Spotlight on Mansfield North January 2016

spotlightOn Mansfield North

ISSUE 63 Jan 2016

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on th in d Bu sin es se s ea ch m an es m Ho 00 ,0 18 Br id gf ord De liv ered to sfi el d So ut h & Wes t M an sfi el d N or th , M an Inside this issue: • New Year Resolutions • Safety Alarms • Time To Smile • Gardening Resolutions • Bird Watch • Business Focus • Puzzles • Your Community Info • Local Guides

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Spotlight Magazine

Contents

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year Resolutions 6 Winter Recipe 8 Belly Laugh 10 Safety Alarms 12 Gardening Resolutions 14 Time To Smile 16 Puzzle Pages 18 Security Alert 20 Cook Book Reviews 22

24 A Good Read Hearing Aid Clinic 26 New Year New Hobby 28 Index 30

Published by Spotlight Local Media Ltd Company No. 6841257 Tel: 01623 706570 Suite 104, 1 Hanley Street Nottingham NG1 5BL Graphic Design and Layout: Spotlight Local Media Distributed by Best Distributions Trusted Delivery Partner of the Spotlight Magazine

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2016! How did that happen? Hardly seems a minute since.... well you know. Time just flies by!

Anyway, into a new year and looking forward to what it may bring.

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Spotlight magazine is delivered to 6,000 homes and businesses in the North Mansfield area each month, with similar magazines also going to Mansfield South and West Bridgford To Advertise or contribute: T: 01623 706570 E: info@spotlightlocal.co.uk Web:www.spotlightlocal.co.uk

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New Year’s Resolutions

Sticking to New Year’s Resolutions

Did you know that people have been making (and breaking) New Year’s Resolutions for more than 4,000 years?

Some historians believe that the practice dates back to the Babylonians.

Their New Year began in springtime, with a festival dedicated to the rebirth of the sun god, Marduk. The Babylonians believed that making promises to the gods would help them start their New Year off on a positive note.

The Romans kept the tradition up, although they changed the date of the New Year to January 1st.

These days, New Year’s Resolutions tend to focus on self-improvement, whether it’s eating healthier, quitting smoking, or getting a new job.

Millions of us make a resolution each year, but only 1 in 10 people stick to it. If your resolve is already wavering, here are a few tips to help you stay strong: Write it down. Writing down a goal and reviewing it regularly improves your chances of success by up to 95%!

Involve other people. Tell people what your aim is, and ask them to help. Will your partner join you on your healthy eating mission? Do you know someone who fancies going jogging with you?

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Have a plan - A goal isn’t enough; you need to know how you’re going to get there.

Resolving to exercise more? How many times a week are you going to work out?

What combination of exercise are you planning to do? Do you need to get anything in place to help you achieve your goal, such as a new tyre for your bike?

Break your goal into smaller ones - So you want to lose two stone by your summer holiday.

How many pounds do you want to lose this fortnight?

Remind yourself why you’re doing it - Do you want to make more money so that you can buy a house? Do you want to be healthier so that you can watch your kids grow up?

Make it pleasurable - There are usually more ways than one to reach a goal.

You don’t have to join a gym to get fit, for example; you could take up a dance class, or try karate.

Keep track of your progress - Create a spreadsheet, download an app, or just celebrate each small success on Facebook.

Give yourself rewards along the way Save the money you’d normally spend on cigarettes or chocolate and treat yourself with it at each small milestone.

Get back on the wagon - We’re only human, so we all slip up sometimes. One fry-up doesn’t mean you also have to skip the gym. Think about why you slipped and consider how you can stop it happening again.

Good luck!

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Spotlight Magazine

Winter Recipe

Red Lentil and Caramelised Onion Soup

Warming, nutritious and surprisingly filling, this soup is the perfect meal to come home to after a brisk winter’s walk.

High fibre lentils promote heart health, lower cholesterol, provide vegetable protein, stabilise blood sugar, and are rich in iron and B vitamins.

We love combining these earthy gems with the deep, roasty, slightly sweet flavour of caramelised onion. This soup will gently warm your stomach and keep you satisfied. It’s an American recipe so uses cup measurements.

An American measuring cup is one which holds 240ml liquid, so any cup in your cupboard which is about that volume will do!

Serves: 4-6 Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 shallots, diced 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 3 carrots, diced ½ teaspoon turmeric powder ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 beetroot (yellow ideally), peeled and diced 6 cups vegetable broth/stock 1¼ cups of red lentils 1 teaspoon of sea salt, plus more to taste ¼ teaspoon of pepper, plus more to taste 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 10 cardamom pods or 1½ teaspoons ground cardamom ½ teaspoon coriander powder Method Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of

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olive oil. When it dances, add the shallots, garlic, carrots, turmeric and cinnamon.

