| FAO Blue Action 17:22 - Aug 17 with 18815 views | mccarthy_is_god |
I’ve waited over 20 years to see my team walk out in the Premier League, a moment I’ve dreamed of for so long. But that moment was taken away from me. You’ve created your own special section to set yourselves apart from the rest of the club, and then put together a display that blocked the view of thousands of other fans, robbing them of seeing their team’s return to the Premier League.
This isn’t what being an Ipswich fan is about. It feels like you’re more focused on making a statement than being part of the club’s journey. It’s disappointing and disrespectful to the rest of us who just wanted to share in this special moment.
Stop being so self centred and selfish and think of other fans. I’ve spoken to many many people this afternoon and you are the only sour part of an otherwise great day. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 20:27 - Aug 17 with 3464 views | Mullet |
Ah thank you. I follow you now. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 20:30 - Aug 17 with 3424 views | jasondozzell |
I met one of the Blue Action founders on the train to Stoke away in the Lambert era and he was such a nice guy and so passionate about the club and getting a proper support going. I don't think it is overstating it to say they helped to save the club.. And they're still so committed. Fanzine is fantastic and the atmosphere they've created is a credit to them. |  | | |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:33 - Aug 17 with 3355 views | jasondozzell |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:30 - Aug 17 by jasondozzell |
I met one of the Blue Action founders on the train to Stoke away in the Lambert era and he was such a nice guy and so passionate about the club and getting a proper support going. I don't think it is overstating it to say they helped to save the club.. And they're still so committed. Fanzine is fantastic and the atmosphere they've created is a credit to them. |
'PLUS, FREE PHIL HAM'! | | | |
| Yeah, all that's true.... on 20:33 - Aug 17 with 3351 views | Bloots |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:30 - Aug 17 by jasondozzell |
I met one of the Blue Action founders on the train to Stoke away in the Lambert era and he was such a nice guy and so passionate about the club and getting a proper support going. I don't think it is overstating it to say they helped to save the club.. And they're still so committed. Fanzine is fantastic and the atmosphere they've created is a credit to them. |
...but it doesn't mean that sometimes they don't always get things totally right.
That's life. |  |
| "He's been a really positive influence on my life, I think he's a great man" - TWTD User (May 2025) |
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| Yeah, all that's true.... on 20:36 - Aug 17 with 3327 views | jasondozzell |
| Yeah, all that's true.... on 20:33 - Aug 17 by Bloots |
...but it doesn't mean that sometimes they don't always get things totally right.
That's life. |
Of course. But banner looked great. Let them cook I say! | | | |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:36 - Aug 17 with 3313 views | pointofblue |
Only one player left from the squad beaten by Peterborough on that day. How things have changed. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 20:37 - Aug 17 with 3291 views | Wallingford_Boy |
| FAO Blue Action on 17:51 - Aug 17 by Ryanblue4life |
It was pulled back in disgust by many fans across the north stand who have followed the team for years, fans who did not get to see their team walk out in the premier league. It does not matter what it looks like ‘ON TV’. It was a special moment robbed by others in a different stand.
By all means do a display but let’s think about it properly and add to the occasion rather than cover it. [Post edited 17 Aug 2024 17:54]
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Did look good on tv though. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 20:43 - Aug 17 with 3228 views | MattinLondon |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:37 - Aug 17 by Wallingford_Boy |
Did look good on tv though. |
It looked great on telly. |  | | |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:58 - Aug 17 with 3154 views | Buhrer |
Maybe just try to get over your melodrama: life's not fair. Some people would have loved to have just been there. Blue Action have definitely made watching Ipswich better me and my family. What have you done? Shared this negative grump over three facking paragraphs. |  | | |
| FAO Blue Action on 21:52 - Aug 17 with 3021 views | Slambo |
We spent around 25 hours designing and making that banner, including 7 hours in the sweltering heat yesterday putting around 7,000 plastic sheets on seats. We're not paid for this. We all have jobs and many of us have young families. Spare time is at a premium - and yet this is what we choose to do with it. How dare you call us selfish and self-centred? Tell me - what sacrifices have YOU made for this football club..?
