Dear Mr Lloyd,

Thank you for your telephone call this morning. I include below an email, prompted by your threats, which I have sent to Keith Lawton.

If anyone is being unethical it is Southport C.C., I refer to the offer of free images from the club web site. That alone gives Palmer grounds for an exceedingly bad taste in his mouth. Contrary to your (someone’s) interpretation of what I have done, it is neither unethical nor unlawful. There are other web sites with images from the National 25, do they all, in your opinion, have to withdraw their images from their web sites? I stood on the public highway, I took photographs, and I have the right to do what I like with those images. I suffer every week from Johnny Amateur offering images at stupid prices from events that I am the official photographer for. I have no qualms about competing on a level playing field.

I wrote to you in January, but although I was willing to donate a whole days professional services to the event, worth, in commercial terms, £500.00. Travel 220 miles, about another £100 in commercial terms. Although, in the past 15 years I have given away in the form of prize vouchers, £60,000 of income, Oh, I forgot you told me, that is trivial. Even though I cover around 100 time trials a year, you didn’t have the common decency to tell me that my generous offer had been rejected. You had no legal requirement to do so, you just didn’t have the good manners to so. As far as I knew, you are complete pants at organisation and a photographer hadn’t been appointed. I couldn’t allow the CTT to be let down like that, so I attended. I did not attend the HQ because if I had taken photos there then I would be in breach of common courtesy to Palmer, the HQ being private land and I hadn’t been invited. I assume Palmer did take photos there…………..did anyone else? They are the one’s that are depriving Palmer of sales. If they have taken their own snapshot, they won’t buy from Palmer or anyone else.

I once again request the telephone number of Barry Palmer. If he thinks that images on my web site are anything to do with Southport CC then he needs putting in his place. He, or Southport CC, has no control over what I do with any image captured from the public highway. Advice to yourself and Palmer, know your law before making threats.

Finally, let me leave you with no uncertainty in your mind. I will most displeased if you let it be known, that in your opinion, I have behaved unethically. I am willing to test that in court anytime you wish……….but it won’t come to that………..will it?

Regards

Brian

“””Hi Keith,

Never a dull moment!

Just for your information:

I have just had the most extraordinary conversation with Bill Lloyd. He is DEMANDING that I remove MY images from MY web site. He says I have no right to display the images because Barry Palmer was the official photographer and he is considering taking legal action against Southport CC because of MY images on MY web site. Bill claims I am going against my own terms for being an official photographer and am being totally unethical. The fact that I was, in this case, a private citizen taking pictures on the public highway seems to be irrelevant. He says he is going to make it known that I have behaved unethically and will spread the word to that effect and “make sure I get no more business in that neck of the woods”. I told him that would be a dangerous path to tread.

He was not aware that his own club web site is showing images and was on offer FOC! “”

http://www.southportcc.co.uk/index.html the relevant lines being:

Pictures taken on the course are on this site see National_25 page 1 and 2.
These pictures were taken by Andy Grice and Keith Skillicorn; they have been reduced to keep the web site size down etc.
If you want copies we will forward them by e-mail f.o.c.””

If anyone is giving Barry Palmer grounds for legal action it is Southport CC themselves.

He refused to give me Barry Palmer’s telephone number. He says he is a professional, although there was hesitation in his voice when he answered that question, but I can’t find a telephone number in directory enquiries or by Googling! Have you a telephone number or email for him.

He considers the £60,000 odd of prizes I have made available to time trial events over the past 15 years is trivial!

I asked why Palmer’s images were not yet available, Bill said that was up to him but would probably be with you today. I’m not sure what that means, but if they are just a bunch of images and need preparing for uploading and you don’t have the necessary software to do it quickly send them down to me and I will resize them and prepare a database to send to Wayne. The image files themselves need to be hosted somewhere, so I need to know that address for the preparation of the database. I’m happy to have them on my server but then viewers will be sent to my web site and we don’t want that, do we! That really would cause kafuffle!!!! If Palmer doesn’t have a web site then the viewer will go no further than viewing the images. I’m not sure Palmer is up to speed as to what is required of him, after all, all he really needs to supply is the database but for Wayne’s sake that needs to be of the correct structure. Does he, Palmer, have a web site? If not then it all seems a pointless exercise. That service will be FOC Keith.

Cycling  ain’t wot it used to be!!!

I’m off to slash my wrists now, all this friendship and goodwill is more than I can stand.

I am sending a copy of this to Bill and Southport CC chairman by Royal Mail as there doesn’t seem to be an email address available. I shall also be posting it on the News page of my web site. I shall invite Bill to send me his version of our conversation so that both sides of the story are available.
Regards

Brian”””