Who am I and why did I put this site together?

The beginning 

My name is Simon Stanbridge. I'm 29 and I live in Beaaconsfield, Bucks. Like many people across the UK, my girlfriend and I used to sit in front of the TV with a cup of tea and enjoy watching the people walking up the stairs and facing the Dragons. A few days before the start of the current Dragons' Den series, I read that Farleigh was not appearing in this series. My first thought was that he'd moved on and was too busy doing other things, but after a spot of googling I came across a number of articles saying that Richard was still keen to continue with the show. The articles also suggested he was booted to make way for somebody from an ethnic minority to join the panel. Affirmative action is alive an well in the UK!

My friends think I should have more important things to do

Actually, I feel quite strongly that the BBC has made a mistake here. They just booted a popular member of the show because they were paranoid about having the right faces on the panel. Surely, the BBC has a responsibilty to please its viewers.

This is cheesy, but Richard's life story is like something from a movie. He is a bit like the guy Eddie Murphy played in Trading Places in that he didn't come from a wealthy background, but used his intelligence to get where he is now. The idea that this is possible is important. At the back of our minds we all imagine ourselves doing the same thing. I could have left the matter alone but sometimes when you do unusual things, good things happen. Ok, enough of that talk, I'm starting to sound like Glen Hoddle - back to reality.

These days it's very easy to knock up a quick website. I put this site together in a few hours and if google is kind to me then hopefully it will get a decent ranking. I genuinely want Richard to get back on the panel. Just reading the comments on the petition, you get an idea of what Richard added to the show. Now the show seems to have a different atmosphere. Perhaps the lack of Richard's anti-ego is causing an imbalance.

Is this site an attempt to collect email addresses?

Certainly not. To participate in the petition all you have to do is leave your name. The email field is optional. Please leave a comment - it's good to know what you think of Richard.

Do you know Richard Farleigh?

No. I have never met or spoken to Richard.

Some other questions that have come up...

Do you make money from this site?

Unfortunately not!

Are you trying to become famous?

No. To me, lately, the idea of celebrity is embarrassing. I'd only like to be famous if I had a genuine talent.

Please don't be too mean to Deborah Meaden!

I'm not a big fan of Deborah but I don't want this site to become an anti-Meaden site. I have already had to remove the words face, moose, ugly, Meaden and Deborah from one post on the petition. Feel free to say what you like about her but don't be too offensive - it just creates extra work for me! 

SUMMARY 

These days it's hard to do anything without being accused of having a secret motive. For example, I tried to post a link to this site on gumtree the other day. The rather annoying forum moderator kept writing spam spam spam after each post. I get the worrying feeling that he got a semi from removing the links! I tried to explain that this wasn't a commercial site but he just continued being a bit of an arse.

Please come aboard the 'Get Richard Farleigh Back' website. Get involved, tell your friends and you never know...perhaps the BBC will change their minds. 

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