70-621: The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways . The Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal were originally joined by a flight of locks . The Millennium Link project replaced the locks with a boat lift , the Falkirk Wheel . The project launch was in October 1994, and it received a grant of £32 million from the Millennium Commission ;
140-510: A locomotive works at the Southall Depot for nearly 150 years. Originally a Great Western Railway shed, it was possibly the last London steam depot, outlasting Old Oak Common and Stewarts Lane depots. The shed was accessible from the footbridge, spanning the whole set of lines, situated just off the Eastern end of the platforms. The depot was later used for DMU maintenance and as a base for
210-551: A municipal borough of Middlesex administered from Southall Town Hall until 1965. Southall is located on the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal ) which first linked London with the rest of the growing canal system. It was one of the last canals to carry significant commercial traffic (through the 1950s) and is still open to traffic and is used by pleasure craft. The canal separates it from Hayes on
280-403: A mutual organisation , but no further details were released. BW welcomed the announcement, with the chairman Tony Hales stating that the plan would preserve the canals and their associated infrastructure, and "safeguard against a return to the decline and dereliction which they faced in the last century". It would also "unlock the enormous public support that there is for them." By September of
350-469: A cast-iron trough and a new cast-iron road-bridge going over both. Brunel died shortly after its completion. Sections of his bell-section rail can still be seen on the southern side being used as both fencing posts and a rope rail directly under the road bridge itself. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument . The other notable local construction by Brunel is the Wharncliffe Viaduct which carries
420-613: A further hundred are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Through its charitable arm The Waterways Trust , British Waterways maintained a museum of its history at the National Waterways Museum 's three sites at Gloucester Docks, Stoke Bruerne and Ellesmere Port . Since the transfer of the assets and responsibilities of British Waterways to the Canal & River Trust, The Waterways Trust in England and Wales has merged with
490-399: A further £14 million through third party contributions. However, operating revenue for the company was at a deficit of £3.7 million, a result of a large cut of 16 per cent in the government grant given to BW, and through the continuing programme of renovation and works costing £92.1 million. British Waterways owned a large canalside property portfolio which made a considerable contribution to
560-603: A large facility on part of the site under the West London Mental Health (NHS) Trust . During World War II Southall was the target of enemy bombing on a number of occasions. A German V-1 flying bomb destroyed a number of houses in Regina Road, killing the occupants. Bomb shelters and bunkers were built during the war, close to or under most schools and public buildings, and in gardens of numerous private homes. The bunkers at Hamborough Primary School were expanded during
630-561: A long history, having been formed in 1871 and nurtured past players such as Les Ferdinand , who went on to play for the national team . and as of 2018–19, they currently play in the Premier Division of the Combined Counties Football League .The local [cricket] club is London Tigers CC, who play at Spikes Bridge Park. Southall Park is home to a free weekly park run 5k event, which starts at 9am every Saturday. Southall
700-501: A much shorter runway and is not suitable for very large aircraft although one Boeing 707 did land at Northolt by mistake and a number of other aircraft had to be warned off by air traffic control at the last minute. Since town gas production ceased in the 1970s with the arrival of natural gas piped from the North Sea , much of the 36 ha (89 acres) site has been vacant, due to limited road access and remaining gas infrastructure. Since
770-582: A new building in Church Avenue, which was completed in 1910. The original church building, in Western Road, is now a youth centre. In the 1920s and 1930s Southall was the destination of many Welsh people escaping from the harsh economic conditions in that part of the country. For many years, Welsh accents were very commonplace in the area. On the eastern boundary of Southall was the Hanwell Asylum, which
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#1732852771311840-472: A number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland and Wales . On 2 July 2012, all of British Waterways' assets and responsibilities in England and Wales were transferred to the newly founded charity the Canal & River Trust . In Scotland, British Waterways continues to operate as a standalone public corporation under the trading name Scottish Canals . The British Waterways Board was initially established as
