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Articles.
“All we want are the facts!”- Dragnet
Chapter 3.
Chapter 3.
The Committee Meeting of 26th October 2008 had a major significance for the B.I.C.C. due to the unfortunate death of Brian Long. For the first time for several years the Committee would have to act on its own and what direction it took would be highly relevant to the future prospects of the Club. Whatever one thought of Brian Long he knew how to make things work. While many, including myself, had criticisms of some of the things he did what we all knew was that he would make it work. I had written an article prior to this meeting, Watch out the Brits are coming , pointing out what I thought they should do and what this really came down to was to focus direction, seek co-operation and take a thorough and comprehensive look at the finances, because this had been an area that Brian Long, to a large extent, attended to personally.
I went to the meeting with the declared intent of writing an article about it for three major reasons:
1. I was dissatisfied with the degree of information that came out from the Club
2. As a consequence of that I wanted to let people know what went on and
3. I wanted to know myself.
I had reached a stage where International racing was my only interest and I wanted a fit and healthy Club in order to do that. I had spent a lot of my time and money trying to encourage and inform others about International racing and so I was keen to ADVERTISE the activities of the B.I.C.C. in order to encourage greater participation. That is why I went.
What I found at that meeting I described in an article, The B.I.C.C. Committee Meeting 26th October 2008 , that was published on I.P.R.R. and Racing Pigeon Post, where you can read it still, as published. This was quickly followed by another article, Its Small Change, in which I put forward my proposals and suggestions, as I believe in constructive criticism. I believed these articles to be true then and I believe them to be true now. I am responsible for the language used in the articles, the language and words I used, and I accept that responsibility without question or hesitation. I am not however responsible for any of the purported quotations you will find from my critics. In each instance you encounter an alleged quotation I ask you to go to the original and compare. Please make your judgement only once you have made that comparison.
After the articles were published I had a short E-mail exchange with the Secretary as follows:-
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 14:06
Your views on the meeting.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions on meeting's and if it comes to that anything else to do with the sport because it is our hobby. However from time to time people do go off at a tangent and do not submit a fair reflection on what is actually going on. In this case it is the Newsletter from Mr Lane that if published in any other sport or hobby would be classed as bringing the game into disrepute.
Fact, when I took over the job of Secretary we had approx 600 members and a carry over figure of £23,000, the figures now stand at approx 1200 members with a carry over figure of approx £90,000 (sorry for being so incompetent but I have not had the books audited yet) Where have I gone wrong? Where has the Committee gone wrong? Anyone can come along to the A.G.M. and be voted on to the Committee but the majority of the members appear to be satisfied with the running of the Club, except of course Mr Lane.
Mr Lane has gone to great lengths to publish his newsletter but does forgot to mention a few things, i.e. the time allowed for verification is also for security reasons. Manchester marking station not being picked up was also about the time factor for the drivers to get around and to get to the ferry port on time.
As far as I am concerned Mr Lane's comments are purely his take on the meeting and as for his call for me and my husband to resign, it was the job of Secretary and not Chairman that was in dispute and that was how it would have stood. Mr Lane obviously has no idea what the work load for running two races in one weekend entails and as for getting more staff, then we end up with even higher birdage costs. So as we are an International club first and foremost Pau took preference over Tours .
At the end of the day, we feel that Mr Lane's attacks on the Committee and ourselves are totally unwarranted. He distorted the facts to suit his own agenda. We had all the details as regards Bank deposits etc. on the desk before us. We had done our homework on which ferry ports to use and pickup times with our convoyer, Trevor Cracknell, prior to the meeting and then these facts were put before the Committee. As for the race programme we have raced Falaise, Alencon and Tours for the last several years. We had made investigations with Yvan Eeckhout as to a good liberation site and he suggested Limoges which they use.
We did our homework therefore the question needs to be asked how come Mr Lane didn’t do his. We see this as a slanderous attack on ourselves and the Committee just because he couldn’t get another race and also on the R.P.R.A. for his own reasons that are none of our business.
"What is your overall objective in writing all this?"
Jan & Albi
Secretary & Chairman
B.I.C.C.
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 14:47
Dear Jan and Albi,
I am sorry you have taken my articles as an attack on you personally, as that really is not the case. However if that is the way you view them then that is your prerogative. I believe my description of the meeting to be fairly accurate and I stand by it. Would you like me to publish what you have written to me as your response, because I am quite happy to do that, without further comment from me, if that is what you wish.
Best wishes
Nigel
www.racing-pigeon-post.org
admin@racing-pigeon-post.org
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 15:11
Dear Nigel,
I fail to see how else we were supposed to take it and also we have had many phone calls from the Committee with the same opinion that you are implying that the B.I.C.C. is being run by a load of idiots who do not know what they are doing let alone this club has run successfully over many years without this kind of input.
By all means publish it if you wish. I have asked Dennis Wall to publish our reply
Jan & Albi
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 20:07
Dear Jan,
I have now published your response as part of the original article on the meeting, so that anybody reading the report will also have your response without having to go anywhere else to find it.