Have you considered the impact coming out to that display would have had on the players? Have you considered the tens of thousands of fans, both in the ground and without, that would have derived pleasure from it? Have you considered how much the display could've showcased our club to a global audience of potentially millions? Mark Ashton has said he uses pictures of our displays as extra enticement to potential signings. Have you considered that, maybe, having a hard-earned reputation for having creative, committed and hard-working fans provided that extra nudge to get, say, Kalvin Phillips over the line? No, you've considered none of those things. None of that means anything as long as you had 3 minutes (we dropped the banner at 12:25 and raised it at 12:28) of some football players running onto a pitch, lining up, and then shaking each others' hands. The fact we had people deliberately sabotaging our efforts for this is, frankly, disgraceful.
The irony is of course the all of our lads got back into A Block way after kick off meaning we missed around 5 minutes of actual football.
Trying to establish an active fan group - an 'ultra' group if you will - at ITFC has been a long, drawn out slog. We're met with a footballing establishment that actively tries to suppress active fan culture and a club that is, by and large, pretty indifferent. We relocated to A Block to create a space where it was explicit that fans would be expected to sing non-stop for the team as this just wasn't happening in the North Lower. We should've been based centrally behind a goal, like where every team's hardcore support is housed, but would you and your mates have made way? Of course not. So A Block it was, but displays would always look more imposing in the North Stand. Funnily enough, our first display last season was just in A Block - and we got pelters for focusing it just there.
Anyway, i've already spent too much time on this. Don't worry too much about missing the players coming out onto the pitch, they'll do it again against Fulham in a couple of weeks... |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 22:12 - Aug 17 with 2926 views | WeirdFishes |
| FAO Blue Action on 21:52 - Aug 17 by Slambo |
We spent around 25 hours designing and making that banner, including 7 hours in the sweltering heat yesterday putting around 7,000 plastic sheets on seats. We're not paid for this. We all have jobs and many of us have young families. Spare time is at a premium - and yet this is what we choose to do with it. How dare you call us selfish and self-centred? Tell me - what sacrifices have YOU made for this football club..?
Have you considered the impact coming out to that display would have had on the players? Have you considered the tens of thousands of fans, both in the ground and without, that would have derived pleasure from it? Have you considered how much the display could've showcased our club to a global audience of potentially millions? Mark Ashton has said he uses pictures of our displays as extra enticement to potential signings. Have you considered that, maybe, having a hard-earned reputation for having creative, committed and hard-working fans provided that extra nudge to get, say, Kalvin Phillips over the line? No, you've considered none of those things. None of that means anything as long as you had 3 minutes (we dropped the banner at 12:25 and raised it at 12:28) of some football players running onto a pitch, lining up, and then shaking each others' hands. The fact we had people deliberately sabotaging our efforts for this is, frankly, disgraceful.
The irony is of course the all of our lads got back into A Block way after kick off meaning we missed around 5 minutes of actual football.
Trying to establish an active fan group - an 'ultra' group if you will - at ITFC has been a long, drawn out slog. We're met with a footballing establishment that actively tries to suppress active fan culture and a club that is, by and large, pretty indifferent. We relocated to A Block to create a space where it was explicit that fans would be expected to sing non-stop for the team as this just wasn't happening in the North Lower. We should've been based centrally behind a goal, like where every team's hardcore support is housed, but would you and your mates have made way? Of course not. So A Block it was, but displays would always look more imposing in the North Stand. Funnily enough, our first display last season was just in A Block - and we got pelters for focusing it just there.
Anyway, i've already spent too much time on this. Don't worry too much about missing the players coming out onto the pitch, they'll do it again against Fulham in a couple of weeks... |
Unfair to say people haven’t made sacrifices to support their team because they haven’t made a banner and you know full well that the players walking out against Fulham is completely different to the first game back against Liverpool.
