LCGB AGM ref BLOA

[Gavin J Frankland]

Wintermid65 yes when you go into personal attacks then it's all lost. I could easily go into attack mode but I'm above that. There have been a few hinding behind a fictitious name thinking they can't been seen. But I'll let them run for the comedy value. My theft was terrible, I've known my landlord for years, been to his house, worked for him etc I even have my campervan in one of his sites. Very rich man, has about 4 Liverpool players renting houses from him, unbelievable wealth. I made the mistake of letting my rent go in arrears whilst out of work, moving down south and back up again, I got cleaned out without any notice. He had no idea on the value, only sold them to get his owed rent back. I learnt a quick lesson there. But there you go, some people think that's funny let them. I befriended the policemen that was conducting the investigation as it turned out he was ex airborne as well. Silver lining and all that.

[Nic]

Good question, to be honest I haven't really thought of an answer. But the reason why it was brought back to life was to have a change in the Scootering calendar. As I knew the history and what some original members told me I thought it would be a good idea to use the club again. It wasn't being used and hasn't been since 65 as a club. It's nice to see the badge being used again, some think not. I can't help that. There was never going to be a battle over names as we all knew it was gone. The bigger picture is to use the club as it was originally going to the same rally sites and doing what they did then, again not to everyone's choice. There will also be a Scooterist museum paid by the club, this will house everything from the 1950's to present with all makes of scooters. There is a lot to offer. More than any other club. It just needs people to take a step back and look at facts and what's on the table. If they like it great, if not so be it. Yes change the name would solve the issue, but I didn't have an issue to start with. If the name went so would the spark and would be just another club. A bit boring really. That's the best I can do. I've also just had someone say call it new bloa, which thinking about might work. It worked for the LCGB jetset. It's an idea.

Gavin: stop it, just stop it.

Unlike you, I have actually done the cashflow projections of what it costs to run a scooter museum.

I know the likely cost of heating based on given square metres of property, of lighting costs, business rates, of security cameras and monitoring, of fire alarms and other protection, of vehicle insurance (particularly if you are expecting people to loan you their scooters), of property rental (assuming you don't have a generous landlord prepared to subsidise or even pay most if not all those charges), of signage, of website development and other print and marketing costs.

I worked out the income you need, either from visitors paying to come in or, if free, from buying merchandise. I worked out the likely out the likely cost of merchandise and the profits per item sold, calculated the footfall needed in the museum to sell people the items you want to make money from, the tax and other offsets from income and expenses, even other potential income sources from loaning out scooters for photoshoots. These are a fraction of the issues that need to be considered when setting up a museum.

The bottom line is that to keep a decent mid-sized museum going, one that up to 2,500 people a year - which is a significant number (talk to Nigel Cox, who spent six days a week on the premises and ran a scooter parts business out of it) - are going to travel to visit - as opposed to a lock-up with 20 scooters in it - requires a minimum sum in he mid-five figures. It also requires an equal if not greater initial capital outlay and a small army of volunteers to keep it going.

For you to declare, Walter Mitty style, that "there will also be a scooter museum paid for by the club" is a cruel deception on readers of this thread and your small band of members.

Things get worse. For a museum to be created requires someone with the utmost financial probity, with no weird stories lurking in he background, someone who can be trusted with dozens of other people's scooters and to pay bills on time.

You are manifestly not that person. As Timbo helpfully told people a few months ago, I was financial journalist for 25 years before returning 10 years ago to nursing. I can read a balance sheet and a profit and loss account.

I ran major investigations into financial scandals, from union secretaries making off with their members' money, to insurance company collapses, to pensions mi-selling and much, much more. Even now, because of my past, I am asked to regularly run major multi-agency investigations in the NHS. My 35 years experience in finance has taught me to smell a bad-un from a mile away.

And you smell like a bad-un. In the last few weeks, since I stuck my head above the parapet to oppose your attempt to steal my club's BLOA heritage, I've been contacted by up to 20 people who have had dealings with you over the years.

