This is our on the road map...
Day 43 Saturday, 4 September 2010
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  at 14:32 on teamFUDGE said 6 week party. This prob the last update as i'll be hungover for days. Props to john allwood and han tay, without whom... Thanks to everyond who made this possible, especially the patrons and staff of the Moorings Bar in aberdeen. Best pub in the world - i speak from experience :) |
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Day 42 Friday, 3 September 2010
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| at 22:58 on teamFUDGE said Like it was ever going to be that easy to get home... |
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| at 18:27 on teamFUDGE said lock-in-tastic. No culture today, just beer. Every time someone knocks the bar goes silent. But only very briefly. Reminds me of Drakes... |
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Day 41 Thursday, 2 September 2010
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| at 19:50 on teamFUDGE said TAA DAA!!! The swift may be in Khovd, but the crazy mongolian disco bus (needs a push every 100km) got us here in only 60 hours... But i had a great time. Them mongolians know how to enjoy themselves. |
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| at 07:24 on teamFUDGE said 48 hours on the bus. Nae food since i was poisoned in khovd. Just caffine and nicotine. Now the mongolians are feeding me vodka. Awesome. 10 hours to go, i've been told... |
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Day 40 Wednesday, 1 September 2010
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| at 22:01 on teamFUDGE said ah! So that's where we are! The only seat on the bus to myself (tho our remaining luggage is piled high in front of the window) and i've got myself a young chap translating during cigarette banter. Kilts, they love... |
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| at 21:36 on teamFUDGE said somewhere on the road to UB: Whn can honestly say they just jumped into a moving 52 seat bus after giving it a push start at half 4 in the morning, after being sung to sleep 2 hours ago with communual folk songs? Buses are awesome! |
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| at 04:12 on teamFUDGE said 20 hours on karaoke vodka bus completed! 25/30 hours to go. Spent 2 hours digging the bus out of mud this morning. Awesome. |
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Day 39 Tuesday, 31 August 2010
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| at 05:39 on teamFUDGE said the Swift is dead! Long live the Swift! Bus to UB... This could be the worst part of the whole trip... |
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Day 38 Monday, 30 August 2010
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| at 22:51 on teamFUDGE said 90 minutes north done. Nn one dead yet. |
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| at 21:01 on teamFUDGE said oh god. And we thought being towed by the ambulance was bad. 3am and we're sitting in the car. Which is roped on the back of the flimsiest flatbed truck ever. We love you all. Goodbye. Eek.@ |
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| at 12:56 on teamFUDGE said 100 miles south of Khovd. Gearbox gone. Swift dead. Got tow from ambulance. Wheel fell off. Stranded in desert for now. Bugger. |
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| at 07:53 on teamFUDGE said finally leaving Khovd! Convoys eh? Good banter but slow as hell... |
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Day 37 Sunday, 29 August 2010
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| at 11:53 on teamFUDGE said my turn for food poisoning. Feel rotten. Vomit everywhere. Bah |
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Day 36 Saturday, 28 August 2010
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| at 06:49 on teamFUDGE said steppe on it's car is dying. We're looking for the adventurists drop off point... |
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| at 04:18 on teamFUDGE said mongolia! Hooooo! Three car convoy with Slow Way Across and Steppe On It. We even have music again. Good times. |
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Day 33 Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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| at 15:40 on teamFUDGE said altai mountains spectacular. Currently dodging huge speeding trucks and random cattle in the pitch black of night on crazy winding mountain passes. We might make the mongolian border yet. |
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Day 32 Tuesday, 24 August 2010
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| at 15:22 on teamFUDGE said nearing Barnaul. 300 miles from the mongolian border, where a blanket of snow and two day queue in the car await us. Already feels chilly after all those deserts. |
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Day 31 Monday, 23 August 2010
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| at 06:30 on teamFUDGE said another blowout yesterday. Thankfully at 60 on a straight flat road rather than when i was tanking down a winding mountain road at 90+. No spare tyres now. Limping onwards to Semey accompanied by clanking noises. |
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Day 29 Saturday, 21 August 2010
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| at 19:16 on teamFUDGE said Almaty! Bri's first ever speeding fine! A flat tyre and another slow puncture! Pete purging at both ends! Awsome! |
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Day 28 Friday, 20 August 2010
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| at 07:41 on teamFUDGE said been driving for 2/3 hours. Just passed hotel again. They've moved the border! We could've been back in kazakhstan yesterday aft ** some text is missing ** |
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Day 27 Thursday, 19 August 2010
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| at 19:30 on teamFUDGE said tonight pete drove into a drainage ditch. A nice man towed us out. Shooting the breeze with the hotel staff. |
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| at 09:03 on teamFUDGE said spent the morning checking out some more islamic architecture. If i'd done my year out here instead of Perth i might be an architect by now. But that would've been a loss to music. |
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Day 26 Wednesday, 18 August 2010
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| at 15:26 on teamFUDGE said watching a man butcher a goat in the hotel courtyard. He will eat well tonight. Off out for dinner with local lass Maryam soon. Looking forward to plov and samsa if we're lucky. Goat man has started singing. Grace of sorts i think. Awesome! |