I’ve travelled the breadth of the country supporting us for years and was quite disappointed that the moment the players are about to walk out a curtain comes down in front of me! |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 22:16 - Aug 17 with 2892 views | Chris_ITFC |
| FAO Blue Action on 21:52 - Aug 17 by Slambo |
We spent around 25 hours designing and making that banner, including 7 hours in the sweltering heat yesterday putting around 7,000 plastic sheets on seats. We're not paid for this. We all have jobs and many of us have young families. Spare time is at a premium - and yet this is what we choose to do with it. How dare you call us selfish and self-centred? Tell me - what sacrifices have YOU made for this football club..?
Have you considered the impact coming out to that display would have had on the players? Have you considered the tens of thousands of fans, both in the ground and without, that would have derived pleasure from it? Have you considered how much the display could've showcased our club to a global audience of potentially millions? Mark Ashton has said he uses pictures of our displays as extra enticement to potential signings. Have you considered that, maybe, having a hard-earned reputation for having creative, committed and hard-working fans provided that extra nudge to get, say, Kalvin Phillips over the line? No, you've considered none of those things. None of that means anything as long as you had 3 minutes (we dropped the banner at 12:25 and raised it at 12:28) of some football players running onto a pitch, lining up, and then shaking each others' hands. The fact we had people deliberately sabotaging our efforts for this is, frankly, disgraceful.
The irony is of course the all of our lads got back into A Block way after kick off meaning we missed around 5 minutes of actual football.
Trying to establish an active fan group - an 'ultra' group if you will - at ITFC has been a long, drawn out slog. We're met with a footballing establishment that actively tries to suppress active fan culture and a club that is, by and large, pretty indifferent. We relocated to A Block to create a space where it was explicit that fans would be expected to sing non-stop for the team as this just wasn't happening in the North Lower. We should've been based centrally behind a goal, like where every team's hardcore support is housed, but would you and your mates have made way? Of course not. So A Block it was, but displays would always look more imposing in the North Stand. Funnily enough, our first display last season was just in A Block - and we got pelters for focusing it just there.
Anyway, i've already spent too much time on this. Don't worry too much about missing the players coming out onto the pitch, they'll do it again against Fulham in a couple of weeks... |
People didn’t deliberately ‘sabotage’ anything. People bought tickets to a football match and wanted to see the pitch.
You can support Blue Actions efforts, but also try not to have your view of what’s going on completely obscured. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
It isn’t selfish, but it’s also fair enough for people to be peeved by it. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 23:04 - Aug 17 with 2780 views | Swailsey |
| FAO Blue Action on 21:52 - Aug 17 by Slambo |
We spent around 25 hours designing and making that banner, including 7 hours in the sweltering heat yesterday putting around 7,000 plastic sheets on seats. We're not paid for this. We all have jobs and many of us have young families. Spare time is at a premium - and yet this is what we choose to do with it. How dare you call us selfish and self-centred? Tell me - what sacrifices have YOU made for this football club..?
Have you considered the impact coming out to that display would have had on the players? Have you considered the tens of thousands of fans, both in the ground and without, that would have derived pleasure from it? Have you considered how much the display could've showcased our club to a global audience of potentially millions? Mark Ashton has said he uses pictures of our displays as extra enticement to potential signings. Have you considered that, maybe, having a hard-earned reputation for having creative, committed and hard-working fans provided that extra nudge to get, say, Kalvin Phillips over the line? No, you've considered none of those things. None of that means anything as long as you had 3 minutes (we dropped the banner at 12:25 and raised it at 12:28) of some football players running onto a pitch, lining up, and then shaking each others' hands. The fact we had people deliberately sabotaging our efforts for this is, frankly, disgraceful.
The irony is of course the all of our lads got back into A Block way after kick off meaning we missed around 5 minutes of actual football.