910-456: A population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided in three parts: the mostly residential area around Lady Margaret Road ( Dormers Wells ); the main commercial centre at High Street and Southall Broadway (part of the greater Uxbridge Road ); and Old Southall/Southall Green to the south consisting of Southall railway station , industries and Norwood Green bounded by the M4 . It was historically
980-739: A result of the Transport Act 1962 and took control of the inland waterways assets of the British Transport Commission in 1963. By the final years of its existence, British Waterways was sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England and Wales, and by the Scottish Government in Scotland. British Waterways managed and maintained 2,200 miles (3,541 km) of canals , rivers and docks within
1050-400: A result, many remainder waterways could face abandonment or transference to the local authority who would contribute to the waterway's upkeep as part of the act. Additionally, many of these remainder waterways were crossed by new roads and motorways without provision for boat navigation. As the century progressed, leisure boating on the canals began to expand, with numbers reaching 20,000 by
1120-418: A waterways manager. These regions were: British Waterways was funded through a mixture of commercial activities, government grants and grants and donations from charitable bodies. In 2010/11, BW raised over £103.6 million from their commercial activities, including waterways licensing, received £58.9 million from a government grant, issued via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , and gained
1190-574: Is inside, the London Borough of Hounslow . The main east west road through the town is Uxbridge Road ( A4020 ), though the name changes in the main shopping area to The Broadway and for an even shorter section to High Street . Uxbridge Road was part of the main London to Oxford stagecoach route for many years and remained the main route to Oxford until the building of the Western Avenue highway to
1260-568: Is part of the parliamentary constituency of Ealing Southall , represented since 2024 by Labour Member of Parliament Deirdre Costigan . Southall consists of six electoral wards for local council elections: Dormers Wells, Lady Margaret, Norwood Green , Southall Broadway, Southall West and Southall Green, which all elect councillors to Ealing Council . Southall is in the London Assembly constituency of Ealing and Hillingdon which has been represented by assembly member Bassam Mahfouz of
1330-583: The Brentford Dock on the Thames was also built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1856. It features one of his (impressive for the period) engineering works, the Three Bridges (although it is still often referred to on maps by the original canal crossing name of Windmill Bridge). where Windmill Lane, the railway and the Grand Union Canal all intersect – the canal being carried over the railway line cutting below in
1400-500: The Canal & River Trust . The following waterways and dockland were under British Waterways' ownership and care: The Environment Agency is the navigation authority for the non-tidal River Thames , rivers in the Fens and East Anglia and some other waterways. The Port of London Authority is that for the tidal section of the Thames. The Broads Authority is the navigation authority for
1470-566: The Cold War , to become the North West Group War HQ for the London area Civil Defence organisation and the London Borough of Ealing Emergency Control Centre. This facility is now disused. In 1950, the first group of South Asians arrived in Southall, reputedly recruited to work in a local factory owned by a former British Indian Army officer . This South Asian population grew, due to
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#17328527713111540-461: The London Borough of Ealing in Greater London. The southern part of Southall (roughly south of the railway) used to be known as either Old Southall or Southall Green (and a section of the main north–south road in the area is still called The Green) and was centered on the historic Grade II*listed Tudor -styled Manor House which dates back to at least 1587. A building survey has shown much of
1610-576: The Norfolk Broads . The Manchester Ship Canal , Bridgewater Canal , Basingstoke Canal , Neath and Tennant Canal , Cam and Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation were managed by other authorities. Southall Southall ( / ˈ s aʊ θ ɔː l / ) is a large suburban town in West London , England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated 10.7 mi (17.2 km) west of Charing Cross and had
1680-608: The Transport Act 1962 , the British Transport Commission was split into several new organisations, including the British Railways Board and the London Transport Board , with the inland waterways of Britain becoming part of the new British Waterways Board (BWB). In the same year, a remarkably harsh winter saw many boats frozen into their moorings, unable to move for weeks at a time. That was one of