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| at 11:30 on teamFUDGE said bit of sight seeing today after all those deserts. Bukhara is my kinda place. Kalon mosque unbeliveably beautiful and tranquil. Second lot of blackmarket petrol (who could resist our charm - and dollars) and we're on the road again. Glad to hear Map Attack are rolling east too. |
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Day 25 Tuesday, 17 August 2010
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| at 12:02 on teamFUDGE said Just carried out our 1st black market petrol transaction. Not sure of the quality but it should get us an extra 50 miles! |
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| at 04:42 on teamFUDGE said the super swift limps on towards the border, losing oil and tyre pressure in equal measure. Shout out goes to han, aslan, numaret and his brother. Nice one |
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Day 23 Sunday, 15 August 2010
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| at 11:49 on teamFUDGE said finally made it to southernmost point of journey after testing few days. Phone 07939476702 to talk to us - don't leave message! Theo's mum: phone/text if we can do anything to help them out. Hope they're ok. |
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Day 22 Saturday, 14 August 2010
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| at 14:42 on teamFUDGE said no food for days. No money coz banks are shut til mon and no visa anywhere. Got stuck in sanddune yestday and wheel fell off today. In danger of overstaying visa so may be deported yet.@ |
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Day 21 Friday, 13 August 2010
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| at 15:25 on teamFUDGE said Friday the 13th has struck teamFUDGE & struck big time... |
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Day 20 Thursday, 12 August 2010
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| at 07:33 on teamFUDGE said Stayed here l.night after the worst road we're encountered so far - 140 miles at 20mph. Cracked the oil sump but managed to get it fixed by a local at a truck stop who had his eye on the girl at the parts shop. Hope to hit Turkmenistan today = more desert & even more dust :( |
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| at 07:27 on teamFUDGE said We're alive! Been in the desert a couple of days so no signal. Camped outside this town where a goldern eagle was perched on a rock. |
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Day 18 Tuesday, 10 August 2010
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| at 11:53 on teamFUDGE said bri's phone hates kazakhstan. New number is +7 7012523776. Gimme a buzz! It'll prob cost u a fortune. I can't dial or text out tho. |
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Day 16 Sunday, 8 August 2010
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| at 09:52 on teamFUDGE said happy birthday to me! (Bri) Please don't txt me coz it costs me a quid to receive each time! |
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Day 15 Saturday, 7 August 2010
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| at 13:12 on teamFUDGE said over the border with the aid of some 'gifts': two beers, some fudge, and (somewhat unbelievably) six pairs of cardboard 3D glasses. Well, i did offer... |
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| at 09:54 on teamFUDGE said Hat-trick! rozzers flagged us down few miles from russia, but pete continued regardless. Until the sirens from behind drew his attention. I got them down from 200usd to 50. Win! @ |
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Day 14 Friday, 6 August 2010
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| at 20:06 on teamFUDGE said sitting on grassy cliff above beach on Sea of Azov, watching shooting stars and the disco lights from a beach party across the way. Sadly only one beer and two fags left as pete is asleep. Again. The boy has no stamina! |
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Day 13 Thursday, 5 August 2010
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| at 20:36 on teamFUDGE said there's some awful europop going on outside the window, but the aircon is gooood. 400 miles today. Feels like more tbh. Ferry to Russia in the morning. |
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| at 12:16 on teamFUDGE said yay! Our 'first' traffic violation (overtaking on solid white lines - when in Ukraine etc...) results in 40 dollars hitting the cops back pocket. Onwards to the Crimea! |
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Day 12 Wednesday, 4 August 2010
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| at 12:09 on teamFUDGE said it's taken at least 3 hours of traffic and heat (thanks to lonely planet sending us to loads of nonexistant hotels) but we're holed up now. Chilled day and early start tomorrow. |
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| at 06:27 on teamFUDGE said took 6 hours to drive the 200m through Moldova to Ukraine last night. No maps, cyrillic script, no signs anyway. I drove til 5am and had 2 hours kip at petrol station. Awesome! Pete not looking as happy. |
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Day 11 Tuesday, 3 August 2010
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| at 12:45 on teamFUDGE said have picked up missing car document at last and can now head for moldova/ukraine. Woop woop. We're hearing stories about fun n games at the border...@ |
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Day 10 Monday, 2 August 2010
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| at 17:38 on teamFUDGE said beer coldest since Prague. We have left the convoy to rendevous with the car documents previously 'misplaced'. Best of luck to Hatters, Beavers, Cakes and Khans. You'll need it! |
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| at 14:32 on teamFUDGE said climbed an alp before breakfast. Come to think of it, haven't eaten yet. Must be 35 degrees in this traffic jam. |
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Day 9 Sunday, 1 August 2010
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| at 20:28 on teamFUDGE said camping near the top of the mountain. Stars are out in force and beer is cold. No bears or wolves yet. Cross your fingers. |
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| at 18:28 on teamFUDGE said Top Gear were right: this road is amazing. No barriers and hundreds of feet to drop. And corn on the cob at the top. Nom nom nom. Epic! @ |