Cook until the shallots soften and the mixture becomes aromatic, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the beetroot and vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the lentils and reduce the heat to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking at a simmer for 15-25 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the vegetables are tender.

Prepare the caramelised onions while the soup cooks. If using cardamom pods, crush them (the bottom of a pan works nicely) and remove the seeds. Grind the seeds into a powder with a mortar and pestle.

Heat a medium-sized saucepan over mediumhigh heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and heat until the oil dances.

Add the onion, cardamom and coriander. Keep the heat high so the onions begin to brown, stirring continuously. If the onions start sticking to the sides of the pan, add a little water.

Continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the onions are caramelised and golden brown. Reduce the heat if necessary to keep them from burning. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Fill bowls with soup and top with a tablespoon of onions and serve, or simply stir the onions into the soup.

Taken from The Soup Cleanse by Angela Blatteis and Vivienne Vella - Reviewed

by Kate Duggan

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Global Belly Laugh Day

Global Belly Laugh Day takes place on 24th January. Its aim is to celebrate the gift of laughter.

Whilst there are many different languages spoken throughout the world, laughter can be said to be a universal language. It also has no boundaries: it happens somewhere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and across all continents.

The day was created by Laughter-Yoga Teacher Elaine Helle in 2005. She says it’s a chance to celebrate with the people in your life past and present, who laugh with you and help you laugh and smile... and also to remember the strange, funny, ‘now I can laugh at it’ moments.

One of the main features of the day is the Belly Laugh, Bounce Around The World. All are encouraged to smile, throw their arms in the air and laugh out loud at 1:24pm local time so as to literally send laughter around the world.

Laughing is of course mostly about having fun, but there are health benefits too.

Research shows that a good laugh can: lower blood pressure, boost our immune system, reduce some stress hormones, increase vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood.

It will also provide a work out for the diaphragm, abdomen, respiratory system, legs, face and back and increase alertness, creativity, memory, learning and our positive emotions.

usually takes place in groups to make the most of this.

The Global Belly Laugh Day symbol consists of a smiling sun with 7 rays and 1 and 24 dimples. There is also an associated laughing oath which was written

by Diana Loomans and Karen Kolberg, it reads: I do solemnly swear from this day forward to grease my giggling gears each day, and to wear a grin on my face for no reason at all!

I promise to tap my funny bone often, with children, family, friends, colleagues and clients, and to laugh at least fifteen times per day.

I believe that frequent belly laughter cures terminal tightness, cerebral stiffness, and hardening of the attitudes.

And that HA HA often leads to AHA! Therefore, I vow, from this day forth, to brighten the day of everyone I meet, and to laugh long and prosper.

So on Global Belly Laugh Day and every space day ‘have a laugh.’ If you are struggling to find inspiration, why not look through some old photos, watch a funny film or wear some crazy clothes - laugh and the world laughs with you, and its free!

Even so-called fake laughter can bring these health benefits and this is the principle on which laughter yoga relies.

Plus of course many of us find that laughter is infectious and laughter yoga

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Safety Alarms

Around 140 house fires occur every day in the United Kingdom, resulting in nearly 500 deaths and over 11,000 injuries each year.

Many of these could be prevented with an early warning system in place - such as a smoke alarm. They can detect fire in its early stages and give you a few extra precious minutes to make a safe escape.

There are four types: Ionisation alarms are the cheapest and are very sensitive to small particles of smoke from fast flaming fires (like paper or wood), but they can be over sensitive near kitchens. They are best fitted on landings.

Optical alarms are more effective at detecting large particles of smoke from slow burning fires, such as from foam-filled upholstery and PVC wiring. They are ideal for bedrooms, living rooms and the hall.

Heat alarms are insensitive to smoke, but detect an increase in temperature. They only cover a relatively small area, so you may need several in a large room. They are a good choice for a kitchen or garage.

Combined alarms include an optical and heat alarm which will reduce the occurrence of false alarms and increase the speed of detection. They should be fitted on landings and in bedrooms, living rooms and halls.

are twice as likely to die in a house fire where no alarm is fitted.

Smoke alarms do not detect the presence of carbon monoxide (CO), which is a colourless, odourless, tasteless – but highly poisonous – gas, produced when carbon-based fuels like gas, oil, wood and coal do not burn completely. Around fifty people die each year from CO poisoning.