I try to be as fair and objective as I can in all that I do. I have, as a result of your response, read through my report several times and carefully considered what it says and what it contains. I remain sure that it is both accurate and fair. If anybody can point to anything that is factually wrong I will of course withdraw whatever it is and apologise to whomsoever it may concern. As for opinions, you are quite right they are mine, they are stated as mine and they do not purport to be anything other than that.
Best wishes
Nigel
www.racing-pigeon-post.org
admin@racing-pigeon-post.org
(E-mail)
03 November 2008 10:14
Dear Nigel,
After a weekend of soul searching and upset I have come to the decision that I will carry on as Secretary of the B.I.C.C. despite the remarks and innuendos made by you that maybe I am too old for the job. Regardless of all the “ modern technology” to hand I defy any person to try and cope with two races on one weekend after 8 weeks of coping with 4 races every 2 weeks when it takes 2 weeks to get a result out. When am I allowed a day off to catch a breath. We still have more races than any other National club. We had taken two weeks researching for the benefit of the club and also trying to making sure that it could be done without a constant change of Secretaries in the future due to the workload (this happened in the BBC this year). It is a hard job at any stage of the year without articles on the Web sites trying to decry all we and the Committee have done for the club over the last few years. It has grown into one of the most successful organisations in a long time as the figures show. Maybe that is why we are a little opposed to a web site as it seems a breeding ground for discontent. You say that you see no wrong in your article then you are on a different planet to us. Perhaps people would be better off if they put their hands up for some of the jobs instead on picking holes in what is being done and as I said anyone can be voted on the Committee at the A.G.M. but it seems that most people are content with the workings of the present Committee and see no reason for change.
I am making the decision to carry on as I am a person who will decide to go when I want to give up the job not because someone is trying to rubbish the club and demeaning all what we have done.
ALL THIS FOR ONE RACE (or in your case even more races) !!!!!!!!
This is our last words on the matter.
Jan & Albi
Secretary & Chairman of the B.I.C.C.
p.s. MORE STAFF, MORE WAGES, HIGHER COSTS
As the response by Mr and Mrs Deacon was published on the IPRR web site I responded to it by adding the following comment on that site.
I have no wish to crawl over this matter again and again as it serves no purpose but since receiving Jan and Albi's response I have read my report through several times and I remain sure that it is both accurate and fair. Jan states that she had all the accounts etc. before her. That may be so, she may well have had every single detail to hand, I don't know, but more to the point neither do the Committee because those details were not before them and they were the ones making the decisions. That is what I said and that remains true. Jan asks "What is your overall objective in writing all this?". My motivation is several fold. First and foremost I went to the meeting because I am totally dissatisfied with the abysmal press coverage of what goes on within the Club, something I have tried to raise at a previous AGM with no effect. As a member I want to know what the Club is thinking and what it is doing. Secondly I feel sure that there are others who would like to know as well, so I write about it. I went with the express purpose of providing wider publicity of the Clubs affairs. I certainly hoped I would be able to say something good and optimistic and had I been able to I would have been quite prepared to give it a shine, but I am not prepared to give it a lie. Finally I want the B.I.C.C. to be the best run Club and be seen to be the best, I want it to flourish and grow and I want to see 1,000 plus birds entered into International races. I understand from Jan that several Committee members are disturbed by my report. So they should be. So am I.
(Posted by Nigel Lane, November 3, 2008, 10:16 AM)
Shortly after this I received a critique from Mr Bunney which contained several errors. I wanted to give him the opportunity to correct these before I published and responded to it but I received notification of the complaint before I was able to do this. Matters then took a different course. I will deal with Mr Bunney’s response at a later stage. Here now is the text of the exchange concerning the complaint:-
(Letter)
12th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
Mr Nigel Lane, B.I.C.C. membership number ES179
A meeting has been called for Friday, 21st November 2008 commencing 20.00 hours at the Lion Brewery, Ash, under R.P.R.A. rule 169. A complaint has been made against yourself with regards to remarks you made against the Committee of the B.I.C.C. in your article regarding the Committee meeting held on 26th October 2008 and which were published on the Internet.
You are requested to attend to answer these allegations.
Yours in the sport
J. Deacon (Mrs) Secretary
(Letter)
November 13, 2008
Dear Jan,
In confirmation of my E-mail today.
Thank you for your letter which I acknowledge receiving this morning.
I look forward to receiving from you, as soon as possible, full particulars of the complaint and complainant in order that I can consider my position.
Yours sincerely
Nigel Lane
(Letter)
14th November 2008
Dear Nigel,
We thought that we had made you aware, in our first letter, that a complaint under rule 169 has been made against you with regards to remarks you made about the Committee and their suitability to act as a Committee on certain websites. The complaint has been lodged by a member of the Committee but we are not obliged to name him/her.
You are, of course, aware that you or a representative is welcome to come along to defend yourself.