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| at 15:08 on teamFUDGE said have abandoned convoy (and overheating pete) for a coffee in what must be the nicest town square ever. It's lovely. Tasty coffee too. |
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| at 11:01 on teamFUDGE said added another car to the convoy and currently streaming south towards the Transylvanian Alps. Countryside is beautiful, sun is out. |
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Day 8 Saturday, 31 July 2010
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| at 17:46 on teamFUDGE said one hour border crossings will soon be speedy in comparison. Sadly, the canadians and the american have been taken away and shot. NowTransylvania bound. |
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| at 13:14 on teamFUDGE said totally epic thunder storm last night. Question: would you rather have a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? |
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Day 7 Friday, 30 July 2010
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| at 21:34 on teamFUDGE said random camp site tonight coz Catch Us If You Khan have sparks beneath thier bus. How exciting! |
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| at 18:49 on teamFUDGE said 2100 miles since Aberdeen. Leading the convoy. Petrol station queue lengthy. Can't wait to see Pete at Russian border! |
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| at 17:24 on teamFUDGE said in no way lost! Country number nine: tick. |
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Day 6 Thursday, 29 July 2010
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| at 20:24 on teamFUDGE said in the centre of Vienna! Lost of course. "Filter right" said Bri. Twice. He didn't. We're following some locals in a VW camper now. Tally ho!@ |
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| at 16:16 on teamFUDGE said fixed the Beavers roofbox, drove 200m, lost one of the convoy at a roundabout... Making progress to Vienna now (we're leading, you see) |
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| at 13:38 on teamFUDGE said chapel of bones: tick. Unfortunatley the great canadian beavers massive roof rack has parted company from their shiny red van... We're going nowhere soon, but at least Aaron is making us coffee on the pavement.@ |
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| at 11:48 on teamFUDGE said think we just caused first accident: lorry driver just smashed into a car at roundabout coz he was watching our awsome convoy p ** some text is missing ** |
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Day 5 Wednesday, 28 July 2010
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| at 20:19 on teamFUDGE said jamie mac is eating cold brain. He's not sure he likes it. Nom nom nom! Lolz etc. P.s. Hello Mrs Mac |
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| at 14:22 on teamFUDGE said convoy turns out to be just as useless at decision making on foot, but we're having fun regardless. Tho still finding things using the spiral-round-it method. Flavoured hot chocolate and icecream time now.@ |
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Day 4 Tuesday, 27 July 2010
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| at 21:43 on teamFUDGE said Prague! Fourteen people round a table for dinner. At last! Little bit of trouble finding the campsite, but that'll hardly be a suprise to regular readers |
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| at 18:08 on teamFUDGE said heading north for prague! Deja vu anyone? |
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| at 17:48 on teamFUDGE said Prague ring road tour continues! Heading for Plzen again... You know how insects and birds increase thier intelligence by swarming? Mongol convoys clearly don't. At least it's a laugh., |
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| at 12:52 on teamFUDGE said Rolling in six car convoy to Prague! Unfortunatly, in totally the wrong direction on tiny mountainous roads through the forests of Bohemia... |
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Day 3 Monday, 26 July 2010
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| at 22:21 on teamFUDGE said We made it in time for gin. Pete's been rave dancing for an hour. Dignity not a priority it appears. |
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| at 18:57 on teamFUDGE said Note to Czech goverment: erect some more road signs please, and finish some roads while you're at it! We'll get some gin yet though... |
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| at 15:36 on teamFUDGE said After two or three hours clambering around Colditz this morning we've now hit country number eight. Next stop: FREE GIN! Ah yeah. |
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Day 2 Sunday, 25 July 2010
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| at 23:14 on teamFUDGE said Tricky to find, but we've finally made it to Colditz. Have just made a bed for the first time in years - don't tell my girlfriend incase she gets ideas. |
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| at 13:42 on teamFUDGE said Coming up for 1000 miles since we left Aberdeen. Mmm chocolate pastries! Thanks Kenny. |
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| at 10:54 on teamFUDGE said good nights sleep has been had! Many thanks to Kenny and Mieke for putting us up. Next stop? Colditz castle. |
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Day 1 Saturday, 24 July 2010
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| at 18:44 on teamFUDGE said sauntering along the south coast. What a gorgeous day. Festival of Slow went swimmingly - but the car's already starting to smell a little fruity. Are there any hills en route to Mongolia? The Swift's not really a fan.@ |
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| at 11:50 on teamFUDGE said Bri has been reunited with his passport! Huzzah! Pete is already too hot. To be fair, it is a little toasty... |
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1 day before launch Friday, 23 July 2010
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| at 13:46 on teamFUDGE said finally on the road for real. Roofbox fitted. We'll know if it falls off because the irratating whistling noise will presumably stop. This is like being at a Deadloss Superstar gig! |
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| at 09:11 on teamFUDGE said thanks to everyone who came along to our leaving gigs - we had a blast! We'll be packing the car and heading off soon as pete gets back from the hairdressers...@ |
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