GUY DE LA BÉDOYÈRE
Historian, archaeologist, author and broadcaster
1. NOTE TO TELEVISION
AND FILM COMPANIES
First of all I am NOT under
contract to Channel 4’s Time Team and never have been. Any arrangements made
with me to take part in Time Team have been on a purely ad-hoc shoot-by-shoot
basis. I am therefore free to take any other commitments that I wish to (and
do), and always have been.
Secondly, I don’t
provide a free/gratis on-demand consultancy service to TV researchers. I work
on a strictly freelance basis either for appearances or consultation. So if
you’re a television researcher who fancies ringing me up on the expectation
that I’ll sit on the phone for hours doing all your work for you for nothing,
please don’t bother. No exceptions, so please don’t ask – I have heard every
excuse under the sun. Here’s some of them:
·
‘We’re on an education budget’ (I love this one – what on Earth does it
mean?)
·
‘The channel has cut our budget’ (the most popular old chestnut)
·
‘Well can we just talk now and then when we hire you for the programme we can talk money then?’
·
‘I’m afraid I’m not allowed to talk money – you’ll have to speak to our
production manager’
And the best of all,
worth including because it’s so funny:
·
‘We can’t afford to pay you but we’d buy you a good lunch’. Nice to know
my expertise is valued at roughly equivalent to a bowl of pasta and a bottle of
sparkling water!
However, if you are seriously interested
in approaching me about taking part in a programme,
then by all means contact me on the email on the HOME PAGE. I shall be delighted
to get back to you.
In 2006 I opted to take
part in no 3-day Time Team shoots, though I did agree to take part in the
summer Live and a documentary, and under some pressure I eventually agreed to
take part in the Godstone 3-day shoot. In 2007 I have
made myself available for Time Team again but this will be the last time I will
be able to do so freely. Since September 2007 I have been on the Graduate
Teacher Programme at Kesteven
and Sleaford High School during the 2007-8
school year, where I will be remaining for the foreseeable
future teaching History and Classical Civilisation. If time permits, and if I get asked, I
shall be happy to take part in TV programmes but the
teacher-training will come first; since this is a very exacting commitment I
don’t expect to have much spare time. For the same reason I am limiting my
writing commitments.
2. USE OF MY IMAGES:
NOTE TO AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS
Thanks to various
publishers who have defaulted on previously agreed terms for the use of my
images, and one author who helped himself to half-a-dozen of my pictures
without asking and tried to conceal the fact by digitally manipulating the
images, I now only grant requests to use images if the charge for doing so is
paid in advance. The image will not be released until after receipt of the fee.
This also applies to picture researchers who work for publishers ‘who only pay
when the book is published’. No exceptions. If you are happy with the
conditions I’ve outlined then by all means get in touch.
Anyone who uses one of
my pictures without permission will find that the relevant publisher has been contacted, informed of the breach of copyright and invoiced
an exorbitant sum accordingly.
IF, however, you are a
school or university student, or you teach in either a school or university,
you may freely copy my pictures from this website or one of my books to use in
classes. But I would appreciate it if you credited them to me.
3. FINDS
If you’ve found what you think is an
object of archaeological interest, perhaps because you were out for a walk or
were using a metal-detector, by all means email me and tell me about it and if
I can identify it for you I will. But you should also report it to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Their job is to take down the
details and record your find so that we all benefit from the information.
They’ll also tell you what you should do with it. Lots of detectorists
are already routinely sending information about their finds in.
Please don’t ask me to keep your find
secret from the PAS. Any information I receive I will automatically pass on to
the PAS, because that’s in everyone’s interests. It’s a great scheme and it’s
generating an invaluable resource.
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