Yours in the sport
Chairman A. J. Deacon
(Letter)
17th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
With regard to the meeting called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 against yourself, please find enclosed a copy of the article that was published on www.racing-pigeon-post.org and www.iprr.co.uk This is the subject of the complaint.
Yours in the sport
J.M. Deacon (Mrs)
Secretary
Comment:
Accompanying his letter was a copy of both articles The B.I.C.C. Committee Meeting 26th October 2008 and Its Small Change, both printed from Racing Pigeon Post. Having received no further details of the complaint I sent the following letter:
(Letter)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dear Mr Chairman, Committee Members and other persons present,
On Thursday 13th November 2008 I received a letter from the Secretary dated 12th November 2008. This letter explained that a complaint had been made against me and described the area the complaint involved but failed to say what the complaint was.
As a result I sent an E-mail, confirmed by letter, to the Secretary, in which I asked for particulars of the complaint and complainant as soon as possible. In response I received a letter, first by E-mail and subsequently by post, from the Chairman in effect declining any further detail and refusing to declare the complainant.
Dealing first with the refusal to name the complainant. Whilst I accept that there is no specific rule that stipulates that complainant’s should be identified it is a basic principal of British justice that an accused should know his/her accuser.
That apart these proceedings fail and are “out of order” on several other grounds:-
1. The Club has not complied with Rule 169 which, amongst other things, stipulates that:- “The notice shall also state the charges made against the member or the circumstances which the meeting proposes to investigate.”
Apparently some sort of charge or accusation has been made as it is said in the letter dated 12th November 2008 “You are requested to attend to answer these allegations” and in the letter dated 14th November 2008 “..welcome to come along to defend yourself.” Clearly there is an obligation to disclose these allegations to both me and all others who were entitled to receive notice and this has not been done.
2. The Club has not complied with Rule 169 which, amongst other things, stipulates that:- “..the secretary of the Organisation shall convene a general meeting of the Organisation or, if the Rules of the Organisation so prescribe, the committee of the Organisation for that purpose and shall give not less than 7 days notice in writing to the member and to all members of the Organisation or the committee, as appropriate, stating the date, place and time at which the meeting is to be held.”
The Secretary has failed to convene a General Meeting and notify all members of the organisation. The Committee are not competent to deal with this matter as the Rules of the B.I.C.C. do not “so prescribe” them to do so and this cannot be considered an “emergency”.
3. In any event if, as in the description given, the complaint concerns “remarks you made against the Committee..” the Committee must be considered to be an interested party and so are not competent to deal with this matter.
Today, 18th November, I have received from the Secretary a copy of two articles I wrote and published on Racing Pigeon Post, printed from that web site. It may surprise you to know I am quite familiar with them. I stand by them both, page for page, line for line and word for word.
My use of one word has been queried and so in case it also troubles you I enclose a copy of its definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary Ninth Edition.
I am quite prepared, and always have been and always will be, to discuss anything I have written with anybody at anytime. If I make mistakes, which of course I do, I am quite prepared to correct and indeed apologise for them. I try not to make mistakes but I am not infallible. I also enjoy, along with each of you, the right to express my opinion which I do and will continue to do without fear or favour to any party. Sometimes that does not go down well, even with those who know me, but that is my right and it is yours as well.
What I will not do though is be drawn into an ill prepared spat even if it bears the superficial cloak of formal proceedings. I asked for the particulars of the complaint not simply because I am entitled to them but to determine if there was any legitimacy attached to it at all. If there was then it would deserve a proper and considered response. So until such time as I am provided with the particulars of the complaint, and had a proper opportunity to consider them, I have nothing further to say.
Yours sincerely
Nigel Lane
incestuous // adj.
1 involving or guilty of incest.
2 (of human relations generally) excessively restricted or resistant to wider influence.
incestuously adv.
incestuousness n.
[Late Latin incestuosus (as incest)]
Comment:
As I received no further details of the complaint I did not attend the meeting. Some might wonder why, my answer is above. By way of addition, travelling from Essex to Ash, round the M25 on a Friday afternoon/evening, is not something to be contemplated without good reason.
(Letter)
24th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
RPRA rules 169 and 70 Ref Discipline and Disputes
Under RPRA rule 169 you were asked to appear before theB.I.C.C. Management Committee meeting at 7-30pm on Friday, 21st November, 2008, at the Lion. Brewery, Ash, Surrey, to examine your conduct and with a view to taking disciplinary action against you under the provisions of RPRA rule 70.. The conduct to be examined was deemed to be the defamatory remarks and derogatory comments about the Secretary and Officers of the Club and contained in a report written by you about a BICC Committee meeting held on 26th October, 2008, at the Lion Brewery, Ash. This report by you was subsequently placed on www.racinb pigeon-post.org the www.iprr.co.uk.websites. These veiled remarks suggested the Secretary to be grossly incompetent and failing in her job and in addition you stated that the elected Committee was, ' Not fit for Purpose ' You further stated that BICC press reports were 'abysmal' casting a slur on the good name and reputation of the appointed Press Officer, Mr Les Parkinson, whom the Club acknowledge as a highly respected pigeon journalist, also you made totally inaccurate remarks about the finances and workings of the club.