The specifics are always slightly different, of course, but the MO is the same. It's all petty sums to be sure, a tenner here, 20 quid there; a payment made for a historic legshield banner where you later reverse the PayPal purchase, leaving the seller high and dry despite promising to "sot it out"; snide items sold through multiple accounts; pictures of other people's incredibly rare memorabilia which somehow end up being copied and sold on eBay. I can get signed affidavits for all of these stories if I need to, btw.

As a journalist I've always operated on the principle that 99 per cent of what I'm told is likely to be rubbish but 1 per cent is almost certainly true. In your case there's enough of a 1 per cent to make me worried about your elastic concept of financial probity.

Even your explanation of how your scooters were stolen and then magically re-appeared is a concern: you now tell us that you hadn't paid six months' rent on your lock-ups and your scooters weren't insured. How is that meant to make people trust you with their money - or their scooters, if you want to create a "loan museum"?

As for your little tease that some people around you are talking about "new BLOA", to differentiate it from the "original BLOA" which is part of the LCGB's history, that just won't fly. The entire current financial survival of BLOA is, at the end of the day, linked to the historic connection with merchandise and designs which were the copyright of Mike Karslake and assigned by him to the LCGB.

The determination of our members is rock-sold on this, as you are slowly starting to discover. If you lose that, and we are not going to rest until we get back what is ours, you have problems.

In effect, you are sitting on a one-legged bar stool. If that's kicked away - and you had better believe that we won' go away on this one - you're left with a handful of venues for "1950s-style rallies" attended by a few hundred people, at best.

But there is never a guarantee of decent attendance. Your plan to have a BLOA rally in Southend-on-Sea for example, a kick in the teeth to 15-20 members of Essex Lambretta Club, some of the finest riders in the country who have always organised their own annual event with LCGB support, attended by scores of their friends and local scooterists.

By holding an event in someone's backyard without even consulting them you show utter contempt for local Lambretta riders and their mates: how many of them do you think will turn up?

There are other alternatives you could follow. I've been speaking to people who have set out other scenarios. But none of them look that good for you.

I think it's time for you to give back what isn't yours and walk away.

[Rally220]

mr frankland when you say you dont have an answer to which question or point do you refer?

if you just thought it would be nice to use the "badge" again do you refer to The Mike Karslake BLOA logos if so why did you apply trademark the lambretta lion logo , this has widespread and logstanding use it is not redundant as you suggest the BLOA logos are.

As for where i came from its not hidden , its a county in England part of Great Britain, you know a place where freedom of speech ,sense of justice and fairplay are amongst its values , values i thought i was upholding when i served an fought for it in the Gulf War in 91 .
So id like to stick around and get some answers if i may , i havent resorted to personal attacks , raking up ancient history or being evasive or wishing others would go
If people are charging money for items or services or events there certain consumer rights that come into play and one is that the person has a legal right to sell such goods . i dont particularly want to buy something dodgy off anyone , be that LCGB or Facebook BLOA.



to paraphrase A Few Good Men "we want the truth " "some can't handle it"

(Off topic) Hi wintermod, great to hear you were on GW1, I also deployed on Op Granby, December ‘90, recovered May ‘91 after ground operations finished, always interesting to hear other scooterists were out there. Regarding Mr Franklands assessment of the cause of the war, woefully ignorant at best. Iraq owed Kuwait $14 Billion dollars and couldn’t repay then falsely accused Kuwait of slant drills into their oil fields to justify invasion. Details Mr F, details

[Gavin J Frankland]

Nic, I ran a small museum, did quite well. Ive not had many dealings with people so this 20 is a mystery and curtainly never had any bad dealings.

[Gavin J Frankland]

I was also deployed in dec, but always thought it was what I said.

[Gavin J Frankland]

Nic, could you please send me these eBay details.

[Timbo]

“there will also be a scooter museum paid for by the club" is a cruel deception on readers of this thread and your small band of members.....


No museum? i’m gutted and demand my subscription money back.....

[drunkmunkey6969]

How my brain visualises this ‘discussion’....

[Steveshipley]

funny as Dan

[Nic]

Nic, could you please send me these eBay details.

Gavin, I'm not your secretary or bag-carrier. DYOR. If there's not many cases of pissed-off customers it shouldn't be difficult to find the one or two disappointed exceptions in your illustrious trading career....