diff --git a/core/views/uploads.py b/core/views/uploads.py
index 0dcc7f3..5d45303 100644
--- a/core/views/uploads.py
+++ b/core/views/uploads.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import subprocess
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from django import forms
@@ -246,13 +246,11 @@ def logbookedit(request, year=None, slug=None):
     putting the text of the form prompt in red (same as for an invalid date, which is arguably more important).
     No check is done on the other people on the trip as this is picked up anyway by parsing on import
     and we don't really care at this point.
-    
-    If the author name is mispelled, noticed, and changed, then two logbook entries are created
-    with sequential slugs ...b ...c etc. This is because we are doing validation on GET not on POST
-    and we are not rewriting the URL when a slug gets set. Hmm.
-    
-    Normal use of this form is producing duplicate logbook entries.. why ?!
     """
+    def yesterday():
+        yesterday = datetime.now() - timedelta(1)
+        return yesterday.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
+
     def validate_year(year):
         try:
             expo = Expedition.objects.get(year=year)
@@ -261,12 +259,16 @@ def logbookedit(request, year=None, slug=None):
         return year
         
     def new_entry_form():
+        # set the date to be "yesterday" as this will, hopefully, usually be the case
+        
         return render(
             request,
             "logbookform.html",
             {
                 "form": form,
                 "year": year,
+                "yesterday": yesterday(),
+
             },
         )
     def clean_tu(tu):
@@ -474,6 +476,7 @@ def logbookedit(request, year=None, slug=None):
             
             # HOWEVER by doing a redirect rather than returning a rendered page, we lose all the 
             # error settings e.g dateflag and authroflag so the user gets no feedback about bad data entered.
+            # so we need to pass the flags explicitly int he url and then extract them from the request in the GET bit. sigh.
             return HttpResponseRedirect(f"/logbookedit/{slug}?dateflag={dateflag}&authorflag={authorflag}")
             
             # return render(
diff --git a/templates/logbookform.html b/templates/logbookform.html
index 4209e87..632b52c 100644
--- a/templates/logbookform.html
+++ b/templates/logbookform.html
@@ -32,11 +32,16 @@
            <input name="prev_slug" id="prev_slug" value="{{slug}}" type=hidden>
 
            <span {% if dateflag %}style="color:red"{% endif %}>
+           <span {% if yesterday%}style="color:blue"{% endif %}>
            <label for="date">Date of the activity{% if dateflag %} (cannot change year on an existing entry){% endif %}</label>
            <input {% if not user.username %} disabled{% endif %} 
+		{% if dateflag %}style="color:red"{% endif %}
+		{% if yesterday%}style="color:blue"{% endif %}
            label = "Date" name = "date" size="12"
            title="Date of the activity, a single day,  in ISO format: 2020-08-17"
-             {% if date %}value="{{date}}"{% else %}placeholder="2023-08-12"{% endif %}
+             {% if date %}value="{{date}}"{% else %}
+		{% if yesterday %} value="{{yesterday}}"{% else %}
+		placeholder="2025-08-12"{% endif %}{% endif %}
            required /> 
            </span>
           
@@ -44,6 +49,7 @@
            <span {% if authorflag %}style="color:red"{% endif %}>    
            <label for="author">Your name (author) <a href="/aliases/{{year}}">[valid authors]</a></label>
            <input {% if not user.username %} disabled{% endif %} 
+		{% if authorflag %}style="color:red"{% endif %}
            label = "author" name = "author" size="20"
            title="The person writing the logbook entry"
            {% if author %}value="{{author}}"{% else %}placeholder="Animal"{% endif %}