In subsequent correspondence to the Club you admitted being responsible for the defamatory article and offered no apology to the Club or Officials. Indeed you were adamant that you stood by all that you had written and published and declined any apology for the upset and concern the article had caused the Committee and other members.
You failed to turn up at the meeting as requested. Your written letters, emails and other documents were considered by the Committee. You disputed the Committees right to deal with the case but under BICC General rule 8 the elected management Committee is deemed to be responsible for the running of the Club, and on these grounds the Committee members present felt they were entitled and competent to deal with the Disciplinary hearing against you.
At the conclusion of the hearing it was the unanimous decision of the Committee that you were found guilty of dishonourable conduct. Under RPRA rule 70 (b) the penalty imposed is that Mr Nigel Lane be 'excluded from the club' with immediate effect. The Committee further attached the proviso that if Mr Lane withdraws the article and issues a full written apology to the Club and its Officials to be placed in the Racing Pigeon, The British Homing World and also the web sites mentioned above, then the exclusion will be withdrawn, and he will be reinstated as a member to race his pigeons.
Under RPRA rule 82 you have the right to appeal within 21 days of our decision to the Secretary of the Local Southern Region, and must also enclose a cheque for £20, which may be returned to you if your appeal is successful the local Region Secretary is Mrs Hazel Marsh, `Oakley', Southampton Road, Cadnam, Hants, SO4 2 NF.
Yours sincerely,
Jan Deacon Secretary
B.I.C.C.
Comment:
I had at this stage been accused, investigated, tried, convicted and sentenced by the very individuals against whom I had allegedly offended. Is justice supposed to work in that way? I would be grateful to anybody who can tell me, from what you have read here, what the particulars were of the allegations, the charges, the complaint, the complainant or any particulars of the offences I am supposed to have committed. No doubt the Minutes of the Meeting would make things clear.
It was not until late February 2009, after the B.I.C.C. AGM, that I gained site of both the letter of complaint and Minutes of the Meeting, the text of both you will find below.
(Letter)
10th November 2008
Dear Secretary & Committee members
I would like a meeting to be called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 against Mr Nigel Lane with regards to his remarks printed on his web site and that of www.iprr.co.uk making unjust comments with regard to the Committee meeting on 26th October 2008.
Yours in the sport
J Wills.
Vice President.
THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB
MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 21st November 2008
UNDER R.P.R.A. Rule 169 AGAINST Mr NIGEL LANE
A Committee meeting was called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 to hear a complaint made by Mr John Wills against Mr Nigel Lane with regards to an article that he had written about a Committee meeting held on the 26th October 2008 and placed on the web sites www. racing-pi geon post.org and www. iprr. co.uk which, in his opinion, contained completely false inaccurate and derogatory statements against the Secretary and Committee of the B.I.C.C.
Members present: - A. Deacon (Chairman) Mrs J. Deacon (Secretary), M. Bunney (Vice President) J. Wills, (Vice President) R. Wills, B V Corbin (Vice President), J. M. Armitage, J. Szarvas.
Apologies: -J. Nicholson, T. Coker, R. Bradford.
As Mr Nigel Lane failed to turn appear to defend his actions it was decided to continue with the meeting.
The Chairman opened the meeting with the following statement.
"First of all I would like to start out by saying that I defend the right of anybody to say or think what they like as long as they state that it is their opinion but when it is put into print as a statement of fact then the line of free speech has been crossed which I believe this article has done.
It was also pointed out by Mr Bunney that Mr Lane had stated there was no detailed set of accounts and financial analysis' on the table. This was totally inaccurate as the Secretary had all the details available to hand.
Mr Szarvas stated that as Mr Lane was not even a member of the Committee he had no right to print the minutes under the heading of "The B.I.C.C. Committee meeting 26th October 2008" giving the impression that they were the official minutes.
The Secretary then read out a letter from Mr Lane, in one part stating "I stand by them both, page for page, line for line and word for word"
At this point, Mr John Wills left the room for the Committee to discuss his complaint in full. After reaching a decision he was asked back into the room.
Proposed by Mr M. Bunney, Seconded by M. Armitage
That Mr Nigel Lane will be excluded from the Club immediately subject to his making a written apology on both web sites and in both the Racing Pigeon and the British Homing World at which point the exclusion will be lifted.
Carried Unan.
The meeting closed at 21.30 p.m.
J.M.D. 28/10/08
Comment.
I can only repeat that I would be grateful to anybody who can tell me, from what you have read here, what the particulars were of the allegations, the charges, the complaint or any particulars of the offences I am supposed to have committed. I would be particularly grateful if Mr.Wills (at least we now know the complainant) could point out to me, and to you, precisely which parts of those articles he found “completely false inaccurate and derogatory statements against the Secretary and Committee of the B.I.C.C.” or for that matter those which he found to be “unjust”.
