diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d9908849b26909e3c4b1bddd6b4cc607999bae99..231dd6caa4b36289fa3a8744f9c4dd43e4bd52aa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@ These Playbooks are designed to be used on Debian Stretch virtual servers.
 
 ## Discourse
 
-Ansible Playbooks to [install Discourse via
-Docker](https://github.com/discourse/discourse_docker) on a Debian Stretch
-virtual server and to configure the virtual server to use Postfix for incoming
-and outgoing emails (there is also a not-quite-working and, for now, abandoned
-[exim branch](https://git.coop/cotech/ansible/tree/exim)).
+Ansible Playbooks to install
+[Docker](https://store.docker.com/editions/community/docker-ce-server-debian)
+and [Discourse](https://github.com/discourse/discourse_docker) on a Debian
+Stretch virtual server and to configure the virtual server to use Postfix for
+incoming and outgoing emails (there is also a not-quite-working and, for now,
+abandoned [exim branch](https://git.coop/cotech/ansible/tree/exim)).
 
 The email setup is based on the [mail-reciever Docker
 container](https://github.com/discourse/mail-receiver) plus [this pull
@@ -18,8 +19,9 @@ email](https://meta.discourse.org/t/emails-with-local-smtp/23645/28), with an
 additional [Ruby
 script](https://git.coop/cotech/ansible/blob/master/roles/email/files/discourse-smtp-rcpt-acl).
 
-Login to the virtual server console, install `python`, enable root ssh access
-using keys by adding your keys to `/root/.ssh/authorized_keys`, edit
+Before running these Playbooks, create a virtual server, runnng Debian Stretch
+then login to the virtual server's console, install `python`, enable root ssh
+access using keys by adding your keys to `/root/.ssh/authorized_keys`, edit
 `/etc/sshd/sshd_config` to set `PermitRootLogin prohibit-password`, run
 `service ssh restart` and then run the first Playbook:
 
diff --git a/roles/docker/tasks/main.yml b/roles/docker/tasks/main.yml
index cef91ff7c11b9f24561d2e54ce52f12fcf64a4f7..f5f66648de231eaf6c80b50c3a575bb2ccee0ea6 100644
--- a/roles/docker/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/docker/tasks/main.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
     update_cache: yes
   with_items:
     - apt-transport-https
+    - ca-certificates
+    - curl
     - git
+    - software-properties-common
 
 - name: Docker GPG key present
   apt_key:
@@ -24,3 +27,8 @@
     name: docker-ce
     state: present
     update_cache: yes
+
+- name: Docker started
+  service:
+    name: docker
+    state: started