Gandhi » Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:39 pm

Should a new post be put on the bb for larger items? Forest freecycle? I've been annoyed getting rid of stuff on freecycle by the amount of wasters who say they want stuff then never show up. At least if anyone from the Forest wanted something we know where to find them.
Just an idea.

Freeshop and the shop should not be together me thinks. Got a vision of people walking off with non free stuff which they thought was free. Maybe keeping the freeshop less full of the same old stuff would help. If somethings still their after a week, then it should go to charity shop. Big bins holding the stuff would keep it tidy as well.
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James
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Post by James » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:30 am

another advantage of the free shop being in the shop would be:
there would always be someone there to monitor new donations, keep it clean and watch people who just wanted to abuse things.
Maybe we could do the screen thing in that room to keep the two very separate?

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Post by Susana » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:18 am

Another little idea: an alternative to the screen could be a beads curtain. They have the advantage of rearranging themselves. Or someone could paint a mural on a canvas and then we would cut it in narrow strips to turn it into a bead curtain.

Regarding the window, is it not possible to have both the chairs and plants around? I personally would love to sit in a sort of lush greenhouse. Ideeeeally, in fact, I would like to bring the South American room of the Botanical Gardens greenhouse to the Forest... That window looks west, which is a luxury in these latitudes..
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Post by ravanwin » Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:27 pm

sitting in the window is good. and good for bussiness, i think?

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:57 am

The front room needs a designer. Anyone with a good, cozy idea they're ready to implement has my two thumbs up...

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baloo
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Post by baloo » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:54 am

hey now just you guys be aware : before you move the plants you have to come to the action group meeting and express the urge there FIRST!......
Those plants have had a hard life and the window has been the one only place of stability they have known.
I know its great to have seats there but these are our ONLY plants!!!
And they are doing so well!
And they love living together, undisturbed......

If they are to be moved, then make sure they are not relocated to windows sills or the shelf above the kitchen. Both are dangerous places for subtle green life.
So....if not there.....where?
up and at it.

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beev
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Post by beev » Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:19 pm

the action group? don't you mean arts/front of house?

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Post by chombee » Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:46 pm

Was in the forest today, the gold room is basically the free shop. There is the overflowing/strewn all over the place free shop, including a stack of crates as tall as a man again, then there is one table with only a couple of chairs, the free Internet, and the plants. And the message boards. That's about it.

Needs: more tables, couches, chairs, less free shop.

Something needs to be done about the free shop. On the one hand we love it, on the other hand it's out of control and the gold room is a waste of space right now.

The problem with the gold room is: out of sight of the main cafe (if only we could knock the wall down), free shop, free internet, no cafe stuff.

We can't let our hesitance to get rid of the free shop paralyse the gold room. I think if the new shop people won't take it, we need to seriously consider cutting the free shop down to size and whether there is a practical way that vollies could filter what goes into it. I don't want to see it gotten rid of though. It doesn't need to be as big as it is. I doesn't need the two big sets of shelves plus clothes rack.
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Post by Susana » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:16 am

I totally agree.

Yesterday I was in Ikea and saw these panel curtains that are used to create space divisions and I thought that they would be just ideal. They are transparent and come in three colours: pink, green and white and the dimensions are 300 x 60cm. They cost £1.39 each and with 4 of them (£5.56) and a string or wire we would have a neat division. I almost felt compelled to make a donation to the forest but I only saw the green ones on stock (lime green). I have to go back to Ikea and I could enquire about getting hold of the pink, or at least the white ones. Now you may not like buying from Ikea, I don't know, but if you don't have a problem we couldn't find a cheaper solution and more in tone with the feeling of the golden room. Me thinks.

About the plants in the window I was looking at them and it seems to me that their would be room for the big plants to stay on the floor and the small ones could hang from the side wall which is very large. I agree with Ryan that it would be much better for business to have the chairs on the window. As it is and as lovely the set of plants are I feel that on the whole they act more as a barrier between the outside world and the Forest than a tempting display of what is inside and we need constant new people to discover the Forest or it runs the risk of becoming a cozy place for those that are already 'friends' of the Forest. The Forest is in a priviledged position to offer for free arts and events space and even space for selling people's work. Why are they not flooding in to use all these facilities and with good quality material as well??? My guess is that they obviously don't see it as worthwhile. So it's a loss for all of us.