Could this be the real truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or was this all just a charade for quite another purpose? We will examine one possibility in Chapt 4.
Nigel Lane
I went to the meeting with the declared intent of writing an article about it for three major reasons:
1. I was dissatisfied with the degree of information that came out from the Club
2. As a consequence of that I wanted to let people know what went on and
3. I wanted to know myself.
I had reached a stage where International racing was my only interest and I wanted a fit and healthy Club in order to do that. I had spent a lot of my time and money trying to encourage and inform others about International racing and so I was keen to ADVERTISE the activities of the B.I.C.C. in order to encourage greater participation. That is why I went.
What I found at that meeting I described in an article, The B.I.C.C. Committee Meeting 26th October 2008 , that was published on I.P.R.R. and Racing Pigeon Post, where you can read it still, as published. This was quickly followed by another article, Its Small Change, in which I put forward my proposals and suggestions, as I believe in constructive criticism. I believed these articles to be true then and I believe them to be true now. I am responsible for the language used in the articles, the language and words I used, and I accept that responsibility without question or hesitation. I am not however responsible for any of the purported quotations you will find from my critics. In each instance you encounter an alleged quotation I ask you to go to the original and compare. Please make your judgement only once you have made that comparison.
After the articles were published I had a short E-mail exchange with the Secretary as follows:-
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 14:06
Your views on the meeting.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions on meeting's and if it comes to that anything else to do with the sport because it is our hobby. However from time to time people do go off at a tangent and do not submit a fair reflection on what is actually going on. In this case it is the Newsletter from Mr Lane that if published in any other sport or hobby would be classed as bringing the game into disrepute.
Fact, when I took over the job of Secretary we had approx 600 members and a carry over figure of £23,000, the figures now stand at approx 1200 members with a carry over figure of approx £90,000 (sorry for being so incompetent but I have not had the books audited yet) Where have I gone wrong? Where has the Committee gone wrong? Anyone can come along to the A.G.M. and be voted on to the Committee but the majority of the members appear to be satisfied with the running of the Club, except of course Mr Lane.
Mr Lane has gone to great lengths to publish his newsletter but does forgot to mention a few things, i.e. the time allowed for verification is also for security reasons. Manchester marking station not being picked up was also about the time factor for the drivers to get around and to get to the ferry port on time.
As far as I am concerned Mr Lane's comments are purely his take on the meeting and as for his call for me and my husband to resign, it was the job of Secretary and not Chairman that was in dispute and that was how it would have stood. Mr Lane obviously has no idea what the work load for running two races in one weekend entails and as for getting more staff, then we end up with even higher birdage costs. So as we are an International club first and foremost Pau took preference over Tours .
At the end of the day, we feel that Mr Lane's attacks on the Committee and ourselves are totally unwarranted. He distorted the facts to suit his own agenda. We had all the details as regards Bank deposits etc. on the desk before us. We had done our homework on which ferry ports to use and pickup times with our convoyer, Trevor Cracknell, prior to the meeting and then these facts were put before the Committee. As for the race programme we have raced Falaise, Alencon and Tours for the last several years. We had made investigations with Yvan Eeckhout as to a good liberation site and he suggested Limoges which they use.
We did our homework therefore the question needs to be asked how come Mr Lane didn’t do his. We see this as a slanderous attack on ourselves and the Committee just because he couldn’t get another race and also on the R.P.R.A. for his own reasons that are none of our business.
"What is your overall objective in writing all this?"
Jan & Albi
Secretary & Chairman
B.I.C.C.
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 14:47
Dear Jan and Albi,
I am sorry you have taken my articles as an attack on you personally, as that really is not the case. However if that is the way you view them then that is your prerogative. I believe my description of the meeting to be fairly accurate and I stand by it. Would you like me to publish what you have written to me as your response, because I am quite happy to do that, without further comment from me, if that is what you wish.
Best wishes
Nigel
www.racing-pigeon-post.org
admin@racing-pigeon-post.org
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 15:11
Dear Nigel,
I fail to see how else we were supposed to take it and also we have had many phone calls from the Committee with the same opinion that you are implying that the B.I.C.C. is being run by a load of idiots who do not know what they are doing let alone this club has run successfully over many years without this kind of input.
By all means publish it if you wish. I have asked Dennis Wall to publish our reply
Jan & Albi
(E-mail)
02 November 2008 20:07
Dear Jan,
I have now published your response as part of the original article on the meeting, so that anybody reading the report will also have your response without having to go anywhere else to find it.
I try to be as fair and objective as I can in all that I do. I have, as a result of your response, read through my report several times and carefully considered what it says and what it contains. I remain sure that it is both accurate and fair. If anybody can point to anything that is factually wrong I will of course withdraw whatever it is and apologise to whomsoever it may concern. As for opinions, you are quite right they are mine, they are stated as mine and they do not purport to be anything other than that.