Trying to establish an active fan group - an 'ultra' group if you will - at ITFC has been a long, drawn out slog. We're met with a footballing establishment that actively tries to suppress active fan culture and a club that is, by and large, pretty indifferent. We relocated to A Block to create a space where it was explicit that fans would be expected to sing non-stop for the team as this just wasn't happening in the North Lower. We should've been based centrally behind a goal, like where every team's hardcore support is housed, but would you and your mates have made way? Of course not. So A Block it was, but displays would always look more imposing in the North Stand. Funnily enough, our first display last season was just in A Block - and we got pelters for focusing it just there.
Anyway, i've already spent too much time on this. Don't worry too much about missing the players coming out onto the pitch, they'll do it again against Fulham in a couple of weeks... |
I don’t think this sort of post helps your cause. BA have done great things for the club, and I’ve donated money towards it, but I totally understand why people would be annoyed at this.
Strongly hinting that others don’t make sacrifices and that you’re the reason we got KP isn’t a good look. I’m sure it’s disappointing when you put effort into something, but you don’t define or speak for the entire club. There’s thousands of us which have been going for years and have been to away games. You are the super fans I’m sure, but don’t discredit others because they don’t want to adopt your way of supporting identically. [Post edited 17 Aug 2024 23:06]
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| Who said: "Colin Healy made Cesc Fabregas look like Colin Healy"? | We miss you TLA |
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| FAO Blue Action on 05:42 - Aug 18 with 2564 views | Benters |
| FAO Blue Action on 20:04 - Aug 17 by bluelagos |
For those that could see the banner, it did look the bollcks.
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Crikey it’s a whopper! |  |
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| Not an ideal response! (n/t) on 06:54 - Aug 18 with 2486 views | Bloots |
| FAO Blue Action on 21:52 - Aug 17 by Slambo |
We spent around 25 hours designing and making that banner, including 7 hours in the sweltering heat yesterday putting around 7,000 plastic sheets on seats. We're not paid for this. We all have jobs and many of us have young families. Spare time is at a premium - and yet this is what we choose to do with it. How dare you call us selfish and self-centred? Tell me - what sacrifices have YOU made for this football club..?
Have you considered the impact coming out to that display would have had on the players? Have you considered the tens of thousands of fans, both in the ground and without, that would have derived pleasure from it? Have you considered how much the display could've showcased our club to a global audience of potentially millions? Mark Ashton has said he uses pictures of our displays as extra enticement to potential signings. Have you considered that, maybe, having a hard-earned reputation for having creative, committed and hard-working fans provided that extra nudge to get, say, Kalvin Phillips over the line? No, you've considered none of those things. None of that means anything as long as you had 3 minutes (we dropped the banner at 12:25 and raised it at 12:28) of some football players running onto a pitch, lining up, and then shaking each others' hands. The fact we had people deliberately sabotaging our efforts for this is, frankly, disgraceful.
The irony is of course the all of our lads got back into A Block way after kick off meaning we missed around 5 minutes of actual football.
Trying to establish an active fan group - an 'ultra' group if you will - at ITFC has been a long, drawn out slog. We're met with a footballing establishment that actively tries to suppress active fan culture and a club that is, by and large, pretty indifferent. We relocated to A Block to create a space where it was explicit that fans would be expected to sing non-stop for the team as this just wasn't happening in the North Lower. We should've been based centrally behind a goal, like where every team's hardcore support is housed, but would you and your mates have made way? Of course not. So A Block it was, but displays would always look more imposing in the North Stand. Funnily enough, our first display last season was just in A Block - and we got pelters for focusing it just there.
Anyway, i've already spent too much time on this. Don't worry too much about missing the players coming out onto the pitch, they'll do it again against Fulham in a couple of weeks... |
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| "He's been a really positive influence on my life, I think he's a great man" - TWTD User (May 2025) |
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| FAO Blue Action on 07:15 - Aug 18 with 2456 views | USA |
| FAO Blue Action on 17:36 - Aug 17 by Zx1988 |
I agree. A rare misstep from them and, given their efforts to date, doesn't necessarily warrant a two-footed attack of the severity of the OP.