1750-669: The electrification programme . Currently the site, now referred to as the Southall Railway Centre , is used by two independent groups; Locomotive Services Limited and West Coast Railways . Bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was based in Southall, on a 25 ha (62 acres) triangular site between Windmill Lane, the Great Western Main Line and the branch to Brentford Dock . The company moved there from Walthamstow in 1926 and closed in 1979 after losing market share whilst part of
1820-502: The 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of canals and rivers in England and Wales cared for by British Waterways. The new name, the Canal & River Trust , and logo were revealed in October 2011, and the trust was granted charitable status on 5 April 2012. On 2 July 2012 all of British Waterways' responsibilities for waterways in England and Wales were transferred to the Canal & River Trust . The Scottish Government , however, decided that
1890-440: The Canal & River Trust. It continues, however, as an independent charity in Scotland. During the early 20th century, the canal network was in decline because of increasing competition from the railways and road transport. Until the 1950s, freight and other cargo was still carried on the canals, by then owned by the railway companies. When the railways were nationalised in 1948, the canals they owned were also incorporated into
1960-670: The Great Western Railway across the River Brent towards London and which was Brunel's first major structural design. Otto Monsted , a Danish margarine manufacturer, built a large factory at Southall in 1894. The factory was called the Maypole Dairy, and eventually grew to become one of the largest margarine manufacturing plants in the world, occupying a 28 ha (69 acres) site at its peak. The factory also had its own railway sidings and branch canal. The Maypole Dairy Company site
2030-726: The Jamia Masjid Islamic Centre, the Red Sea Mosque on the Green, and Dar al Salam on Norwood Road and also the Baithul Mukaram mosque near Lidl . The Tudor Rose, Southall is a nightclub and venue that caters for the local British African-Caribbean community . It opened as a cinema in 1910 and was converted to its current premises in 1983. Other notable local pubs include The Three Horseshoes in Southall Broadway, by
2100-546: The Labour Party since 2024. Nearby places include Hayes , Hanwell , Hounslow , Greenford , Northolt and Ealing The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Southall is served by Southall railway station on the Great Western Main Line , providing links to and from Heathrow Airport , Reading and Oxford as well as London Paddington . The nearest London Underground to
2170-721: The Oxfordshire Sheldon tapestry from the late 1580s. Southall formed part of the chapelry of Norwood in the ancient parish of Hayes , in the Elthorne hundred of the historic county of Middlesex . For Poor Law it was grouped into the Uxbridge Union and was within Uxbridge Rural Sanitary District from 1875. The chapelry of Norwood had functioned as a separate parish since the Middle Ages. On 16 January 1891
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2240-464: The United Kingdom including the buildings, structures and landscapes alongside these waterways. Half of the United Kingdom population lives within five miles of a canal or river once managed by British Waterways. In addition to the watercourses, British Waterways also cared for and owned 2,555 listed structures including seventy scheduled monuments . A further 800 areas have special designation and
2310-696: The Vishnu Hindu Mandir on Lady Margaret Road and the Ram Mandir in Old Southall. There are more than ten Christian churches including 5 Anglican, one Roman Catholic ( St Anselm's Church ), Baptist, Methodist and several Pentecostal or Independent. There are six Mosques ' Masjids ' in Southall, the Abubakr Mosque situated on Southall broadway, the Central Jamia Masjid Mosque, which is the oldest,
2380-577: The architect Nowell Parr which closed in 2017. There are two local community radio stations servicing Southall; Westside 89.6 FM , licensed by Ofcom as part of their drive towards community-based radio services, broadcasts urban music and was formerly based in Southall (now in Hanwell), and Desi Radio which predominantly broadcasts in Punjabi and is available throughout West London on 1602 AM and on DAB across Greater London. Sunrise Radio , broadcasting for
2450-473: The building is original, dating back to the days when Southall Green was becoming a quiet rural village. Minor 19th and 20th-century additions exist in some areas. It is currently used as serviced offices. The extreme southernmost part of Southall is known as Norwood Green . It has few industries and is mainly a residential area, having remained for many years mainly agricultural whilst the rest of Southall developed industrially. Norwood Green borders, and part
