  Riess et al (2018c) have claimed there exist seven problems in the analyses
presented by Shanks et al (2018) where we argue that there is enough
uncertainty in Cepheid distances and local peculiar velocity fields to explain
the current tension in $H_0$. Here, we take each of the Riess et al (2018c)
points in turn and suggest that either they do not apply or that the necessary
caveats are already made by Shanks et al (2018). We conclude that the main
point to be inferred from our analyses still stands which is that previous
claims by Riess et al (2018b) that Gaia parallaxes confirm their Cepheid scale
are, at best, premature in advance of further improvements in the Gaia
astrometric solution.