Best wishes
Nigel
www.racing-pigeon-post.org
admin@racing-pigeon-post.org
(E-mail)
03 November 2008 10:14
Dear Nigel,
After a weekend of soul searching and upset I have come to the decision that I will carry on as Secretary of the B.I.C.C. despite the remarks and innuendos made by you that maybe I am too old for the job. Regardless of all the “ modern technology” to hand I defy any person to try and cope with two races on one weekend after 8 weeks of coping with 4 races every 2 weeks when it takes 2 weeks to get a result out. When am I allowed a day off to catch a breath. We still have more races than any other National club. We had taken two weeks researching for the benefit of the club and also trying to making sure that it could be done without a constant change of Secretaries in the future due to the workload (this happened in the BBC this year). It is a hard job at any stage of the year without articles on the Web sites trying to decry all we and the Committee have done for the club over the last few years. It has grown into one of the most successful organisations in a long time as the figures show. Maybe that is why we are a little opposed to a web site as it seems a breeding ground for discontent. You say that you see no wrong in your article then you are on a different planet to us. Perhaps people would be better off if they put their hands up for some of the jobs instead on picking holes in what is being done and as I said anyone can be voted on the Committee at the A.G.M. but it seems that most people are content with the workings of the present Committee and see no reason for change.
I am making the decision to carry on as I am a person who will decide to go when I want to give up the job not because someone is trying to rubbish the club and demeaning all what we have done.
ALL THIS FOR ONE RACE (or in your case even more races) !!!!!!!!
This is our last words on the matter.
Jan & Albi
Secretary & Chairman of the B.I.C.C.
p.s. MORE STAFF, MORE WAGES, HIGHER COSTS
As the response by Mr and Mrs Deacon was published on the IPRR web site I responded to it by adding the following comment on that site.
I have no wish to crawl over this matter again and again as it serves no purpose but since receiving Jan and Albi's response I have read my report through several times and I remain sure that it is both accurate and fair. Jan states that she had all the accounts etc. before her. That may be so, she may well have had every single detail to hand, I don't know, but more to the point neither do the Committee because those details were not before them and they were the ones making the decisions. That is what I said and that remains true. Jan asks "What is your overall objective in writing all this?". My motivation is several fold. First and foremost I went to the meeting because I am totally dissatisfied with the abysmal press coverage of what goes on within the Club, something I have tried to raise at a previous AGM with no effect. As a member I want to know what the Club is thinking and what it is doing. Secondly I feel sure that there are others who would like to know as well, so I write about it. I went with the express purpose of providing wider publicity of the Clubs affairs. I certainly hoped I would be able to say something good and optimistic and had I been able to I would have been quite prepared to give it a shine, but I am not prepared to give it a lie. Finally I want the B.I.C.C. to be the best run Club and be seen to be the best, I want it to flourish and grow and I want to see 1,000 plus birds entered into International races. I understand from Jan that several Committee members are disturbed by my report. So they should be. So am I.
(Posted by Nigel Lane, November 3, 2008, 10:16 AM)
Shortly after this I received a critique from Mr Bunney which contained several errors. I wanted to give him the opportunity to correct these before I published and responded to it but I received notification of the complaint before I was able to do this. Matters then took a different course. I will deal with Mr Bunney’s response at a later stage. Here now is the text of the exchange concerning the complaint:-
(Letter)
12th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
Mr Nigel Lane, B.I.C.C. membership number ES179
A meeting has been called for Friday, 21st November 2008 commencing 20.00 hours at the Lion Brewery, Ash, under R.P.R.A. rule 169. A complaint has been made against yourself with regards to remarks you made against the Committee of the B.I.C.C. in your article regarding the Committee meeting held on 26th October 2008 and which were published on the Internet.
You are requested to attend to answer these allegations.
Yours in the sport
J. Deacon (Mrs) Secretary
(Letter)
November 13, 2008
Dear Jan,
In confirmation of my E-mail today.
Thank you for your letter which I acknowledge receiving this morning.
I look forward to receiving from you, as soon as possible, full particulars of the complaint and complainant in order that I can consider my position.
Yours sincerely
Nigel Lane
(Letter)
14th November 2008
Dear Nigel,
We thought that we had made you aware, in our first letter, that a complaint under rule 169 has been made against you with regards to remarks you made about the Committee and their suitability to act as a Committee on certain websites. The complaint has been lodged by a member of the Committee but we are not obliged to name him/her.
You are, of course, aware that you or a representative is welcome to come along to defend yourself.
Yours in the sport
Chairman A. J. Deacon
(Letter)
17th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
With regard to the meeting called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 against yourself, please find enclosed a copy of the article that was published on www.racing-pigeon-post.org and www.iprr.co.uk This is the subject of the complaint.