2520-584: The canals to users other than boaters, BW set up the Waterscape website in 2003 to be an official information and leisure resource for UK inland waterways. The website worked alongside the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority and covered all canals, rivers and waterways in England, Scotland and Wales. The Waterscape website was taken down on 3 July 2012 and was replaced by the new website of
2590-568: The chairman (in the final phase of operations, Tony Hales), and appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Government (eight by the former and two by the latter). In addition, there were nine executive directors led by Robin Evans, the Chief Executive. At a regional level, British Waterways was divided into thirteen regional waterways; each appointed
2660-464: The closeness of expanding employment opportunities such as Heathrow Airport. The most significant cultural group to settle in Southall are Asians. According to the Commission for Racial Equality , over 55% of Southall's population of 70,000 is Indian. By 1976 two-thirds of children in Southall were non-white, and in 1982 it was reported 65% of Southall's 83,000 residents were of Asian origin. Southall
2730-459: The company, Independent Air Travel, to fail in October 1959. The 1970s saw racial tensions in the area; in 1976 Sikh teenager Gurdip Singh Chaggar was killed in a racist attack. On 23 April 1979, Blair Peach , a teacher and anti-racist activist, was killed after being knocked unconscious during a protest against the National Front (NF). Another demonstrator, Clarence Baker – a singer of
2800-474: The conservation of historic structures". However, by the late 1990s the canal network and British Waterways were flourishing; revenues generated for canal maintenance reached £100 million for the first time in 1998, large grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund allowed the canal network to expand again by restoring former canals and additional funding was announced for British Waterways in 1999 by
2870-404: The early 1980s. Additionally, the work of voluntary restoration groups succeeded in restoring some waterways to their former condition. However, despite this steady progress throughout the 1970s and 1980s, organisations such as English Heritage criticised the newly named British Waterways for failing to provide "adequate training or access to professional advice [for British Waterways officers] on
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2940-476: The end of World War II, Southall has become largely a South Asian residential district, sometimes known as " Little India ". In addition, the signs on the main railway station are bilingual in English and Gurmukhi , which is one of the written scripts of Punjabi . The main street in Southall is called The Broadway, while a smaller commercial area exists in Old Southall on King Street. Southall contains one of
3010-437: The funding of the waterway network. This amounted to £130m in the five years prior to 2008. As of 2008, a HM Treasury team was reviewing the management of this portfolio in terms of public sector savings and efficiencies. Another source of revenue contemplated by BW in October 2008 was the installation of 50 wind turbines on waterside land, generating around 100 megawatts. As part of British Waterways' commitment to promote
3080-410: The giant but inefficient British Leyland group. The site was noticeable to railway passengers and to motorists on Uxbridge Road due to large signs proclaiming "AEC – Builders of London's Buses for 50 years". A major gas works manufacturing town gas was located between the railway and the canal. In 1932 a large gasholder was built, becoming a local landmark until its demolition in 2019. Painted on
3150-501: The gig. This was one of several high-profile riots in Britain that year. Although some of the skinheads were NF or British Movement supporters, among the 500 or so concert-goers were also left-wing skinheads, black skinheads, punk rockers , rockabillies and non-affiliated youths. Some of the approximately 400 Asians threw petrol bombs and other objects, and five hours of rioting left 120 people injured – including 60 police officers – and
3220-536: The largest South Asian shopping areas in the region, comparable to Green Street , East London or Ealing Road, Wembley . Southall is home to London's largest Sikh community. There are ten Sikh Gurdwaras in Southall. The Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha , which opened in 2003, is one of the largest Sikh gurdwaras outside India, and it won the Ealing Civic Society Architectural Award in 2003. There are two large Hindu ' Mandir ' temples,
3290-604: The major freight transport route between London and Birmingham in 1796 began a commercial boom, intensified by the arrival of Brunel's Great Western Railway in 1839, leading to the establishment and growth of brick factories, flour mills and chemical plants which formed the town's commercial base. In 1877, the Martin Brothers set up a ceramics factory in an old soap works next to the canal and until 1923, produced distinctive ceramics now known and collected as Martinware. A branch railway line from Southall railway station to