But we do have some great art work that goes unsung and mostly unseen by the wide world: the tons of art work that keep happening in the walls of the basement!, i.e., the stairs going to the basement, the corridors of the basement and the toilets!!! Boys, is that art in progress!!! One feels sometimes like sitting on the stairs, as you go to the toilet, and take time to admire it. In fact I think that there should be a permanent note on the gallery to inform the public of it. Seriously. Even more, with all the art that goes on the toilets, if we managed to have a paid person to clean them everyday we would be serious rivals to the champions of toilet presentation: the mighty public toilets of North Berwick! Have you been to them? They are the proud winners of year after year 'best kept toilets'.
:wink: :wink:
Can you picture it? a space with pine fragrances, or whatever...,( the fragrances could change to fit the subject on the wall) and where residents of Pilton and Costorphine would come to take solace and inspiration... and men in suits would check it out regularly to spot the next Picasso... :twisted:
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beev
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Post by beev » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:07 am

I think it would be very cool if forest started to big up the arts angle a lot more.

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Post by Gandhi » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:23 am

that would be very nice
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Post by swithun » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:03 am

I've got to go to IKEA sometime soon to drop off a load of batteries and depleted uranium, so I could get these curtains and candles (unless Bill sorts out these other ones in time).

See-through would be good so that people don't get up to any kind of mischief behind them. With a curtain, the free shop will need to reduce in size, so people have room to go behind the curtain and rummage (carefully now).

The not-paying-people-to-clean trial is progressing. Can a fortnightly purging of the free shop be added to the list of duties? Everything, unless it is very recent and desirable, gets binned. If the rail and one set of shelves still get too full, then try it once a week instead.

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Post by Shannon » Fri Feb 29, 2008 1:11 pm

Danny has been spending time in the free shop and on other general cleaning things. I reckon he might be up for cutting it down to size. I like the curtain idea.

We really need candles. The sooner the better.

I think front of house is one thing that has really been left behind in the working group arrangement... It needs people!

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Post by nix » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:14 pm

I spoke a while ago about a curtain/screen for free shop... lets build it from free/recycled materials.. a massive boo to IKEA...


I will take on the task of building it, if no-one else will..

lets contain the free shop.

P.S..

keep the plants!

they really help keep the room good.

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:14 pm

Keep the plants but give them a shelf somewhere in the room? If we were to put seating in the window again, where would the computer go?

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Susana
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Post by Susana » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:04 am

Nix, in my opinion this is quite a matter of urgency, so if you think that you can make it in the next week great, otherwise we may lose the momentum and forget again for a few months... We could for this occassion use Ikea but at the same time make sure that we fiind a more local resource for the candles (if we don't have it already...) on a regular basis.

Regarding the plants, could we put up a few shelves hanging from that piece of wall in the window? Also, if we decide they stay were they are, could we do something a bit more fetching with their display? for instance we could get ceramic pots for them and paint them all gold and equally paint the shelves themselves, perhaps also in gold? or in red? or everything in white? or have each individual pot painted by different artists and paint the shelves in white? or paint them in the range and order of the colour of the rainbow? (I'm remembering an anecdote: once I was passing by the Forest with an older female friend of mine and she saw the tibetan prayers hanging in the front and said.. "Ah, that is for the gay community, isn't it?" I loved her to bits)
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Post by Gandhi » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:14 pm

I'm sure Bill had a contact for a local candle maker, not sure how cheap they are though! Theres a bb post about them somewhere!
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Post by baloo » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:42 pm

putting plants up high will lead to people noticing even less that they are dying and need water.
action group covers enviroment and garden, plants are plants, so dont tink front o hoos/visual arts group is wherits at. I only said it coz i was scared someone would just move the plants without communication, which happens eh.
Do whatever but please let me help choose where the plants go.
They do so love the window.
(((big sigh)))
well.......ok.
should i come up with a plan for a shelf? and i so wanted to use the window to germinate seeds.........we have so many seeds......

I shall envision a compromise being had by all.
peas.x
up and at it.

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bill
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Post by bill » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:19 pm

i feel ikea is the death of everything we need.
the opposite of permaculture

maybe read here http://www.business-humanrights.org/Cat ... ies/I/IKEA don't know if its anygood.

carberry candles is our nearest candle maker. i believe from waste veg oil. he went out of business as soon as ikea opened and imported candles cheaper. i asked where the nearest candle maker is; alston, close to where my folks live. ted makes cool candles and sells the seconds for 100 for 10pounds. cool eh?


i am not near were he lives at the mo.

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:12 am

Maybe a compromise is that we can keep the plants on the window shelf long enough to germinate some seeds and then move them for the summery season?