Yours in the sport
J.M. Deacon (Mrs)
Secretary
Comment:
Accompanying his letter was a copy of both articles The B.I.C.C. Committee Meeting 26th October 2008 and Its Small Change, both printed from Racing Pigeon Post. Having received no further details of the complaint I sent the following letter:
(Letter)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dear Mr Chairman, Committee Members and other persons present,
On Thursday 13th November 2008 I received a letter from the Secretary dated 12th November 2008. This letter explained that a complaint had been made against me and described the area the complaint involved but failed to say what the complaint was.
As a result I sent an E-mail, confirmed by letter, to the Secretary, in which I asked for particulars of the complaint and complainant as soon as possible. In response I received a letter, first by E-mail and subsequently by post, from the Chairman in effect declining any further detail and refusing to declare the complainant.
Dealing first with the refusal to name the complainant. Whilst I accept that there is no specific rule that stipulates that complainant’s should be identified it is a basic principal of British justice that an accused should know his/her accuser.
That apart these proceedings fail and are “out of order” on several other grounds:-
1. The Club has not complied with Rule 169 which, amongst other things, stipulates that:- “The notice shall also state the charges made against the member or the circumstances which the meeting proposes to investigate.”
Apparently some sort of charge or accusation has been made as it is said in the letter dated 12th November 2008 “You are requested to attend to answer these allegations” and in the letter dated 14th November 2008 “..welcome to come along to defend yourself.” Clearly there is an obligation to disclose these allegations to both me and all others who were entitled to receive notice and this has not been done.
2. The Club has not complied with Rule 169 which, amongst other things, stipulates that:- “..the secretary of the Organisation shall convene a general meeting of the Organisation or, if the Rules of the Organisation so prescribe, the committee of the Organisation for that purpose and shall give not less than 7 days notice in writing to the member and to all members of the Organisation or the committee, as appropriate, stating the date, place and time at which the meeting is to be held.”
The Secretary has failed to convene a General Meeting and notify all members of the organisation. The Committee are not competent to deal with this matter as the Rules of the B.I.C.C. do not “so prescribe” them to do so and this cannot be considered an “emergency”.
3. In any event if, as in the description given, the complaint concerns “remarks you made against the Committee..” the Committee must be considered to be an interested party and so are not competent to deal with this matter.
Today, 18th November, I have received from the Secretary a copy of two articles I wrote and published on Racing Pigeon Post, printed from that web site. It may surprise you to know I am quite familiar with them. I stand by them both, page for page, line for line and word for word.
My use of one word has been queried and so in case it also troubles you I enclose a copy of its definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary Ninth Edition.
I am quite prepared, and always have been and always will be, to discuss anything I have written with anybody at anytime. If I make mistakes, which of course I do, I am quite prepared to correct and indeed apologise for them. I try not to make mistakes but I am not infallible. I also enjoy, along with each of you, the right to express my opinion which I do and will continue to do without fear or favour to any party. Sometimes that does not go down well, even with those who know me, but that is my right and it is yours as well.
What I will not do though is be drawn into an ill prepared spat even if it bears the superficial cloak of formal proceedings. I asked for the particulars of the complaint not simply because I am entitled to them but to determine if there was any legitimacy attached to it at all. If there was then it would deserve a proper and considered response. So until such time as I am provided with the particulars of the complaint, and had a proper opportunity to consider them, I have nothing further to say.
Yours sincerely
Nigel Lane
incestuous // adj.
1 involving or guilty of incest.
2 (of human relations generally) excessively restricted or resistant to wider influence.
incestuously adv.
incestuousness n.
[Late Latin incestuosus (as incest)]
Comment:
As I received no further details of the complaint I did not attend the meeting. Some might wonder why, my answer is above. By way of addition, travelling from Essex to Ash, round the M25 on a Friday afternoon/evening, is not something to be contemplated without good reason.
(Letter)
24th November 2008
Dear Mr Lane,
RPRA rules 169 and 70 Ref Discipline and Disputes
Under RPRA rule 169 you were asked to appear before theB.I.C.C. Management Committee meeting at 7-30pm on Friday, 21st November, 2008, at the Lion. Brewery, Ash, Surrey, to examine your conduct and with a view to taking disciplinary action against you under the provisions of RPRA rule 70.. The conduct to be examined was deemed to be the defamatory remarks and derogatory comments about the Secretary and Officers of the Club and contained in a report written by you about a BICC Committee meeting held on 26th October, 2008, at the Lion Brewery, Ash. This report by you was subsequently placed on www.racinb pigeon-post.org the www.iprr.co.uk.websites. These veiled remarks suggested the Secretary to be grossly incompetent and failing in her job and in addition you stated that the elected Committee was, ' Not fit for Purpose ' You further stated that BICC press reports were 'abysmal' casting a slur on the good name and reputation of the appointed Press Officer, Mr Les Parkinson, whom the Club acknowledge as a highly respected pigeon journalist, also you made totally inaccurate remarks about the finances and workings of the club.