3360-456: The nationalised waterways into three distinct categories as specified by BWB: British Waterways Board was required under the Act to keep commercial and cruising waterways fit for their respective traffic and use. However, these obligations were subject to the caveat of being by the most economical means and BWB had no requirement to maintain remainder waterways or keep them in a navigable condition. As
3430-758: The new British Transport Commission . The Commission focused on encouraging commercial traffic to the waterways, but with the construction of motorways in the 1950s, and legislation such as the Clean Air Act 1956 affecting the coal carriers using the waterways, that policy could not be sustained. The last regular coal long-distance narrow-boat-carrying contract, from Atherstone to the Kearley and Tonge jam factory at Southall near London, ended in October 1970, although lime juice continued to be carried by narrow boat from Brentford to Boxmoor until 1981, and aggregate from Thurmaston to Syston from 1976 until 1988. Under
3500-399: The north east side of the gasholder are the large letters 'LH' and an arrow to assist pilots locate Heathrow Airport 's (now closed) runway 23 when making visual approaches. The letters were painted in the mid-1960s after a number of pilots became confused between Heathrow and the nearby RAF Northolt (which has a similar, though smaller, gasholder under its approach at Harrow ). Northolt has
3570-427: The north of Southall in the first half of the 20th century. First horse drawn, then electric trams (until 1936) and, then, electric trolleybuses , gave Southall residents and workers quick and convenient transport along Uxbridge Road in the first half of the 20th century before they were replaced by standard diesel-engined buses in 1960. The opening of the Grand Junction Canal (later renamed Grand Union Canal ) as
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#17328527713113640-415: The operation that made pet foods was sold to Spiller's in 1994, and the remainder to Big Bear Group in 2006. The site continues to produce brands such as Honey Monster Puffs . Other engineering, paint and food processing factories prospered for many years, mostly alongside the railway and/or canal. A collection of Martinware – salt-glazed stoneware , and birds – is on display at Southall Library. Southall
3710-621: The parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and the Southall Norwood Local Government District was formed. In 1894 it became the Southall Norwood Urban District . In 1936 the urban district was granted a charter of incorporation and became a municipal borough , renamed Southall. In 1965, the former area of the borough was merged with that of the boroughs of Ealing and Acton to form
3780-469: The potential for volunteers on the waterways, allowing the waterways community to play a greater role. Its plans involved moving to become a charitable trust , in charge of the current canal systems in addition to acquiring other waterways, such as those operated by the Environment Agency . In March 2010, the plans were given a boost when the government announced in the Budget that it intended to turn BW into
3850-456: The reasons given for the decision by the BWB to formally cease most of its commercial narrow boat traffic on the canals. By that time, the canal network had shrunk to just 2,000 miles (3,200 km), half the size it was at its peak in the early 19th century. However, the basic network was still intact, with many of the closures affecting duplicate routes or branches. The Transport Act 1968 classified
3920-612: The reggae band Misty in Roots , remained in a coma for five months. More than 40 others – including 21 police – were injured, and 300 were arrested. On 4 July 1981, a race riot was sparked at the Hambrough Tavern on the Broadway. Local Asian youths mistakenly believed that a concert featuring the Oi! bands The Business , The Last Resort and The 4-Skins was a white power event. Additionally,
3990-446: The same year, the proposals seemed likely to be enacted; a leaked list of quangos that were due to be abolished was acquired by the BBC , including British Waterways, with the note: "Abolish as a non-departmental public body and mutualise". The following month saw an official announcement from British Waterways confirming the leaked list, and that a new charity would be established to tend
4060-434: The tavern burnt down. The Southall rail crash occurred on 19 September 1997 when a First Great Western mainline high speed express train from Swansea to London Paddington ran a red signal, when the driver's attention was distracted, and it collided with a goods train just outside Southall railway station. Seven people died and 139 were injured. The Quaker Oats Company built a factory in Southall in 1936. Part of
