That's what I thought... it's so different from 'as soon as' which is the translation that makes sense in other contexts. When 'лишь только' means 'only', it gets confusing because 'только' means only, so why is 'лишь' there?! Is it an intensifier? Would it sound a bit bookish or even overdramatic if used in spoken russian? Now I know I'm not the only one who is confused on this one

Rich