I assume that's why the banner didn't really work? I thought it was blown back by wind at the time, but did it end up getting pushed back by fans? |
Yes it was exactly this. Those who were just behind the banner, who had the view blocked were pulling it back so they could see. Then it was a domino effect as each row back started doing the same | |
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| FAO Blue Action on 07:28 - Aug 18 with 2424 views | Slambo |
| FAO Blue Action on 22:12 - Aug 17 by WeirdFishes |
Unfair to say people haven’t made sacrifices to support their team because they haven’t made a banner and you know full well that the players walking out against Fulham is completely different to the first game back against Liverpool.
I’ve travelled the breadth of the country supporting us for years and was quite disappointed that the moment the players are about to walk out a curtain comes down in front of me! |
I'm sure fans have made/do make sacrifices, but I was asking what specifically the OP has done. And simply turning up to a game, wherever it is, isn't a sacrifice. That's the bare minimum. Step 1: turn up. Step 2: sing non-stop at games. Step 3: go beyond that with visuals such as in match displays etc...
Look, in hindsight, I think we should have been much clearer about what the display entailed and will most certainly act on that going forward. But as someone else mentioned, we've done displays that have temporarily obscured people's views before (and even before our time - who can forget the infamous Paul Hurst banner that was nearly ripped down from the upper North?) but it's never elicited this kind of backlash before. We just hadn't considered that simply entering the field of play was so seminal to the sense of occasion, that as long as we don't obscure the views of the actual match then everyone's happy...
I guess we're still naive about how much the average English fan knows up the 'ultra' scene and how much they're willing to sacrifice. People routinely post pictures on here of an incredible experience they had at a European game which will often result in your view being obscured for 15-20 minutes and I dare say more, if you add constant flag waving into the mix. But try replicate even the most unobtrusive elements of that over here and it's resisted... | |
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| Ha! The more “sober” response? (n/t) on 07:31 - Aug 18 with 2393 views | Bloots |
| FAO Blue Action on 07:28 - Aug 18 by Slambo |
I'm sure fans have made/do make sacrifices, but I was asking what specifically the OP has done. And simply turning up to a game, wherever it is, isn't a sacrifice. That's the bare minimum. Step 1: turn up. Step 2: sing non-stop at games. Step 3: go beyond that with visuals such as in match displays etc...
Look, in hindsight, I think we should have been much clearer about what the display entailed and will most certainly act on that going forward. But as someone else mentioned, we've done displays that have temporarily obscured people's views before (and even before our time - who can forget the infamous Paul Hurst banner that was nearly ripped down from the upper North?) but it's never elicited this kind of backlash before. We just hadn't considered that simply entering the field of play was so seminal to the sense of occasion, that as long as we don't obscure the views of the actual match then everyone's happy...
I guess we're still naive about how much the average English fan knows up the 'ultra' scene and how much they're willing to sacrifice. People routinely post pictures on here of an incredible experience they had at a European game which will often result in your view being obscured for 15-20 minutes and I dare say more, if you add constant flag waving into the mix. But try replicate even the most unobtrusive elements of that over here and it's resisted... |
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| "He's been a really positive influence on my life, I think he's a great man" - TWTD User (May 2025) |
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| FAO Blue Action on 07:41 - Aug 18 with 2377 views | unbelievablue |
| FAO Blue Action on 07:28 - Aug 18 by Slambo |
I'm sure fans have made/do make sacrifices, but I was asking what specifically the OP has done. And simply turning up to a game, wherever it is, isn't a sacrifice. That's the bare minimum. Step 1: turn up. Step 2: sing non-stop at games. Step 3: go beyond that with visuals such as in match displays etc...