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Post by baloo » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:36 am

cool compromise.
Perfect infact.
I agree with Bill on IKeA....
up and at it.

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:06 am

It's a very tall window. Maybe some plants could live at the top of it, with seats below? Would need to figure out a good way to water them though.

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Susana
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Post by Susana » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:45 am

Indeed Martin, that was my vision too.

The compromise over the germinating plants sounds good to me too.

And would you let me buy pots and paint them in a colour voted by everybody (everybody that wants to vote..)?

I feel the urge to say again, at the risk of being a bore, that if I didn't know the Forest, I wouldn't walk in... And that has been the case for a few months now, so we may be losing on a whole academic year potential new users... :evil: Me thinks.
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Post by ravanwin » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:33 am

i think so too.

i am okay with anything that tries to make us look more good and welcome. we don't need to vote on color, i don't think.

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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:46 pm

Please go ahead, Susana. Front of house really needs someone to take the initiative. It has been missing for a long time. I am trying to do my bit with searching out couches and furniture, but it's taking time. Danny and others cleaning is also beginning to make a difference...

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Post by graeme » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:54 pm

This is good, our public face should be beautiful to reflect the beauty that lies within.

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Post by ravanwin » Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:22 pm

aye - go go go.

get what you need from wherever and if you want to get people to come and help let me know and i will try to help you publisize (ie - front of house DAY etc.)

r

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nix
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Post by nix » Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:31 pm

Yesterday I had a thought that the window could be mixed use...

the plants and one comfy chair for a clever person to read in and the computer could move to where the "forest shop" cabinet is now.. at standing hight. so you simply cant sit at it.

if we still have a spare flat screen, after the Action Room is sorted, it could be wall mounted, and a wee shelf built for the keyboard..?

how about it?

and we MUST build the partition wall for the FreeShop.

We need the freeshop, but we also need the front-room back!

Michail described the space as "like the room at the Doctors where you wait to do inside.."

that is not the vibe we need.

I propose this coming SATURDAY MORNING 10 - 12 as a time for a "Building in the Red Room" Meeting.. I will be there trying to find a way to move the computer..

anyone object? anyone want to help?

LOVE

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nix
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Post by nix » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm

oopoops,

stupid nix.

I will be at the meeting on Sat.

but the Red Room will be nice soon.

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Post by condoleeza rice » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:06 pm

i am seriously opposed to buying stuff from ikea.

i feel they are a multinational conglomerate with their fingers up their own pies.


it is amazing that we are paying attention to how we appear. and it is well to think about these things. i do not feel like the forest should have things from ikea in this representation of ourselves. i will be happy to build something this sunday from something nice. if this is ok would be cool to meet with somepeoples to discuss where exactly it could go.


x
"Does anybody think these people were just sitting around drinking tea?"

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bill
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Post by bill » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:13 pm

i'd be happy to help?

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Post by James » Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:36 am

nix wrote:if we still have a spare flat screen, after the Action Room is sorted, it could be wall mounted, and a wee shelf built for the keyboard..?

how about it?

and we MUST build the partition wall for the FreeShop.

We need the freeshop, but we also need the front-room back!
I believe the action room can work fine with old style monitors and out of the few TFT's we have one of them can go downstairs. If not they can be had from under £100 new, cheaper 2nd hand, I think its worth it.

There is some 2x4 wood on the balcony that was stupidly brought for the theatre last august and can be used for building a partition wall. I can help as much as I can when it comes to being a builder (which isn't much).

Moving the computer and putting a chair there instead would be good, but Lets wait until we have a shelf built .... I think the making people stand thing works well and I wouldn't like to see it on a table again.

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:30 am

Last time I counted there were 7 flat panel screens around, we don't need to buy any more!

For the action room I think it would be good to have two CRTs and two LCDs. CRTs are bigger and have better colour reproduction for photo and graphics work. LCDs are easier on the eyes for typing and layout.

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nix
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Post by nix » Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:45 pm

i'm right now looking at the CRT on the machine closest to the door in the Action Room. it is flickering and doing my nut.

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:05 pm

That CRT isn't so good. The two big Sun ones are the best.

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Susana
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Post by Susana » Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:55 am

So, Nix and me decided to meet on Friday at 1 to do the work needed in the front room. Do join us if you like. :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:
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Shannon
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Post by Shannon » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:59 am

I'll be in too.

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baloo
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Post by baloo » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:01 pm

ouch.
up and at it.

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bill
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Post by bill » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:25 pm

so not on sundaylike me and condy discussed?

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