A CO detector should be fitted in every room containing a fuel burning appliance such as a boiler, cooker or fire. Costing between £15 and £35, a detector should have an audible alarm – not just a colour change or back spot indicator – to wake you when you are asleep and at your most vulnerable.

Please ensure that your alarm complies with British Standard EN50291 and that it gives a warning when it reaches the end of its useful life.

In addition to fitting a CO alarm, also make certain you have your gas appliances and flues serviced regularly by a Gas Safe Registered engineer.

Prevention is always better than cure!

Some alarms are interlinked, which means that smoke detected in one room can raise an alarm call elsewhere in the house. Some have a light that comes on when the alarm sounds, which can help you find your way out and also alert people with hearing problems.

As a minimum you should fit one alarm on each floor, but the more you have fitted, the more protected you are. Remember – you

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Gardening Resolutions

I’m a sucker for resolutions. I make loads every year though I have to admit I break most of them too.

But it’s January and time for a spot of gardening self-improvement. To this end here are my gardening resolutions.

1. I will take a daily walk around my plot and pull out a few weeds as I go. I will not wait until I can’t stick a pin between the dandelions.

Let’s face it gardeners are great procrastinators. But by doing a little and often we can keep our plots looking spick and span.

2. I will not leave seed sowing until it’s too late!

This is my personal nemesis. I get carried away by all the glorious seed catalogues, order dozens of packets then pop them in a drawer and forget about them.

3. I will plant all the plants I buy from a nursery as soon as a get them home and definitely before their flowers drop off and they turn up their little green toes.

Plants bought from a nursery, especially those in cell pack, are already in less than ideal conditions and letting them dehydrate further will make for a sick, leggy plant more prone to disease.

can spread disease. Mild bleach (one part bleach to 10 parts water) or an organic cleaner, which I prefer, will make sure they’re ready for use next time.

5. I will buy another water butt and water my plants faithfully, particularly my pots.

Lack of water produces weak root systems.

If I know I won’t have the time I’ll invest in an irrigation system.

6. I will start another compost bin. it’s not difficult and will help the environment as I’ll be able to recycle even more of my waste vegetable matter. There are small drums and bins which will suit even the tiniest spot.

7. I will help wildlife by making sure I provide habitats for birds, bugs and beasties.

Any effort I put in will be repaid tenfold. A garden is a little ecosystem. If it functions well there will be natural pest control, pollination and soil conditioning.

Those are my resolutions. You may have different ones and that’s fine. I’m sure we’ll break a few along the way but no-one said the path to perfection, particularly gardening perfection was easy.

By Rachel Leverton

Preparation is the key here. I will make sure I have the correct pots, enough potting compost and the time to spare before I buy.

4. I will clean my gardening tools at the end of each day spent gardening.

This is sensible because dirty tools

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Time To Smile

Look after your teeth in 2016

Less than half the population attend a dentist for regular check ups and the situation is becoming steadily worse.

We tend to take our teeth for granted until we have a toothache, but in the case of teeth, prevention really is better than cure.

Our mouths are full of bacteria. Mostly these are harmless; some are even helpful.

Certain types though, attach themselves to the enamel (the hard surface which covers each tooth). If not removed they breed and spread. Their waste products mix with the proteins in saliva and form the creamy film we know as plaque.

If we eat a lot of sugary food it creates the right oral environment for bacteria to multiply faster. While tooth enamel is very hard wearing it is vulnerable to attack by acid. One of the waste products produced by the breeding bacteria is acid and because this is formed in the sticky plaque, it cannot easily be washed away by saliva.

If they’re not removed, the acids begin to dissolve the enamel and make it porous.

The pores become larger and in time they join up and a cavity is formed.

Because there are no nerve fibres in the enamel, we cannot ‘feel’ the bacterial acid attacking our teeth. Eventually though, the enamel breaks down so much that the acid begins to attack to dentin underneath.

When this happens we feel pain so know that something is wrong, but by then we already have tooth decay.

much vigorous brushing with tough bristles can irritate the gums and wear the thin tooth enamel, making the teeth sensitive.

The second step to good oral hygiene is flossing. The tiny gaps between the teeth, called interproximal spaces, cannot be kept clean by brushing alone. Flossing is the only way to get into these areas. Failure to floss means that up to 35% of the tooth surface remains dirty!

The third step is mouthwash. This flushes out any persistent bacteria which brushing and flossing have missed, and also work to make the teeth more slippery meaning bacteria find it harder to stick to their surface.

Even the best oral hygiene falls short of perfection, which is why it is important to visit a dentist for a check up at least once a year. They will be able to check the whole mouth for signs of damage and provide preventative treatment if they see a problem.