Look, in hindsight, I think we should have been much clearer about what the display entailed and will most certainly act on that going forward. But as someone else mentioned, we've done displays that have temporarily obscured people's views before (and even before our time - who can forget the infamous Paul Hurst banner that was nearly ripped down from the upper North?) but it's never elicited this kind of backlash before. We just hadn't considered that simply entering the field of play was so seminal to the sense of occasion, that as long as we don't obscure the views of the actual match then everyone's happy...
I guess we're still naive about how much the average English fan knows up the 'ultra' scene and how much they're willing to sacrifice. People routinely post pictures on here of an incredible experience they had at a European game which will often result in your view being obscured for 15-20 minutes and I dare say more, if you add constant flag waving into the mix. But try replicate even the most unobtrusive elements of that over here and it's resisted... |
It looked good. It didn’t obstruct the game itself. Someone moaned. Best ignored I think, rather than inflaming a debate about it with emotive language about sacrifices etc. |  |
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| FAO Blue Action on 07:48 - Aug 18 with 2346 views | Slambo |
| FAO Blue Action on 22:16 - Aug 17 by Chris_ITFC |
People didn’t deliberately ‘sabotage’ anything. People bought tickets to a football match and wanted to see the pitch.
You can support Blue Actions efforts, but also try not to have your view of what’s going on completely obscured. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
It isn’t selfish, but it’s also fair enough for people to be peeved by it. |
I thought it was the wind, but people are literally admitting in this thread to having pulled the banner back to get a view of the players entering the pitch. We had some good pics of just the banner, but none of it with the blue and white polysheets up as well, as by that hence why the display didn't 'work'...
3 minutes is all we asked for. 3 minutes where nothing was even happening. Yes it was the first game back in the Prem after 22 years, but someone moans EVERY time we do a display that obscures people's views for a brief period. We've had it with Remembrance banners and even banners to the memory of recently passed fans. Can you not see how frustrating this is..? | |
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| FAO Blue Action on 07:54 - Aug 18 with 2307 views | Slambo |
| FAO Blue Action on 23:04 - Aug 17 by Swailsey |
I don’t think this sort of post helps your cause. BA have done great things for the club, and I’ve donated money towards it, but I totally understand why people would be annoyed at this.
Strongly hinting that others don’t make sacrifices and that you’re the reason we got KP isn’t a good look. I’m sure it’s disappointing when you put effort into something, but you don’t define or speak for the entire club. There’s thousands of us which have been going for years and have been to away games. You are the super fans I’m sure, but don’t discredit others because they don’t want to adopt your way of supporting identically. [Post edited 17 Aug 2024 23:06]
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Mark Ashton has literally said to us that he shows pictures of our displays to prospective signings. Phillips perhaps not the best example, but this isn't us being self-important or self-aggrandizing... | |
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| FAO Blue Action on 08:01 - Aug 18 with 2294 views | Slambo |
| FAO Blue Action on 07:41 - Aug 18 by unbelievablue |
It looked good. It didn’t obstruct the game itself. Someone moaned. Best ignored I think, rather than inflaming a debate about it with emotive language about sacrifices etc. |
Yeah you're probably right, and we're normally pretty good at keeping our counsel (certainly won't have this carry on over X or facebook. TWTD just so much better for reasoned debate). But is this going to keep happening? Can we now assume that any display that obscures supporters' views - for however short a period of time and during however inconsequential a passage of play? You say I shouldn't use emotive language like 'sacrifices', but should we bother sweating in a sports hall to make a banner only to have it yanked about and ripped? | |
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| FAO Blue Action on 08:05 - Aug 18 with 2268 views | Meadowlark |
It looked great from Churchmans! |  | | |
| I'm pretty sure that.... on 08:12 - Aug 18 with 2222 views | NeedhamChris |
| I'm pretty sure that.... on 19:31 - Aug 17 by Bloots |
....they'll accept it wasn't ideal, state that, and move on.
As it should be. |
Hmmm | |
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