4130-427: The then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott . By the early 2000s, boating numbers had overtaken the previous industrial revolution high and the canal network was officially classed as 'safe' following the completion of all outstanding safety works. By 2009, British Waterways was looking for a means of gaining a larger and more secure supply of funding in order to plug a £30m shortfall in its budget, while utilising
4200-413: The total cost of the project was £78 million. Work started in 1999. 56°0′0″N 3°50′26″W / 56.00000°N 3.84056°W / 56.00000; -3.84056 British Waterways British Waterways , often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom . It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and
4270-430: The venue had recently been sued for barring non-white customers, and local youths had heard that skinheads arriving for the concert had harassed other youths and women. More than 200 skinheads had travelled by bus from East London, and a few of them smashed shop windows, wrote NF slogans around the area, and shouted neo-Nazi slogans while using bricks and clubs to attack Asian youths who had gathered in opposition to
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#17328527713114340-501: The waterways in Scotland would not be part of the new charity, and that British Waterways Scotland would remain a state-owned entity, operating as Scottish Canals . British Waterways operated from headquarters in Watford , with additional administrative offices in Leeds and thirteen regional waterway offices. At the strategic level, there were ten non-executive board members, who were led by
4410-542: The west, whereas to the east the River Brent separates the town from Hanwell . From the 1950s the town's local factories and proximity to Heathrow Airport attracted large numbers of Asian immigrants; the town eventually became home to the largest Punjabi community outside the Indian subcontinent and is today a major centre of South Asian culture, having gained the nickname Little India . Southall appears as Suhaull in 1198, and Sudhale in 1204, and as Southold on
4480-442: The wider Asian community nationally, was until recently based in Southall now having moved to nearby Hounslow. Some non-English newspapers for the community in Southall are also in circulation including Des Pardes , a Punjabi-language paper. A writer of Des Pardes , Tarsem Singh Purewal was killed in Southall in 1995. Religion in Southall (2021) Southall was the main location for the film Bend It Like Beckham . Southall
4550-429: Was also the home of the last remaining horse market in London, selling goats, pigs, harness, and horse vehicles as well working horses. The market closed in 2007 after 100 years. On 2 September 1958 at 7:10 am, a pilot of a Vickers VC.1 Viking V624 (G-AIJE), which had just taken off from Heathrow Airport, reported that he had engine trouble. Some minutes later it crashed into a row of houses in Kelvin Gardens . It
4620-420: Was also the location of a Glassy Junction public house , which was the first pub in the UK to accept Indian Rupees as payment. The Glassy Junction closed down in 2011 and has since been replaced by international South Indian restaurant chain, Saravana Bhavan . Southall has also appeared in other Bollywood films as well, including Patiala House and Goal! . The local football club Southall F.C. has
4690-421: Was later acquired by Lever Brothers who, as part of the multinational Unilever company, converted the site to a Wall's Sausages factory which produced sausages and other meat products through until the late 1980s. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the old parish church of Southall, St John's, which had been rebuilt in 1837–8, was found to be too small for its congregation and, as a result, emigrated to
4760-404: Was on a cargo flight carrying aero engines to Tel Aviv and carried no passengers; however, the three crew members and four people on the ground were killed. One of the surviving occupants, 14-year-old Brian Gibbons, was later awarded the George Medal for bravery for saving his nephew from the subsequent fires, as well as the Carnegie Award . The accident was due to poor maintenance, and caused
4830-411: Was once the world's largest asylum for the mentally ill. It was considered in its day to be a progressive institution with a good success rate for treatment. As attitudes to and treatment for mental illness improved, the site was renamed St. Bernard's Hospital . In the late 1970s, the site was extensively redeveloped, with most of the area now taken up by the Ealing Hospital . St. Bernard's still operates
4900-450: Was the home of Southall Studios , one of the earliest British film studios . It played a historic role in film-making from its creation in 1924 to its closure in 1959. In 1936, a fire destroyed the studio but it was rebuilt and enlarged. Numerous feature films (many featuring famous or later-to-be-famous actors) and the early TV series Colonel March of Scotland Yard were made at the studios, as were TV and cinema adverts. There has been
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