Good oral health needn’t be pricey. Most dentists offer treatment plans, where you pay a little every month to cover some or all of any future costs. Many also offer interestfree loans, so you can spread the cost of more expensive treatment.

So get cleaning and flash those pearly whites with pride this year.

By Louise Addison

So how do we prevent bacterial build up on our teeth?

The first step is to develop a good brushing technique.

Most dentists recommend electric toothbrushes as they have a more efficient cleaning action. Whether you choose an electric or an ordinary brush, make sure that the bristles are soft. Too

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Quick Crossword

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Security Alert!

How can we protect ourselves against fraud?

These days we are required to use so many PINS and passwords that many people choose something simple to remember, such as their child’s name or date of birth.

Fraudsters know this and in their hands such information becomes a valuable tool.

But how do they get hold of such information?

Careless talk How many of us publish personal details on Facebook and other networking sites? We announce our favourite books, films; the names of our children and our pets for all to see.

Can you keep a secret?

In a research study carried out for the Infosecurity Europe trade show, four out of five subjects questioned happily handed over the user name and password for their work PC to those carrying out the research.

Security experts suggest that we use a separate password for each account we possess. But given that most of us have trouble remembering two or three passwords, you can see the problem with this approach.

Fortunately, there are password managers available for under £30 which remember your various passwords and PINS but encrypt them to make them useless to anyone else.

If you want the very latest in security technology, you can purchase a fingerprint reader for around £100 or an iris scanner for under £300.

Most importantly, make sure you keep your PC’s security software updated. And beware people with clipboards offering chocolate!

By Louise Addison

More surprising, were many of those who would not initially reveal their passwords did so after being bribed with chocolate!

Gone Phishing NEVER click on links in unsolicited emails purporting to be from your bank or building society. If in doubt phone them first.

Proper Passwords The best passwords are a completely random mix of characters and letters.

Fraudsters have a hard time guessing them, even when they use dedicated software.

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Cook Book Reviews

The Soup Cleanse Angela Blatteis and Vivienne Vella

The Usbourne Healthy Cookbook Fiona Patchett

It’s that time of year when many of us feel a bit bloated and start to wish we maybe hadn’t eaten quite so many mince pies. The effects of a few too many glasses of wine and selection boxes, are all too apparent in our hair, skin and energy levels.

Trying to get children to eat healthily can be stressful, to say the least. It can feel that the healthier a meal is, and the longer it takes to prepare it, the less chance there is that the kids will eat it. One way to tempt them is to get them involved with the cooking. Kids are far likelier to eat something if they’ve had a hand in making it.

Detoxes can be a great way to get back on track, but most aren’t exactly pleasurable. Who wants to sip cold juices, or nibble on some lettuce when it’s so bloomin’ cold out? The Soup Cleanse is a great alternative.

Recipes are easy to follow, with clear step-by-step instructions and plenty of photos and illustrations. They’re not too complicated either; some can be completed by a child on their own, while others require a bit of help from adults.

Choose from a range of detox programmes, starting at a one-day mini-cleanse, and lots of very tempting recipes, from Red Lentil and Caramelised Onion Soup to Pumpkin Miso Soup.

There are plenty of main dishes, along with desserts and drinks. Some recipes tempt kids with food they’ve likely tried, such as fruit salad or chicken fajitas, while others may encourage them to be a bit more adventurous.

Soups are a great way to get a real hit of veggies, providing lots of vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein, with no added ‘junk’.

They’re usually low-calorie, so can help with weight loss, as well as helping you to detox and boost your energy. While the book focuses on soups, it does include other healthy meals, snacks and drinks.

Baked Wild Salmon with Avocado, Ginger and Mango Salsa anyone?

Unlike many health books, The Soup Cleanse is easy to read, and enjoyable.

There’s no lecturing, or nagging, just great advice and 50 recipes to choose from.

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There are a few healthy kids’ cookbooks on the market, but one of the best has to be the Usbourne Healthy Cookbook.

Children are taught about nutrition, portion size and the importance of a varied diet as they learn to cook. A bonus is that the book is spiral-bound, so lies flat, making it much easier to keep in place when they’re cooking.

With any luck, it’ll inspire them so much that they’ll be cooking for you regularly, while you relax in front of the TV with a glass of wine. (We can but hope, can’t we?)

By Kate Duggan

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Spotlight Magazine

Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins

Praise for this novel, first published at the beginning of 2015, has spread like wildfire and it has become THE book to read. So just in case you are one of the few that hasn’t succumbed to this thriller, why should you pick it up?