In subsequent correspondence to the Club you admitted being responsible for the defamatory article and offered no apology to the Club or Officials. Indeed you were adamant that you stood by all that you had written and published and declined any apology for the upset and concern the article had caused the Committee and other members.
You failed to turn up at the meeting as requested. Your written letters, emails and other documents were considered by the Committee. You disputed the Committees right to deal with the case but under BICC General rule 8 the elected management Committee is deemed to be responsible for the running of the Club, and on these grounds the Committee members present felt they were entitled and competent to deal with the Disciplinary hearing against you.
At the conclusion of the hearing it was the unanimous decision of the Committee that you were found guilty of dishonourable conduct. Under RPRA rule 70 (b) the penalty imposed is that Mr Nigel Lane be 'excluded from the club' with immediate effect. The Committee further attached the proviso that if Mr Lane withdraws the article and issues a full written apology to the Club and its Officials to be placed in the Racing Pigeon, The British Homing World and also the web sites mentioned above, then the exclusion will be withdrawn, and he will be reinstated as a member to race his pigeons.
Under RPRA rule 82 you have the right to appeal within 21 days of our decision to the Secretary of the Local Southern Region, and must also enclose a cheque for £20, which may be returned to you if your appeal is successful the local Region Secretary is Mrs Hazel Marsh, `Oakley', Southampton Road, Cadnam, Hants, SO4 2 NF.
Yours sincerely,
Jan Deacon Secretary
B.I.C.C.
Comment:
I had at this stage been accused, investigated, tried, convicted and sentenced by the very individuals against whom I had allegedly offended. Is justice supposed to work in that way? I would be grateful to anybody who can tell me, from what you have read here, what the particulars were of the allegations, the charges, the complaint, the complainant or any particulars of the offences I am supposed to have committed. No doubt the Minutes of the Meeting would make things clear.
It was not until late February 2009, after the B.I.C.C. AGM, that I gained site of both the letter of complaint and Minutes of the Meeting, the text of both you will find below.
(Letter)
10th November 2008
Dear Secretary & Committee members
I would like a meeting to be called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 against Mr Nigel Lane with regards to his remarks printed on his web site and that of www.iprr.co.uk making unjust comments with regard to the Committee meeting on 26th October 2008.
Yours in the sport
J Wills.
Vice President.
THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB
MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 21st November 2008
UNDER R.P.R.A. Rule 169 AGAINST Mr NIGEL LANE
A Committee meeting was called under R.P.R.A. Rule 169 to hear a complaint made by Mr John Wills against Mr Nigel Lane with regards to an article that he had written about a Committee meeting held on the 26th October 2008 and placed on the web sites www. racing-pi geon post.org and www. iprr. co.uk which, in his opinion, contained completely false inaccurate and derogatory statements against the Secretary and Committee of the B.I.C.C.
Members present: - A. Deacon (Chairman) Mrs J. Deacon (Secretary), M. Bunney (Vice President) J. Wills, (Vice President) R. Wills, B V Corbin (Vice President), J. M. Armitage, J. Szarvas.
Apologies: -J. Nicholson, T. Coker, R. Bradford.
As Mr Nigel Lane failed to turn appear to defend his actions it was decided to continue with the meeting.
The Chairman opened the meeting with the following statement.
"First of all I would like to start out by saying that I defend the right of anybody to say or think what they like as long as they state that it is their opinion but when it is put into print as a statement of fact then the line of free speech has been crossed which I believe this article has done.
It was also pointed out by Mr Bunney that Mr Lane had stated there was no detailed set of accounts and financial analysis' on the table. This was totally inaccurate as the Secretary had all the details available to hand.
Mr Szarvas stated that as Mr Lane was not even a member of the Committee he had no right to print the minutes under the heading of "The B.I.C.C. Committee meeting 26th October 2008" giving the impression that they were the official minutes.
The Secretary then read out a letter from Mr Lane, in one part stating "I stand by them both, page for page, line for line and word for word"
At this point, Mr John Wills left the room for the Committee to discuss his complaint in full. After reaching a decision he was asked back into the room.
Proposed by Mr M. Bunney, Seconded by M. Armitage
That Mr Nigel Lane will be excluded from the Club immediately subject to his making a written apology on both web sites and in both the Racing Pigeon and the British Homing World at which point the exclusion will be lifted.
Carried Unan.
The meeting closed at 21.30 p.m.
J.M.D. 28/10/08
Comment.
I can only repeat that I would be grateful to anybody who can tell me, from what you have read here, what the particulars were of the allegations, the charges, the complaint or any particulars of the offences I am supposed to have committed. I would be particularly grateful if Mr.Wills (at least we now know the complainant) could point out to me, and to you, precisely which parts of those articles he found “completely false inaccurate and derogatory statements against the Secretary and Committee of the B.I.C.C.” or for that matter those which he found to be “unjust”.
Could this be the real truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or was this all just a charade for quite another purpose? We will examine one possibility in Chapt 4.
Nigel Lane