trying to re-create my testcases 'branch'

Background:
I wiped my server with a careless `dd` command run on the wrong host :(
My backups didn't have any .files saved; which I suspect is my problem, and I'm trying to get myself back to where I was.

My latest command and error:
guiverc@d960-ubu2:/de2900/lubuntu/qa-testing$ bzr checkout lp:ubuntu-manual-tests
The file '/home/guiverc/.bazaar/authentication.conf' has insecure file permissions. Saved passwords may be accessible by other users.
brz: ERROR: A control directory already exists: "file:///de2900/lubuntu/qa-testing/ubuntu-manual-tests/".

Description of Problem:

I'm ignoring the permissions issue (tell me if it's a problem please), but the second line is where I'm stuck.

My $PWD is /de2900/lubuntu/qa-testing, and I've tried the `bzr checkout` with my restored /de2900/lubuntu/qa-testing/ubuntu-manual-tests/ data (without the .files) or without that directory. Both attempts get same error.

My issue could always be in the my local ~ directory too, as I note the last entry in my ~/.bzr.log is dated 12-Jan-2020, which is also the file-system recorded last change of file (ie. before my I wiped my server's data array & not today??!!).

Any clues on where I've gone wrong would be appreciated.