A Good Read

Whether you are a regular commuter, like the central character Rachel, or not, you will easily be able to identify with the opening section. How many times have you sat on a train and looked out of the window into the garden or kitchen windows of the houses that back onto the tracks, as you speed past on your way to your final destination.

As you catch glimpses into a life that you don’t know, do you wonder about the people that occupy those houses?

Rachel doesn’t have to wonder. She passes familiar houses every day and purposefully looks for Jess and Jason, a young professional couple who live a perfect life.

She knows them and is in many ways envious of their relationship. Seeing them in their garden is a moment of comfort as her own life is falling apart.

But is all as it seems? On one day, as the train slows down at a signal by the house, Rachel notices that something is amiss.

Suddenly she is sucked into a nightmare that seems destined to reveal everything, and that will shock you as her commuter journey turns out to be anything but normal.

It’s a small world, but when that world comes crashing down around you, it becomes all too clear that this small world is a lot smaller than you first thought.

Midnight for Charlie Bone

by Jenny Nimmo It is now nearly a decade since the last Harry Potter book was published, and a new generation are quite rightly discovering this wonderful world of wizards and magic.

Just like the generation before them, they are left with a void after reading them all, and so where do they turn?

The Charlie Bone series of books may well be just what they are looking for. Published in 2002, Midnight for Charlie Bone is the first of this eight book series.

Charlie is a fairly normal 10 year old boy.

His father died when he was little, and he lives with his mum and two grandmas, and hangs out with his best friend Ben. One Friday Charlie hears voices coming from a photograph, and then his whole life changes. He learns that his three unmarried great-aunts, known as the Yewbeams, are going to fund his education and a private school called Bloor’s Academy.

Charlie is not happy about this: he knows the school to be a stuffy place for geniuses, and he certainly won’t fit in there. But the Yewbeams are insistent: and besides, they pay for his mum’s living expenses and so he really has no choice. They explain to Charlie that he is ‘endowed’ and can read the minds of people in photographs.

Everyone at Bloor’s Academy has a talent.

Charlie’s father went there and he was a musician. But what is Charlie’s talent?

Placed in the music department at Bloor’s, despite having no musical talent, it becomes clear that there is another group of children at the school who are all endowed with some mystical magical talent. Soon he finds that he was born into a world he never knew existed.

By Willow Coby

24

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

Free Hearing Aid Clinics

Do you wear hearing aids? Do you need support with your aids?

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Spotlight Magazine

New Year, New Hobby

Eat healthily, start exercising, get more sleep… As you list your usual New Year resolutions, why not add in something fun for once? January is the perfect time to lift your spirits out of a winter slump by starting a new hobby, and there have never been so many activities to try.

To narrow down your choice, think about what you’d like to add your life. Do you want to meet more people? Be more active? Learn a skill? Get creative? You may want to develop something that you are already interested in, or try something completely new. Look around to find out what’s going on. Your adult education centre and library will be able to help, and you’ll find information in cafés, newsagents, community centres and local magazines.

If you were inspired by the 2012 Olympics, you could try a new sport or exercise class, but getting fit doesn’t have to mean sport. Why not follow the Strictly contestants and sample the benefits of ballroom dancing or Zumba, or simply aim to get out more and enjoy the countryside?

Geocaching is an exciting new outdoor activity that the whole family can enjoy.

It’s essentially a high-tech treasure hunt.

Another new trend is roller derby – a fastpaced contact sport where teams race to lap the opposition as they skate around the track.

If you fancy using your mind more than your body, you could learn a new language in preparation for a foreign holiday perhaps. Or build on an existing interest by joining a photography class or book group.

Music can reduce stress and improve your mood, so why not dust off that instrument you haven’t touched for years and join an amateur orchestra? Choirs are increasingly popular and you’re sure to find a range of musical styles available.

Crafts have had a real boost lately, with knitting and sewing groups setting up all over the country. Jewellery and cardmaking are also satisfying. You can get started quite cheaply and pick up the basics quickly. The bonus is that you get to keep the end result, or give it as a gift.

You also have the potential to earn money by selling your creations.

Increased access to computers means that we can get involved in a whole host of new communities without even leaving the house. Many of us enjoy researching our family trees and finding the facts behind our memories. It’s also easy to use social networks to track down old school friends and colleagues that we’ve lost touch with.

And if none of these is for you, how about foraging, meditation, wine-tasting, linedancing, magic tricks, bee-keeping, historical re-enactments, home baking… the list really is endless!

Alex Brown

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

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Spotlight Magazine

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